Delaware inquirer. (Wilmington, Del.) 1859-18??, 1859-11-05

An Old Lady's History.

Not long SINCE q lady died in tho northern
part of this State, whose years numbered al
most a century. There is a volume of history
lost. What stories she could tell of the brave
old days, few knew, for she lived in
great retirement, and of late the dimness OF
age had begun to settle as well on her mind as
on her eyes. What springs laden with flowers
had been hers; what sunny and beautiful sum-
mers, what autumns with their golden fruits
She knew the men of the revolution; she was
a near relative of Jane McCrea, and saw her
Just before her murder; she was relic of for
gotten years For some years past her time
had been occupied occasionally in making ev-
cry preparation for her funeral The most
minute arrangements were completed, and no
thing left for her friends but to close her wea-
ried eyes and bear her to sleep with her kin
dred. more sublime occupation than that
preparation, can hardly be imagined. A NOR
tai who had passed the age allotted to her fell
lows by more than twenty years, loaded down
with the weight of recolectons, heavy, whe-
ther they be pleasant or bitter; who had laid,
one by one, every companion Of glorious girl
hood to rest under the sod; in whose ears
was sounding distantly the roar of the cannon
of aSeventy- Six and yet more distantly the
gurglng of brooks, and songs of birds that
along with other phantasies, came often the
vision of a maiden, fair and well beloved, muir
dercd bya race of men long extinct and al
most forgotten; such person, who had sur
viyed the overthrow of nations and changes of
dynastes and crumbling of thrones--who had
seen Europe rocked by earthquakes and dazzled
by the meteor-like transit of Napoleon across
her sky-who had seen France thrice revolu-
tionized, Spain countless times-who was old
when the star of destiny went down on Water
loo, and yet lived to see the child of destiny
carried to France in all the pomp which can
invest death itself with grandeur-who had
lived and loved, and out-ived almost all she
loved-calmly make ready the robes in which
her way-born body should repose until its
youth and yigor return to it again.
They did not know that she was dying. She
was insensible exceptto the approach ofa child,
whom she called by name and then closed her
eyes During the brief interval which sue
ceeded that single expression of intelligence,
and preceded the separation of soul and body,
vision made up of the scenes she was leaving
and the memories connected with them, must
have swept before her. A century of compan-
ionship had endeared many of the things of
earth to her, and its joys and griefs had been
impressed with some degree of permanency on
her mind. The floating phantoms of the more
recent past, must have mingled strongly with
the distinct recollections of early years; and
forms of men, and assemblies of the old dead,
and all the circumstance and glory of the age
of war and arms, passed triumphantly before
her as the deep sleep came down on her heavy
eyelids.
Death is victorious over all. When youth is
crushed by his iron tread, we shrink and are
sad when manhood is broken down, we
tremble but when old age after long contest
yields at last, then men may smile.