During the struggle for Independence, Captain Richardson, of Sumter district, South Carolina, was obliged to conceal himself for a while in the thickets of the Santee swamp. One day he ventured to visit his family—a perilous movement, for the British had offered rewards for his apprehension, and patrolling parties were almost constantly in search of him.—Before his visit was ended, a small band of soldiers presented themselves in front of the house. Just as they were entering, with a great deal of composure and presence of mind, Mrs. Richardson appeared at the door, and found so much to do there at the moment, as to find it inconvenient to make room for the uninvited guests to enter. She was so calm, and appeared so unconcerned, that they did not mistrust the cause of her wonderful diligence, till her husband had rushed out of the back door and safely reached the neighboring swamp.
STRIKING INSTANCE OF PATIENCE.
Patience and resignation are the pillars
Of human peace on earth.
Young.
The panegyric of Decker on patience is beautiful:
Patience, my lord! why 'tis the soul of peace:
Of all the virtues 'tis the nearest kin to heaven;
It makes men look like gods.
Not every Christian sufferer wears this garment in its celestial whiteness, as did the God-man, whom the same writer calls
"the best of men That e'er wore earth about him."
One of the most patient beings in modern times was Miss Sarah Parbeck, of Salem, Massachusetts. A lady who visited her in 1845, gives the following account of the interview: