The Democratic press. (Eaton, Preble County, Ohio) 1860-1865, 1861-04-11

nndhis now agedgrandmother. Hisatlcction
toward us both was ardent and devoted;. he
lived mus as yeIiredi in him Sufcly ifthcrC
is love on earthspnre aud holy as that de
scribed as the angels in Heaven, il must be
that loye which connects between the child
and The parent How often did Interchange
these views, with my own devoted parent ex'
pressing the hope that orr joint idol would
never cause us that pain which children too
often inflict. l. sag
How vain were all these hopes and fears!
Ny beloved child had scarcely attained his
sixteenth ycdr, whcS he was taken from us.
Mysterious are the dispensationS of Provi-
dence where we most garner up our hopes,
there comes the blight--thcrc VIC are struck!
A strange attack seized our boy; at first we
thought it slight, an ordinary disarrangemcnt
of the system. But fever supercned, and
the dreaded typhoid set in, and in few days
be was gonel
Years have passed over my head trials
and suaerings ofno ordinary character, have
bleached my head and oSsifed my heart; but
the remembrance of that great loss-the ut
ter desolation felt when graspcd the cold
hand, and closed the lifcless lids If that boy S
eyes, even now unRcrvcs me as | write. /
know it is unmanly-it is weakness deri-
vable from my imperfcctly trained early life,
and yet g-eat men haze been subjected to
the same infrmity Burke, with all his ge-
Mus blanchcd under the loss of fayorite
son; and one Of the strongest-minded men |
ever knew, was crashed, and died under the
afflction he felt at the death of cherished
daughter With my temperament the effect
was most distressing. / had no consolation
derivable from vigorous mind and cncrget-
ic habits. Religion had not been the aim
and purpose ofmy life. could not draw
consolation from philosophy, for was not a
thinker. / only morbidly dwelt on the per-
fections cf my child--his enduring affection,
and thctouching instances of that love he
exhibited during the lucid intervals Of his
illness, until became unnerved in mind and
imbecile in action. AT this crisis Of my life;
lowering thus between sanity and insanity,
came the fearful intelligence that the whole
of my mothers funded property was swept
away by the bankruptcy of the institution in
which it was invested How viyidly do ! re-
memberthe morning which brought us the
news of this last calamity. l had been re-
moved from my bed where had been confn-
ed since the death of my son; and was seated
at window Of my room which commanded a
view of the church-yard in the general or
parish vault Of which my dear boy had been
deposited. Ny mother was with me, ming
ling her tears with mine, as we ran over re.
miniscences Of our dear lost ones excellen-
cies. We saw the postman crossing our
little lawn, and my mother FASTENED to meet
him. She returned with a packet directed
to me. opened it, and found it was from
an old friend residing in our country town,
conveying the startling intelligence that the
Bank at ----, had suspended payment, and
it was believed that all the assets of the con-
Germ would but barely cover its privileged
debts. Under another state of mind than
that in which this dreadful news reached me,
| think l could have borne up against it, but
weak, enfecbled as l was-helpless, and al
most imbecile-left alone with that aged
parent who had been to me more than
mother, and whom knew to be unable to
contend with poverty andits inevitable strug-
giles, | shrieked out in the agony of contend
ing emotions, and fell to the ground to all
appearances, as l afterward learned, lifeless;
and yet, in that moment, although uncon-
scous of all surrounding objects. A vision
ary spectrum met my gaze, like that we often
see in uneasy dreams, unconnected i'll its
and almost beyond the power Of
coherent Or ineligible description. A sud
den blaze oflight struck upon my vision, and
seemed transported into themidst ofa host
of shining beings-transparent in appear
ance, and only dimly seen or defined. They
appeared of the texture of the shimmering
clouds we often see in an otherwise clear
summer sky-bright and heecy in their look
and form. Prominent among them dis
Linctly recognized the form and features Of
my son. He appeared to hover over me,
with look Of radiant affection The whole
vision was but for an instant; it vanished
and all recollection ceasedl
At the moment when consciousness was
was sensible that some great,
out indefinable change had taken place in
ny bodily faculties. But between that pris-
IN and the time when my senses were rcstor-
I'd all was blank The first indication of
'estored animation was feeling experien-
led of sufocation and intense cold Stimuli
aneously with this, a vigorous action DIFF
used itself through my system and l made
several efforts TO throw off the weight which
seemed pressing upon me- Twas ignorant,
however, of my exact situation. Ny strug-
ylos were violent and I yelled frantically for
assistance-at length with one energetic
movement felt myself falling to the earth
| loud crash accompanied my fall and !
'rcathed freely and saw glimmering light
n the distance. A few more struggles and
stood up and gazcd around; dim light rem