Euthanasy
"YOU remember Anna May, who sewed for you about a year ago?" said
one fashionably-dressed lady to another.
"That pale, quiet girl, who made up dresses for the children?"
"The one I sent you."
"Oh yes; very well. I had forgotten her name. What has become of
her? If I remember rightly, I engaged her for a week or two in the
fall; but she did not keep her engagement."
"Poor thing!" said the first lady, whose name was Mrs. Bell, "she'll
keep no more engagements of that kind."
"Why so? Is she dead?" The tone in which these brief questions were
asked, evinced no lively interest in the fate of the poor
sewing-girl.
"Not dead; but very near the end of life's weary pilgrimage."
"Ah, well! we must all die, I suppose--though it's no pleasant thing
to think about. But I am glad you called in this morning"--the
lady's voice rose into a more cheerful tone--"I was just about
putting on my things to go down to Mrs. Bobinet's opening. You
intend going, of course. I shall be so delighted to have you along,
for I want to consult your taste about a bonnet."
"I came out for a different purpose altogether, Mrs. Ellis," said
Mrs. Bell, "and have called to ask you to go with me."
"Where?"
"To see Anna May."
"What!--that poor seamstress of whom you just spoke?" There was a
look of unfeigned surprise in the lady's countenance.
"Yes; the poor seamstress, Anna May. Her days in this world are
nearly numbered. I was to see her yesterday, and found her very low.
She cannot long remain on this side the river of death. I am now on
my way to her mother's house. Will you not go with me?"
"No, no," replied Mrs. Ellis, quickly, while a shadow fell over her
face; "why should I go? I never took any particular interest in the
girl. And as for dying, every thing in relation thereto is
unpleasant to me. I can't bear to think of death: it makes me
shudder all over."
"You have never looked in the face of death," said Mrs. Lee.
"And never wish to," replied Mrs. Ellis, feelingly. "Oh, if it
wasn't for this terrible consummation, what a joyful thing life
might be!"
"Anna May has looked death in the face; but does not find his aspect
so appalling. She calls him a beautiful angel, who is about to take
her by the hand, and lead her up gently and lovingly to her Father's
house."
There came into the face of Mrs. Ellis a sudden look of wonder.
"Are you in earnest, Mrs. Bell?"
"Altogether in earnest."
"The mind of the girl is unbalanced."
"No, Mrs. Ellis; never was it more evenly poised. Come with me: it
will do you good."
"Don't urge me, Mrs. Bell. If I go, it will make me sad for a week.
Is the sick girl in want any comfort?--I will freely minister
thereto. But I do not wish to look upon death."
"In this aspect it is beautiful to look upon. Go with me, then. The
experience will be something accompany you through life. The image
of frightful monster is in your mind; you may now have it displaced
by the form of an angel."
"How strangely you talk, Mrs. Bell! How can death be an angel? Is
any thing more terrible than death?"
"The phantom called death, which a diseased imagination conjures up,
may be terrible to look upon; but death itself is a kind messenger,
whose it is to summon us from this world of shadows and changes, to
a world of eternal light and unfading beauty. But come, Mrs. Ellis;
I must urge you to go with me. Do not fear a shock to your feelings,
for none will be experienced."
So earnest were Mrs. Bell's persuasions, that her friend at last
consented to go with her. At no great distance from the elegant
residence of Mrs. Ellis, in an obscure neighbourhood, was a small
house, humble in exterior, and modestly, yet neatly attired within.
At the door of this house the ladies paused, and were admitted by a
woman somewhat advanced in years, on whose mild face sorrow and holy
resignation were beautifully blended.
"How is your daughter?" inquired Mrs. Bell, as soon as they were
seated in the small, neat parlour.
"Not so strong as when you were here yesterday," was answered, with
a faint smile. "She is sinking hourly."
"But continues in the same tranquil, heavenly state?"
"Oh yes." There was a sweet, yet touching earnestness in the
mother's voice. "Dear child! Her life has been pure and unselfish;
and now, when her change is about to come, all is peace, and hope,
and patient waiting for the time when she will be clothed upon with
immortality."
"Is she strong enough to see any one?" asked Mrs. Bell.
"The presence of others in no way disturbs her. Will you walk up
into her chamber, friends?"
The two ladies ascended the narrow stairs, and Mrs. Ellis found
herself, for the first time in many years, in the presence of one
about to die. A slender girl, with large, mild eyes, and face almost
as white as the pillow it pressed, was before her. The unmistakable
signs of speedy dissolution were on the pale, shrunken features; not
beautiful, in the ordinary acceptation of beauty, but from the pure
spirit within. Radiant with heavenly light was the smile that
instantly played upon her lips.
"How are you to-day, Anna?" kindly inquired Mrs. Bell, as she took
the shadowy hand of the dying girl.
"Weaker in body than when you were here yesterday," was answered;
"but stronger in spirit."
"I have brought Mrs. Ellis to see you. You remember Mrs. Ellis?"
Anna lifted her bright eyes to the face of Mrs. Ellis, and said--
"Oh yes, very well;" and she feebly extended her hand. The lady
touched her hand with an emotion akin to awe. As yet, the scene
oppressed and bewildered her. There was something about it that was
dreamlike and unreal. "Death! death!" she questioned with herself;
"can this be dying?"
"Your day will soon close, Anna," said Mrs. Bell, in a cheerful
tone.
"Or, as we say," quickly replied Anna, smiling, "my morning will
soon break. It is only a kind of twilight here. I am waiting for the
day-dawn."
"My dear young lady," said Mrs. Ellis, with much earnestness,
bending over the dying girl as she spoke--the newness and
strangeness of the scene had so wrought upon her feelings, that she
could not repress their utterance--"Is all indeed as you say? Are
you inwardly so calm, so hopeful, so confident of the morning?
Forgive me such a question, at such a moment. But the thought of
death has ever been terrible to me; and now, to see a fellow-mortal
standing, as you are, so near the grave, and yet speaking in
cheerful tones of the last agony, fills me with wonder. Is it all
real? Are you so full of heavenly tranquillity?"
Was the light dimmed in Anna's eyes by such pressing questions? Did
they turn her thoughts too realizingly upon the "last agony?" Oh no!
Even in the waning hours of life, her quickest impulse was to render
service to another. Earnest, therefore, was her desire to remove
from the lady's mind this fear of death, even though she felt the
waters of Jordan already touching her own descending feet.
"God is love," she said, and with an emphasis that gave to the mind
of Mrs. Ellis a new appreciation of the words. "In his love he made
us, that he might bless us with infinite and eternal blessings, and
these await us in heaven. And now that he sends an angel to take me
by the hand and lead me up to my heavenly home, shall I tremble and
fear to accompany the celestial messenger? Does the child, long
separated from a loving parent, shrink at the thought of going home,
or ask the hours to linger? Oh no!"
"But all is so uncertain," said Mrs. Ellis, eager to penetrate
further into the mystery.
"Uncertain!" There was something of surprise in the voice of Anna
May. "God is truth as well as love; and both in his love and truth
he is unchangeable. When, as Divine Truth, he came to our earth, and
spake as never man spake, he said, 'In my Father's house are many
mansions. I go to prepare a place for you.' The heavens and the
earth may pass away, Mrs. Ellis, but not a jot or tittle of the
divine word can fail."
"Ah! but the preparation for those heavenly mansions!" said Mrs.
Ellis. "The preparation, Anna! Who may be certain of this?"
The eyes of the sick girl closed, the long lashes resting like a
dark fringe on her snowy cheek. For more than a moment she lay
silent and motionless; then looking up, she answered--
"God is love. If we would be with him, we must be like him."
"How are we to be like him, Anna?" asked Mrs. Ellis.
"He is love; but not a love of himself. He loves and seeks to bless
others. We must do the same."
"And have you, Anna"--
But the words died on the lips of the speaker. Again had the
drooping lashes fallen, and the pale lids closed over the beautiful
eyes. And now a sudden light shone through the transparent tissue of
that wan face--a light, the rays of which none who saw them needed
to be told were but gleams of the heavenly morning just breaking for
the mortal sleeper.
How hushed the room--how motionless the group that bent forward
toward the one just passing away! Was it the rustle of angels
garments that penetrated the inward sense of hearing?
It is over! The pure spirit of that humble girl, who, in her sphere,
was loving, and true, and faithful, hath ascended to the God in
whose infinite love she reposed a childlike and unwavering
confidence. Calmly and sweetly she went to sleep, like an infant on
its mother's bosom, knowing that the everlasting arms were beneath
and around her.
And thus, in the by-ways and obscure places of life, are daily
passing away the humble, loving, true-hearted ones. The world
esteems them lightly; but they are precious in the sight of God.
When the time of their departure comes, they shrink not back in
fear, but lift their hands trustingly to the angel messenger, whom
their Father sends to lead them up to their home in heaven. With
them is the true "Euthanasy."
"Is not that a new experience in life?" said Mrs. Bell, as the two
ladies walked slowly homeward. With a deep sigh, the other
answered--
"New and wonderful. I scarcely comprehend what I have seen. Such a
lesson from such a source! How lightly I thought of that poor
sewing-girl, who came and went so unobtrusively! How little dreamed
I that so rich a jewel was in so plain a casket! Ah! I shall be
wiser for this--wiser, and I may hope, better. Oh, to be able to die
as she has died!--what of mere earthly good would I not cheerfully
sacrifice!"
"It is for us all," calmly answered Mrs. Bell. "The secret we have
just heard--we must be like God."
"How--how?"
"He loves others out of himself, and seeks their good. If we would
be like him, we must do the same."
Yes; this is the secret of an easy death, and the only true secret.
-THE END-
T S Arthur's short story: Euthanasy
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