Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1856-09-10
Why Aunt Patience Never was Married.
By RACHEL


Miss Patience Spinal dwelt in a little anti
quated cottage, convered with woodbine and
roses, and surrounded with flowers" situa-
ted in the north end of the village of Scratch
dale. She was Familiarity known to all the
people in the country round about, as Aunt
Patience" and being of an easy, open dispo-
sition, with a pleasant word always on her
lips, and a story Of old times ready on the mo-
ment of asking, her cottage became a ~favorite
resort for the young of both sexes.
Very unlike the generality Of old maids
was Aunt Patience. True It's, that " on her
face no beauty dwelt, and in her garb no
pride :" but she was neither tall nor spare,
and yet she had not a thin nose, and never
was known to scold.
A perfect wonder among old maids was
she, with her fair, fat face, and well-rounded
limbs.
One night, as some halfa dozen of US were
coming from there after having listened for
the twentieth time to the account of her Jour
ney to Boston, it was proposed by Susan Lee,
a brlSht-eycd little witch II Of some fifteen sum-
mers, that the next time we went there, we
should ask Aunt Patience to give us her ex-
p~erience In love affairs. We received the
proposition with glee, and wondered we had
not thought of it before. Well we leased
t and leased aunt Patience, but not a word could
we draw from her on the all-important sub.
| ject her only answer was a strange sort OF
smile, and you would find less of romance
, in my history, than you imagine, children
lshe always would call US children, though
4 we all wore long dresses, and some of us hac
beaux.) But at last the old lady became
"wearied with much importantly" and pro
missed US that if we would come to her on tina
!, day week, she would tell us why she never 90
married then we wendell cur way home re
,, joicing. Wasn't the week that followed
> long one? How many times we put GU
heads together, and wondered what Aunt Pa
%tience's could be! How we pitied the dea
old soul, when we thought Of the torture
must wiring from the heart to revivethose lon
buried memories but we quieted our cor
sciences with the thought that perhaps a les
son was contained in Aunt Patience's exper
ence, which we should do well to know an
"a heed. At length the wished for evening al
y rived. We, the female part Of the compan,
80 equipped ourselves with two extra pockt
II handkerchiefs, and set out slowly, almost SAL
ly for the cottage.
:, As we babe her good evening in subdue(
o sympathizing tones, SO different from our u
e ual light manner, she applied her handke
Chief to her face, and a spasmodic motion
the body followed. We thought she w;
70 weeping over blasted hopes and lost expect
NO tons, and we too, wiped away a tear.
Children" she began and her voice W
calm and free from excitement, as if she b;
been about to inform US that another stalk
her hollyhock had blossomed in her garden
but we thought she had nerved herself for t
task, and we only wept the more freely
=" Children, | never was married, 6ecda
III nobody eUer asked met
yet Wasn't there reaction then? The
IN; fairly rang with our merriment, but no 0
of laughed louder than Aunt Patience.
try | fear we shall never hear the last Of this
res fair from the young gentlemen who were wi
ro+ us but if Willie Lee doesn't stop plaugi
= me about it he shall not come to see fail
VI and mother every Thursday night and sit
rn- until twelve O'Clock, see if he shall.