Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1869-12-03
Does total abstinence do all this ? Then
have only one moro word to say, and 1 sa,
it with emphasis, embrace it.
HindO0 Legend.

There is beautiful and touching story
told in the books of the Buddhists about the
founder of their religion story that has
a moral for people Of all creeds and coun-
tries Among the immediate followers of
Buddha was young girl named Koshagau-
tamil She was simple. artless creature,
married to an Indian youth like herself; and
the pair dwelt together in a woodland coun-
try near the city Of the famous Oriental
teacher. They had little child, Of which
Koshagautami was passionately fond, as is
the won't of Eastern mothers. But it hap
pened that the little one sickened and died,
much to the establishment of the young and
ignorant pare nts, who had been brought up
in life SO solitary that they knew nothing.
whatever about death. The mother was es-
pecially grieved to find that her child looked
so still and pale, and felt 50 cold, although
she pressed it constantly to her bosom and
tempted it with delicate food. She rocked
and shook it to make it speak once more
she would have been even glad to hear it
cry, although in pain; for the silence and
deadly heaviness Of the little body filled her
with a vague misery She went about the
woods with the baby upon her hip, as Indian
women always carry their children, asking
everybody whom she met to tell her what
would be good for the baby, and why it was
so quiet and so chill. The people whom she
met looked very strangely at the tiny corpse,
aud shook their heads, saying that no medi-
cine would do it good any more. This dis
appointed the mother so much that she de-
termined to seek out Buddha, and to ask
him, who was never at loss, for something
that would bring back the warmth and laugh
ter to the small cheeks. The Master was
seated under banyan tree with his disci-
pies, and, when the young mother come
near with the child, beseeching him to say
if he knew what would make it well again,
he looked at her weeping countenance with
great pity and answered that he did. "Go,"
he said, land bring me hither handful of
mustard. seed from house where nobody
has ever died, and then [ will heal your
son." Koshagautami repaired to the town
with the child, and asked at the first house
for little mustard-seed, which was readily
given, because Of her gentle and sorrowful
look. "Friend," she said to the goodman,
| dld eNCl any Ole Ill ILLS HOuSeHolu tut
then the seed would not do The house
hold shook his head mournfully, and replied
that his eldest son had died there during the
last moon. She went to the next residence,
and to the next, and so on right through the
town !; but, to her surprise she found that
into every house had entered that same dis
ease Of which her little one was sick-even
death. Ashamed to have been so passionate
and importunate, when all the rest of the
world suffered and submitted, she dared not
take the child back to Buddha, but buried
it tenderly in the forest, under the shade of
an asoka-tree, and then returned to the spot
where the Master was still teaching. '"There
was no one," she moaned, "who had must
ard-seed to give me, of the kind you babe me
bring" And Buddha answered, "No,
Koshagautami it does not grow in this
world of pain and illusion !! The living are
very few; the dead are very many, my
daughter w -ss