The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1866-12-20


suffer her to forsake persons in trou-
BILE desired to leave to accompany us,
| that she might at least administer some
small comfort or advice while we sail
ed. We were no sooner embarked but
the boat was pnshed off, the sheet was
spread; and being filled with sighs,
which are the winds of that country, we
made passage to the further bank,
through several difficulties ofwhich the
most of us seemed utterly regardless.
When we landed, we perceived the
island to be strangely overcast with
fogs, which no brightness could pierce,
so that kind of gloomy horror sat al
ways brooding over it. This had
something in it very shocking to easy
tempers. insomuch that some others
whom Patience had by this time gain
ed over, left us here, and privily con
veyed themselves round the verge Of
the island, to find ford by which she
told them they might escape.
For my part, still went along with
those who were for piercing into the
center Of the place; and joining our
selves to others, whom we found upon
the same Journey, we marched solemn
ly as at a funeral, through bordering
hedges of rosemary, and through a
grove ofyew trees, which love to over
| shadow tombs and flourish i'll church
yards. Here we heard on every side
the wullings and complaints of several
OF the Inhabitants, who had cast them
selves discon5olately at the feet of
trees and as we Glanced to approach
any OF these, We might perceive them
wringing their hands, beating their
breas' s, earring their hair, or after some
| other manner yisibly agitated with yeX-
| alton. Our sorrows were heightened
by the influence Of what we heard and
saw, and one Of our member was
wrought up to such pitch of wildness,
as to talk of hanging himself upon a
bough which shot temptingly across
the path we Travelled in; but he was re
strained from it by the kind endeavOrs
Of our aforementioned companion.
| 'sW had now gotten into the most
dusky, silent part of the island, and by
the redoubled sounds of sighs, which
made doleful whistling in the branch
es, the thickness of air, which occas-
ioned faintish respiration, and the vio-
lent throbbings Of heart, which more
and more affected us, we found that we
approached Grotto Of Grief. 1t was
a vie, hollow and melancholy cave,
sunk deep in dale, and watered by
rivulets that had a color between red
and black. These crept slow and half
congealed among it's windings, and
mixed their heavy murmurs with the
echo Of groans that rolled through all
| the passages. In the most retired parts
of it sat the doleful being herself; the
the path to her was strewed with goads,
stings, and thorns and her throne on
which she sat was broken into a rock,
with ragged pieces pointing upward for
her to lean Dpon. A heavy mist hung
above her: her head oppressed with it
reclined upon her arm. Thus did she
reign over her disconsolalte subjects,
full Of herself to stupidity, in eternal
penslvcness,. and the profoundest 81
lenee. On one side of her stood De
lection just dropping into swoon,
and Paleness wasting to q skeleton; on
the other side where Care inwardly tor
mented with inaginations, and Anguish
suffered outward troubles to suck the
blood from her heart in the shape of
vultures. The whole vault had a genu-
inc dismalness in it, which few. scat
tered lamps, whose blush flames arose
and sunk in their urns, discovered to
our eyes with increase. Some Of us
fell down, overcome and spent with
what they suffered in the way, and were
given over to those torments that stood
on either hand of the presence; ); others,
CALLED and mortified with pam, recov-
cred the enterance, where Patience,
whom we had left behind,wa stillwait-
ing to receive us. ,--tv~g
NV lth her (WhOse company was now
become more gratified to us by the want
we had found Of her) we winded round
the grotto, and ascended at the back of
it, out of the mournful dale in whose
bottom it lay. On this eminence we
halted by her which until then were
fixed downward, felt sullen sort of
satisfaction, in observing the shades
what numbers had entered the island
This satisfaction, which appears to
have ill-nature in it, was eXcusable, be-
cause it happened at time when we
were too much taken up with our own
concern to have respect to that of
others and therefore we did not con-
slider them as suffering, but ourselves
as not suffering in the most forlorn es-
tate. 1t also had the ground work of
humanity and compassion in it, though
the mind was too dark and too deeply
engage to perceive it /; but as we pro
ceed onward, it began to discover it,
self, and, from observing that others
were unhappy, we came to question one
another, when it was that wenet,; and
what were the sad occasions that bro't
us together. Then we heard our sto-
ries, we compared them, we mutually
gave and received pity, and so by de
.grees became tolerable company.
GA considerable part of the trouble
some road was thus deceived at length
the openings among the trees grew
larger, the air seemed thinner, it lay
with less oppression upon us, and we
could now and then discern tracks in
it of lighter grayness, like the break
ings of day, short in duration, much
enliyening, and called in the country
CLEANS OF amusement Within short
while, these gleamings began to appear
more frequent, and then brighter and