Eastern times. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1846-1857, 1852-04-01

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would have been as bad had he been thrown so
on the world. If you and had died, as his
parents did; yes, he is Susan's own and on
ly brother. He shall be groomsman, and our
Martha bridesmaid. She is almost fifteen, you
know sr
'Oh stop! Hannah-stop. exclaimed John.
You will frighten me to death! Have you
been making this plan for one or two years,
that you have got it all cut and dried so!'
Hannah had indeed quite forgotten herself.
1t had indeed been her design TO unfold her
wishes one by one, to her husband, as she
thought him interested in her, and prepared
for them, but having once fairly commenced
the subject, her own interest and enthusiasm
carried her away-and she now began to be
little alarmed, lest so many things might des-
troy the charm with which she had hoped to
invest the plan in her husbands eyes. She
was therefore glad as the clock struck eleven,
| to make preparations for Immediately retiring
to bed, but there was little sleep that night for
her. She was walking through large poultry
yards, singing ont, now this fine rooster, now
that white turkey, and daring even. with a
bold hand, to snatch from his dignifed position
the head gander of the flock. And then, when
her merry eye-lids dropped, she would loose
this scene, and anon, be putting pie after pie,
mince, apple, and first and best of all-deep
golden pumpkin, upon the white shelves of an
intermnable pantry, and when her feet refused
to bear her there any longer, she was in the
ample kitchen, and sleigh-bels were ringing
merrily up to the door, and then such shaking
of hands and meeting of lips, that poor Han
nah, fairly wearied, at last fell souudly asleep.
With the morning light came again the host
of ways and means, that were to be compassed
to bring about the desired end-never was
busy mind more weighed down by cares than
hers, and never a kinder heart more willing to
supply in happy expedients what the head fail
ed TO suggest.
1t wanted now but three weeks to Thanks
giving, and what was to be done must be done
quickly. Hannah considered the consent of
husband as having been given, and the next
thing was TO consult with the old mother, for
aged people sometimes fear the fatigue more
than they expect to enjoy pleasure from such
scenes, but grandmother had always possessed
warm heart, and lively, sunny disposition,
and often the last thing tha, is chilled by the
touch of age, is the heart; and the habit of
1onEIn Of the ell H. Il
will keep the souls eye bright long after the
natural vision had become dimmed, and so
happy, and making happy, though with fee
Bile frame, the old lady hac sat for years in her
old armchair by her sons fresds, and the
growing infrmities and decreptude of age be-
came beautiful and holy lessons in reverence
to the young grandchildren. They were early
taught to feel that word of reproof, or of ap-
proval, from grandmother, was the highest re-
ward or punish ment that could be given them.
And TO attend TO all her little wants, the great
est privilege they could enjoy-and thus, in
this farmers quiet family, met the extremes of
life-ahd the rosy light of the morning was
softened and melowed by the faded rays of the
setting sun, while is deepening twilight was
made beautiful by the laughing light of the
small golden clouds, which lay around it as it
sunk to its final rest. Oh the influence of the
pious aged upon the heart of The young can
never be too highly valued, and happy indeed
is that family beneath whose roof yet fingers
one whose gray hairs and faltering steps are
spared little while longer from the home of
all the living
| So thought Mrs. Norton, and it had always
been, from the first hour that her husbands mo-
ther had chosen her home by their fireside, the
object of her endeavors to make those last days
of long and useful life, the happiest of them
all, and now TO change little for her the mo-
notony Of quiet indoor life, to give her some
thing to think over, when those cold bitter win
ter storms should shut out even the little varie-
ty she now had, and to gather once more the
members of large family to receive the bles-
sing, which she so much priced, for herself and
children, such were Mrs. Norton's motives, in
the laborous task of keeping a real New
England Thanksgiving.
Martha was the eldest child, now nearly ff-
teen years old, and as there were six younger,
she had always been accustomed from child
to taking care The mother depended very
much upon her, she consulted her in little ar
rangements, and would have felt as if great
part of the household had been removed if any,
thing had deprived her of Martha From eaI-
ly summer she had been her mothers conf
dant respecting Thanksgiving-and had. in
her own quiet manner, made thousand
plans for bringing it about. 1t is astonishing
in how many ways children Of that age. or
even much younger, may be not only comforts,
but aids TO their parents. There were number
less little acts of self-sacrifce which Martha
was daily performing, and which, though thew
did not appear at the time to produce any i'm.
preston on the condition of the family, yet in
the aggregate were Of great importance, and
what is better yet, were forming her own mind
and heart to standard of generous and high.
toned self-devotion; freedom from selfshness
at once the passport and the guide to the es
TEEN and love of all who knew her. Through
the summer she had taken no butter, no sugar
no tea, nor any Of the articles that could be
saved, for, as she reasoned to herself, every
little helped and by and by, when the time
fairly came, she would tell her parents wha