The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1880-08-19
"SHE HAS OUTLIyED HER USE.
PULNESS." - So

. eA~~< sA-Ao w IL AAAAe WIZ
2 FULNESS." ~ 50
Not long sincey- good-looking man
in middle life came to our door, asking
Tor 1.-THE minister" When informed
that he was out of town, he appeared
disappointed and anxious. On being
questioned as to his business, he re-
piled: g have lost nv mother. and
this place used to be her home, and as
my father lies here, we have come to
lay her beside him. -,-e4 .
Our heart rose in sympathy, and we
said: "You have met with great
loss"
"Wen-yes," replied the strong man
with hesitancy, ''a mother is a great
loss in general; but our mother had
outlived her usefulness. She was in
her second childhood, and her mind was
grown as weak as her BODY, so that she
was no comfort to herself and was a
burden to everybody. There were
seven of us. sons and daughters, and as
We could not find any one who would
board her, We agreed to Keep her
among us year about; but have had
more than my share of her, for she was
too feeble TO be moved when my time
was out, and that was more than three
months before her death. But then she
was good mother in her day, and
tolled very hard to bring us up"
Without looking at the face of the
heartless man. we directed him to the
house of a neighboring pastor, and re-
the merry little faces which smiled or
grew sad in imitation of ours-those
little ones to whose ear no word in our
language is half so sweet as "mother"
and we wondered if the time would
ever come when they would say of us:
'She has outlived her usefuln ess, she
is no comfort to herself and burden
to everybody else;" and we hoped that
before such a day would dawn we
might be taken to our rest. God for
bid that we should outlive the love of
our children. Rather let us die while
our hearts are a part of their own, that
our grave may be watered with their
tears, and our love linked with their
hopes of heaven.
When the bell tolled for the mothers
burial we went to the sanctuary TO paw
our only token of respect to the aged
stranger; for we felt that we could
give her memory n tear, even though
her own children had none to shed.
She was a good mother in her day
and toiled hard to bring us all up-she
was no comfort to herself, and burden
to everybody elser These cruel, heart
less words rung in our ears as we saw
the coffin borne up the aisle. The bell
tolled long and loud, until its iron
tongue had chronicled the years of the
care-worn mother. One-two-three-
four-five. How clearly and almost
merrily each stroke told of her once
peaceful slumber in her mothers
bosom, and of her seat at nightfall on
her weary fathers knees. gSix-seven
--eight-nine-ten- out the tale
OF her sports upon the green-sward, in
the meadow, and beside the brook.
Eleven-twelve- thirteen-fourteen-
spoke more gravely of school days and
teen = seventeen = eighteen sounded
out the enraptured visions of maiden
hood and the dream of early love.
Nineteen brought before us the happy
bride. Twenty spoke of the young
mother whose heart was full to burst
lug with the new, strong love which
God had awakened in her heart. And
then.stroke after stroke told of her early
womanhood-of the loves, and cares,
and hopes, and fears. and tolls,
through which she passed during these
long ears. till fifty rang out harsh and
loud. From that to sixty each stroke
told of the warm hearted mother and
grandmother, living over again her own
joys and sorrows in those of her chill
dren, and her children's children.
Every family of all the group wanted
grandmother then, and the only strife
was who should secure the prize; but,
bark, the bell tolls oni Seventy-sev-
enty-one-two-thre She be-
gins to grow feeble, requires some care,
is not always perfectly patient or salts
fed; she goes from one child's house to
another, so that no one place seems like
home. She murmurs in plaintive tones,
and after all her toll and WEAKNESS, it
is hard she cannot be allowed home
to die in; that she must be sent, rather
than invited from house to house.
Eighty -eigbty-one-two--t
All, she is now second child-now,
'she has outlived her usefulness, she
has now ceased to be a comfort to her
self or anybody" that is. she has ceased
to be profitable to her earth craving and
money -grasping children.
Now sounds out, reverberatino through
our lovely forest, and coming back from
our 'hill of the dead" eighty-ninei
4hClC SuC liCS uoW III hCl COlu
still, she makes no II ouble now, demands
no love, no soft words, no tender little
offices. A look of patient endurance,
we fancied, also an expression of grief
for unrequited love. sat ON her marble
features. Her children were there clad
in weeds of woe, and as an irony we
remembered the strong mans words:
"She was good mother in her day."
When the bell ceased tolling, the
strange minister rose in the pulpit. His
form was very erect and his voice strong.
but his hair was silvery white. He read
several passages of Scripture expressive
of Gods compassion to feeble man, and
especially of his tenderness when the
gray hairs are on him and his strength
faileth. He then made some touching
remarks on human frailty, and our de-
pendence on God, urging all present to
make their peace with their Master
while in health, that they might claim
his promises when heart and health
failed them. Then" he said, "the
eternal God shall be thy refuge, and be-
meath thee shall be the everlasting
arms - TeaninU oyer the desk and