Norfolk day book. [volume] (Norfolk and Portsmouth Va.) 1868-1880, 1869-07-28

Of fancy alone have wrought the
picture, and the clouds of doubt
soon overspread the canopy of
Hopes imagery, and with re-
Taxed nerve, and system, |
awoke to regret the wrongs of
my mind-yet why should I ?
Can a heart be restrained from
joy because it is all a dreamer ?
But / must close, and may the
golden rod Of Gods choicest
blessings ever guide you safely
through time, and pluck the
fair flower of mortality from
earth, but to transplant it by
the margin of eternal streams
ofjoy in Heaven, where (if not
before) may you meet with
faithful
"RoBBY Ross. -
AS we finished reading, the
letter dropped, while we were
taking an enthusiastic trip of
imagination to the moon, or
some other place we never ex-
actly found out. DR.. Lynn had
to admire the beautiful strain
of thought which fell from the
pen of our correspondent,
though he told us that man was
decitfully wicked, and what
could we do but believe him,
and then he urged that the
curtain should drop, and he
would end the farce by offering
a challenge to our "veteran of
many battles" but I could not
agree to such a proposition my
self, and Annie strongly pro-
tested against it too--so we
wound up our dreaming in
silence and sadness.
CHAPTER X.
at will not bet may not last,
The vision of entertainments past.
The winter wore on in its
u sual way, with the snow lying
in a. created crown of beauty on
the tall old mountain hig hts,
which overlooked Linwood val
ley. The sleighing was never
more delightful to the eye, but
the bells did not ring the same
peal of music in our ears,
as before. The Christmas logs
burned as brightly as if peace
reigned all over our land
while a cheerful flood Of light
threw CLEAN over the mid
night stiffness of the house, but
the wind kept up mourutul
lirge without, which would |
bring up the memory of camp, |
and the veterans Of the field, ,
shivering in the blast--yet we
were ever dreaming of the flu
ture, when friends would all
come home, and in the joyous
ness of hearts We would live
over the old days together--or
rather some just as bright; and
as we walked down the declivi-
ty of time, with our locks whit
ming with the frost Of age, we
would pray to lean on that
promised blessing which would |
take us 'over the river to that
by and by of eternal rest
There was nothing to light up
the dull monotony of our every |
day life, for the whole country
vas stripped by CONSUMPTION,
and we had to stem the current |
CT the tide, alone.
We may rave, land talk about
the men being a nuisance, that
we can get on without them
but let the trial come, and see
how many will find a sorry
stake is better than none'-at
any rate we missed them at
Linwood to cheer up the hours;
indeed we felt that they were a
part of--Annie says: 'the odds
and ends of life's dream.
DR.. Lyon had gone too, as a
ministering angel to the sick
and wounded. Our mail facili- |
ties had assumed rather a de-
spending nature, and l was
entirely cut off from all COM
munication with Elsie Will
bourn, so it was a fixed matter
that l should stay with the
Leighs until the country be-
came more settled. An occa-
casional letter from the Der
monts would assure me that |
was remembered at 'Marava-
tio,' and that Arthur was still
in the field-Long ago had che
ceased to write or send a mes
sage to my wayward little