Litchfield enquirer., 1856-02-07

they are school boys. Upon the left side
 sits Mary. AdeIine and M~hitsble, pictures
 of rural beauty and health. The eldest is
 " dressed ups" she has been ,o town with
 her father. she has, gown of '' boughtrn
 stnf.' around her nee is boa of colored
 lambs wool knit by her own hand. fastrn-
 ed tn the throat wIth grandnoiher's silver brooch. The other two are tn check. wooden,
 spun. wove. coiored and mad. up under the
 same roof.
 l Further down the table are three athletic
 young men. day .sb"rrrs upnn the farm
 sons of neighboring farmers-one "f wl,oul
 i~ eyring the charu,s of sweet Mary with
 an expression easily read by good 2hysi
 ognomis'. The group Is coinplrted by the
 schooimaster. a young man with glowing eye which speaks Of an intellect that will
 tell upon the world some day with as much
 force as though he had not been obliged to
 o"tain his education by Summer labor and
 Winter teaching. He is one of New
 EagIand's rising sons. The meal is for
 men who toii At one end of the table stands pot of ample dimensions. smoking
 from the great oven. aanking the irppiace
 of the most excellent of New England cookeries, A dish of baked beans." crown ed with great square piece of sat- fat pork, crisped and rich. Lower down, a broad pewter platter holds the remains of the '' boiled victnals" that formed the din- | Rer-beef. pork. potatoes. cabbage, beets and ,urnips-a pile that might rival small hayrock in size and sl,ap--a plate of rye and lndisn bread. cold. and another made l of rye flour are untuuched; for a great | loaf just drawn from the oven. nicely <, browned and hot, is offered in great broken pieces to tempt the appetite to one of the | richest repasts eve: given 10 an -picnre. 1 By the side of the old lady siamds a black ear,hen teapot, the contents of which are freely offered, hu, only accepted by two of l them, as the rich new milk or hearty old cider. is preferred as beverage, morning.
 noon and night by those old fashioned hearty iaborrrs. We must not forget ihe never failing accompaniment of the even ing meal at this season of the year in
 New England. for 'iis New Eng lands prondest dish. the golden pumpxin's sweet est pie.
 God heinz thanked f"r his great bnun,ies after the close of this happy meal, all draw
 into a circle around the great fireplace. Father is finishing off an axe.h-lye, Jed is mrnding pair of boots, and one of the aired men upon the other side of the sa,nr 1 bench is repairing a wagon harness-bo,h l using the same tools. The other two are 1 employed one smelling corn and the other helping Mary to peal pumpkins. which are l cut in slices aud hung upon Il pole over l, head. This is Mary's aecsptsd lover.- Happy hearts and blrst industry. Mary, An and Sal are engag-i with the school-
 master around the big tahle, lighted witt,
 hume made candle; they are studying geography, writing and ariihme,ic-6ting themselves fer future statesmen. Mother | Is making new coat fnr one of the boys, A.ia is ironing at side tahl-, and H-ity is
 washing the supper dishes al anoiirr.- l There are two other members of this hap.
 py family group-,he ca, occupies ,he top of the high blue dye tub, which stands tn the corner ot the fireplace. and old Bose sleeps quietly under the tah.e.
 Directly. an,: b-fnrr any sound Is audihle
 to the human ear, he gs,s up. walks out
 into the long entry and gives loud sharp , bark al the outside door. and stands w,i,ing the approaching step. Soon satisfied Ina,
 the new com-r is fri-nd. he re,irrs again
 to his r-p"se. and three or four boys that look as though they might hs brothers to those already described, SD much ars they l dressed alike, enter and draw around a i table with the others and ihe schooltnaster Thess are from neigiboring f.r,n. sons af I a widow, who have iill now been so much engaged with the labors of the farm, they have been unable to attend the school in
 the day time. but are d-,erMined to lose
 none of the evening opportunities |" keep
 along with their class. They will make
 honest. intelligent and industrious farmers. | The old folks welcome them here. and
 the young ones ara all rejoicrd xt their ar.
 rival. The old lady i.quires why in the
 and Mary. the kind hearted May. is sa
 sorry to hear tha, it is because Sarah is no'
 so well, and mother is very bnsy tn getting
 ihrir new clothes done s, they can 70 t.
 st hool as soon as they finish picking apples
 J"hn." says she, let Us hurry and ge through our s,ea,' aud we will go over ,s
 she widows and while help her with he sewing. you shall read for the amusemen nf poor Sarah for an hour or two" | that is the cas.," says the father. laying down his axe handle. " my good rhildren : you shall go now. ! will finish yon work" "And Mary. my dear girl, don : % empty handed" says mother. "y"' 7 know from experience how sweet ,iul~ del icacies brought hy friendly hands ,o ti side of sick he'd ate to the poor invalid. Hetiy. my dear. it you have done you . dishes. yon may get your cards and make few rolls. for l am quite out Of gray yarr " and we must have some more stockings | !. the work. Old man. don't cui that pump kin too thick. Ada, daughter. get piai { of doughnu,s and some of those nice ia pippins snd set them on the table ] gues ' the boys ean eai few while they are ey phering. do wonder if you have e 1, light enough Sol. get another candle.
 am surs such industrious bays ought , have all the light they want"
 i, Thus. my readers. I have given you ' slight outline of farmer's home, such a ii used s0 h~. such as it should always bs z and such as am proud so say many a American farmer ran hoast of even in thes ldee~n~raie days of .haugh,enstaf gowa. ' and Ia-k-s-daisi-ai lounging of farmer | IL ss- T 1T naft