Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1875-07-16
TIE UNSUCCESSFUL FAMILY.
The story OF n FnmiIy who Lived II quiet
Life and were Mourncd when they Died.

The story OF n Family who Lived II Quiet
Life and were Mourncd when they Died.
They were all unsuccessful, as the
word goes. Neither in their lives nor
deaths, in their marriages or In their
business, were they generally fortunate
or happy. They had not inherited that
Yankee cla3ticty which RECEIVERS in
stautly from every strain and misfortune.
Whenever they entered upon struggle
thcy surrendered beforehand by expect
ing defeat, and thus they grew painful
" fomi]iar with the word "fail." One
SON promised to be IN exception to tins
rule. A hardworking and honorable
lawyer, he gathered together IN early
life Il practice of which most veteran
lawyers wouli have been proud, and
made new fortune rs soon as he lost
tho old in unfortunate Investments.
But his brothers and sisters never CHI
ioycd III their homes even glimpse OF
his transient prosperity, The other son,
modest Methodist Clergyman, had no
clearer idea of prosperity than distant
perspective could give him. Privatlon
Of luxruics had been so long his lot that
he ceased to think Of them as attainablc.
He even suffered privation of things nee
cssary almost to life itself, and knew
what hunger and thirst and heat and
cold were, as few men know them. His
incum" never exceeded that of pert
and "smalt boy il a New York bank
ing house, though he was ono of the
best scholars his college - through
which ne worked his way-cver sent
ont, and his mind WAS stored richly
with knowledge which he never dis
played to dazzle the simple people about
him
The sum total of the earnings of his
lifetime Il thrrwl stock broker would
make and lose five times day. lie
never wrote any books or received amy
dcgr,c IS; he did not live where there was
It newspaper TO report his sermons, and
it is safe to say they were never advcr-
tisci in adymcr His life was a plodding
and painful one, full Of caro- and anxiety,
unbrolrn by any pleasure save that
which he drew from the love of his wife
and children, and unchccrcd by the
society Of any but dull villagers. The
eldest Of the sisters married Young and
foolishly. But of the story Of the labors,
the trials, tn" hcartbrcaks and Sui1'crings
OF tie woman who learns too late that
the treasure Of her heart has been poured
out in vain, who shall write? The long
years Of hope that are without hope; the
constant struggles which are forcorlainod
to defeat; the slow and reluctant transfer
OF love and watchfulncSs from drunken
husband to needless and thoughtlcss
children; the constant Outpouring Of
affection where there is no return; the
work of the worn fingers, stitching under
the midnight lamp; the hunger for cdu
cation and for bread for her children that
denies her cithcr-thcso are to be read
in more than one white and weary face
you whirl carclcssIy past i'll the street.
The other sister was the happiest Of all,
for she had no history. The kind fatcs
sent her quiet and obscurity. AS Il
schcolt"achcr, she lived Il sheltered life,
save when ono or two great storms broke
over the barriers Of her retreat. She
never did anything remarkable or
avhicyod even in her limited sphere any
thing more than the half success that
seemed to be the family characteristic.
They are all dead now, and the earth
that SO seldom seemed to have q resting
place fer them lies green and peaceful
above their dust. They were gone, and
lows another; they were gone, and there
was no moro trace of them than of the
lines IN the sand the wave washes away.
They left no fortunes behind thcm, or
fractions of fortunes; nor any fame
their very names were known only to a
few score people. They had not even
tilt lllD I'iIlt6H VI ~ 'I'ii'I Nt'Clilit. Liz
lawyer lost his mind and his fortune at
one blow, and died uncontrolled by a
hcartIcRs wife and no less hcartlcss chill
drcn. The clergyman suffered in the
body the equal of all his former distress
Of mind, and passed away as poor as he
Lad come. The sisters lived out their
lives in the patient way of women to the
very end.
Failures Wrecks? MOI The min
lister was carried to his little church on
tho bleak hillside by loving pensioners
whose hobnaiIcl boots crunchcd with
coarse, unfccling sound the frozen yell
low mud beneath their feet. Thcchurch
where he had labOrcd was filled with
mourncrS, for every child in the neigh
borhood WAS in grief, AMI the very win
ter winds that moancd about the build
ing seemed an echo of their mourning.
No Spurgcon or Bccchcr could be more
lolncnted. If his memory dies it will
not be because it was unworthy to live.
His brother was followed by all the
lamentations of those whose helper he