The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1860-07-27
NUMBER 81.

warm, conscious life has passed; aud when
the palsied foot, lying stark in Its dusty
dwelling, no moro mounts tho stair to tho
guarded treasure-house of all that was once
80 dcar-then comes the rcyealer comes,
perhaps, in the form Of prying sick nurse,
one of those death watches ut the sight OF
whom the living quake. Or 1t may be, that
hands moro tender deal in greater reverence
with the departed spirits cast-of apparel,
holding sacred for the sleeper's sake those for
saken relics wept and prayed over by the
waking eyes that arc never morc to weep and
pray on this earth again. ..
In the present case, It was 20. The con.
tents of the secret drawer were committed TO
the flames, in accordance with the expressed
wish of the dying. But somehow or other
the secret oozcd out. 1t would appear that
| like most other grandmother, ,mine had In ear.
ly life had q love alIair-as that deepest strik.
| ing of oil woman's experiences is somewhat
irreycrently termed. 1t was the old story
the man she loved went abroad without hay-
ing SPOKEN Just that one word for which her
soul thirstcd, and which, nevertheless, had
found thousand other utteranccs scarcely
to be mistaken For years there was drea.
~ silence between the two. Then came my
grandfather, with his earnest, sincere court.
ship. Under the feeling that she was not
justified IN cherishing predilection 20 ap-
parently unresponded to by the earliest OBJ
ect of her affection, she yielded, after pro-
Iongcd struggle, to my grandlather's suit.
No sooner, however, was she formally engag-
ed TO him, than there camo letter in the
old, unforgotten hand writing O.you who
have ever listened with beating hearts for the
postman's knock, fully prepared for all 1t
might bring, think for one moment how the
coming of this letter, long even unhoped for,
and now too late, Knocked at the heart OF her
who received it! Now, my grandmother
had conscience, q moro than commonly
tender one. Her first impulse, Of course,
was TO tear open tho letter; but q second
thought stayed her hand. Shc had long
ago made the fact of this carly attachment
known to my grandfather. What she now
did, then, was ut once to tell him she had re-
cciyed such letter. and that, Us his ailanc.
cd wife, she could not and would not read
it. .
Was she fantastic in her notions Of right
and wrong? | do not believe so; l do not
think she could have done q better or wiser
thing. Out Of her act no suffering could
possibly fall upon the man to whom she was
pledged, and whose happiness was henceiortll
In her keeping, though much of pain bore
heavily upon her. That letter, with its un-
broken seal ;. lay, all her life, shut up in the
old musty cabinet, where 1t stood revealed ut
last. That, acting up 10 the trucst spirit oi
her intention, she fought long and victorious
ly against the desire to fathom what those
hidden characters containcd-whether or not
they bore that assurance Of love which would
once have been JOY unuttcrable-we arc
bound To believe. Upon one solitary occa
sion alone was she ever seen to wrestle will
her temptation. After meek endurance o
one of my grandfathcr's fits OF passion-fo
no had a stormy teinpcr-she was found seat
ed, weeping bitterly, befofc the open door o
that guarded chest wherein lay the unbrok
en- seal.
Solemn as such subjects must bc and are
there Is blessed comfort in tho thought oil
them. II Is n gracious thing to feel that
there is something, bc IL ns II may, OF real
truth-of lasting good, something which
neither time, nor trial. nor the common wear
and tear of actual, dull, every day life can
crush out of man. But soft ! let INC pause.
| said that nothing can crush out OF a man.
DO men know anything of such relics rs
speak of? am ignorant; cannot say
but should fancy they do not. The steady,
nnlaltering devotion Of long life to one
thought and one remembrance ] own never
found, save in woman.
myself confess to few hoarded relics
Heaven forbid that any woman should be
without them But these aro yot under the
seal that lies so heavily on all living lips.
Some day, pcrhaps-but We, none of us like
to think OF that-strangc hands may over
haul them. Pity II is that so lew of us have
strength of soul enough, or, 1t may be,
warning time enough, Gro the Great Reveal.
or steals upon us, to enable US to put beyond
the reach Of sacrilegious eyes our most darl-
ing secrets! U, could We but summon the
nerve to place them with our own moving
fingers upon some funeral pyro! Could We
but watch them slowly consuming! Butno |;
We cannot do this. While We have life they
arc ours. It would seem like bidding an
eternal farewell to our protecting genius, to
put away the guardian spectres Of lost hopes,
dead loves, and mystic memories. No! Let
us treasure them while we yet walk among
the living. But, D, may some kind and pity
ing hand, when we lie silcnced, bury them
with MS, upprofancd by single look.
A singular instance Of this silent trcasur-
ing up of ono solitary thought, and In the
breast of n child, fell under my knowledge
not long ago, while staying by the sea side,
at tho house of some old friends. They were
Al. L,,. vtv af
about seven years cf age, who had bccn con-
iidcd TO their care. in order that shc might
have the benefit of the sea bathing, recon.
mended for some weakness of the spine un-
der which the child suffered. She was the
loylicst little creature ever bcheld-quict
and shy, too, though least 80 with mo, for
whom she ut once took strong liking. Our
hostess. who every night made a point oi
seeing her young charge put comfortably 70
he'd. always remained in the room until the
child had said her prayers. When her or
dinary deyotions bad been gone through
aloud, the child invariably bent down her
head upon the bed, at the side Of which she
knelt, and offered up some prayer silently
within herself. What this prayer was, moth
ing could induce her to reveal. Her parents
were questioned about il; but though per-
iectly aware Of the fact, they were unable to
solve the question. II was Of course thing
altogether toe, ,sacrci to be intruded on by
any forcefal appeal, and all parties remained
in their ignorance. own that when Inst
was told Of 1t, the secret appeared to me to
bc Of 80 strange and unerthly character,
that trembled as ono who suddenly stands
faced by spirit. It was like a silent commun-
ing with angels. Feeling very anxious TO
witness with my own eyes what interested
me 80 deeply in the telling, |, one night,
with my little friends consent, accompanied
her to her room. As usual. tho prayers were
repeated aloud, and then followed the silent
offering up Of that pure young heart. So
holy was the hour that held my breath for
very reverence, the tears springing to my eyes
with sudden emotion. Surely angelic hosts
hoyercd above that small bowed-down head,