Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1875-03-12
Under the Shadow.
BY AMELIA CLEMENT.

Wall and lament, oh. ye night winds! Your
mournful cadence finds kindred response
in my own bitter, surging heart; while sun
shine and gladness only intensity its sorrow.
/ have grown so old in only a few short
months, that have forgotten what it is to
be light-hearted and happy; and yet am a
young GIRL but, burdened with such weight
of grief, that when 1 look forward to middle
life and age, it seems like trackless wilder
ness of tempest and shadow, for it is fu-
ture without ray of hope.
1t is mother and / who arc in this dread
full darkness. Mott is alone. For though
all this trouble has come upon mother, too,
when look upon her face, know that she
has n strength and support which have not |;
and | say in anguish of spirit, "Oh God!
while through my bitter hardness am drift
ing farther and farther from Thee, by the
same afiiiction, mother is drawing nearer to
Thy throne. and receiving upon her brow
Thy seal of santship."
Yes, / am alone, and that is why am
seeking sympathy in thus giving you his
tory which know you will read carelessly,
and soon forget,-forget that all the hope Of
one life is contained therein.
There is a casrSe in our family. If 1t were
not for mother, should almost curse God
on account of it.
1t is the curse of RUM Yes, the same
old story, which has blightcd other hearth
stones and shattered the hopes of other
hearts.
A little while ago there was father, moth
er, dear brother Jamie, darling baby Edie,
and myself, and we were so happy. Now,
there is mother and land father; and we
are so wretched.
l will go back n few years, so that you
may know how it all happened.
Mother says that years ago father was a
drinking man; but after his children came.
he joined n temperance society and had
lived sober life. 1t is three or four years
since we came to this little town, where no
license was granted, no liquor sold, and
where there was society of Good Temp
lars. Father has good trade and had Ia id
by enough to purchase snug little place,
and though beside this, our menus were
small, love and contentment reigned Mt our
fireside.
am the eldest aud then there was ia
mie,--dear, fragile, suffering brother-whose
life, though full of afIlicton, WAS so full of
that "grace which is sufficient for all trials"
that he seemed most to be envied of any of
u.s. About year ago, little Edie came;
and with her sweet baby cooling, was indeed
our crown of bliss.
But a cloud was gathering in the firma,
ment, so small ut first, rs to be indiscernible.
From lack of support the temperance organ
ization disbanded, and little later the corn
er-stone of our desolation was laid. A new
Board of Excise, composed of the first
men of the town-men of wealth and influ-
ence, who had never known by their own ex.
perience the power and bane of liquor
granted license for sale. You win not
wonder that should say-"but for thisl but
for this!" when tell you that the same night
as tho proprietor of the hotel gave free
drinks TO all, in expression of his Joy at the
Tegained privilege, father was enticed to the
cup, and came home intoxicated
This was the beginning. The next day
brought repentance, and good resolutions,
which were not lasting. The curse had fall
len and things went from bad to worse.
Father. when sober, was kind and Affection
ate; but under tho influence of liquor, he be-
came mailman.
One cold, stormy evening, late in October,
mother Jamie and / had gathered around
the cheerful fire, while baby Edies dove-like
cooling had ceased, and she was sleeping
sweetly in her little crib. | was reading
aloud to mother and Jamie, and for the time
we had laid our cares aside. The sound OF