The mountain Democrat., 1863-05-02
!. ..sS,1nm1ninEWf1n Ser.
aY q" mRNIH."

-
Eow life rSuses in q aspect. ss we pass q
from iuhnk to youtk and Fen youth
maturity. arcsty, ttnsne, dos life retain
trace Of earlier love beSs-apd yet i is 50.
nv and slliant and 3 .utifd still. II is tA&
inner woasa which is I1k illuaaiuated, for over
the outer existence q dimness hath passed.
and decay bath been at work upon the giorious
temple; aud its graceful pillars wraAthed YuA
Aad 81 hsk dfal &usAO 'tpe earth; dndthe @ne&
tuaFy alone remains nnde6led-still conseerst-
+ "a % ne pres anCs nf the living God.
In childhood, life to me wore an aspect OF ex-
ceediHE beanty. thought this world must be
as Joyous as It was glorious, and that IS Il Was
exterually fair, II must also be spiritually
pure, | admired the exquisite decorations Of
the shrine, but the spirit cOntatned wtehin 1t
had not yel been revealed. Il might be
nymph, or IL might be Satyr! yet surely
dreamed net df the Satyr theh. Feeling waS
to me as fresh and pure Is the crystal spring
babblmg up ut the foot Of the old m0ssy
trunked Elm, where the lilies grew upon its
brink, and the viulets lay looking up to the sun.
Ny heart sang all day, like q bird amid the
sOIitndeS OF natare. and II at times Il had
glimpse Of clouds through the greenwood
openings, there was always shelter TO be-
found in the "nursing nest" Years have
gone nv and the Outer life Is changed. Still
have the aoweEs and stars their early beauty,
and the small birds sing as sweeily ~ when
the heaven of childhood was At my heart.
But the shadows OF the grave have fatien along
nv pathway, and as life once was il can be
never more. Have not seen The lights GO
out, and the sbFiDes fall, and the beautitui
perish by the way side? And see l not
other lights growing dim, and fickeHng in
their sockets? and pure radiant stars sinking
below life near horizon? Time, too, walketh
by nv side. bearing Ithnrial spear; and at his
touch the seeming beautiful shows itSelt hid
eous and deformed. Winds that were soft aud
spicy in early lite. are harsher now-so harsh
that they chill the life currents Of the soul, and
terrible storms break now and then, which 1t
requires strong heart to resist unmoved.
The inner life hath also changed 1t bath
grown brighter amid The external dimness.
The Duty hath passed from the nuter cuurt 30
the inner sanctuary. Faith stands bv the al
tar of the heart, feeding its incense fires with
the Offering of Divine Love. Spirit voices I'LL
the wide temple with melody, and spirit forms
glide to aud fro chanting the holy pSa Inns OF
boiler life in heaven. Yes, very beautiful is
the inner life, for there have been mysterious
gatherings here of every bright thing that
hath passed away from external beng. Are
not they here-the good. the true, the noble
hearted, who walk no lduger the outer court
If human lfee When the whirlwind, the
earthquake, aud the fire are pasi,I hear their
still small voices wOoing me forth to laboi s of
love. Aud | go strengthened, fortified and
reverent (: and amid the lighter work Of the
vineyard, am cheered by the smiles of SER
aPh eyes.
Thou art here, my belnved companion, freed
at last from thy prison bonds, and u wanderer
wlthersOever those within the boundlesS do
mains Of tie beautiful.
Yes, from the outer court of the tabernacle
hast thou vanished; but thou art still here,
cherished habltant Of nv inner life, minister
ing priest in the sanctuary Of my soul sweet
and intimate Was our communion in the days
Of ihv human existence, but 1t is sweeter, more
intimate now. No silence so deep that thy
clear voice is not heard-no solitude 90 entire
that thy presence is not recognized. Midnight
cnme,h with its gloom and its loneliness, but
thou and thy God art with me. Morning
spirit whispers: Work on with faith and
courage, thou pilgrim Of life, for the day Of
thy release is not far distant, weary though
the way NAV seem To thee. Work with
brave heart So hong as thy God requires; after
Wards shalt thou share nv holy rest! 80 IN
all the solitudes Of hte,-iu all its seasons of
depressioRs and gloom-iu all its desert
heats and mountain storms, sweet spirit
voices entreat me onward to the goal of recon-
peuse, and white hands beckOn to me from the
far off SUBMITS of the Eternal Hill! No
longer by the way side tarry, filing thy basket
with fraii flowers. that the MONDAY sun Will
scorch, and giittering pebbles that will be-
come q burden before half thy pilgrimage is
accomslished. But with light heart and q
firm step press onward to the Temple of Rest,
that temple which crowns the mountain lands
Of Time, and whose golden furrets sleep in
the Sunshine If Heaven!
GEORGETOWN, April 23d, 1853.