Year: 1875

face and bending frame OF her mother, on
the deepening wrinkles and whitening
hairs of her father, often would she lie
weeping for their sakes on her midnight
bed, and wish that she might kneel down
and kiss them, and mention their names
over and over again in her prayer. The
parents whom before she had only loved,
her expanding heart now also venerated.
With gushing tenderness was now mingled
a holy fear and an awful reverence. She
had discerned the relation in which she,
an only child, stood to her poor parents,
now that they were getting old, and there
was not passage in Scripture that spoke
of parents or of children, from Joseph sold
into slavery, to Mary weeping below the
Cross, that was not written, never to be
obliterated, on her uncorrrpted heart


The father rose from his seat, and went
to the door, to look out into the night.
The stars were in thousands,-and the full
moon was risen. 1t was almost as light
as day, and the snow, that seemed incrtlst-
cd with diamonds. was so hardened by
the frost, that his daughters homeward
feet would leave no mark on its surface.
He had been toiling all day among the
distant Castle woods, and, stiff and
wearied as he now was, he was almost
tempted to go to meet his child j; but his
wifes kind voice dissuaded him, and, re-
turning to the fireside, they began to talk
of her, whose image had been SO long
passing before them in their silence.
''She is growing up to be a bonnie las
sic," said the mother; "her long and
weary attendance on me during my fever
last spring kept her down a WHILE but
now she is sprouting fast and iair as
lily, and may the blessing of God be as
dew and as sunshine to our sweet flower
all the days she bloometh upon this earth"
"Ay, Agnes" replied the father 1--WE are
not very old yet,-though we are getting
older.-and few years will bring her to
woman's estate, and what thing on this
earth, think ye. human or brute, would
ever think OF injuring herP Why. ! was
speaking about her yesterday to the min
ister as he was riding by, and he told me
that none answered at the examination in
the kirk so well as Hannah. Poor thing,
/ we'll think she has all the Bible by heart,
indeed, she has read but little else,-
only some stories,-too true ones, Of the
blessed martyrs. and some of the auld
sangs o. Scotland, in which there is moth
ing but what is good, and which, to be
sure. she sings, God bless her, sweeter
than any laverock." "Ay, were we both
to die this very night, she would be hap
py. Not that she would forget us all the
days of life. But have you not seen, hns-
band, that God always makes the orphan
They come to make friends o. all the bon
ny and sweet things in the world, around
them, and all the Kind hearts in the world
make O. them. They come TO know that
God is more especially the Father o. them
on earth whose parents he has taken up
to heaven; and therefore it is that they
for whom so many have fears, fear not
for themselves. but 60 dancing and sing
ing along like children whose parents are
both alive.


Would it not be so with our dear Han.
nah? So douce and thoughtful child
but never sad nor miserable. ready, it is
true, to shed tears for little, but as ready
to dry them up and break out into smiles
know not why it is, husband. but this
night my heart warns towards her be-
yond usual The moon and stars are al
this moment looking down upon her, and
she looking up to them, as she is glinting
homcwards over the snow. wish she
were but here. and taking the comb out o.
her bonny hair and letting it fall down in
clusters before the fire, to melt away the
cranreuch.N


While the parents were thus speaking
OF their daughter, a loud sough Of wind
came suddenly over the cottage, and the
lcatless ash-tree, under whose shelter it
stood, creaked and groaned dismally as it
passed by. The father started up. and,
going again to the door, saw that sud-
den change had come over the face Of the
night. The moon had nearly disappeared,
and was just visible in dim. yellow,
gimmeliug den in the sky. All the re-
mote stars were obscured. and only one
or two family seemed in a sky that half an
hour before was perfectly cloudless, but
that was now driving with rack and mist
and sleet, the whole atmosphere being in
commotion. He stood for a single mo-
ment to observe the direction of this un-
foreseen storm. and then hastily asked for
his staff. 81 thought l had been more
wealherwise. A storm is coming down
from the Carnbrachawse, and we shall
have nothing but wild night" He then
whistled on his dog,--an old sheep-dog,
too old for its former labors,-and set off
to meet his daughter. who might then, for
aught he knew, be crossing the Black
moss. The mother accompanied her hus-
band TO the door, and took long, fright
ened look at the angry sky. As she kept
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last shred of blue was extinguished; the
wind went whirling in roaring eddies, and
great flakes of snow circled about in
the middle air, whether drifted up


from the ground, or driven from the clouds.


the fcar-stricken mother knew not, but


she at last knew that it seemed night of
danger, despair, and death, "Lord have
mercy on us, james. what will become of
our poor bairn - But her husband heard
not her words, for he was already out of
sight in the snow storm, and she was left
to the terror of her own soul in that lone
some cottage, u.s


Little Hannah Lee had left her masters
house, soon as the rim of tho great moon
was seen by her eyes, that had been long
and anxiously watching IL from the win
dow, rising, like joyful dream. over the
| gloomy mountain.tops; and all by herself
She tripped along beneath the beauty OF


the silent heaven. Still as she kept as


cending and descending the knolls that
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