Thou art nearer to us now, Marie, Thy vision is more clear, Thou speakest with a seraph’s voice In that celestial sphere. Oh, pray the Lord of Life, beloved, That unto us be given, To cheer the darkness of our path, Some glimpses of thy heaven. * * * * * LOVE, DUTY AND HOPE. BY ENNA DUVAL. “Learn by a mortal yearning to ascend— Seeking a higher object. Love was given, Encouraged, sanctioned, chiefly for that end; For this the passion to excess was driven— That self might be annulled: her bondage prove The fetters of a dream, opposed to love.” “What though the radiance which was once so bright Be now for ever taken from my sight, Though nothing can bring back the hour Of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower; We will grieve not, rather find Strength in what remains behind, In the primal sympathy Which having been must ever be; In the soothing thoughts that spring Out of human suffering. In the faith that looks through death, In years that bring the philosophic mind.” —WORDSWORTH. There is a romance and interest in the simple unadorned recital of any woman’s life, no matter how confined may have been her sphere of action. When I look around a circle of elderly ladies, whose countenances, so quiet and calm, tell the victory they have gained over “the weary strife of frail humanity.” I think, ye were once young and full of hope, love and enthusiasm, and ye have passed through scenes of romance unconsciously. Each wrinkle, each line on their aged faces seem glorified to me, for they are records of woman’s trials—evidences of the earnest struggle of each fond, enduring woman’s heart. Years, many and trying have passed since I was a child. The days of my girlhood I recall with but little pleasure, for the recollection is associated with remembrances of dependence, loneliness, and ill-health. My parents died while I was yet quite young. Of my father I have no recollection—of my mother a faint memory, which may be but fancy after all. A girl always imagines she recollects her mother, and with the fancied memory she blends all that is lovely and beautiful.