National opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1865-1874, 1872-01-05

nv HARRIET BkacHEN stowe
AUTHOR Of Uncle Toms Cabin" "a
VIE mdL" Minister'S Wooing," etc,

author Of Uncle Toms Cabin" "My
Wife aadL" Minister'S Wooing," etc.
Once there WAS a very good little girl
who, by reason of her goodness, knew where
Ia find strawberries In the winter, In the
same way less perfect people. blessed by the
generous fairies Of memory and imagination,
may sit, IN do now, In the midst Of falling
leaves and whistling Winds and call back the
green grasses and the summer sun. see
yonder IN the glen the darling OF on, Hal-e,
che gold CLEAN In her brown hair, chaiD of
daisies In her hand. and in her eyes the ro-
guish meditation of u kitten. weary for an
instant only Of its play, and thinking slyly OF
another spring, Thrown back upon the vel
vet grass, she Is not resting, only pausing
from her bright glances TO the tips Of her tiny
fingers she il wide awake.
But now the merry play is over and our
pet nestles yonder on the sofa cushion, tired
at last in earnest. Slowly the lids fall and
the lingering smile dies out but the flush in
cheek and lip remains like the glow after
/
are loosely held by the tair little hand no
shadows, even of dream-land disturb the
sweet brow's perfect peace. She is fast asleep.
In other words, two chromos hang upon
the wall, bewtching child heads. in which
every mother sees something Of her own dear
ones, never grown old and never lost TO her.
however time or death may have dealt with
| them.
Nothing pleases more at first sight or gives
pleasure longer than poetcal pictures Of chill.
dren. 1.-The little child whom Jesus sets
in the midst of every family is II JOY that
grows not old and fades not
ages cannot witber, custom cannot stale
Its infinite variety"
For this reason happy picture of child
brings an enjoyment more lasting than any
other because il il n subject of which no one
| ever tires
But these pictures, besides their constant
charm for grown folks, are such as chiidrea
can understand and love Our little wide
Awake and " Fast Asleep" would give many
"A pleasant hour of companionable amusement
and intercourse TO the little people akin to
them in age The pictures that childrens
eyes rest on AS they are dropping of To sleep.
or as they awake in the morning, seem to
them like living friends. All sorts OF childish
dreams and tancies make of the pictured face
a real companion Not only in the parlor or
the sitting room would they be an attractive
and fitting establishment, but they are a
charming pair for the adornment OF a nursery
Undoubtedly these two pictures are por-
traits There is realistic faithfulness and
truth about them that forbids the idea OF
their being fancy heads They will remind
many parents of little ones either here or in
| heaven. Dickens saws somewhere of his pOr-
traiture of little Nell that he has had letters
| from the iarthcst regions of the earth speak
ing of children who resembled her-so dear
and so early taken! He who paints one child
well, paints thousands, and speaks to the
tenderest feelings of innumerable hearts
OF course there is pleasure in possessing
an original painting but when the question
lies between an original at five hundred dol
lars and chrome which can scarcely be dis
tinguished from it at ten dollars particularly
when one has not the five hundred to spare
the choice is not very difficult 70 these
two exquisite chromos only crit, xami-
nation can distinguish between the coples and
the originals, which sold for many hundreds
which is certainly more than can be said of
the best copies of most pictures painted by
hand
Blessings upon hromo-lithographv, by
which the successful painting OF master can
be reproduced indefinitely, and can enter
thousands of homes with its educating, quick
ening reforming influence!
1t is not alone into the dwellings of the
great and wealthy that We follow this pretty
pair with anticipations of delight. We see
them in the cottages of the poor, in the log
cabin of the backwoodsman, frightening the
toll of the hard wife and mother, and recev-
ing the almost adorng wonder of children
who have never seen pictures before
God bless the darlings- send the little com
forters fast and far