Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes County, Ohio) 1856-1865, 1861-07-25
From Bently's Magazine.
A Fast Tale With a Moral.

There was once poor woman, and she had
no Gearer wish than once, by accident or mir
acle. to obtain lots of money, because she be-
lieved, that if she only had money, all sorrow
accident aad suffering would be as gone. The
accident and the miracle did not happen for n
long time, however, till the woman once heard
that on the slope of a hill there grew among
other grass weed, and if any one were SO for
tunate as TO pluck it, the mountain would open,
the plucker would walk into large cave, at
which seven men sat around a table, who would
allow her to carry away as much of their treas
ure as size could carry. From this moment the
poor woman had more pressing 10 do than to
fetch hill grass daily during the summer for her
COW, because she hoped to pluck the Miraculous
weed among it. And so she did; one day the
woman had collected grass, carried the heavy
by the hand, when a large rock opened nois-
lessly, before well oiled door. and allowed her
TO see into the cave, where seven old men with
long boards were sitting round a table. and
piles of gold and silver were heaped around
them. The woman naturally soon took advan-
tage of the opprtunity. emptied her basket up
on the ground and filled it with gold. When
this was done. and she was going out, one of the
old men suddenly said, "Woman, forget not
the best thing!" but she did not listen and went
off. But she had scarce reached the entrance of
the cave when the rock closed up again, and
shut in the woman S little daughter, who had re-
mained behind playing with. the gold. Then
the mother agony was very great; she ran Ia
menting to the clergyman, and told him what
had happened. The latter said she must wait
another seven years, till she could find her
daughter again; after that period she must go
again to the mountain at the same hour in which
she lost the child and wait for what might hap
pen; but she had made grand mistake in quite
emptyipg her basket for the sake of the gold,
because the miracle weed was among the grass
she threw ava. Now she remembered the old
mans words, and learned to her sorrow that
she had done wrong to consider wealth as the
highest blessing. How slightly she now valued
this gold she had brought home, when she had
to pay for it by the loss Of her child! She thot
further, and found that there were many bles-
sings in the world which if lost, reduce the val
ne of the gold to nothing. This and many
other things the poor rich woman had time to
reflect on during the seven years, and to her
honor be it said, that till the expiration Of that
time she would not look at or handle the gold.
At length the day came on which she hoped TO
find her child again. The woman hurried TO
the hill in the neghborhood of the rock where
her child was shnt up; and see therei from the
distance she perceived the treasure OF her heart,
sleeping in front the rocks; it was ss young and
blooming as when she had lost it. She lifted
it tenderly and kissed it thousand times on
the road home, thinking. "1f all the gold were
out of my room, should be as happy as if l
had found the tichest treasures in the world"
But the gold was not gone; and so she was grea-
full for that and enjoyed the advantage of the
wealth and spent much on the good education
of her daughter and thus the well trained maid
ed became great and invaluable treasure.