The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1858-07-01
Lilias Grieve.
By PROF. WILSON.

| Anete were tear ana melanchoIy IN the
glens and valleys that lay stretching around
or down st. Mary's Loeb; for it was time
ofreligious persecution. Many sweet cot.
tage stood untenanted on the hillside and in
the hollow; some had felt the fire and had
been consumed; and violent hsnds had torn
of the turf ROOF from the green shealing ol
the shepherd. In the wide and deep silence
and solitariness of the mountains, it seemed
as il human life were nearly extinct. Cav
erns and clefts, ia which the iox had ken
neied, were now the shelter OF Christian
soals; and when lonely f. ure crePt steal
ingIy from one hiding place to another, on
visit of love to some hunted brother in fahd
the crows would hover over him, and the
hawks shrek at human steps, now rare Ia the
desert,
When the babe was born, there might be
none near to baptise It; or the minister driver
from his kirk, perhaps, poured the sacrament
al water epon its face, from some pool lr
the glen, whose rocks guarded the persecut'
ed iaaaily from the oppreSsor. Bridais now
were unfrequent, in the solemn sadness
Of love. Many died before their time, oI
minds sunken und of broken heurts. White
hair was on heads long before they were old
and the silver locks Of ancient men were Of.
ten ruefuly soiled in the dust. and stained
with their martyred blood. @
! But this is the dark side Of the picture; fol
even in their caves were these people happy
Their children were with them, even like
the wild flowers that bossomed all about the
entrances of their dens. And when the
voice of psalms rose up from profound
silence OF the solitary place Of rocks, the eaI
of God was open, and they knew that theiI
prayers and praises were heard in heaven
II a child were born it belonged to the faith
ful; If an old man died, it was in the religion
Of his forefathers. The hidden powers oI
their souls were brought forth into the light
and they knew the strength that was in them
for these days Of trial. The thougbtless
became sedate; the wild were tanned; the
unfeeling nude compassionate; hard hearts
were sotlened, and the licked saw the error
of their ways.
All deep passion purifies and strengthens
,he soul; and 50 it was now. Now was
shown and put to the proof the stern, aus,
tere, impenetraaie strength of men, that
would neither bend nor break; the calm, Sc.
rene determination of natronS, who with
meek eyes aud unblanched cheeks, met the
scowl of The murderer; the silent beauty of
maidens, who with smiles received their
death; and the mysterious coursge of chill
dreD, who in the inspiration of innocent
spotless nature, kneeled down among the
dewdrops on the greensward, end died fear
lessly by their parents sides. Arrested
were they at their work, or In their plays and
with no other bandage over their eyes, but
haply some clustering fingiet Of their sunny
hair, did many sweet creature of twelve
summers ask just to be allowed TO say her
pray ers, and then 60 unappalled, from her
cottage door to the breast Of her Redeemer.
In those days had old Samuel Grieve and
his spouse suffered sorey for their faith.--
But they lett not their own house; willing to
die there, or to be laughtered, whenever
God should 50 appoint. They were now
childiess; but little grand daughter about
ten years old lived with them, and she was
an orphan. The thought OF death was so
familiar to her, that, although it sometimes
gave slight quaking throb to her heart in its
glee, yet it scarcely impaired the joyfulness
Of her girlhood; and often, unconsciously,
utter The gravest or the saddest talk with her
old parents, would she glide off, with light
some step. blithe face, and voice hum
ming sweetly some cheerful tune. The old
people looked often upon her in her happi-
ness, till their dim eyes filled with tears;
while the grandmother said, "lf this nest
were to be destroy ed at last, and our heads
| in the mold, who would feed this young bird
in the wild, and where would she find shel.
in which 10 fold her bonny wings!"
Lilias Grieve was the shepherdess Of
small flock among the green pastnroge atthe
head OF St. Mary's Loeb, and up the hill.
side, and over into some Of the little neigh
boring glens. Sometimes she sat in that
beautiful church yard, with her sheep lying
| scatt.red ayound her upon the uuief graves
where on still, summer days, she could see
their shadows III the water in the loch, .agt
herself sitting close to the low walls Of tht
house of God. She had. 20 one to speak TO-
but her Bible to read; and day after day. th'
rising sun beheld her in growing beauty, on
innocence that could not fade, happy snd 81
lent as fairy upon the knoll, with the blue
heavens over her head, and the blue lax
smiling at her feet. =,
"My fairy," was the name she bore by th
cottage FIRE, where the old people were glad
deued by her glee, and turned away from al
her melancholy thoughts. And it was
name that suited sweet Lilies we'll; for sh
was clothed in a gaEb OF green, and often j
her joy, the green, graceful plants that grey
among the hills, were wreathed around he
hair. So she was dressed one Sabbath day
watching her fock at considerable distanc
from home, and singing to herself q psall
in the solitary moorj when in moment,
party Of soldiers were hmm n moDnt. on th