The weekly mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado County, Calif.) 1861-1862, 1862-11-01
70 n11 Nif.,a xia..


king SObS, ~ the mOurners" prepared
to take leave Of the curpSe.
= Il vas an old man who lay there, ROBBED
for the grave. Mare than three srore
wears had whitened those locks. AMI fur
rOwed that brow, aud made Those stiff
limbs weary uf life's journey, aud all the
more willing to lie down aud rest where
WEAKNESS is M more suffered, aud intir,n-
tiles ARE M longer burden.
The Rged have hut few to weep for
them when they die. the most uf those
who would have mOurne'l heir loss, have
gone to the grave before them; harpS that
would have sighed sad harInOnirS are
shattered and gone; and the Ew that re-
main are looking crndlewnrd rather than
graveyard. 10 ift's opening rather than
to lile'S closing goal; are bound to. and
living in thu generation rising, more than
the generatinI departing.
Youth and beauty have many admirers
while living have many mnurnerS when
dying; aud many fearful ONES bend over
their cutfinei clay--many sad hearts toll
low il their funeral tain. But age has
lev admirers. fw muurners
This Was Az old man, and the circle Of
- a * 49,. ~ -
had themselves passed the middle If life.
and ohO had children Of their Nv to care
Tor and be- cared Tor bv them. were there
BrAiieS these, aud few friends " IN hDh
seen and visited him while he was sick,
ans IA,sSibly had known him for few
Years, there were none Others to shed n
tear, except his old wife. And or lnIS
small company, the old wife seemed to be
the only hearI.mOuIner. IL is respectful
fur friends 10 he sad for u few moments,
ill the service is pei formed aud the hearSe
is out M sight 1t iS very proper aud
suitable Ior children wh" have nutgrown
the tervency aud affections If youth, To
shed tears when All aged parent says fare
we'll, AMI lies down to quiet SAUNDERS. -
Some regrets. some recollection of the
past, SuIIIc transitory griet, and the pangs
are over. Not always SO. But often,
now little true, genuine heart Sorrox
there il
The old wife arose with difficulty from
her Srat, and went u the coffin to look
n,r last lOok-to take her last FAREWELL
Through the fast falling trarS she gazei
long and iOndly d0~" Into that pale. u"-
c"nScinuS face. What did she see there !
Others Ha~ nOIhing but The rigid le turrS
Of the deal she saw more In every
wrinkle OC that br"w she read the history
Uf y,aIs. From Youth IL manhood, from
wAniIoO.i 1" odd age; in joy and NorrO~,
in sickness and health-It Was all there
when those children, who had now out
.rJWn the SympathIrs Of childhood, were
infants lying Un her 6osum, and every
year since then,--therc it was! To OIh.
err, those dull, mutt monitors were unin-
tellIgib;e: Il her they were the alphabet
uf the heart. familiar aS hnuSenOld words
And then the future! What will BE-.
come Of me. Wnat shall do now -
She did not say So-->he did not say any.
thing but she iclt il. The prospect Ol
tue md vile is clOuded. the hntmr circle
is br,'krn, never 10 be reunited; the Wis.
ions al the hearthEtWne are scattered tor.
ever. Up to that hour there was home.
10 which the heart always turned Nth
iundur +. But that masm is hundercd /;
the keystone Of that sacred arch has tail.
IN, and now home is no where this eide
Ut heaven! What Eh II the old wife do
now Gu aud live with her children? he
n p,nNioner upon their Kindness, where
she may bc n"re Of bur den than hIc,S,
Jag, -, at least, she thinks. Or shall she
gather up the scattered flag nrntS Of that
h oxen nj CHI, make them her temple and
her shrine, sit down in her chill Solltu'le
beside its expiring tires, and die! What
shall Sh. dn HOW?
They gently crowdel her away from
the dead, aud the undertaken calne for.
ward With the cUtiin.lih in his hand. II
is all riLhI an proper oil cnur>' lit must
he dnne; but tn the lie ,rt-InnIrrc it
brings Kind ni shmtldrr.a thrill Of agony.
aS when the headSIman comes i0rwa. Il
with his ax The undertaken stood for n
mnlhcnt, with decent PI"piriy, not
Wishing to manifest rude haste, but evil
IDENTITY DESTROYS Of being as rxpytlili ,uS AS
pOsHihie. just a. he Was u',uut tu close
the coffin, the old wife turned back, and
stopping down, imprinted - e l"ng. :a>t
kiss upon the cold lips nf her dead h,I,.
band, then staggered TO her seat, buried
her face in hpr haurfS. and the CLOSING
collin Ind him from her sight forever!
That kisS tund token OF affection, and
Of sorrow, and mem"ry, and farewell!
have se,m many kiss their drad-nany
such seals Of love upon tlav.cold lips
but never did see one so purely sad, 81,
simply heart touching and hopeless as
that! Or. if it had hope, it was that
which hooks beyond cOtfinS aud ctarucI
; houses, and damp, dark IonhS, to the joy.
of the hmMe above. YOU would kiss the
cold cheek Of infancy there is poetry
il is beauty hu~hrd There is romatc,
there for the faded flower is still bcauti
Iui! IN chitdhnOd the heart yielIiS u the
stroke "f sorrow but recoiIs again, elias
tic with faith, huoyant with hope But
here was n" beluiy, n" poetry, no r."
nance. The heart Of the old wife wa,
like the weary swimmer, whose strength
has often raised him above the stormy
waves, but now exhausted, sinks amid>I
the SurgeS.
Why should the old love the old, or kiS,
the cold nnIoVlng lip>y Au why no, !
Does affection grow old Does the true
heart feel the irtirmity nf years? Doe,
it gr"w cnld when the step becomes IN
st, ady, aud the hands hang down? Whr
shall Sny that the heart Of the old wife
was nOr as young ami warm as in those
early and brighter days, when he wonrd
and won her ? The temple Of her earthly
hopes has (aller; d what was there
left fer her bat Ia sit down in deSpoI,len.
cy. among it's Lonely ruins, aud weep and
die 7 Or. IN the split of bttler hope,
await the iiaNning of another day. when
- hand divine shall gather its sacred dust,
and rebuild for immorta ity, its broken
walls.
May the oil Wits kiss. that linke | the
living with the dead, he the token IF Il
hnlicr tie. that shall bind their spirits in
TINT b I er lMnA, where tears are wiped
from all faces, and the days Of their
mourning are endeI