Year: 1878

unfairly; the face turned ashy pale as
the cold perspiTation broke forth from
every pore; the sturdy limbs of the felOn
trembled, and he staggered in the dock.
In the first transports of her mental
anguish the suffering mother threw her
self upon her knees at my feet, and fer
vently besought the Almighty Being
who had hitherto supported her in all
her troubles, to release her from world
of woe and misery, and to spare the life
of her only child. A burst of grief, and
a violent struggle, such as l hspe I may
never have to witness again, succeeded
knew that her heart was breaking from
that hour but | never once heard COM
plaint or murmur escape her lips.


1t was piteOus spectacle to see that
woman in the prisOn~yard from day to
day, eagerly ana fervently attempting
by affection and entreaty, to soften the
hard heart of her Obdurate son. It was
in vain. He remained moody, Obsti-
nate, and unmOved. Not even the un>
loOked-for Communication of his sentence
to transportation for fourteen years,
sOftened for an instant the sullen haTdi-
hood of his demeanor.


But the spirit of resignation and en-
durance that had 50 long upheld her,
was unable to contend against bodily
weakness and infrmity. She fell sick.
She dragged her tOttering limbs from
the bed to visit her son once more bU
her strength failed her and she sunk
powerless on the ground.


And now the boasted cOldness and
indifference of the young man were
tested indeed and the retributiOn that
fell heavily upon him, nearly drove him
mad. a day passed away and his mother
was not there; another few by, and she
came not near him; third eve1ing ar
rived, and yet he had not seen her; and
in four and twenty hours he was to be
separated from heI--perhaps forever.
Oh how the long forgotten thoughts of
former days rushed upon his mind, as
ne almost ran up and down the narrow
yard-as if intelligence would arrive the
sooner for his hurrying--and how bitter
a sense of his helplessness and desOlatiOn
rushed upon him, when he heard the
truth? His mother, the only parent he
had ever known, lay ili--it might be,
dying-within one mile OF the ground
he stood on were he. free and unfettered,
few minutes would place him by
her side. He rushed to the gate, and
grasping the iron rails with the energy
Of desperation, shook it till it rang again,
and threw himself against the thick wall
as if to force passage through the stone!
but the strong building Knocked his fee
Bile efforts, and he beat his hands together
and wept like child.


I" 1 bore the mothers forgiveness and
blessing TO her son in prison, and l car
ried his solemn assurance of repentance,
and his fervent supplicatiOn for pardon,
to her sick bed. I heard with pity and
compassion, the repentant man devise a
thousand little plans for her comfort and
support when he returned; put | knew
that many months before he could reach
his place of destination, his mother would
be no longer of this world.


He was removed by night. \ few
weeks afterward the poor wOman's soul
took its fight, / confidently hope, and
solemnIy believe, to a place of eternal
happiness and rest. I performed the
burial service over her remains. She
lies in our little churchyard, There is
no stone at her graves head. Her sor-
rows were known to man; her virtues to
God.


L" 1t had been arranged previously to
the convict's departure, that he should
write to his mother as soon as he could
obtain permission, and that the letter
should be addressed to me. The father
had positively refused to see his son from
the moment of the apprehension and it
was a matter of Indifference to him
whether he lived or died. Many years
passed over without any intelligence OF
him, and when more than half his term
of transpC tion had expired, and had
received no letter, concluded him to be
dead, as indeed, l almost hoped he might
be.


Edmunds, however, had been sent a
considerable distance up the country on
his arrival at the settlement; and to this
circu Instance, perhaps, may be attributed
the fact, that though several letters were
dispatched, none of them ever reached
my hands. He remained in the same
place during the whole fourteen years
At the expiration OF the term, steadily
adbering to his old resolution and the
pledge he gave his mother, he made his
way back to England amidst innumer~
able difficulties, and returned, on foot, to
his native place.


On aine Sunday evening, in the month
of August, John Edmunds set foot in
the village he had left with shaRe and
disgrace seventeen years before. His
nearest way lay through the chUrchysrd.
The mans heart swelled as he crossed
the stile, The tall old elms, through
whose branches the declining sun cast
here and there q rich ray of light upon
the shady path, awakened the assOcia-
tions of his earliest days. He pictured
himself es he was then, clinging to his
mothers hand, and walking peaceably
TO church. He remembered hsw he used
to look up into her pale face, and how
her eyes would sometimes fill with tears
as she gazed upon his features
Sof, coll hrF n
as she stopped to kiss him, and made him
weep too, although he little knew then
what bitter tears hers were. He thought
how often he had run merriiy down that
path with some childish playfellow,
looking back ever and again to catch his
mothers smile, or hear her gentle voice !;
and then a veil seemed lifted from his
memory, and werds of kindness unTe-
Quilted, and warnings despised, and
promises broken thronged upon his recol-
lection till his heart failed him, and he
could bear it no longer.


He entered the church. The evening
service was concluded and the cOngrega-
tiOn had dispersed, but it was not yet
| closed. His steps echoed through the
/ low building with a hollow sound, and
| he almost feared to be alone, it was so
still and quiet. He looked round him.
/ Nothing was changed. The place seemed
smaller than it used to be, but there were


the old monuments on which he had


gazed with childish ave a thousand
times; the communion table before which
he had so often repeated the command


ments he had Teverenced as a child and
forgotten as a man. He approached the
old seat; it looked cold and desOlate.
The cushion had been removed, and the
bible was not there. Perhaps his mother


now occupied a poorer seat, or possibly
she had grown infirm and could not reach
the church alone. He dared not think


Of what he feared. A cold feeling crept