Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1846-05-28
LITTLE WINNIE.
TIE GIRL WHO EVERYBODY SAID WOULD
NEVER BE MARRIED.

egeg7Jb0dY SAYS must be true, as we shall en-
deavor 10 prove. TO account for this wonder
full prediction il must be owned the doom Of
single bessedness did seem as il were shadow
ed forth in the person Of little WISIFREp.--
Everybody said she was poor, and she was so
solely dependent from her earliest years upon
the be-grudged charity of "a step-aunt, and no
sooner was she old enough 10 run up and
down stars. go oferands and wipe dishes,
than she was made to feel that the bread Of de-
pendence was ground in a species oftread-mill
upon which she was ever employed. | am
wrong to say she was made 10 feel So--for so
cheerful was the sunshine of her breast, which
the Almighty had implanted within her-so
light and merry her little heart, that the ideaof
bardships never occurred to her--but at every
call, every bidding, away flew little WrNI-
FRED, as light as the humming bird-all smiles,
all brightness,
Then everybody said she was homely-
true enough, unlucky little spnte! Her com
plexion could not be compared to the rose, or
the liily-it more resenbled the saffron flower;
and then her eyes-mercy upon me, what
large gray eyesl And her mouth--and those
great teeth Certain tits, no one could see
them without inyoluntarily thinking of poor
little Red Riding Hoods apostrophe TO the dis
~ >
mouth--what great teeth you've gotl" and
then answered the sy wolf-"!So much the
better to eatqou. ma dear!" And that obstinate lit
tie nose of hers, would turn as fn such scorn,
no one ever saw such an impudent nose
that OF the famed Roxanna, which overturned
the Turkish empire, was no nose at all in com
parson! lfthere was any thing which could
redeem all this--it was her hair; which fell
around her as some golden fleece, so soft---so
siky-but then il was the most rebellious hair
ever tornented a poor damsel! Did she subject
il to the confinement Of ribon or braid-lt was
sure to make its escape; or if she gathered 1t
up with her lIttle comb like rich golden tas
sells gliuering in the sunlight, some part Of it
was sure to fall dancing over her shoulders as
she tripped away upon her many duties
Her foot. too. was so very small, that when
her beautiful cousin glanced down upon it
at times with a look Of scorn--poor WINIFRED
would look. aud say too. as If in apology,
"Dear me, wish ! was largerl' and many a
tap on the ears, and many shake by the
shoulder did she receive from her kind aunt,
because her little hands were not able TO hold
the same weight as a young giantess. And
then her little, short chubby round figure, al
ways reminded one Of Dutch DOLL dressed,
after the fashion OF the ancient bellies of New
Amsterdam
Again everybody said she was so wild! and
so she was Never was there such a romp,
especially for girl Of lhirteenl Only to think
of her walking into the parlor one evening and
saying:
''Please, aunt, may 60 to training to-mor
rowl"
SHE thirteen years old, to trainmgi The
look Of dismay with which her amt regarded
her at that awful questionable pushing back
Of her spectaceS! and then the horror Of her
fastidious consolidating fall, in her propriety
shocked nature, the elegant double cut Co
lognel
"Farmer SMITH is going tomorrow morn
ing with Betsy and NANCY in his wagon
please aunt, let me go!" continued the perse-
vering gypsy,
There was no answer youchsafed--but there
was rush, a rustic, sound assimilating to a
pair of boxed ears, and then sinking back in
the chair, Mrs ORNE exclaimed:
"Oh, that girl will ruin my temper"
She could not even step without first giving
those little feet Of hers a twist and shake that
which would have called forth the admiration
even of the most inveterate Polka-r: and then
she was a perfect mocklng- bird-the first
sound in the morning was the voice OF WIM-
FRED, mingng with the lark and the robin,
and the last notes at eve, as the little songsiers
folding their plumed crests under their bright
wings, were thrilled in cadence.w with those OF the
merry maiden. But she was noteontent with
mimicking the more sweet warblers OF the
grove-not she-for even the crow and the
cat-brd, and the owl, found scholar! IN short,
her little voice was ever ringing like the dew
drops tinking among the bells Of the lilly OF
the valley.
BUTT will never do to spend any more time
upon the portrait of such an elias the Da-
guerreotype man says: Miss thai lrut d0!
But there were two WRIFRED ORNEs.-
And no more dissimiiar the beautiful garden
rose and the most humble wild flower, than
were those two cousins. Alta very early age
they had both been consigned to the kindness
OF paternaI uncle; but under very different
auspices. The rose. was an heiress and beau
v-the wild flower dependent and ill-favor-
ed
1--WE viii call the latter Winnie, TO distin-
guish her from the elegant and lofty VIM
FRED, who was six years her senior.)
The figure, the movements of WINIFRED
were all gracelulness, which with the dazzling
purity of her complexion, her brilliant dark,
hazel eyes, superb teeth, fairy mouth, and lux
UrlaIl DIOMN nuli- " az tAAN
of the most lovely girls, not only in the village
where her aunt Cnow a widow resided, but,
even the most fashionable and elite circles or
the metropolis seldom display more brilliant
belle than was W,NIFRED ORNE. Pity that
one so fair and lovely should have lacked those
attributes which would have rendered her be-
loved for as the beautiful waxen fruit, which
at first sight is so tempting and pleasing TO the
eve. She was as deceitlul and heartless. She
was as proud as she was chaming-peeysh
as she was gracelul-haughty and over
bearing 10 every one as she was rich; and es-
pecially 10 her little cousin WINNIE, who seem
ed destined for her peculiar amusement, exact
Nv as some poor kitten for the torturlng hands
Of a spoiled child.
Both ophans--it would have seemed more
natural that WINIFRED, with all the means she
possessed for dong good, would have delight
ed 70 share her wealth with her poverty
doomed cousin; or at least that her helpless
situation. the perfect abandon of her lot, sub
;ected rs she was to the taunts. caprices, and
over exacting duties of her harsh, ill-natured
amt would have elected some pity, some
Kindness. Bat il was not so--she looked upon
her ms something even below servant; and
nerhaps il was partly owing to the sly inslnu-
ATOMS mo bitter taunts OF the beautiful VIM
FRED, that the heart OF the aunt grew SO cold
and unieeling; and in proportion as she was
cruel 10 the unfortunate little WINNIE, she iaV'