Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1858-12-15
NEsDAY MORNING. DECEMBER IS, 1858.

child of fifteen concealed their Strengthened
circumstances from her mother, who little I'M
agined, as she lay in the bedroom Of her small
cottage, that the parlor and chamber were
stripped of their furniture.
At last the end came, and the gentle, long
suffering invalid reused, for brief interval, 10
the full possession of her faculties, gave her
child some advice respecting her course IN fu-
ture, and then blessing the broken-hearted girl,
the life of Mrs. Lynde went slowly down under
the old solemn arches of the River of Death
Christiana Lynde woke up from the first Paral-
ysis induced by the loss of her mother, to find
that immediate action on her part would alone
secure her mother from charitable burial, from
which the soul of the proud, sensitive girl ut
terly revolted They had but few aequaintau-
ces in the village of Pentonville, and although
these were very kind i'll rendering her any
neighborhOod offices, still she could not endure
the thought of applying to them for means to
defray the expenses of her mothers funeral.
There was but one resource left; her mother
had a valuable brooch, the sole relic of "better
days." which Mrs. Lynde had greatly priced be-
cause it belonged to her mother, and both ladies'
had worn it at their bridals. 1t cost Christiana
a great effort to part with this brooch, so
precious because of its associations, but there
was no alternative She prevailed upon a neigh
Dor to take her to Boston, the morning after her
mothers death, disposed of the brooch for forty
dollars, after receiving promise from the jewel
Ter that she should have it for sixty, if she called
for it within four months.
This money, with that neighborly assistance
which country people usually render each other
in times of trouble, betrayed the 1XPeHsss Oe the
quiet funeral Then Christiana Lynde bestirred
herself, for she had that hard problem for the
young and tender to solve: that problem which
CARLYLE says ais the first of all philosophy,
the keeping of body and soul together. -
Persistent energy is sure to triumph sooner or
later, and in short time the young girl obtain
ed the situation ofdistrct school teacher, in the
village of Pentonville, and her first term had
closed the week before Christmas.
The young teacher was still sitting with her
head bowed on her hands, before the fire, when
there was a loud shout at the door, and then five
noisy, bright faced boys and girls broke into the
room, and the little, silent figure in the corner
spranp up, and put on smiles again at the JOY of
the children; smiles partly assumed, partly real,
for Christiana was very young, and those who
suffer early have great recuperative power. So
the children gather round her with noisy, glee-
ful shouts, and held up their toys for her to ex-
anime, and the Oldest boy, James Price, placed
in her own small, but very pretty carved work
box, neatly furnished with needles and tape,
thimble and thread, saying, with suile and
blush
"Please ma'am, Mother says it's your merry
Christmas from all of us children"
Then the glad tears leaped up to the little
teachers eyes, as she took the gift, and felt that
she, too, orphaned though she was, was not
among all Gods creatures desolate.