The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1880-02-14
IIApTElt '.
Rambling again in the bright, bright wood,
la the charm Of changing view,
And bathed in the glOrcs Of the Autumn hue
We strolIed through the solitude.

And bathed in the glorics of the Autumn hue
| We .roIled through the solitude,
After our morning WORK my sister and !, as
usual in the sunny weather, sought the SOL
E. tude Of our grand cid oak near the overflow
4 ing fountain at the foot OF the orchard. Inc
summer was past; the meadows were mowr
; closely and carefully rakcd, the precious
r swccscentCd hay was safely and snugly STOW
ed away in the great barn and in shapely rlck'
anG stacks in the midst Of The great meadows
for winter use, The bright, summer flowers
: were dccaycd and gonc-nothng but tht
| brown pastures, the hardy fall flowers and the
i wlthcrcd leaves renamed, for the frost had
touched the forest, and its changing beauties
were fast fading the crisp October days had
come. Our cousins had come again and made
us "A good visit We had strollcd over the
4 fields and through the woods gathering the
hardy wild flowers, the brown Chestnuts and
walnuts and the bright hickory nuts. While
; our mother was in health my little sister and
| concluded that life was without "a cloud, and
j that we were perfectly happy-knowing OF
) feeling no want We laughed and sported the
live-lOng days, our little Interruptions only
\ frightening our pleasures when together. W,
! thought our mother the prettest and sweetest
woman in the world, and our father the grand
est, noblest and richest man in the world. The
WOTlu 10 us WIS very h''
more than one hundred miles square. Wash
inglon was certainly the largest town in the
world, and Pittsburgh the largest and finest
city Our father in removing to the country
brought with him his family carriage, hand
some substantial DurOuChe; we children i'm
aglned it the grandcSt carriage in the wide
world, and If we thought of Queen Victoria
! or General Jackson in their fine turneuts, we
never envicd them. On first day, or Sunday,
when mother was IN health, father, mother and
some Of the smaller children, usually went III
the carriage seven miles to West Land Qua
kcr meeting, while the older boys ana girls,
Imoultcd on horseback, dashed along the
smooth turnpike and far outstripped us IN the
| Journey After the hours solemn silence,
sometime, broken by the voice OF some OF the
Older men IN cXhortaton, or the older ladies
| IN prayer, We repaired either to our uncle's o!
some Of the friends houses on our way and
Iuar,ook of Il guou, hearty meal. Then play
| upon the green or a rnmblc IN the woods, or "a
splash in the old Pike Run; then in the even
ling we returned to our loved hOmc-neycr
| lonely on account OF the long absence of the
! many children. Blessed are those who have
large families; they are never lonely and learn
lessons of unscllishness. a curse upon those
who practice lnfantic.de and tTtiCidc-lt Is
gcnlcc murder, nothing else.
Our mother never left her room, and gradu-
ally but surely she faded away. In after years,
when grown to manhood, the writer met n
Cumberland Presbyterian clergyman who
! rave him some account OF his mothers last
! illness rs follows
II lived in Washington; preached IN W,
| in Uniontown, and occasionally in llillsbOro,
and often made your fathers house my stop
Ipingplace. | remember well on one occasion
] t..tI,. bad IN his hIIn in
I'My wife is very H. but | think she would
| like to see you, although she may not be able
to converse much went with him. Your
mother was so exceedingly nervous that both
! he and removed our boots in the outer room
and placed upon our feet soft, light slippers
ere We entered your mothers bedroom. She
smiled on seeing me, and requested me to be-
4 seated near the bed. suggested that much
conversation might PROSTATE her. She replied
| on, no; know | am dying, but the messcn-
! gcr will not come for Il little while yet and
want to converse with you IN the presence OF
my husband-poor man, he Will soon be left
! alone with ms seven children, some of them
only babcs-and you must comfort him when
| am no more. DO not weep, dear husband
but draw up the blinds and let IN the floods OF
/ sunshine, for want you never to forget this
conversation She ceased for a few moments
you feel yourself nearing deaths stream, or
rather, the gates of glory, and there is not a
i cloud to obstruCt the view. You have done
your work, and done it well-now you only
think of husband and children. The blessed
I God who has gently smOothCd your way
4 through this thorny world, and made your
dying pillow soft as downy pillows are will
also support, and lead and care for your be
rcaved-ihricc bereaved family. Your hus
band will miss you every hour Of the day, and
i when he returns at nighttall his home will
appear dcsered--thc children the little ones
will mourn AS those without comfort yet God
will, by his divine spirit support the husband
and comfort the children; and feeling that
they have sweet ties drawing them toward
heaven, they will strive to do their duty man
fully and well, expecting by and by to meet on
the other shore
4 "Oh, yes, it will he so-glory to God In the
highest. know it will be So she said, and
claspcd her hands in an ecstacy of delight
Such complete triumph in the presence of the
| grim monster never behold before In lit
y Tie while she said
"'rhou has told it better than could. dc
II feel
/ There is not cloud within the ckics
To hide the Saviour from mine eyes
u On, ucatD, where is my SURG : On, grave
where Is thy victory She lay again for d
few moments very still. looked at your faith
cr to see If we had better retire; but he shook
his head. Again she broke out: This is my
gala day; | feel no pam, only weakness. Ev
erythlng Is swallowed up in complete victory
4 Thou art of different persuasion, but ii mat
tiers not Christ Jesus Is my Saviour too, and
he saves To- the uttcrmUst all that come to him
bot We must come to HIM. My dear hus
band Is much-perhaps too much-taken W
with the things of tins world, It's vain glory
and riches | hope he will not neglect my
! precious babes deprived Of fond mothers
care, and after "A suitable time wish him to
choose another guardian-anothcr mother toi
my children
i Your father arose, and groaniug aloud walk
cd the floor like one distracted. She waited a