Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1859-09-22
Our Social Circle.
Written for the Green Mountain Freeman.
Splinters Gathered from the Chip.Yard of
Life.---No. 6

'" Let him Alone and he'll forget it in
tme,' said father Of his sou, who, though
but five years Of age, raised his hand, and
with an angry oath, struck his mother.
These words called up in my mind series
of reflections, and l inwardly replied, "No,
sir, your child may not moaO comprehend the
meaning of the shocking prayer he has just
uttered, that God might damn his mother,
but do you think he will ever forget it Is
not the first oath that ever passed your lips
as vivid in your memory to-day as at the
moment you uttered it?"
There is story told, in one Of Believers
novels, of woman who had the power to see
all the deeds of ones past life in a small
glass, no larger than her hand, and in which
the deeds of early life came out with the ut
most distinctncss, while those Of later date were
misty and indistinct Thus the words and ac-
tions of childhood become limncd upon the
minds retina, influencing him through ife,for
good or for evil, and when he has done with
the youthful vanities of earth, and stands, an
old man, on the verge Of Eternity, the Oldest
of these pictures will appear brightest to his
fading vision.
AS entered my home, 1 expressed to my
Grandmother, who was standing in the door
way, my surprise that people protesting to
be Christians, should so calmly look upon
shat error of their child. and with trembling
lip she replied: They are bending the twig,
and God alone can now guide its growth. >
And as we were all seated together, she re.
lated the following episode in the life of one
who was once her most intimate friend, to il
lustrate the evil influence of passion uncheck-
ell in childhood Could give it in the de-
lghtfu simplicity of her Quaker style it
would retain all its goodness, but since am
not q member of that excellent aSeaiety Of
Friends 1 shall be obliged to give it in my
own words.
In the town where my Grandmother spent
her childhood and youth, there lived man by
the name of Willard Bently. He was by
birth an Englishman, and only remarkable
for his pride, and quick, ungovernable tenn
per, which proved his ruin. He was subject
to terrible fits of anger, during which no OBJ.
ject was too sacred to feel his vengeance. In
sanity was also hereditary in the family, and
twas said that the terrible malady always
appeared during these fits of anger. The
wife of Mr.. Bently was dead, but he had two
children living, Susie and Emily. 1t is Su.
sic, the eldest, with whom our story has to
do. She was like her father in almost every
respect, and had never from infancy possessed
but small share of his affection and inter.
est. Ungoyerned in early childhood, she haG
been allowed to run at large as she wished
until she became utterly ungovernable. Poor
misguided girl, sorrow and grief are YOU
portion in future. Notwithstanding all this
Z she was beautiful girl, loved by her friends
and play mates, and unless her will wal
thwarted, she was gentle and obedient.-
Abroad she was the gay,tappy Susie Bentley
At home she was the sad, unloved daughter
yearning for an affection that had never beef
given her since child of five years, whel
she kissed for the last time her gentle mothe
and was feebly pressed to her dying heart
Oh, how she too onged for the quiet and re
pose of the grave.
One evening there had been in the hous
of Mr. Bentley an explosion of his terribl
wrath, and in 6t Of insane madness h
struck the terrified Susie to the floor. Sh
arose slowly, pale with the wrath that swelle
in her veins, almost to bursting, and went t
her room. For one hour she paced its nal
row limits, with glazed and fearless eyes, the
said, as answering questson to herself
"Yes, III 60; but I'll leave little memo
rial" and taking up pencil, she wrote on
scrap Of paper, " An awful retrbution wi
fall upon him who, from my earliest youth
has been tearing out, by piece-meal, all tn
goodness in the heart of Susan Bentley an
who, to finish his damnable work, has thi
day placed there scorpion to drive her t
madness" Here she dropped the pencil, an