Randolph County journal. [volume] (Winchester, Randolph County, Ind.) 1855-1862, 1858-07-29

To him they arc indebted for the pleas
ant home that now shelters them. and
for the delicate. thoughtful ministra-
tion to their daily comfort.
"Now. when the commercial world
is cloudcd. and disasters crowd thick
and fast upon him. as upon others. his
anxious thoughts turn 10 the mother.
and suffering sister. IN the little VIII
lage home. whose comfort depends
upon him, 10 the other lonely fireside.
to which his constant thoughtfulness
impsr,s its only light. and TO his own
home, and TO the Young wife whose
happiness is dcarer to him than life.
For this. Margaret. Ralph Hale gives
his days to incessant toll, and willing
ly sacrifices the social pleasures he is
so emincntly fitted to enjoy.
II have been in tlresc three homes.
With love that is almost reverence,
his mother and sister speak his name,
and with full hearts thank God for his
life-that life so filled with the beauty
Of sclf-rcnunciation The widow and
daughter whose hearts he has made
glad, tell of his numberless acts of
kindness, of his delicate and unceasing
watchfulncss. and daily they ask God S
blessing on him whose life is bless
ing TO others.
'In his own home. the wife, whose
love should bless him. whose gentle
ministry should comfort and strength
en- him, turns coldly from him, be-
cause he prefers the happiness of others
to his own qualification, because the
pressing duties of his life claim all his
waking hours, leaving him little leis-
ure for the claims of society, or for the
high intellectual culture which few at
tain whose lives are not wholly de-
voted to it,"
"Oh Ralph, | have never known
you! | have SO cruelty misjudged
YOU" said the weeping wife.
The old man continued: "Some men
talk poetry, some write it in words,
and some write it in their lives The
true hcroism which poets have sung,
the beauty Of self-abnegation and oi
ceaseless devotion to duty, which have
been their inspiration, Ralph Hale has
lived. The woman who has won the
deepest love of such a heart should
rcvercntly and gratefully cherish it as
the richest blessing of her life
In the twilight of that day, Marga-
ret was waiting her husbands return
Amid the bitter sclf-reproaches that
darkcncd the hour, CLEANED new and
holy light. Higher purposes were
aroused within her. In the future she
would make divinely real in her life
the beautiful ideals which had filled
her heart with unsatis6ed longings
She. too. would live for others, and
first of all for him she had so misun-
dcrstood.
A hurried step in the entrance-hall
then on the stairs, and the next mo-
ment she was claspel in her husbands
arms.
"You have been very ILL.," said a
voice, faltering with emotion, "but
thank God, you arc safe now, my
Margaret"
"Oh, yes, l am safe now," said
Margaret heart.
In that hour all was made clear be-
tween them. With new resolves for
the future, with deeper love for each
other, and prayer for strength, an
other page of life was turned for them.
Years afterwards, Margaret, proud
and happy wife, wrote: rr
Il can not tell you all he has been
to me-my guide when | was ignorant,
my strength when i faltered, my best
earthly friend always. What do i
not owe you for revealing the mistake
that had almost wrecked the happiness
of both"