The Vinton record. [volume] (M'arthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1866-1891, 1868-06-25

thing-but she felt it. The
prospect of the old wife is
clouded. The home circle is
broken, never to be reunited;
the visions of the hearth.stone
are scattered forever. Up to
that hour there was a home to
which the heart always turned
with fondness. But that magic
is sundered; the key stone Of
that sacred arch has fallen, and
now home is nowhere this side
OF heaven! What, childrenl be
a pensioner upon their kind
ness, where she may be more
of a. burden than blessing, so
at least, she thinks. Or shall
she gather up the scattered
fragments Of that broken arch,
make them her temple and her
shrine; sit down in her chill
solitude beside its expiring
fires; and die2 What shall she
do now? 9.' El" 9aa .au io oli
They gently crowded her
away from the dead, and the
undertaken came forward with
the coffin lid in his hand. 1t
is all right and proper-of
coufseAit must be done; but
to the sheayt-mourneritl it. brings
a kind of shudder; a thrill Of.
agony, ,r., -...;..r. .i.,r...,. ..,
J The undertaken stood for a
moment, with a decent proprie.
tN not wishing to manifest
rude haste, but evidently de-
isirous Of being expeditions as
possible, Just as he was about
to close the coffin, the old wife
turned back, and, lstooping
down, imprinted one long last
kiss upon the cold lips of her
dead husband, then staggered
to her seat, buried her face in
her hands, and the closing cof-
fin hid him from her sight for.
ever! ,9HiI am 1ii lIe yrni
That kissl Fond token of af-
feclion, and of sorrow, and
memory, and farewell! l have
seen many kiss their dead
many such seals Of love upon
clay.cold lips-but never did l
see one so purely sad, SO SIM
ply heart-touching and hope
less as that Or, if it had hope
it was that which looks beyond
the coffins and charnel houses,
and damp, dark tombs, to the
joys of the home above. You
would kiss the cold cheek of
infancy; there is poetry; it is
beauty hushed; there is ro.9
nance there; for the taded
flower is still beautiful In
childhood the heart yields to
the, stroke OF sorrow; but re.
coils again with elastic faith,
'buoyant with hope. But here
was no beauty, no poetry, no
romance! The heart of the old
wife was. like the weary swim-
mer, whose strength has often
raised him above the stormy
waves, but now exhausted sinks
amidst the surges. ., r
b Why should the old love the
old, or kiss the old, unloving
lipss Ah! why shouldn't they9
Does affection grow olds Does
the true heart feel the infirmity
of years. Does it grow old
when the step becomes un-
steady, and the hands hang
down. ,uJ ....i f..4...
Who shall say that the heart
of the old wife was not as
young and warm.as in those
early and brighter days, when
he .wooed and won her9 The
temple of her earthly hopes
had fallen; and what was there
left for her but to sit down in
dependency, among its lonely
ruins, and weep and diel2 Or
in the spirit of a better hope,
await the dawning of another
day, when a hand divine shall
gather its sacred dust, and re.
build for Immortality its bro
ken walls. il 1909 g' ..I.-
May the old wife's kiss, that
linked the living with the dead,
be the token of a holier life,
that shall bind, their spirits in
that better land, where tears
are wiped from all faces, and
the,days OF their mourning are
endedi. iaa. H. s.H f.sl sei.
Seven Months without Sleep.
We have been informed by
a gentleman whose credibility
we can vouch tor that Mr.. Jas.
Camel, of Sharon township.
this county, has not slept an
hour since the first Of last No
vember. He has an excellent
appetite, works regularly on
his farm, and with the excep-