Western sentinel. [volume] (Winston [i.e. Winston-Salem], N.C.) 1856-1886, 1877-05-17
NO "a


Memory, therefore CLEANS. But
like book which remains long
til.e shut mp III the dust, it needs To
be opened occasionally, in .oricr
that its contents may be clear aud
bright, and ready in time Of need.
When the magic doors Of this
great store-house swing open, what
sweet perfumes of tie summers that
are gone steal gently toward rs I
Flowers faded aud dim, joys lorg
since fled, spring mp and seem alive
again
-H'Forgotten things long cast behind
Rush forward in the brain, and come TO mind
Old affections, as it were, rush
back upon us as vivid as when their
presence first glandened our eyes,
and their y, cents first thrilled our
hearts. Fond images which Have
slept long in our hearts are :hw4ik.
eneds by a word. Ehe spirit Of
some bright hour may talk ,trom
its tomb, aud startlo us with. its
presence. Some dear assnciations
may have reviviied all these
enough, after their long oblivion,
20 make them fash into conscious
ness again. A scent, sound, "a
note Of mnsIc, the whispering of the
summer music, the Whispering cf
! the summer wind, a voice, a sigh, "a
touch, oft starilc us with a revival
of long forgotten thoughts and feel
ing, and fill us with thrill that
hannts lis for years, like some wild
melody. For memory always obeys
the dictates Of the heart.
"a pen to register-a key that
winds through secret wards" says
Wordsworth, care we'll assigned to
memory" Surely that heart were
of strange mould which has cm.
ballned no cherished thoughts, nor
feels no gentle sadness where a
glimpse is Of former joys!
Who remembers not the tender
associations of childhood-the kind
mother who taught us uur first little
prayer, and watched with anxions
heart our slnmbers; the ground our
little feet first trod the play
ground. school and church !; the
good old books that taught us of
liberty and life >; the dear, sweet
songs that thrilled our youthful
hearts; our days of hope and joy
our life, cur love +?
All these are the very first OBJ.
iects which nature tells us to cEcr'
ish They live in memory, become
part of onr very souls, and are
eternal,
Thus memory, strict warden of
f, the mind, keeps fond watch over
r her Jewels. distinguishing between
the pebbles and the pearls. Her
: treasures are music to the soul. The
: rich notes of their melody float
down the echoins corridors of time
q with sweet and inspiring cadence.
. Though the echoes die on the air,
a they live with The soul. AS time
r steals softly away, their -memory
n ripens, and rcmcmbrances wake n
5 choir of song which shall sing for
evcrmore.
= Oh, blest, then, be the memory
+ that it ontlives present realities
If The present is in perpetual motion
S leaving us as soon as II arrives
y ard is only known to have existed
: by the effects which it leaves be-
al hind; but the soul, weaving its
N threads of thoaght in the human
st mind, becomes connected with tho
= fabric there woven, and receives
h h the indelible impression thereof
10 aud as this mysterious spirit inhabit
h, ing our fcshy tabernacle exists for
at ever, SO then, just as an impressibl'
&c nature is now acted upon, must j
ne remain when it wings its flight
IL toward heaven. Ay, memory, out
'l- living present realities, will cen b'
&c there ard follow Us with soul
= treasures throughout the ,boundles
10 realms OF eternity. .-+.'iaa