The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1854-10-05
WASHINGTON, THURSDAY OCTOBER s 1854
in red ink, to please, as he said, her youthful

eyes.
Timothy, who kept an eye to the wants of
the BODY, purchased for her three new gowns,
two OF which, he said, were designed for every
gay, and one, white muslin, for Sundays; he
gave her, also, pair of shoes, and such books
as were recommended for her use. The dress
es were made after fashion which Charley
nad admired, and the white one the poor
child could not be persuaded to wear till he
should come back and day after dav she look.
ed southwark from the window. on the vay she
expected him to come A class of the least
children were at first given to her care in the
hope that the reward she should receive would
stimulate her to exertiop, and arouse her men.
tai faculties; but the plan soon proved q failure;
she had not strength sufficient for the task, she
SAID In week or two she would be we'll
enough-and 80 she was permitted to sit at the
desk and look from the window as she would.
Almost every day wrote to Charley, direct
ing each missive to some different point partly
In the hope that accident or blind chance
would throw some one of them in his way, but
more especially for the qualification of Lucre-
TIA. As each new one was sent out a new
hope was awakened that it might be successful,
every dusty traveller assumed his likeness and
the passage of every hour lessened the separs.
| ton.
TWAS only by looks and signs that gather
ed all this, for she spoke little of anything, and
least of all of Charley.
Nothing, perhaps, quickens our perceptions
| like an uneasy conscience; the stir of the very
| leaf is startling in certain states of mind, and
no shadow CROSSES the path without our special
| note.
A thousand articles tried but all failed of
| interesting-nothing indeed seemed to bring
back her thoughts from their wandering search
| so efectually as the flute playing of Timothy:
| and often at night be sat in the moonlight and
played old sad tunes for that he knew the
sound travelled across the fields to her window
don't think my educational advantages at
| that period of my life, and in my uneasy state
of mind, were of much benefit to me- | COM
mitted and repeated my lessons duly but nv
| intensest thoughts were little with my books
how should they be!
What company of rustics we were | would
give good deal now for painting of us all,
with Christopher in our midst. Rows of little
girls there were, with hair in horn combs, and
wearing home-spun dresses hanging low about
bare feet, for shoes were not to be thought of
as an everyday article of wear-they were re-
served for great occasions. Books in their laps
had these little girls, with soiled covers, and
corners rolled and doubled up, for the "thumb-
papers" with which each was provided seem.
ed 70 have failed of doing any good service.
Some of them wore long aprons and few or
naments of blue and yellow glass beads but,
for the most part, sparkling eyes and health
full glow, showing through sunburnt cheeks,
were their only ornaments.
Sometimes some of the most coquettish
would stick dandelions about their hair, with
thorns for lack of pins, and make eapes of the
long green leaves of the papaw-and SO, pre-
tending it was the fashion to 60 barefoot, en-
JOY for an afternoon greater triumph than
the most artistic elegance of dress could afford
them in after years. Sunbonnets were not in
frequently tedecked with wild flowers, and
strings of red berries were sometimes added to
the beads. Blessed be ignorance, when igno-
rance is bliss!
The boys, if | remember rightly made no
| attempts at personal decoration, and it was
not unusual to zee them come in school from
wading in some muddy pond, with trowsers
rolled above their knees, or from bird-nesting,
with shirts torn half off their backs; and from
such accidents only could the natural complex
ion have been guessed at. Ii was esteemed
rather a disgrace, indeed, for boy to be at all
regardful of cleanliness; and he who came
with brushed hair and clean face was laugh
x
home and shut himself in the bureau drawer.
Coats patched at the elbows, and trowsers at
the knees, and hats with torn brims. or no
| brims at ALL were worn without thought of
| shame, and q change of linen oftener than
once week was deemed a prinoely exsraya.
gsnce.
| The "big girls,o as they who were in their
| "teens" were called made various attempts
to improve upon nature, but in ways so ill-ad-
vised, that email advantage was gained Rib
bons were twisted through their horn combs,
and festoons of flowers attached; cheeks rudy
enough with health and exercise were deepen
ed in their glow to crimson, by the application
of mullen leaves; but, with most of us, there
werc email means for the exercise of such un-
! cultivated taste as we had. Some of the girls,
who were not permitted to wear shoes at home,
carried them till within sight of the school
house. when, stopping by the wayside they put
them on, and wore them till school was dis
missed, when they were again carefully en-
veloped in paper, and taken home Calf.
skin shoes and horn combs were Injuries in
those days | shall never forget the excite
| ment created one day by the accidental break.
| ing of one of the aforesaid horn combs, the
property of Miss Matilda Long. One of the
young gentlemen, named Peter Gibbs, being
in hot pursuit of missing ball. came in vio-
lent contact with the aforementioned Matilda,
causing her to stagger backward, and fall
| against a tree, which conclusion proved ruin
GUS to her new comb, worn that day for the
| first time.
| The grief of Miss Matilda first vented itself
in a burst of tears; after which, and having
received the coincidence of all her CONSERVATION.
stricken class mates she held the pieces to-
gether, devising CLUES and dement's to make
them whole; but the discovery of new fractures,
and the continual sliding of one part from an
other, showed her the fallacy of any hope of
amendment Then came rage-she would tell
| the master, and Pete Gibbs should be made to
suffer he ran against her purposely, she knew
he did. She would teach him better than to
run over her. If he wanted to run over any
| body, he might run over himself She thought
| to stand on the OUNCES block an hour would
be good for him but she hoped in her heart
he would get whipped. All these threats and
denunciations brought Peter to terms If she
would promise never to tell her mother nor the
master, nor anybody else, as long as she lived,
and as true as che breathed the breath of life,
he would give her young bantam rooster,
and, in their season, peck of pears Matilda
was somewhat appeased, though she well
knew, che said, that her mother would box her
ears and send her supperless to bed, and that
she should be obliged to pin up her hair with
thorn, instead of q comb, for six months to
come
| remember that she came to school with
very red eyes the day following the disaster !;
and / have no doubt but that che suffered to
the extent of her apprehensions. Peter was
faithful to his promise, and brought the white
bantam, duly and truly; but distrust attached
to him ever after, and he was regarded by his
| fellows as tainted wether of the flock"