Monmouth weekly herald., 1859-02-03

9 And now. thousand miles away t,
/. the home of Trente Leycroffl The dread
] full news has reached them, and that ono
SO happy household is steeped in all tn
deep blackness Of despair and agony.
! Some time has elapsed, and to outward
appearance the usual routine of ever,
day duty has once more resumed its sway
! But the sickening grief within the hear
is seen, when, as Of old, the gray haired
man sits with the holy book before him
and reads aloud the usual lesson of The
day. Perchance he reads of the lost Alb
salon and, as the agonizing cry Of the
father trembles upon his lips, his thoughts
are with his own drowned boy, and the
words are blurred before his eyes, while
q choaking in his throat stiles his further
lutterance. IT'S seen when the aged
mother, engaged in some household duty,
1meets with some simple article once own
ed by the lost one and the fresh tears
that arise, and the care with which the
lnanimate memento is laid away and
treasured up, are the proofs that grief is
not dead yet within the neart. And it is
also seen, as Agnes Leycroff sits by the
hour and gazes on her baby's face, to
read there some traces of its dead parent,
aud clasps it closer still to her heart, as
the image is prefgured before her in its
leye', and on its baby lips and brow.
/ The shadows of evening have descend
Led upon the country. and as the night de
scends, the wea ther gives indications of
becoming stormy and tempestuous. The
wind rushes dismally through the old
trees of the orchard, and the very foun.
datlons OF the stout old homestead culver
and shake in the fierce blasts Of the rising
wind. The servants have gone to bed
anG the family are seated in silence by
the lire, listening to the wild voice in the
hurricane raging without. The child has
oeen placed IN its @. adle by the hands Of
agnes, but whether it is the noise without
that prevents its sinking to slnmber. or
whether its mind sis too intentfy fixed
upon the philosophical nature and origin
OF a solar lamp, on which its wakeful eyes
have been for some time fixed, remains
obstnately wide awake. Mr.. Leycroff
broke the silence
a fearful night, this, for the poor
souls tossed about on the raging sea /"
/" My thoughts were wandering in the
same direction, remarked his wife, stoop.
tng to take off her spectacles aud wipe
the moisture from them that had gathered
there She paused rs she did so and in.
cllned her ear to listen.
What IS it, my dear p asked her
husband.
| fancied heard the tread Of a horse
1t must have been my fancy, for no one
would venture out on a night like this
The crasking Of some bough in the
wind, no doubt" said the old man and
they ceased to regard it.
The subject Of disasters and dangers
on the sea appeared to have some fasci.
nation to old Mr.. Leycrof, for he return-
ed to it. ~
How many such nights as these our
poor boy must have seen upon the bosom
Of the oceanl 10 think OF night like
this, called suddenly from peaceful
slumber, and most likely dreams of those
80 loved at home springing upon deck,
and lind the mast swaying to and fro
ike rushes in the summer breeze-the
rain descending in foods upon the deck,
and vivid lightning flashing in the face
OF the men as they lay out upon the yards
aud struggle madly with the tapping
canvas !! sfs
The old lady shook her head and sigh
ed, as she pictured the thoughts of her
husband within her own mind. Again
she turned her head towards the outside
and listened, thinking that she heard the
sharp bark Of their Watchdog. 1t seemed
to sink into whine, and then was silent
again. The old man went on, though
Agnes could have wished he might have
chosen some subject less painful to her
mind.
10 hear the crashing thunder, as it
descends from heavens vault aud echoes
through the vast expanse of air, over the
surface of the boiling waves To listen
70 the groaning and straining of the tim,
bers, as che vessel plunges heavily
through the dashing billowsl But'-the
old man looked up as he spoke - / for
lgot! iorgotl | was following the
stream of my thoughts, forgetting, my
poor child, that / was recalling painful
Images before you. Forgive mel would
not add one unnecessary pang to the griei
lyou bear"
How fearful am tonight" said Mrs.
LeycroH. keep listening and thinking
hear all sorts OF sounds! suppose il
is nervousness. | was almost certain
heard step outside in the hall. must
lget rid of such fancies, or | shall lay
awake all night!"
4 Was there step in the hall? There
could not have been. 1t was the quick
\ closing to of some open door. caught by
the wind as it rolled along the passages
l--nothing morel The baby lay in the
Icradle giving its undivided attention now
to the ceiling, and watching with interest
the play OF the freight upon it. No
sleep about 1t Is yeti
/" Well" said Mr.. LeyoroG, 1t must be
getting late we have been sitting here
busy with our thoughts and have not no
lsiced tho passing Of the time. L~tlE Rs1