Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1862-08-04
The Marriage OF the First Born.

o9A ohASA RhAtASS "o@0o
tremblcd on other tongues, which must
not, could not be spoken, and she was
left, the bride OF on hour, to be hurried
whitherf
The gay party of attendants were driven
through the crowded streets, tho ladies es-
eorted to their homes by their gallant cav
alters, and they in turn conducted to their
respective places of business, each wonder
ing, and perhaps wishing that the next to
be united BY Hymen's siIken tie may be
himself and the fair being who so lately
leaned blushingly on his supporting arm.
Happy they, who in the act of pIighting,
behold only the reflection oftheir own Joys,
and hear only the echoes of their golden
marriage bells!
Turn we now from the careless specta-
tor who, in offering his congratulations,
forgets the parties, and returns to his
home and accustomed duties, to contem-
plate another home from which the light
has departed, in the marriage of the first
born. How desolate now appears the old
homestead as the family return from the
nuptials to wander through the halls and
chambers where her football once resoun-
ded ! and how silent as contrasted with the
hurry of preparation which preceded the
bridal! Then there were smiles, and ten
der words, and swift feet, and ready hands,
to do the bidding of the bride elect. How
each vies with the other in those delicate
attentions, intensified by the thought that
soon the services it is his privilege to rem
der, will no longer be required at his
hands ! that she has growo up in their
midst, will soon leave them, to gladden. the
heart of another! Now, what was but
an anticipation, has become a reality, and
the silence which seals the lips, aud the
sadness which sits on the faces, and lowers
still more heavily in the chambers of the
soul, t~estiies to the then and the nowi
The marriage of the first born How
the motherls heart swells with emotion, as
she realizes, as only a mother can, the re-
Gently assumed responsibilities of her
child. She knows what it is to go home
from the parental protection to the shell
tering wing of another, and can we wonder
she has misgivings as to her darling's fu.
ture? that fears lest the clouds of adyersi-
ty should obscure, should miDgle with her
hopes, that the sunshine of prosperity may
ever illamine her pathway through life?
She feels the import of the words ain
sickness and in health" and has been
taught by experience how much the bitter
and the sweet commingle in the life por-
ton. Can we censure her that her eyes
are surcharged with tears and her heart
burned nth sorrow
The father returns to his noonday meal
and misses the kindly voice which was won't
to greet him. At the table, the vacant seat
speaks eloqucntIy in praise of the absent,
ard the manly heart can scarce repress a
sigh as he remembers that bis home is hers
no more.
How oft have the words, 6 till death do
us part aoated carelessly on the sisters
ears in seasons of f~estivity and rejoicing,
awakening no emotion in their bosoms.-
o 1t brings a train of reflection which
unseals the fountain of tears, and the pent
up feelings, so long repressed, burst forth
in passionate sobs. Ford memoir recalls
the hours of childhood when, in loving
companionship, they engaged in the same
duties, with one who no longer enhances
the enjoyment of the one BY her genial
smile, and lightens the burden of the 9TH
er BY a cheering word. They realize, as
they could not before, 1.-The wealth and
worth" of that love she has pledged, and
the stability of that truth she has plichted
to the husband of her youth, It'll death
DO US part" and with the solemn words, a
prayer is waited ~heavenward, that when
the hour of separation does come, and the
tolls Of life are ended, they may be &C
Counted worthy to enter on " the rest that
remains" and be reunited, .
"Whsrs marriage VOWS are never spoken"
to part no more, no more forever! ,
There's an unwonted tenderness in the
tones of the little brothers as they speak of
their /" sister" Their cadence are soft and
low, as If it were n Proclamation to utter tia
Beloved name in a scarcely audible voice.
They miss her caresses and s~isterly offices
as they return home from school or from
their street sports, and their mirth is chas-
tened BY the thought that they hear no
more her words Of welcome. go.
Yes, in spite of all our efforts. the nhad-
oWs will creep around orr hearts and the
darkness will gather over oar home,
although We know our loved one is bask-
ing in the radiance of an affection purer
and boiler than parents, sisters, or brothers
can bestow. Nature has donned her most
gorgeous robes in honour of the bridal, but
over the enchanted circle of home broods
'the spirit of hesviness.' The sun is pour
ing his beams over the earth-but they
linger not on the darkened threshold. The
voice of music is eloquent without, but ours
..l- H..