Page:Peterson's Magazine 1842, Volume I.pdf/32

. Master Joseph, and it was a delightful thing to behold the young mother, bending over her infant son, her dark ringlets shadowing that face upturned towards her own. And the glance of intelligence from the large expressive eyes of that child, as he received instruction from her lips or when listening to her gentle admonitions, can never be forgotten by me.

"If Mrs. Walterson possessed any one failing—and none of us are exempted from the frailties of humanity—it was a tincture of pride, approaching to a seeming haughtiness—probably the secluded life she led or the remembrance of the slights she had received from her family—that might have wrought some change upon her sensitive mind. God forgive me, if in thought I wronged the poor widow!—but I have often imagined that, had she been more familiar with her humble neighbors in her prosperity, nay, even in her poverty, many hours of wretchedness would have been spared her; but, notwithstanding all the misery and distress that fell heavily upon her, after the death of her husband, she still retained her wonted pride, so that her neighbors, who were really anxious to relieve her wants, were fearful of meeting with a repulse.

"I have already stated that Captain Walterson was absent from home for the greatest part of the year, and when he returned from sea, his wife appeared an altered creature, for she was then all life and gaiety, and I have seen her leaning upon his arm whilst walking around the neat little garden attached to the cottage and smiling upon him with looks of affection. And oft did it gladden my heart to behold the captain fondling his little son or contributing to his amusement by joining him in his youthful sports. Ah, sir! If there was ever an affectionate husband and doting father, Captain Walterson was that man.

"I shall now pass over the events of about twelve or fourteen years in order to narrate a sad domestic affliction that befell Mrs. Waterson. Intelligence arrived, and alas! it was but too well confirmed that Captain Walterson's vessel had foundered at sea, and every soul on board had perished. It was truly great to behold poor Miss Walterson when she first received the dreadful tidings. It was known in the village, and many an anxious eye was directed toward the cottage.

"I was in the habit of paying a daily visit to the cottage, where I used to trim the garden and keep the fences in order, and was frequently invited by the old housekeeper to enter and take refreshment. It happened on the same afternoon that Mrs. Walterson had received the dreadful intelligence. I was partaking of my usual refreshment and had an opportunity to see her, and never, no, never shall I forget her as she then appeared! " She was seated in the parlor; the letter containing the afflicting intelligence had fallen from her hand; her eyes were praised to Heaven, but not a tear flowed to relieve the deep anguish that assailed her heart. Her face was pale as marble; her lips trembled, and there appeared an expression of vacancy in her countenance that was painful to behold. Master Joseph (who was then about seventeen or eighteen years of age and a fine, tall youth) clasped her right hand while he endeavored to cheer her with words of comfort, and he imprinted a kiss upon her cold white forehead, but she heard him not, nor felt his tear of affection bedew her pallid cheek.

"The appearance of Master Joseph, for his age, was manly and noble in the extreme. His countenance was handsome and expressive, and it bore a great resemblance to that of his mother's. His eyes were black, piercing, and brilliant. His fine black and glossy hair hung in small ringlets upon his shoulders; his limbs were firm and well set, and he gave evident tokens of superior strength to be developed in riper years.

"It was many weeks before Mrs. Walterson recovered from the shock inflicted upon her sensitive nature by the disastrous occurrence already mentioned, and when she appeared abroad, leaning upon the arm of her son, it was difficult to recognize her for the same person. The bloom of health had deserted her cheek; her eyes were sunken and her lips bloodless, and traces of care and anxiety became more visible upon her countenance every day I beheld her.

"It happened, unfortunately, that Captain Walterson's vessel was not insured; and, as he had devoted a great portion of capital to the purchase of valuable freight, little remained for the support of Mrs. Walterson and Master Joseph, who had never been put to any trade or profession. However, by prudent management of the proceeds arising from the disposal of her stock of jewelry, Mrs. Walterson was enabled to invest a sum in the funds, the interest of which tended to support her and her son, so that they had nothing to apprehend from the miseries attending absolute poverty, and, as Captain Walterson had purchased the White Cottage, they were in the possession of a comfortable residence.

"I have already stated that Master Joseph was the idol of his parents, but alas! in their fondness, they had neglected to instill into his youthful mind those precepts of morality, which are so essential for our ultimate happiness through life. By their excessive indulgence, he had been taught to imagine that he could do no wrong; and as his education had been neglected, his mind was not prepared to resist the false impressions of those allurements, with which vice so often entangles her victims; and, although his behavior for the two years succeeding his father's untimely death was all that his fond mother could wish, and such as to merit the admiration of the whole village, at the end of that time, a perceptible change was observed in his conduct, which