Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1876-11-03
For the VERMONT FARMER.
The Great Beautifer.

Did you never think what magic of trans
formation there is in death? How it tones
down character and builds up the same
snoothes out defects and levels distinction
In the language Of Irving it "covers every
error, and extinguishes every resentment"
And more than all these it often makes beau.
tiful the life Of the humbest Of mortals-
the most common place Of men.
There's poor old Uncle Jacob, for instance
while he lived, he was good enough person
in his way,-made no enemies and kept on
in the even tenor Of his way nothing re-
markable about him till one day he died.
All but then you should have heard the
praises so lavish, now that he lies unhecding !;
ale was a very nice man, so quiet and kind"
Then it is discovered that he was always
'just So" no one ever saw him angry, cal
ways so willing to help in ncighborly way"
Then some one having a tlnge Of romance in
their makeup is "sure that so good man
must have been Tilted in his youth, or else
he would have been married" And then
1.-THE best that coad be said of him, bless
hn) the children all loved him dearly,
which last is conclusive, he WaS good, all
of which doubtless would not have transpired
had he lived.
Molly, the poor Irish woman, with her
hard struggle for bread to fill the many little
mouths that cry to her so necessarily that it
seems that she can hardly keep them in COM
fort, much less supply their other and higher
needs. Poor little dirt-begrimmed babies !
Mother has no time with all her washings
and starchngs for other people to try their
merits on her own little family. Bye and
bye along comes the Group aud settles as
firmly on the child of poverty as upon the
darling of afluence. A hard struggle for
breath, a useless fighting Of the little hands,
hard to see, and the agony is over. A kind
lady over the way comes, in Mollies' extrem-
ity, and comforts her as she so well knows
how to do. Kindly and tenderly she washes
the little form and combs the tiny curls
Cunning curls they were when coaxed by
skillful tingers) tenderly the little form is
draped in dainty laccs, little garments long
since Outgrown, their former wearer now at
college. Dainty knots Of white ribbon at
the plump shoulders dimpled arms half.hid.
den in the fieecy drapery, with an opening
rosebud clasped in the waxen fingers. No
wonder the poor mother walls out in new
agony at the sight. 1t comes as new rev.
citation to her. "lndeed, ma'am, | never
knew he was 80 beautiful before!" 1t was
not at all the little jamie she had thought
such burden all along; but, now he has
gone, the little angel, the memory of whom
she will mourn and idolizo to the day of her
death. And so to most of us it will come,
bye and bye, the great beauti6er When
our earthly ears are dulled alike to discord
and harmony, eer oblivions's wave shall
have swept over "the places that knew us,
but which shall know US no more" Falter
not, weary feet; sometime, if note now, it
will be remembered Of you that you tried to
walk liie's thOrny path Alright. The mis-
takes, the thOughtess words, maybe bitterly
repented) will be forgotten, aud the memory
of the good aud beautiful only will remain
and it will be written upon chiseled marble,
"Sho hath done what she could"
ANNIE.