Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1874-10-13
4 Mothers SorrOT.
~ HENRY WARD BEECHUE.

A. the waters roll in on The shore with
,nces'art throJS. uiSh, and day, and al
WAYS. no, alone when storms prevail. but
in Gains - well, 80 IS It with mothers
heart 5ercavcd 90 her children. There i
no g,irl i,hc unto ,I-Racbel weeping lor
her children and refusing to be Comiorted
because they are rot, With What long
patience, what burden aud suffering does
The mother wait until the child OF her
hope Is placed in her arms and under the
sight OF her eyes. sac remembereIh no
more tie anguish Tor JOY that man is
born into the world.
Who can read. or, II he saw, could
utter the thoughts OF q mother during al
he days and shls in which size broods
the helpless thing. Every tru.- mother
laAes home tue foil meaning Of tbs an
GELS word. ;baI holy thing which shall be
born OF :hcs shall he called The Son OF
God. The mother doe. not even whisper
what she thinks. aud The Who'll. air !. full
OF The gentle pictures. every one on the
back round OF tie blue heavens.
The child grows; grows in favor OF God
and mau-aud every ,dmiring lovt east
upon il, even Ly : strangers hsart.--
Wonderful child. The sun i, brighter Tor
it. The whole earth is blessed by It's
preience, Sorrows. gains, WEAKNESS,
seli-denisl,. Ter ii. sake are eagerly
sought and delighted in.
But the days come when The Little fee,
sic weary; when night brings no rect;
when tie cheek is scarlet, the eyes
changed, ,nd The sail. no longer knows
hon 10 shine. AL dAy, ~ night, !. i the
mothers watch Her very sleep j. but q
yelled waking. JOY; the child is coming
back to health! Woe: 1t is drifting out
again, away from consciousness, from life
here. toward tie shores beyond, where
sickness snd pain ale never mcrc known.
Il is TAR, far out, toward twiiglt-loward
darkness. Il disappears,
The mothers heart vss lse heaven
while it lived; po0 it la. -ecended to
Gods heaven and ,he mothers heart is a,
The gloom of midnight. Wild words OF
sell rcProacb :, length break ont. IS when
frozen torrent i -; loose by spring
days. She hist has .avishcd her life force
upon the child turns upon herself with
fierce charges OF care,essuess, Of unskill,
OF thoughilesSness. She sees hundred
ways in which the child would have lived
but for her. All love is ;urne into self.
elimination. Tears came al length TO
quench the fire OF purgatory. But grief
takes new shapes every hour, ill the
nerve has lost is Seusibility, and then she
coldy hates her unnatural aud inhuman
heart that will not ieel
\ child dying, dies but once; but The
mother dies n hundred times. When the
sharpness is over, and The dulne.s OF IN
overspent brain is passed. and she must
take up the shuttle again aud weave the
web of daily lie, pity her not that she
must WORK. must JOIN again the discord.
ant voices, and be forced TO duties irkSome
and hateful. These are all kindly medi
cines. A new thought is slowly prepar-
ing. Il is that immovab!e constancy and
strength which sorrow gives when it has
wrought the divine intent.
HEB. xii II. Now no clustering for
the present seemelh to be joyous. but
srievouS; nevertheless, alterward il
yieldeth the peaceabe fruit OF righteous
ness unto them which are exercised
thereby