Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1869-06-10
"outIived Her Usefulness.

fore the wind, and their inilrmitles
be looked on with great leniency
and pity. Next to lnothesless chill
dren do the "stricken-in-years"
claim our sympathy.
: "The messy marbles rest
On the lips which they had pressed
In their bloom
And the names they loved TO hear
Have been carved for many year
On the tomb"
Not long since, a good looking
man, in middle life, came to the
door asking for 1.-The minister. -
When informed that he was out of
town, he seemed disappointed and
anxious. On being questioned as
to his business, he eplied 81 have
lost my mother, and as this place
used to be her home, and as my faith
er lies here, we have come to lay her
beside him"
Our heart rose in sympathy, and
we said, "You have met with . great
/ loss"
"Well-yes," replied the strong
man, with hesitancy, "a mother is
great loss in general, but our
mother has outliyed her usefulness
she was in her second childhood,
and her mind had grown as weak as
her body, so that she was no com
fort to herself. and was burden to
everybody. There was seven of us
sons and daughters, and as we could
not find any body who was willing
to board her, VIC agreed to keep
her among US a year about But
I've he'd more than mWshare Of her,
for she was too feeble to be moved
when my time was out; and that
was more than three months before
her death. But then she was a good
mother, in her day, and toiled very
hard to bring US all up"
Without looking at the face of
the heartless man, we directed him
to the house of another pastor, and
returned to our nursery. We gaze
on the merry little faces there,
which smiled or grew sad in imita- |
ton of ours-those little ones to |
whose ear no word in our language
is half so sweet as mother" and
we wondered if that day could ever
come when they would say of MS,
"She has outlived her usefulness
she is no comfort to herself, and a
burden to everybody else" And /
we hoped before such day should
dawn we might be taken to our rest.
God forbid that we should outlive
the love of our children. Rather
let US die while our hearts are a
part of their own, that our graves
may be watered with their tears,
and ourIove linked with their hopes
of heaven.
When the bell tolled for the moth
er's burial, we went up to the sane
tuary to pay our only token of re-
spect to the aged stranger, for we l
felt that we could give her memory !
a tear even though her own children +
had none to s.red. c
"She was a good mother in her !
day, and toiled hard to bring us all
up-but she had outlived her use
fulness-she was no comfort to her
self, and a burden to everybody
else" These cruel words rang in
our ears as we saw the coffin borne
up the aisle. The bell tolled long
and loud until its iron tongue had
chronicled the years ofthe toil-worn
mother. One, two, three, four, {
five; how clearly and merrily each t
stroke told of her once peaceful {
in her mothers bosom, and q
of her seat at nightfall on her weary S
fathers knees. Six, seven, eight, e
nine, ten, rang out the tale Of her s
sports upon the green sward in the /
and by the brook. Elev c
en-, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fit- /
teen, spoke more gravely of school h
days and little household joys and '
cares. Sixteen, seventeen, eigh- 6
teen, sounded out the enraptured
visions of maidenhood, and the t
dream of earlylove. Twenty spoke ;
Of the young mother whose heart
was full to bursting with the new
love which God had waken-
ed in her bosom. And then, stroke (
after stroke told of her early wo-
the love and care
and hopes and fears and tolls S
which she passed during c
those long years, till Fifty! rang /
out harsh and loud. From that to '
Sixty, each stroke told of the L
strong, warm hearted mother and i
grand mother, living over again her S
own iovs and sorrows In those of S
her children and children S children. '
Every family of all the group want j
ed grandmother then, and the only /
strife was who should secure the ,
prize but hark the bell tolls on! {
-one-two-three {
-four. She begins to grow feeble, 9
requires some care, Is not always {
perfectly patient or satisfied she '
goes from one child's house to an {
other, 30 that no one place seems }
ike home. She murmurs in plain g
i've tones that, after all her toll and
weariness, it is hard she cannot find
A home to die in; that she must be "
sent rather than be invited from d
house to house. Eighty-eighty- a
one, two, three, four; alb, she IS :
now a second child; now ''she has g
outlived her usefulness; she has a
now ceased to be a comfort TO her a
self or anybody" that is she has il
ceased to be profitable to her earth c