He turned him around on the grassy knoll,
And flush o’er his forehead and into his soul
The warmth of the gladdening sunshine stole.
The good dame lifted a willow bough,
And gently laid her hand on his brow—
“Say, David, where is your shadow now?
The shadow has fled,
But ye are not dead.
Look up to the sunshine, man! Hold up your head!”
Still athwart the grave did the shadow lay,
But the face of David was turned away,
And lifted up to the sun’s clear ray.
Then the light of truth on his spirit fell,
Breaking forever the magic spell
That darkened the vision of David Bell.
His trial was past;
And the shadow, at last,
Behind him there, on the grave was cast.
O, ye! who toil o’er your earthly way,
With your faces turned from the truth’s clear ray,
Consider the counsel of Goody Gay.
Though shadows should haunt you as black as night,
Be faithful and firm to your highest light,
And face the sunshine with all of your might!
Keep a cheerful mind,
And at length you will find
That the grave, and life’s shadows, all lie behind.
HESTER VAUGHN.
[Hester Vaughn was tried for the crime of infanticide. She was convicted, and sentence of death passed upon her. Subsequently, by the efforts of benevolent individuals, and the pressure of public opinion, her sentence was commuted to imprisonment for life. Susan A. Smith, M. D., of Philadelphia, who visited her in prison, and was chiefly instrumental in obtaining her reprieve, gives the following statement in relation to the circumstances attendant upon her alleged crime: “She was deserted by her husband, who knew she had not a relative in America. She rented a third-story room in this city (Philadelphia), from a German family, who understood very little English. She furnished this room, found herself in food and fuel for three months on twenty dollars. She was taken sick in this room at midnight, on the 6th of February, and lingered until Saturday morning, the 8th, when her child was born. She told me she was nearly frozen, and fainted or went to sleep for a long time. Through all this period of agony she was alone, without nourishment or fire, with her door unfastened. It has been asserted that she confessed her guilt. I can solemnly say in the presence of Almighty God that she never confessed guilt to me, and stoutly affirms that no such word ever passed her lips.”]
Now by the common weal and woe,
Uniting each with all;
And by the snares we may not know,
Until we blindly fall—
Let every heart by sorrow tried,
Let every woman born,
Feel that her cause stands side by side
With that of Hester Vaughn.
A woman, famished for the love
All hearts so deeply crave,
Whose only hope was Heaven above,
To succor and to save;
With only want, and woe, and care,
To greet her child unborn;
A weary burden, hard to bear,
Was life to Hester Vaughn.
No friend, no food, no fire, no light,
And face to face with death,
She struggled through the weary night,
With anguish in each breath;
Till that frail life which shared her own,
Had perished ere the morn,
And left her to the hearts of stone,
That judged poor Hester Vaughn.
Who was it, that refused to draw
A lesson from the time,
And in the name of human law,
Pronounced her grief a crime?
Was her accuser, cold and stern,
A man of woman born,
Whose debt to woman could not earn
Some grace for Hester Vaughn?