The Cass County Republican. [volume] (Dowagiac, Mich.) 18??-1880, 1859-12-15
NUMBER 81.
A Picture of Home.


recall home long since left be-
hind in the journey of life; and its
memory floats back over me with .
shadow of emotions and thoughts to-
wards whose precious fall my heart
opens itself greedily like q thirsty
Hover. 1t is a home among the noun
talns-humble and homely-but price,
less in its wealth and associations.
The waterfall sings again in my ears,
as it used to sing through the dreamy,
mysterious nights. The rose at the
gate, the patch of tansy under the
window, the neighboring orchard, the
old elm, the grand machinery of storms
and showers, the little smithy under
the hill that famed with strange light
through the dull winter evenings, the
woOd-pile at the door, the ghostly
white birches on the bill, and the dim
blue haze upon the retiring mountains
all these come back to me with an
appeal which touches my heart and
moistens my eyes. / sit again in the
doorway at summer nightfall, eating
my bread and milk, looking off upon
the darkening landscape, and listening
to the shouts of boys upon the hill
side, calling or driving homeward the
reluctant herds. / watch again the
twilight sky, and listen to his measured
note, and the breezy boom that accom-
panies his headlong plague towards
the earth. rn'-f rrei- -s..--s7 2, e.,s
Even the old barn, crazy in every
timber and gaping at every joint, has
charms for me. / try again the breath
less leap from the great beams into the
hay. sit again on the threshold of
the widely open doors-open to the
soft south wind of spring-and watch
the cattle, whose faces look half hu-
man to me, as they sun themselves,
and peacefully ruminate, while drop
by drop, the dissolving snow upon the
roof drills holes through the wasting
drifts beneath the caves. The first
little lambs of the season toddle by
the side of their danes, and utter
their feeble bleatings, while the flock
nibble at the hay rick, or pair of
rival wethers try the strength of their
skill in an encounter, half in earnest
and half in play. The proud old roos-
ter crows upon his dunghill throne, and
some delighted member of his silly
family leaves her nest, and tells to her
mates and to me that there is another
egg in the world. The old horse whin-
nies in his stall, and calls to me for
food. look up to the roof, and think
of last years swallows-soon to return
again-and catch glimps of angular
sky through the diamond-shaped open
ing that gave them ingress and egresr.
How, know not, and care not, but
that old barn is part of myself-it has
entered into my life and given me
growth and wealth. .e-
But / look into the house again,
where the life abides which has appro-
priated these things, and finds among
them its home. The hour of evening
has come, the lamps are lighted, and
good man in middle life-though very
old he seems to me-takes down the
we'll worn Bible and reads a chapter
from its hallowed pages. A sweet
, woman sits at his side, with my sleepy
head upon her knee, and brothers and
sisters are grouped reverently around.
/ do not understand the words, but
have been told that they are the words
of God, and l believe it. The long
chapter ends, and then We all kneel
down, and the good man prays. / fall
asleep with my head in the chair, and
the next morning remember nothing of
the way in which went to bed. After
. breakfast the Bible is taken down, and
the good man prays again; and again
and again is the worship repeated
through all the days of many golden
years. The pleasant converse of fire.
side, the simple songs of home, the
words of encouragement as bend
over my school tasks, the kiss as / lie
down to rest, the patient bearing with
the freaks of my restless nature, the
: gentle counsels mingled with reproofs
and approvals, the sympathy that meets
and assuages every sorrow and sweetens
every little successful these return to
me amid the responsibilities which
press upon me now, and l feel as if [
had once lived in heaven, and straying,
had lost my way.
I. Well, the good man grew old and
: weary, and fell asleep at last, with
e blessings on his lips for me. Some of
/, those who called him father lie side by
side with him in the same calm sleep.
The others are scattered, and dwell in
I new homes, and the old house and barn
: and orchard have passed into the pos
: session of strangers, who have learned
0 or are learning, to look upon them as l
e do now Lost, ruined, forever left be-
hind, that home is mine tc-day as truly
t as it ever was, for have not brought
t it away with me, and shown it to you?
a 1t was the home of my boyhood. In
a it | found my first mental food, and by
e it was my young soul fashioned.
: To ME, through weary years. and many
:, dangers and sorrows, it has been per-
e ennial fountain of delight and purify
Q ing influences, simply because it was
O nv home, and was and is part of me.
The landscape comes when / summon
it, and L hear the voices that call to me
(. from lips which memory makes immor-
tal.-Dr. IL G.. Holland. 10y
}.