"
"I don't know how that may be, but if you could see Mrs. Allen, you
would say that 'hag' were a better term for her than woman. If the
good grow beautiful as they grow old, the loving spirit shining like
a lamp through the wasted and failing walls of flesh, so do the evil
grow ugly and repulsive. Ah, Constance, the lesson is for all of us.
If we live true lives, our countenances will grow radiant from
within, as we advance in years; if selfish, worldly, discontented
lives, they will grow cold, hard, and repulsive."
I drew on my boots and coat, and started on my visit to the Allen
House. The night was in perfect contrast with the previous one.
There was no moon, but every star shone with its highest brilliancy,
while the galaxy threw its white scarf gracefully across the sky,
veiling millions of suns in their own excessive brightness. I paused
several times in my walk, as broader expanses opened between the
great elms that gave to our town a sylvan beauty, and repeated, with
a rapt feeling of awe and admiration, the opening stanza of a
familiar hymn:--
"The spacious firmament on high,
With all the blue ethereal sky,
And spangled heavens, a shining frame,
Their great Original proclaim.
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