The Union and eastern journal. [volume] (Biddeford [Me.]) 1854-1858, 1857-09-18

pr;ded hencf no9ittIe upon her element
foresight. I'D - g-'I' = ~ n..." .,.....,
ajsWeA,, Lefty she continued, ,a Al
closed the door, and returned TO her kni
ting and her chair by the fireplace,
guess it'll be Hpt rate day to bile saI
I'll tell Enoch and Cyrus % pile up ii
boughs tonight and hang on the kittl,
70 you can have Il all ready to kindIc i
the mornin.. You know they said Ii
trees were runnin' brskly to-day, an'
theyllhaSe two tubs fall sfore night
~They didn't though, mother" sai'
Lefty, pauaing 3 moment in her work, 70
she was setting the supper-table. 4Good
] am % glad, for I do love TO have ssl
boiling .f nia q -v..gisn'y o,
.Ietitia Pease WAS the child Of her moth
ere old age, and daintier BIT at nature
handiworE you have seldom looked upon
The next summer would count her twen
ticth, and her blue eyes were clear and .
bright as her New Hampshire skieS and
the mountain winds had kindled uddy
glow in her fair cheeks. She wss rather
short but straight with . finely curved
figure, and plump rs health and hearty
appetite could make her. y .. y
For her char1ctcr-she was righ,
down, good hearted, lightspirited New
England girl. That pretty little head Of
hers had been slightly turned by che
aattcry that sundry swains had poured
into It; but considering that she was the
handsomest girl in the village, and knew
It, too, Lefty conducted herself renarks'
bly, well. And perhaps after all, it wa,
not so much her fair face "a, It Was the
smilcs that broke from the warm fountain,
Of her nature and always displayed il
that won 70 many hearts towards her
She was not sentimental, or inclined 70
the blues. Alas! the damsels Of fifty
years ago had not so intimate an nc
quaintancc with these matters rs their
descendants. ... r.. ...rrf. ..... ~.
I But now reader, in order TO do full
penance for this latter remark, We just
admit that, for one, we don't believe our
grandmothcn were any better than We
are-not q BIT! y. 49,,
Nicer pies and puddings they could In
make, thrifty house-keeperS
faithful wives and loving mothers they
surely were, and for these things blessed
be their memory! But after all, spin.
ming wheels alone cannot enlarge ones
sympathics, or daily darning stockings
enrich ones intellect; and habit narrow.
ed down to the circle Of Their own fam.
lilies, the views and feelings Of the women
of the last century. nib.
And the true woman OF the present
time has broader social sympathies and
richer life; and although she must &C.
knowledge that her 6rt duties are in her
home, she will not think they end there,
as her grandmother did. knowledge,
that is true to itself, expands the moral
as well tho intellectual life; and the world
hasn't gone backward with the substitu.
ton Of botany for butter-churns, and
mathematics for milking pals
But to return to our heroine. When
Euoch and Cyrus two tall, sunburnt, but
fine.looking, young farmers, came in "a
supper, they were full Of story which
quite drove out all thoughts Of the sap
boiling from the head Of widow Pease
and her daughter.
Some terrible depredations had been
committed the night before on Squire
Hubbard's sheep and lamhs-the dog
had been devourcd, and two large bears
had been soon prowling around Bluebcr'
ry hill, just in the edge of the previous
evening. .." '
The young men were greatly excited
for q large party had been organized 70
90 out that evening to Squire Hubbard's
who lived in an adjoining town not more
than ten miles of, for the purpose Of des'
troying the wild animals, and Il was sp.
pretended their former success would
stimulate them to fresh depredations. Sc
with that bclligerent propensity which !,
80 strong an element Of Anglo-Saxou
character, Cyrus and Enoch descauted
glowingly on the best method Of surpris
ing and dispatching the animals; while
the mother and sister listened with th,
indciinable mixture Of wonder, admiration
and terror, which women always award
to manly courage and skill.
aBut, dear me-" said Lefty, as she pour
cd Cyrus third glass Of milk, "what il
bear should como round here some o
these days! You know Elder Smith ssit
he saw one on his farm last autumn. Q
my! believe il would take the brcatl
straight out Of my body to come across
one Of the creatures" And the rosy
cheeks grew pale at the thought. s.
aNonsense, snp said the hearty voic'
of Enoch, o he spread = double stratuu
Of butter on his fourth slice Of rye bread
athere's no sort danger around here
Nobody in these parts was ever touches
by one Of them ere chaps. reckol
they're smart enough not to venture
their heads ir into hs town. They
wouldn', stay on long. il they did, that
sartin." Iugar . ...l sl..n... lr
Now whether there wss much philos
ophy in this speech or not, Il had the ef
feet Of quietiug Lctty's fears; though
Enoeh had been called on to give his rca
son for eIempting Bcrygate from bca
incunions he could probably have foun,
no bettor one than the propensity indi
penous 70 human nature ofsuppoaing oul
selves less liable 10 III fortune than on
neighbors. s ra.n.I. - .. -n..-.. :
Well, after supper, tho boys started o.
il high spirita duly equipped with rific
and long knives receiving many solemn
| iniunctions from their mother to look on
| that them crittsn didn't gst bold Of thei
skiuS maternal wsrningS which have
remarkable faculty Of going in at one esl
and out II the other. : -TIr...i1 j. bh''.
at declare, Lefty, we'd forgot oil aboc
that sap boiling!r suddenly remarked u
| ~;lo~ n hsr dan0htsr WIN hayin