Herald Of The Times

"THE TIE THAT BINDS US."

A young man of nineteen, setting out for a distant part of the country in pursuit of fortune, I cast my eyes around the scene of my infant sports—my boyish revels, and more manly exercises. The silent adieu of a father, who, shaking the hand, did not choose to speak, lest the attempt to say "farewell," should betray the deep feeling of the heart, by the trembling lip and faltering tongue; the mother's tender embrace and flowing tears; the hill—the rock—the meadows; the school-house—the companions of my youth—and the pale maiden that pressed to say "good bye"—yet shrunk back because she dare not trust herself. Ah home, sweet home, the parental heart—the circle of early friends; scenes of youth; of innocence and happiness,—
"How sweet the tie that binds us."

In later life, taking leave for a journey far away over mountain and stream; the deep and anxious expression of her who has united, in the tenderest bonds, her destinies with ours. for weal or woe. "until death do part us." The throbbing bosom; the flash of hope; the pallid hue of fear; and then to clasp one prattler to the breast, while you bend over the dimpled cherub, its sleeping brother. that smiles as you look, as if conscious of a parent's gaze, "Ah me—how sweet, how strong the tie that binds us."

Duty calls to a foreign land. We look out with new sensations of attachment upon the hills and vallies; the fair fields and rugged mountains of our beloved country. "Political rivalry; party animosity, subside. The Republic governed by the constitution of our choice: our just and wholesome laws—our equal rights—our liberal institutions. It is the land of Washington—of Penn. It is the burying place of our fathers, and the residence of those we hold most dear. "It is the land of the free, and the home of the brave!"

Cold must be the heart that does not then feel "how strong and sweet the tie that binds us."