St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1881-11-25
sfor the yunsehnld.
OutIived Her Usefulness.

Not long since good looking man
in middle life came to our door, asking
for "the minister When informed
that he was out of town he seemed dis
appointed and anxious. On being
questioned as to his business, he re-
piled, 81 have lost my mother, and as
this place used to be her home, and
my father lies here, we have come to
lay her beside him."
My heart rose in sympathy and |
said, "YOu have met with a great
loss"
"Well, yes" said the strong man
with hesitancy; ga mother is great
loss in general; but our mother had
outlived her usefulness /; she was in her
second childhood, and her mind had
grown as weak as her body, so that
she was no comfort to herself and a
burden to everybody There were sew
en- of us, sons and daughters, and as
we could not find anybody who was
willing to board her, we agreed to
keep her among us year about. But
I've had more than my share of her:
for she was too feeble to be moved
when my time was out, and that was
three months before her death. But
then she was good mother in her day
and toiled very hard to bring us all
up"
Without looking at the face of the
heartless man, directed him to the
house of a neighboring pastor, and re-
turned to my misery. | gazed on the
merry little faces which smiled or grew
sad in imitation of mine-thOse little
ones to whose ear no word in our Ian
guage is half so sweet as 'mOther"-
and wondered if that day could ever
come when they could say of me, "She
has Outlived her usefulness she is no
comfort to herself, and burden to ev-
erybody ~ and hoped that before such
day would dawn might be taken to
my rest. God forbid that we should
Outlive the love of our children
Rather let us die while their hearts
are part of our own, that our graves
may be watered with their tears, and
our love linked with the hopes of
heaven.
When the bell tolled for the moth
er's burial we went to the sanctuary to
pay our token of respect for the aged
stranger, for we felt that we could give
her memory 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"
Those cruel, heartless words rang in
our ears as we saw the coffin borne up
the aisle. The bell tolled long and
loud, until its iron tongue had chrOni-
cled the years of the toilwOrn mother
| -three-four-fvs How
clearly and almost merrily, each stroke
told of her once peaceful slumber III
her mothers bosom, and of her seat al
nightfall on her weary fathers knee
Six-seven-eight- - nine ten, rang
out the tale of her sports upon the
greensward in the meadow and by the
brook. Eleven = twelve - thirteen
fourteen-fifteen, spoke more gravely
of schOOldays and little household joys
and cares. Sixteen-seyenteen -eigh-
teen, sounded out the enraptured Wis
ions of maidenhood and the dream O
early love. Nineteen brought us the
happy bride. Twenty spoke of the
young mother, whose heart was full to
bursting with the new-sprung love
which God had awakened in her bosom
ana Une0 SUTOhc dlUcT bJTOkt UOlu u
early wOmanhOOd-Of the loves and
cares and hopes and fears and toili
through which she passed during thes,
long years, till fifty rang out harsh anC
loud. From that to sixty each stroke
told of the warm hearted mother an(
grandmother living over again her owl
Joys and sorrows in those of her chill
dren and children's children. Every
family of all the group wanted grand
mother then, and the only strife wal
who should secure the prize but bark
the bell tolls on Seventy -One-tw'
} -three-fOur. She begins to grow
feeble, requires some care, is not al
ways perfectly patient or satisfied
she goes from one child's house to an
other, so that no one place seems lik
home. She murmurs in plaintive tale
and after all her toll and weariness
+ is hard she cannot be allowed hOm
to die in; that she must be sent rathe
than invited from house to house
Eighty eighty -three-fou
-ah now she is a second child-nOy
; .'she has outlived her usefulness, sh
| has ceased to be comfort TO herself o
! any body !" that is, she has ceased b