Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1869-02-09
A Story of Long Ago.


The long time ago of which
mean to refer was a wild night il
March, during which, in fisher
mans hut ashore, sat young girl a
her spinning wheel, and looked on
on the dark driving clouds, listened
trembling, TO the wind and the sea
The morning light dawned at last
| One boat that should have been ri.
ding on the troubled waves was mis-
sing--her fathers boat and half {
mile from the cottage, her father.
body was washed upon the shore.
This happened fifty years ago, and
fifty years is long time to go on in
such coarse as the woman did of
whom | am speaking. She watched
her fathers body, according to the
custom of the people, till he was laid
in the grave. Then she laid down on
the bed and slept, and by night got
up and set u candle in her easement.
as beacon to the fisherman and
guide. She sal by the candle all
night, and trimmed it, and spun
| then when day dawned she went to
bed and slept in the sunshine. So
many hanks as she had spun before
for her daily bread, she spun still
and one over to buy her nightly can,
die, and from that time to this, for
fifty years, through youth, maturity,
and old age, she has turned night in>
| to day, and in the snow storms of
winter, through driving mists, decep
tive moonlight, and solemn darkness,
that northern harbor has never once
been without the light Of the candle.
How many lives she saved by this
candle, or how many meal size won
by it for the starving families of the
boatmen, it is impossible to say how
many dark night the fishermen, de-
pending on it went fearlessly forth
cannot now be told. There it stood
regular as lighthouse, steady as
constant care could make it. AL
ways brighter whom daylight waned,
they had only to keep it constantly
in view and they were safe, there
was but one that could intercept it,
and that was the Rock. However
far they might have stretched out to
sea, they had only to bear down
straight for that lighted window, and
they were sure Of a safe entrance in>
to the harbor.
Fifty years of life and labor-fifty
years Of sleeping in the sunshine
fifty years of watching and self de-
NAL, and all TO feed the flames and
trim the wick Of that one candle !!
But if we look upon the recorded
lives Of great men and just men and
wise men, few of them can show fifty
years Of worthier certainly not Of
more successful labor. Little, in
deed, of the "midnight oil" consumed
during the last half century so worth
lily deserved the trimming. Happy
woman and but for the dreaded
rock, her great charity might never
been called into exercise.
But what do the boatmen and the
boatmen's wives think Of this :?
Do they pay the woman No, they
are very poor; but poor or rich, they
know better than that Do they
thank her? No. Perhaps they feel
that thanks Of theirs would be mad
equate to express their obligations,
or perhaps long years have made the
lighted easement so familiar that
they look upon it as matter Of
course. Sometimes the fishermen
lay fish on her threshold, and set a
child TO watch it for her till she
wakes sometimes their wives steal
into her cottage, now she is getting
old, and spin a hank or two of thread
for her while she slumbers and they
teach their children to pass by her
door quietly, and not to sing and
shout before her door, lest they
should disturb her. That is all
Their thanks are not looked for
scarcely supposed to be due. Their
grateful deeds are more than she ex-
poets, and as much as she desires
How often in the far distance of
my English home. | have awoke in a
wild winter night, and while the
wind and storm were rising, have
thought of that Northern bay, wit b
the waves dashing against the rock,
and have pictured to myself the case
ment, and the candle nursed by that
bending, aged figure How de-
lighted to know that through her
untiring charity the rock has long
lost more than half it's terrors, and
considered that, curse though it
may be to all besides, it has most
surely proved blessing to her.
You, too, may perhaps think with
advantage on the character of this
woman, and contrast it with the
mission of the Rock. There are
many degrees between them. Few
like the rock, stand up wholly &c
work ruin and destruction; few like
the woman, "let their light shine" SC
brightly for good. But to one OF
the many degrees between them we
must all most certainly belong-we
all leant towards the woman or the
rock On such characters you dc
we'll to speculate with me, for yor
have not been cheated into sympa'
thy with ideal ship wreck or imagin-
airy kindness, There is many rock
elsewhere as perilous as | have toic
you of-perhaps there are many
such women; but for this one Whose
story is before you, pray that hel
candle may burn a little longer
since this record of her charity il
true.-JeanIngelo,O.
~ Mrs Grant wishes the Gener
al TO retain the house they are nov
living in through his term, making
it his private residence, and using
the White House only for business