Daily American telegraph. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1851-1852, 1852-06-05
AMERICAN TELEGRAPH.
From the Friend of Youth
EDDIE.
A LEAF FROM THE BOOK OF CHILDHOOD.
BY MARTHA RUSSELL.

dear children, the sound eff childish voice
reached me from the yard below Lucy anC
Dangy were making them a garden close by
the fence. They had got "the old knife
which had been theirs, in virtue of its dizziness,
Il wonder if there is not such an one in every
family ever since they had been large enough
to use such an article, and were busily prepar-
ing tho ground for the reception of the flowers
that lay on the ground beside them
Near by. with his long nose between his out
stretched paws lay the old house dog, watch
ing their proceedings with very knowing
look as much as to say
"Those thin IS live Why, in half an hour
the sun will wither them until they lie as fiat
as if | had rolled over them! All, you will be
wiser when you have lived as long as have y
and the oriole, glinting about like a moving
flame in the white blossoms of the plum tree
above them, nodded his shining black head in
appreciation, and uttered short quick note,
as if he said Hear, oh, hear ~ while the bob
a-links in the naples caught up the strain and
doubtless uttered many very wise and witty
sayings on the folly of planting flowers with
out roots but unfortunately, they poured out
their notes so fast, just as you do when you get
excited, that neither the dog nor the children
nor myself were benefited by their wisdom.
1t was pleasant scene and yet it called up
of the saddest memories of my childhood is
connected with just such a little garden.
About half mile up the street from my
home, stood an old farm house. 1t was Gu
rious-looking building with a sharp roof slant
ing off on two sides almost to the ground, and
little narrow windows, which seemed to have
been tucked in without any regard to order or
regularity.
Though have seen the whole family, one by
one, carried past here to their home in the
graveyard, and the old house itself has long
since been levelled to the ground, SO that nought
remains to mark its site. save sunken spot of
deeper green than the surrounding meadow,
and few struggling red roses and yellow lilies,
yet ! can see it now as plain as when it stood
there in all its oddity-and the door yard with
its snowballs and lilacs by the front gate-the
damask roses and tall laurel beneath the front
windows-the striped grass by the low door
step-the /" entry way" with its fresh, crispy
mat of braided husks, and broad, fiat stair,
where We used to make our play-house-the
great front room with the white sand drawn
in zigzag pattern over 1.-THE punches of as
paragus in the open fireplace, and over the
small, dark-framed mirror - the capacious
arm-chairs, with cushions made of patchwork
in stars and diamonds of all sizes and hues
The chair with the buff and blue star cush-
ion in it was old Captain Medford's-that we
all knew-for the cushion had been pieced out
of the coat which he had worn when he was
with General Wayne at the taking of Stoney
Point We had heard the story many time,
for the old soldier, more fortunate than most of
his comrades, lived to an extreme old age among
us beloved and respected by all. Respected
we should have said reUerenced, at least by Us
children, for there was something quite awe
20
say nothing of the universal belief that he
strikingly resembled General Washington. He
was little vain Of this resemblance, and from
the very seat of war, if we may so term his
cushion was won't to fight all his battles over
again, and tell how near he had come to being
taken for the Commander-n-Ch Chief His favor
lite seat was by the west window, which looked
out upon the meadow and near the front one,
lust where she could watch the movements of
her children Anne and Edward, sat iifs daugh-
ter. Mrs. Burgiss--a plain, motherly sort OF a
woman. whose quiet eye had more influence
over US than weeks scoldng
Anne Burgess was my chosen playmate and
companion; we exchanged picture books and
pieces of calico; together we made rag bies
and invented costumes for them we were joint
owners in dolls bed and bedding and bro
ken pen-knife, with which we peeled birch
park and made willow whistles and together
we made long expeditions into the woods and
meadows, after flowers to plant in our gardens,
or went nUtting among the hills in the autumn
time.
One spring. we desired to 20 into more cx-
tensive gardening operations than we ever had
before, and on a bright Saturday morning tour
holyday from school tasks went up to assist
Anne in laying hers out and planting it. 1t
was Just such day as this-the swallows twit-
tered on the ridge of the barn and made side
long dives into the yard as if drunken with
Joy woodpecker with a scarlet cowl was
drumming away upon decayed limb of the
old pound-sweeting apple-tree that overhung
the gate, quite unmindful of our speculation
as to how he contrived to stand with his back
downward. The air was full of fragrance from
the Glacs and apple blossoms and murmurous
with the droning hum Of the insects that feast
ed on their sweets while upon tho top Of a tall
white-wood overlooking the cornfeld where
Mr.. Burgess was at work, sat sentinel crow,
sending forth, at intervals, his hoarse cav, as
if to notify his companions that he did not
sleep on his post
Our work had not gone on very prosperous
ly; several things had occurred to try our pa.
thence, Of which neither Of MS had any great
share. First, Just as we we're debating how
many Of the nice white shingles which we had
selected from pile in the loft of the, cow-house
il would take to make paling round our gar
den Mrs. Burgess came along, and, spying our
materials, told US that we must not have them
that her husband had saved them to patch the
roof Of the barn, and we must put them back,
and take what we wanted from pile in the
back yard. We did not like this much, for
the shingles in the yard we're old, brown, mil
dewed things still, as we could not do better,
we were obliged to use them. Then, while we
went down in the cellar, where we had placed
our plants and flowers to protect them from