Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1863-04-13
COME = SEE

represented, our caption calIeth-"Co Come anu
see |"
Come! Up to the cd church on the bill,
which It's the cid grass grown grave
yard, where the willows drop tears of sorrow
from the tips of their long, leafy fingers, and
where the cedars cast shadows darker and
more sorrowful than those of the lindens by
the meadow where the children play.
"Come and sce' an old mother, so old that
her once raven hair is now silvery white,
kneel at a grave long since sodden and green
with grass, and Listen to the whispering Of a
prayer. Whose grave is that, mother p
That is the grave of n,y only son." And
was he a good, faithful son, mother 2 "Once
he was and | locked to him to be my pro-
teetor when age had enfecbled me but he
took to drink, and one night at the village
grog-shop he SO. into quarrel and was
killed, and that was the sal end Of my poor
boy"
If you didn't see that, there is another
scene that you may see.
Come and s>e' a young widow leaning
over the graveyard wall, with tears dropping
on anew made grave, while o little child
plays among the leaves at her feet. Whose
grave Is that, sister, over which you mourn?"
" Alas! that is the cold resting place of my
poor lost husband" And vas he a good
husband, sister % "Ah! once he was all
that my heart could wish he was loving,
kind and generous, and our home Was a bright
and fowery Eden, and we were happy. But
a serpent entered. My husband was led away
from me by evil companions to tie grogshop
and the gambling table, and soon all was a
wreck-lovc, hope, hearts and home. His
career was rapid, and all that was left me of
my former happiness lies hidden in that mar
} row house of clay = pray Heaven, sister,
that his soul has found resting place where
these terrible calamitics never come" "Would
that I could, stranger but my faith in the
=, Bible forbids it. He died, oh how miscra-
ble-how ter.ibln-how frightful! For days
and nights he rayed in the furious wildness
of abstraction, battling with imaginary devils;
dIO DIT Tin IdoL iiOu4OLlJ "il a sAioG
will never die out Of my ears, he sprang al
S most from his bed aid hid his face in my be-
!, som, begging me to keep them away, and
+. thus he died. How can | hope?'
= If you don't see that, there is another scene
you may see:
Come and see an old, old agnan, with
and fookfng down~ithh~d am yet earnest ewes
S upon a scnken grave at his feet. He is an
; DID, old man, and al his joints tremble with
inflrmlty, while a single tear drop, as if it
might be the last, falls upon the grave and
3 gllstens IN the rays of the evening SUM-
: Whose grave is that, father ?" "1hatp
> tapping the sod g.atly with the tip Of his
+ cane, that! | fought everybody knew
that was my son Johns grave. But maybe,
you never heard about my son John. I will
tell you: John was one of the most peace
, able, well behaved boys in the town; he was
: good to me, kind to his old mother Chat over
! there has been her grave, | don't know how
many years. and he was beloved by all his
companions. But John got in the habit of.
taking a little spirits now and then, and af-
ter a while he got TO going to the groesaop
and coming home intoxicated, and when I
talked with him about it, he cursed me j! So
E one night at the village grogshop there was
a Dig drink, and John got into a quarrel with
t one OF the ,neighbor boys, one of his best
friends too, and stabbed him so that he died
! upon the spoil Oils grave is over in the
; other corner unde@ that big cedar.) Well,
\ John had broken he law and the law took
him ID charge. Ispent ali / had to get him
out OF the HANDS OF the law, but II was Of no
| avail. 80 the Law 1ung himl That is a hard
word Tor a father 10 say OF his son, but it
f can't De helped ard that was the end of nv
/ poor John. Tt wasn't John that done the
murder; it was the invisible devil in the rim
| that he drank that done the bloody deed
5 Yes, that is Johns grave, and that is the vav
5 he came there. have been coming here
now and then, off md on, for twenty-fortv
! dent know hoE many years, to remem-
5 Der and remembe. But soon / shall come
r no more, for my Gays sun HES him to his
setting and then [ shall remember these
things no more-ro moreno morer;
Ii you don't see hat, there are other scenes
: yon may ste:
come and see two little children over a
/ hnW 1n1Gn r~uoZ -1