THE LAST PEARL [1]
bleeding.
"Whither art thou leading me?" asked the guardian angel. "Here
dwells no fairy whose pearl could be counted amongst the best gifts of
life."
"Yes, she is here; here in this sacred hour," replied the angel,
pointing to a corner of the room; and there,- where in her
life-time, the mother had taken her seat amidst flowers and
pictures: in that spot, where she, like the blessed fairy of the
house, had welcomed husband, children, and friends, and, like a
sunbeam, had spread joy and cheerfulness around her, the centre and
heart of them all,- there, in that very spot, sat a strange woman,
clothed in long, flowing garments, and occupying the place of the dead
wife and mother. It was the fairy, and her name was "Sorrow." A hot
tear rolled into her lap, and formed itself into a pearl, glowing with
all the colors of the rainbow. The angel seized it: the, pearl
glittered like a star with seven-fold radiance. The pearl of Sorrow,
the last, which must not be wanting, increases the lustre, and
explains the meaning of all the other pearls.
"Do you see the shimmer of the rainbow, which unites earth to
heaven?" So has there been a bridge built between this world and the
next. Through the night of the grave we gaze upwards beyond the
stars to the end of all things. Then we glance at the pearl of Sorrow,
in which are concealed the wings which shall carry us away to
eternal happiness.
THE END
.
"Whither art thou leading me?" asked the guardian angel. "Here
dwells no fairy whose pearl could be counted amongst the best gifts of
life."
"Yes, she is here; here in this sacred hour," replied the angel,
pointing to a corner of the room; and there,- where in her
life-time, the mother had taken her seat amidst flowers and
pictures: in that spot, where she, like the blessed fairy of the
house, had welcomed husband, children, and friends, and, like a
sunbeam, had spread joy and cheerfulness around her, the centre and
heart of them all,- there, in that very spot, sat a strange woman,
clothed in long, flowing garments, and occupying the place of the dead
wife and mother. It was the fairy, and her name was "Sorrow." A hot
tear rolled into her lap, and formed itself into a pearl, glowing with
all the colors of the rainbow. The angel seized it: the, pearl
glittered like a star with seven-fold radiance. The pearl of Sorrow,
the last, which must not be wanting, increases the lustre, and
explains the meaning of all the other pearls.
"Do you see the shimmer of the rainbow, which unites earth to
heaven?" So has there been a bridge built between this world and the
next. Through the night of the grave we gaze upwards beyond the
stars to the end of all things. Then we glance at the pearl of Sorrow,
in which are concealed the wings which shall carry us away to
eternal happiness.
THE END
.