Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1858-07-02
AGNES RAYMOND:
or, THE TEMPTATIONS OF THE CIT
By EDITH RIVERS.

whose princely halls are trod by noble /
I sons and fair daughters, whose feet have
never strayed from the path of honor I
and virtue, or in humble cottage, where
the sweet breath of infancy, and the pure
prayer of childhood fill the Iowly rooms
with radiauce from heaven, come forth
with me this golden afternoon-not to
gaze upon the piles of architectural
grandeur that grace our eity-Hot to feast
our eyes upon the wealth and beauty that
daily promenade our fashionable streets
but permit me to lead you away from
these beguiling scenes-away to a remote,
forbidding spot, where intemperance and
RIGHTEOUSNESS hold their lascivious court.
It is called the Black Seattle
s. Five Points" of Boston. Start not
it shall not contaminate the purity of
your soul, nor shall it soil the whiteness
Of your garments, for
Vice is q monster Of so hateful mien,
As to be hated, needs but to be SEEN"
Behold the filthy street, the blackened
walls, the stained and discolored doors,
the broken, dusty windows. See the
haggard faces, the squalid garments, half
thrown about the desecrated forms, the
vagrant children, whose infant brows are
already stamped with sin! Listen to
the profane conversation, the drunken
song, the ribald jest, the brutal laugh,
falling alike from the lips of man and
woman
Its soul-sickening sight, but gaze on,
and see if you cannot discover in this
lazar-house of crime and death, single
soul mutely looking up to God for mer-
cy. and to man for aid. They are not
wholly lost. Degraded and guilty as
they are, they are not beyond the reach
Of the precious gospel of our blessed
Saviour.
Hark what voice is that, rising up in
clear, startling tones above the sound of
the troubled waves oc this living sea
Let us enter, and join in the suPPlioa-
tion now ascending to '' our Father, for
the rescue of those fallen creatures, our
brothers and sisters. 1t is a polluted
place-the scene of many midnight
revel, the entrance door to the leprous
homes beyond; but it is now honOred by
the presence Of One greater than he who
bore the immortal name by which this
hall is distinguished.
Danish that doubt in thy speaking eye,
for he who cannot lie has said, " Where
two or three meet together in my name,
am there in the midst of them" a
Jew faithful ones, whose souls yearned to
snatch those brands from the burning
have come forth and made house o.
prayer in this den of thieves, and the
King of kings is with them. So, scorr
not, my reader, to remain here awhile
only see that your thoughts are pure anc
your aspirations heaven ward in so holy
and illustrious presence.
Direct your gaze to the opposite cor.
ner. Do you see that girl, scarcely pas
the period when woman timidly step
forth from childhood into the blushin,
dawn Of maturity, sitting there so sal
and lone, with faded cheek and lustre
less eye? There is a terrible remors
clinging to that young soul, casting ii
broad shadow out upon the once opel
and care free brow.
Her name is Agnes Raymond. Tw
years ago she was pure and stainless a
your own precious darling, bending owe
her pleasant tasks in the happy school
room. She was one Of large family
the children of poor man, in retire
country town, in an adjoining State, VIII
was obliged to labor increasingly
wiring from the unwilling soil Of hi
rocky farm, bread enough to iced hi
hardy, growing boys and girls.
The patient mother toiled and spun
knit and mended increasingly, to max
her family comfortable-more than tha
entered not into her dreams. Agne
was called a beauty, with her ros
cheeks and faxen curls; and in an Vi
lucky hour she suffered the demon
discomfort 10 possess her heart, all b
cause she. could not array her pretty lit
figure in as fine and SNOWY garb as
neighbor's, who had returned from ia
terry town bedecked with cheap silks al
gaudy muslins, sparkling with "pincl
back" iewelry. Poor Agnes! :! she I
longer found pleasure in romping ovt
her native hills, or helping her over-tasl
ed mother in her household duties, b
sat down in the small, unattractive dive
ling, weeping and pleading until her {
tier gave a reluctant consent to her d
parture from home. She came to