shade of sombre pines, to think of the loneliness that must
dwell in the hearts of those from whom such a treasure had been taken;
and they, as they turned to a home that seemed almost desolate, tried
in vain to subdue the bitterness of their anguish. _They had seen her
grave_--and who that has stood beside the little mound of earth that
covers the form of some one loved and lost--has forgotten the crushing
agony that comes with the first full realization that all is
over--that hope--prayer--lamentation--is of no avail, for the "grave
giveth not up its dead until such a time as the mortal shall put on
immortality."

The dark hearse, with its nodding plumes, bears the rich man from his
door, to a grave whose proud monument shall commemorate his life, be
its deeds good or evil. Perhaps an almost endless train of costly
equipages follow; and there are congregated many who seem to weep, but
I question if in all that splendor there lingers half the love, or
half the regret which was felt for the little one whose mournful
burial we have recorded; or if the grave, with its richly wrought pile
of sculptured marble, be as often visited, and wept over, as was the
low, grassy mound marked only by a clambering rose-tree, whose pure
petals, as they floated from their stems, were symbols of the life and
death of the village favorite.

It was many days before the household of Deacon Gordon regained any
thing like serenity; but the business of life must go on, come what
may, and in the petty detail of domestic cares, the keenness of grief
is worn away, and a mournful pleasure mingles with memories of the
past. It was in this case as in all others; gradually it became less
painful to see everywhere around traces of the child and the sister;
they could talk of her with calmness, and recall the many pleasant
little traits of character which she had even at so early an age
exhibited. The robin that she had fed daily, came still at her
brother's call to peck daintily at the grain which he threw toward it.
The pet kitten gamboled upon the sunny porch, or peered with curious
face over the deep well, as if studying her own reflection,
unconscious that the one who had so loved to watch her ceaseless play
was gone forever. Even Mary could smile at its saucy ways; and though
the memory of her sister was ever present, she could converse without
shedding tears, of her gentleness and truth, thanking God she had been
taken from evil to come.

The