nd
sweet expression of face." She was as sensible as beautiful, and had
great charm of manner, which she retained to the end of her life. He
soon engaged himself to Miss Fairchild, and the course of their love ran
smoothly throughout a long life. To show with what deep feeling and
earnestness they entered upon their new relations, the following prayer,
dated 1820, has been printed, which was found among Mr. Bryant's private
papers after his death:--

"May God Almighty mercifully take care of our happiness here and
hereafter. May we ever continue constant to each other, and mindful
of our mutual promises of attachment and truth. In due time, if it
be the will of Providence, may we become more nearly connected with
each other, and together may we lead a long, happy, and innocent
life, without any diminution of affection till we die. May there
never be any jealousy, distrust, coldness, or dissatisfaction
between us, nor occasion for any,--nothing but kindness,
forbearance, mutual confidence, and attention to each other's
happiness. And that we may be less unworthy of so great a blessing,
may we be assisted to cultivate all the benign and charitable
affections and offices, not only toward each other, but toward our
neighbors, the human race, and all the creatures of God. And in
all things wherein we have done ill, may we properly repent our
error, and may God forgive us, and dispose us to do better. When at
last we are called to render back the life we have received, may
our deaths be peaceful, and may God take us to his bosom. All which
may He grant for the sake of the Messiah."

If ever a prayer was granted, it seems to have been so in this instance,
for in every detail it was fulfilled in the lives which followed. So
rarely beautiful a marriage has seldom been seen, as the one which was
entered into in this solemn and lofty manner, by this young and
high-minded couple. The days of their pilgrimage were many, but they
grew more and more beautiful until the final parting; and when the
separation at last came, in the fulness of time, the old poet mourned,
with a grief which could not be comforted, for the companion of his
youth, the delight of his mature years, and the idol of his old age.
Forty-five years they lived together, and after her death he wrote to
his brother:--

"We have been married more than forty-five years, and