[Some years since there resided in the Pass of the White Mountains in New Hampshire, about two miles from the cel. ebrated place called the Notch, a solitary but interesting and respectable family. On the night of August 26, 1826, a night ren'dered memorable by a violent storm, which may be said in hundreds of places to have rent the mountains from top to bottom, the whole of this family were destroyed, viz: Mr. and Mrs. Willey, with their five children, Eliza Ann, Jeremiah, Martha, Elbridge, and Sarah, together with two hired men. The particulars of this mournful event may be found in the N. H. Historical Collections.]

MOTHER!

ELIZA ANN, Aged twelve years.

The clouds are on the vale;

The frightened cattle homeward run;

The trees are breaking in the gale,

And red and angry looks the sun.

THE MOTHER.

Hush, hush, my child! What do they know,
The gentle cows and simple sheep!
Shall not the winds of summer blow,

And clouds along the forest sweep?

Come in, and do not yield to fears.

How oft we've heard the tempest's voice, When 't was but music to our ears,

And made our bounding hearts rejoice.

Then thou wouldst at the window stand,
And with no fear upon thy brow,
Behold the waves o'erwhelm the land,
The rocks roll down, the forests bow.

ELBRIDGE, The youngest son, seven years of age.

Say, mother, will the mountains move!
We saw them move the other day;
Vast piles of earth did march along,
And all before them swept away.

How beautiful the trees did look.

With nodding leaf and blossom bright,

As in their vast array they took

E'en from the mountain's top their flight.

But it was terrible to see,

When in their strength they came so near; And to thine arms we all did flee, To shield and save us in our fear.

THE MOTHER.

Oh, talk not thus, too fearful child!
"T is time to seek repose and sleep;

Is there not One, who rules the storm,

Whose love supports, whose arm can keep?

See, how unconscious Sarah sleeps ;
No fears disturb her quiet mind;
There's faith and strength in innocence,
In aught beside we fail to find.

The reeling earth awakes her not,

Nor howling winds disturb her soul; She heeds not, when the lightnings flash, Nor when the troubled thunders roll.

JEREMIAH, Eleven years of age.

But yesterday the Saco bore

Its waters scarce above my feet; But now, from all the mountain sides, The torrents in its channel meet.

And swollen, with resistless force,
It whirls and boils and hurries on,

And on its angry wave the trees,

And logs, and crumbling banks are borne.

And, sad to tell, two little lambs

That frolicked on its grassy shore,

Were overtaken by its waves,

And swept away, and seen no more.

They were the lambs that Martha loved,
With which we all were wont to play;
I heard their faint and mournful bleat,
As they were rudely swept away.

NICHOSON, Hired man.

The angry bear hath left his cave,
The frightened wolf is howling loud;
The eagle, from his rocky crag,

Screams fiercely to the passing cloud.

Sad night is this! The traveler,

Who through the mountains makes his way, Will sink beneath the thunder stroke, And low his head in sorrow lay.

How blest are they that have a home,

To shield from storms descending fast; Hark! Heard ye not the breaking pines? And heard ye not the whirlwind's blast?

THE FATHER.

When in the wondrous times of old,
The Lord to Sinai's mountain came,

Upon the mighty winds he flew,

And underneath him clouds and flame.

Our God is on the mountains now;
The lofty summits feel his tread;
Before his steps the forests bow,

The rivers swell above their bed.

His creatures now are in His hands,
To be by Him sustained or lost,
Like mariners upon the sea,

In bellowing storm and tempest tost.

ALLEN, Another hired man.

The fires flash down the mountain's side;
The rocks rebound from tree to tree;
The earth is heaving far and wide,
Ah, whither, whither shall we flee!

THE FATHER.

There's neither time nor power to flee,
But 't is a time to watch and pray;

If here we meet our destiny,

'T is well as any other way.

If life is o'er, 't is good and right,

God only knows the when and where "T is best to quench our earthly light, And bid us to Himself repair.

stand:

In God alone I put my trust;
Beneath His wing I take my
And though I am a worm of dust,
I feel His omnipresent hand.

Then let us all our hearts prepare,
The holy Word of God to read;
And offer up the evening prayer
To Him, who aids us at our need.

THE PRAYER.

Oh, Thou, where eye can see Thee not,
Thy dwelling-place in heaven who makest,

The humble heart is ne'er forgot,

Thy praying ones Thou ne'er forsakest.