The Factory Girl | Page 7

up to the present time, life was rendered sweet from day to day, by those countless charms which home furnishes, especially in the moral seclusion of such a residence.
The worthy parents were not blest with an abundance of wealth, yet they were able, by in dustry and frugality, to gain a comfortable support for themselves and their small family. They were pious and devoted Christians, and in the enjoy ment of the blessings of a munificent providence, with grateful and contented hearts, they were happy. Two children, the subject of our narrative, and her brother, were the objects of their affectionate care and solicitude, and from their earliest moments, had these highly favored children been the subjects of many prayers, and in structions and precepts, which are the greatest blessings that childhood can experience. Constantly had the precepts of virtue and religion been instilled into their young and tender minds, and the result of those lessons will be seen in the life of one of them, at least, as we proceed. How salutary, indeed, such influences when early impressed upon the mind! More valuable is the single impression, according to the rule of virtue, early, indelibly fixed upon the mind, than the gem from the mountain; and of infinitely more importance is it. that first impressions be right, than that Fortune should lavish her bounties in future life. What, indeed, is genius without the guidance of moral principle? A source of much evil. Indeed, the youth whose mind is armed with the panoply of virtue, even though as poor as Lazarus, shall prove a blessing to the world, while the child of affluence, without this shield, lives unknown, and retires to the dust unlamented and forgotten. Far more to be desired, is the humble, virtuous mind, than the proud spirit of inglorious name; and true beauty and excellence are seldom found among the bigoted and vain.
The cottage under whose roof the youthful days of Calliste had been spent so pleasantly, presented a peculiar neatness in arrangement, a beauty in simplicity, which excites the admiration of the beholder, and speaks volumes for the humble occupants. The house, the garden, and the field, alike displayed the rural taste and simplicity of their owner.
Though poor and humble, Mr. Barton and his amiable companion were universally respected. Their exemplary life and consistent walk, rendered them not only beloved by, but ornaments to the church. Kind arid obliging at all times, they were the friends of suffering humanity, and their deeds were such as active benevolence prompts acts not stimulated by hopes of reward, but from consciousness of duty and good-will. Such was the character of the parents of Calliste; and such parents are more valuable, by their precepts and examples, to the rising generation, than all the titles which fame can bestow, and all the wealth a world affords. The latter, influence the young and tender mind in favor of immorality; the for mer, prepare the soul for future happiness, and their influence is more valuable to the world than all the gifts which the proud minions of wealth can bestow upon their children. Such is the home of true worth, even as the gem is found in the seclusion of the caves of the mountain. And we venture to say, that more stars of the first magnitude, on the scroll of the world's true nobility, have risen from obscurity, than ever had their birth in costly palaces, and the mansions of the great; and these stars shall continue to shine, when the meteor flame of titled nobility shall be consigned to oblivion.
In the education of their children, these worthy parents had spared no pains, so far as their humble means would allow; and one great and important object they constantly kept in view was, the religious training of their minds. This was the chief aim of their instructions, the preparation of their children for a life of usefulness and happiness here, and salvation in the future state.
O, that parents would not forget their respon sibility in relation to the high trust committed to them! What is their duty? What parent would wish to neglect those lessons of instruction in early life, the neglect of which would prove the eternal ruin of a beloved child? And yet how many are unmindful of the duties devolving upon them, while their influence is most potent in its agency, and suffer their children to go forth into the wide world, without the palladium of virtuous principles as a defence, and with no guide but their own impulses! And how fearful the consequences of such a course!
But not only to discharge their duty towards their offspring, but with a regard to their future good, did these pious parents strive to instruct their children in these essential principles; and