The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1858-03-03
MISCELLANY E0US.
"She has Outlived her Useful
nesep

Not long since, good looking man. in
middle life, came to Our door asking 70,
'the minister, When informed that he
was out of town, he seemed disappointed
and anxious. On being questioned as to
his business, he replied i have lost my
mother, aud as this place used to be her
home, and my father lies here, we have
come to lay her beside him
Our heart rose in sympathy, and we
said You have met with bad loss
'Well-yes, replied the strong man,
with hesitancy, a mother is a great loss
in general but our mother has outliyed
her usefulness she waa in her second
childhood, and her mind was grown as
! weak as her body, so that she was no com.
fort to herself and was burden to every.
. body. There was seven of US, sons and
daughters and as we could not find any,
body who was willing to board her, we
agreed to keep her among us year about
But | have had more than my share of
! her, for she was too feeble to be moved
when my time was out and that was
more than three months before her death.
But then she was a good mother in
her day, and toied very hard to bring us
all up"
Without looking at the face of the heart.
less man we directed him to the house of
neighboring pastor, and returned to our
nursery We gazed on the merry little
faces which smiled or grew sad in imita.
ton of ours-those little ones TO whose
ear no word in our language is half so
sweet as "Mother - and we wondered if
that day could ever come when they would
say of US, "She has outlived her usefulness
she is no comfort to herself and bur-
den to everybody else p' and we hoped
that before such a day would dawn, we
might be taken to our rest. God forbid
that We should outlive the love of our
children! Rather let us die while our
hearts are part of their own, that our
grave may be watered with their tears,
and our love linked with their hopes Of
heaven.
When the bell tolled for the mothers
burial, We went to the sanctuary to paw
our only token OF respect for the aged
stranger for we felt that we could give
her me mory tear, even though her own
children had none to shed.
"She was good mother in her day
and toiled hard to bring us all up-she
was no comfort to herself, and burden
to everybody else" The cruel, heart
less word rang In our ears as we saw
the coffin borne up the aisle The bell
toled long and loud, until its iron tongue
had chronicled the year of the toil-worn
mother o-three-four-fve
How clearly and almost merrily each
stroke told of her once peaceful slumber
in her mothers bosom, and of her seat
at uightfall on her weary fathers knee,
-eight-nine-ten rang out
the tale of her sports upon the green
sward in the meadow, and by the brc Ok
Eleven-twelye- thirteen fourteen
fifteen spoke more gravely of school days
and little household joys and cares
Sixteen seventeen eighteen sounded
out the enraptured visions Of maiden.
hood, and the dream of early love-
Nineteen brought before US the happy
bride. Twenty spoke of the young moth.
er whose heart was full to bursting with
the new strong love which God had ava.
kened in her BOSOM And then stroke
after stroke told Of her early womanhood
of the love and cares, and hopes and
fears and tolls through which she passed
during three long years, till fifty rang out
harsh and loud. From that to sixty each
stroke told of the warm.hearted mother
and grandmother, living over again her
joys and sorrows in those of her children
and chiidren's children.-Every family Of
all the group wanted grandmother then,
and the only strife was who should secure
the prize but hark the bell tolls on
Seventy one--two--three--fou She be-
gins to grow feeble, requires some care,
is not always perfectly patient or sats-
fed she goes from one child's house to
another, SO that no one place seems like
home. She murmurs in plaintive tones,
that after all her toll and weariness, it is
hard she cannot be allowed home to die
in that she must be sent, rather than be
invited, from house to houss.-Eighty-.
ighty-one--two-three -four ah, she is
now second child--now she has out.
lived her usefulness she has now ceased
to be comfort TO herself or anybody l"