Delaware inquirer. (Wilmington, Del.) 1859-18??, 1860-02-04
fro DE coNrlNUED.l
Minor Trials.-A Story of Every day
Life.

Life.
THE prick Of a pin often gives more acute
pain than the cash inflicted by lancet. SOFAS we
pass through life, our minor sorrows are fire.
qucntly harder to bear than our great afflic-
tons. Very heavy troubles either deaden our
sense Of suffering by the violence of the shock,
or else excite an unwonted and unnatural
strength, which enables us 10 stand firm against
the blow. But the minor evils of life annoy
us-irritatc us we chafe against them, and
can neither patiently endure, nor manfully
fight against them. And thus it is that we
often see those whom we had most reyerenced
for having nobly borne great tr us, the first to
sink under lesser ones.
But enough of this moralizing strain, into
which we are too prone to fall. There is no
sermon SO good as example, and plain story
often does more service than all the essays on
morality that ever came from old Wisdom's
pen. In our childish days--alas II long time
ago we learned more from good Mira. lIof-
lands simple tales, than DR.. Akin or Mrs.
Chap)ne could ever have taught us. Her dill
panions, were like mute friends to us, ever in
citing us TO emulate their good examples
silent monitors, who, without any prosy advice,
by their own actions admonished us to go and
do likewise. And thus we have ever loved
and had faith in stories. Now for our own.
It was oil a fine May morning, when earth
and sky seemed full of hope and gayety, that
bride was brought home to the small parish
of WoodmaHsea. 1t was gay procession I;
the horses heads were noddng under green
boughs, and girls were strewing flowers on the
road for the bridegroom was no less person.
age than the young rector, the Rev. Owen
Thornton, who had brought to his English
home Katharine Gordon, one of the fairest
flowers that ever grew on the Highland hills.
Katharine WAS that rare sight-a truly beau
tiful woman, She was not pretty-her statue
was too tall for that and her regular and
somewhat strongy-marked features were too
classically perfect to charm at once common
eye, which is generally dazzled by complexion
or manner. She had the dark hair and aqui-
line character of face which, probably by some
foreign intermixturc, is often found in the
Highlands OF Scotland in contradistinction to
the fair face and sunny hair, which is perhaps
less beautiful, but more winning. And Katha-
rine's eyes
"IIer dark and intricate eyes,
Orb within orb, deeper than sleep or DEATH
no other words than these we quote would
;kn IL,
more noble than lovcablc; so that the village
girls who clustered around her carriage were
in some degree awed, until the inexprcssiblc
sweetness of her smile chased away all their
doubts. The bridegroom was, MS is nearly al
ways the case, totally unlike his wife; mild in
face and manner with irregular but pleasing
features, which, amidst all their sweetness Of
expression, bore a certain character Of indie
cison. Quiet and gentlemanlike in his de-
pertinent of disposition according with his
kindly looks not particularly clever but pos
sessng considerable acuteness of perception,
united with almost womany tenderness ofteel-
ing, Owen Thornton was in every way what an
English country clergyman should be.
4hG hOuHu oAohAJ UP thO NOoNNh
hill, on the top of which stood the church and
the rectory. The road through which they
passed was bounded by thick hedges out of
which sprang noble trees--oak, elm, and chest
nut with its fragrant white flowers. At times
break in these verdant boundaries showed
glimpses of n lovely, wide extended landscape.
But when they had passed the old church, and
came to the summit of the hill, how beautiful
was the scene before them For miles and
miles, as far as the eye could reach, lay rich
undulating valley; sunny slopes, the grace
full curve which is peculiar to the part of the
country we describe; white mansions glim-
mering through trees dark woods here and
there and the river winding amidst all, like a
silver thread, now seen, now lost, until il hid
itself in the blue distant mountains that bound
ed the whole; and above all hung the deep
blue arch ofheaven, fraught with the glorious
sunshine of May.
Katharine Thornton looked on this scene,
and her beautiful lip trembled with deep feel
ing She took her husbands hand, and said
in a sweet voice, which slight northern in
tonation only made more musical, Sand is this
your sunny England? 1t is beautiful, most
beautiful u
And you will love it for my sake ~ an
swered the delighted bridegroom.
Her answer was audible to him alone; but
the evident pleasure of the young bride had
gratifed all and as the carriage turned to en-
ter the heavy gates of the old rectory, the viii
layers and tenants, who had come to greet the
squire's younger brother, rent the air with
their shouts And such was Katharine Thorn
toms welcome home.
A few weeks passed by, and the bride be-
came settled in her new abode, and entered
cheerfnlly on her new duties. 1t was in every
way great change for Katharine. True, she
had no distant home to cling toand regret, fol
she was an orphan and then she loved hei
husband so entirely But yet everything She
met seemed new and strange to the young
Highland girl, thus suddenly Transformed int
nm English clergyman's wife. Still she wa
happy-most happy She moved about he
beautiful garden on the slope of the HILL an,
amused herself with the arrangement an
adoTnment of her pretty home, which Owen
care had filled with everything thar cou