Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1861-09-13
IRASBURGH VERMONT, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER l3. 1861

; Ihe next morning, l had gone out t
search in the barn for some fresh eggs
1t was a beautiful summers morning, bu
the tender smile Of the sky, and the re
joicing of the earth beneath it, could no
remove the shadow from my heart, fol
the thought of Paul lay heavy upon it.
After long search, found half &
dozen eggs, and | sat down a moment, at
the foot Of a great pile of hay, in one cor
ner Of the barn; and | watched the sun
beams culver and flash like the golden
wings Of forest birds, along the Old brown
rafters of the barn, Transforming all THEN
homcIiness into strange grace and beauty
" just as some good, loving, self-sacrifcng
deed, will transform the homeliest face
into beauty and sanctity.
And then, my thought leaped Off to
Paul, and TO the hard, harsh heart of his
uncle, which is just ike the old barn, in
a dark rainy day-cold, and bare, and
gloomy, with no flicker of sunshine along
the blackened rafters; aud away off in
the dark corners. And then | thought
Of the hard, toilsome years, which rose
up before Mark ard me, before we could
pay for our farm.
Three thousand dollars! 1t would be
long before we could raise that, though
Mark got the land at great bargain,
and there was 10 doubt but it would be
worth six thousand in ten years, under
bis careful cultivation but we cannot
with the utmost economy, clear more
than a couple Of hundred a year from the
land, after the interest on the money is
paid and somehow my heart sank ter
rbly. as l thought Of Paul on one hand
with his long craving for knowledge, bis
sensitive, high-spirited nature, constantly
CALLED. and bali crushed by contact with
his mean and soIdid relatives, and on
the other hand, l thought of the long
path Of ceaseless toll and labor which
Mark and | must walk together.
dou't know when the tears came, but
found them storming down on my
hands, and then there came a thought
which was Ike great shaft of light
through the darkness OF my svut put
aside my basket Of eggs, and kneit down
there in the old barn, and carried Mark,
and Paul, my own weak, overburdened
spirit, TO the great Heart which held Us
all in the chambers Of its mighty tender
ness; and when l rose up, the bitterness
vas gone.
BE Thou my strong baJitatioD, where
unto may continually resort.
Eunce Eunice"
l had not left the barn, when the we'll
known call hurried along the sweet
morning air, and l FASTENED up to the
house. Mark met me at the kitchen
door.
Why, Id no idea it was lunch time
YETI
1t isn't, Eunice, I'm half an hour to
early but Johns just been to the office,
and brought me back this letter for you.
It's in such a hurried business hand, that
| thought it might be something impor-
tant and hurried home with it,
l took the letter from my husbands
hand in silent wonder. The bold,
scrawling characters were entirely
strange 10 me; and even letter is quite
an event in my life, as have only
couple of occasional correspondents, in
the world.
Break the seal snid my husband as
I threw my sun-bonnet on chair.
| was not long in doing this, and Mark
leaned over me, as | read the letter. 1t
me briefly, that Ezra North
rop, my grandmothers' brother, on my
side, had died sud ienly, a /,
month ago, being eighty-fve years Of
age; aud that in his will, he had be-
lueathed to me a thousand dollars, be
cause | mad borne, at his request, the
name OF his dearly beloved sister, Eu-
nice Northrop; and the letter was signed
by the executor of my uncle's will.
90, Mark, can it really be true" ]
.aid, sinking down into a chair, while the E
elter shook in my hands.
There's no doubt Of it, darling. II
God must have sent it to Us, Mark
And we will take it from Him most /
thankfully
And now you can pay off a third Of \
he farm. 0, Marx, what great bur q
len It viii lift of our shoulders ? I
Mark answered my words with res
onsiye smile of gIadness; and then, "
econd thought came into his face which d
obered the smile. q
What is it, Mark 2
Where's Paul, Eunice? 1t isn't fair II
hat we should have all the benefit OF }
g: >, x