The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1878-10-24
THE OLD MOTHER.

She sits in the sunlight, and as the beam
fall upon her silver hair, they liqht II d,
with a radiant glory. Her hands are CLASH
ed upon her lap, her face Is placid and kind
ly, her manners gentle and serene. Nc
stormy passions agitate her heart, no word
OF rancor fall from her lips, no unholy am
bition SWAPS her life. She dwells in tn,
courts of peace, and the heaven to which
the angels are waiting to welcome her ha,
thrown around her, even here, an atmos
phere both of beauty and of love.
She has in her long journey through life,
gathered up many beautiful blossoms to
weave in her chaplet. One by one the roses
have faded, and few are now left in hel
garland of life. He to whom she gave he,
heart and hand in the sunny days of her
girlhood fell long ago by the wayside,
"wearied with the march Of iife.r
She shared his prosperity and his adyersity,
and either way she was satisfied, because In
the sunlight and the shadow she knew he
was near. b looks back now, far, far
down into the dark cave of time, and she
sees no gloomy shadow cast by her upon
the love which was her Joy and her strength.
She cannot recall one unkind word she ut
tered, or remember q frown that she ever
wore. Glad is the old mother to think of
this, and to know that whatever sorrow
came to the husbands heart none ever came
through her.
Her children. too, have dropped away
from her side ; only q few remain to COM
fort and to cheer her. Death, the
has moved down some Of the brightest
blossoms in her living wreath, and the
young, the strong, and the brave have pre-
ceded her to the =" silent land" Well. this
was Gods will, and it must be hers so she
bows her head in resignation. Absence has
carried others far away; oceans roll be-
tween and mountains intervene, and the
places that knew them in the home know
them no more. Thus it is that, one by one,
they have dropped off, leaving the house
hold wreath almost bare.
She utters no complaint, the old mother i:
she knows that these things come not by
chance, but are decreed by One who " doeth
all things we'll" She knows that they who
have length of days must have many sor-
rows and see countless changes. She does
not cloud the present by regrets for the
past; she accepts whatever sunshine is
vouchsafed her, and sends not her heart out
yearningly after what has left her path.
She is cheerful, serene, and contented,
and her heart CLOVIS with love and melts
with pity towards all humanity. She is as
full OF sympathy as a rose is full of per-
fume; her words are replete with the wis.,
uohn gathered from the experience n OBJ
servation of many years, and in learning
humanity her knowledge has taught her
pity and charity, not harshness and condem-
nation. For her children there burns be-
fore the shrine of her heart n perpetual
lamp Of love which never loses one drop of
oil. Brighter and purer grows the flame,
lighting up the darkest nook Of home. No
cold winds from the shores of Indifference
can make the flame aver flicker absence
cannot dim the glory; crime itself has no
power to lessen the undying light of the old
mothers love. The Joys of her children are
her Joys; she sorrows when they sorrow
and she thrills with pleasurable pride when
the world crowns them with success. She
has no ambition for herself, she would not
bend her head for the brightest of earthly
crowns, but she would gladly see the chill
dren of her love crowned and happy.
Loving, unselish, serene, gentle, devoted
nd cheerful, thu lives the old morher-a
tossing to the home that holds her, q ioy to
Inc hearts that love her, an inspiration for
good to those that look up to her. God
bless the old motherI