's-day in the home of the widow
and the fatherless. Margaret, passive in her affliction, for she was
stunned by its suddenness, sat gazing with tearless eyes upon the
corner where the dim outline of a human form was seen under its white
covering; and little William, turning his eyes alternately from his
pale mother to the corpse of his father, was too much awe-stricken by
the presence of the dread destroyer to utter a word.

It was not until after the remains of poor Raymond had been laid in
the grave, and the widow had returned to her desolate cottage, that
she experienced the full weight of her heavy burden. Even when death
comes slowly, when sickness, pain, and long suspense have made the
issue certain, it is hard for the bereaved to realize the dread event;
but when the scythe of the destroyer has passed so quickly over, when
the home is made so speedily desolate, and the place vacant, is it
wonderful that to the stricken mourner all seems dark, discerning no
light behind the overshadowing cloud? But none, dear reader, are
afflicted more than they can bear; the words of worldly wisdom would
fall upon the ear unheard, but the sacred balm poured out upon the
bruised heart by the sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit, the
Comforter promised by our Saviour, soothes the soul into submission,
and whispers, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will not forsake
the widow, nor shall the orphan be forgotten."

It was not long until the pious Margaret recognised the hand by which
she had been smitten; and the first stunning effect of her grief being
past, with the same patient, humble, and calm spirit that had always
characterized her in her prosperous days, she prepared to make
arrangements for a more frugal course of life than that they had
hitherto maintained, although the housekeeping had always been of the
most simple order. She could not afford to keep the cottage in which
they had lived so happily; the vines her husband's hand had trained,
the flowers she had planted, the little garden which they both had
delighted to keep in order, must pass into the hands of strangers; and
the thought of leaving a place so dear by association gave an
additional pang to the grief already so great. She looked upon her
child, her last, her only treasure, and blessing God that this comfort
was still spared, she resolved to exert every energy in the endeavour
to bring him up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Great was
her adv