Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1858-03-31
Eaaits
Written for the Spirit of the Age.
OAK DALE "REMINISCENCES.
~ LIZA LEE.

pale anu lECiiollhK oelOIC MN he VedIS i
standing in pearly drops in her large blue
eyes. Her voice vas very sad, as she said:
"Oh, sir, | will not do so any more" AS
she stood there n neglected, pining child,
with no one TO protect her, her sad face
aud mournful tones would have touched
the heart OF any one but Herbert Roberts.
IF you had not broken so many prom
iscs before, Leila, ] might believe you now"
The threatened punishment was inflicted,
without one word which was calculated to
soften the wilful heart, or subdue it to re-
pentance aud Leila went back to her seat,
and resting her pale face on her attenuated
hands she gave herself up to reflections
auch as few have in the joyous hours Of
childhood and she murmured to herself,
-'0h, why am ! 40 wicked, while Others
are good and happyi No one loves me;
no one cares for me in all the wide world
Far back into the past, she saw by memo
RVS lamp her sunny childhood years, and
thea as a shadow Of gloomiher later years;
but she thought mostly Of a little green
grave in a distant village, where her sweet
young Mama was resting pale and silent.
"Eflie," she cried TO a hazel-eyed girl, as
the school bell tollcd the closing hour, EFF
DC, do YOU not think if ! would pray to
that God my mother prayed to, that he
would make me good, and then take me
20 be with herl for ., Efie. no one loves
the here, since Mama died. Will he Efiei
q, tell me-"
ayes, Leila, he will, if you ask him Alright,
give YOU a new heart, and in his own good
time take you to him in heaven. Come
Leila it is time we were going. Your aunt
Matty will be waiting for YOU"
"Well, Leila, do YOU feel happier to-day,
said gentle Efic Arlington, when they met
the next morning at the village Academy"
"No, no, Ellie aunt Matty was so cross
! could not be good"
swell, try to-day, dear"
Poor Leila, in vain she tried that day to
be amiable and compliable. She would
have succeeded better if her teacher had
been gentle. The heart of a girl is amys-
tcry-a delicate mystcry-a and few there
are who by tact and tenderness can bring
ont the latent good from its intricacies.-
Leila had not such a bad heart. There
were good qualities lying in beneath pas.
sion and pride, which under the gentle
teaching of some, would have shone with
brightness. But that one was not Herber
Roberts. From the great lines in his fore
head, placed there by a constant habit O
fFowuing, one would have supposed hin
very old vet he was not. Stern in hi
aspect, he WAS not suited to gain the low
OF those committed to his charge. II
never tried 10 understand the disposition
9this pupils; convincing them he wasthe
friend, Leading them along the dificu
path Of learning, 10y placing before the
parity TOR usefulness. He only set in Ii
chair as if he had been a very Jupiter, sh
King Olympus with his mighty power an
by the force OF his ieruIc he impressed {
his lessons Of virtue. lie forgot, in IL
cultivation oithemind, that the heart nee
education, and,that though it is importa
TO think correctly, it is of much more il
portancc to act honorably.
Herbert Roberts, the village teacher, d
charged his duty to the intellects of ]
pupils but hat was all. Perhaps
sterrncss arose from sorrow unsanctif,
and he could not study the open, Fl
hearts Of innocent children. II was WI
pcrcd that there was n time when his br
wa less contracted, and a smile was son
times seen to brighten his sad face: Il
he sometimes spoke kindly, condcscendil
ly to those around him. But
"Hc had seen the hopes that fed
His youthful spirit, withered, dead;
And watched the meteor's flashing ray
That bore him on, rccedc away;
And felt the strength that nerved his he
10 deeds Of daring, sink and die:
Till the last string seemed rent apart,
Beneath tho spirits agony"
II then, he had turned to that h
which is an anchor TO the soul, how diff
ent his life would have been but his h,
rcbcIIcd, and he became a stern man.
in heart, though young in years. He
been the village teacher several wears.
came to that beautiful southern yillap
stranger. None there knew his past
Many grieyed over his present. and tr
blcd for his future. There was one ex,
ton to his stern department to his schoI
one to whom he spoke in softer I,
than to others. When Ellie AIRING
was nigh, by her winsome loneliness
seemed to soften somewhat his cold h,
and she was called his fayorite.. Yet
was not an object Of envy to her sch
mates, for they loved her too well :. she
often exercised her power in their be
She would sit for hours and converse
him about his far distant home in
England Of his early years, his hopes
fears. He gave her books to read. an,
her on from one attainment in litcratu
another, never knowing when to prun,
luxurious growth Of her mental faculti,
She dived into the dark mysteries Of
cient lore, she entered the temple of sci
aud paid her offerings at its shrine. S
WAS her delight to develop the rich
her utellect-herteIcher' happiness
only light which seemed to shine ar
his heart. Efie did not need him to
her how to act, TO feel, to lead her
loneliness and happiness. She had a
tier teacher than he ONE who stud;e
heart day by day.
Willie Arlington, Efie's male in
brother, was her heart-teacher. an
taught by example rs we'll as by mr.,
When Ellie saw how patiently. dsv
day, he rcclined on his suffering :
racked with pain vet with a mind on
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