San Andreas independent., 1858-02-27

heavy sofa preserved Its angle by the fire-
side as if it were fastened to the floor =
and the discordant old piano was forever
open. | used to perform upon it a line
and a half of Paddy Carey, the only
tune knew without music, every time |
went. Later in life, l did the sCaliph OF
Bagdad and the Battle of Prague, to
Miss Fernley's delight; and remember
her once singing to me, with the remains
of very sweet voice, The Woodpecker
tapping, and little Spanish air.
There were two circular portraits in
this room, of Miss Fernley's brothers,
both in uniform; the elder had been
drowned at sea, and the younger killed at
the battle of Talavera. She loved dearly
to talk of these two brothers, when once
she had begun to be confidential, and
would quote great deal of poetry in her
narrative of their histories believe she
grew to love me for the interest with
which | always listened to the oft-told
tales. 1t probably never occurred to me
until some years later, to think whether
she were pretty or an ugly old lady )
she was tall, thin, stiff; scantily dressed
in silks of uniform cloud-color, with a
lofty-crowned cap, with good many
white bows; she wore frill of fine, rich
lace about her neck, and ruffles at hel
wrists when nobody else did, and had a
particularly precise and almost courtly all
i should say she was proud, and one
bit of ceremony always observed by me
to the day of her death, was-never tc
sit in her presence until invited so to do
She made many remarks on the manners
of her young friends, and always said
that familiarity was vulgar.
The way | became acquainted with the
life-romance of this gray, lonely, old lady
was as follows: She invited ME to take
up my abode at her house for week
when | was about sixteen, to be company
for three mad-cap girls, her nieces, and
daughters of the younger brother, whose
portrait decorated the dismal parlor.-
Their exuberant spirits were very trying
to Miss Fernley; they outraged the cats
by dressing them up in night-caps and
pocket-handkerchiefs; they taught the
porrot to be impertinent, broke the strings
Of the old piano, whistled as they went
up and down stairs, and danced treesome
reels in the hall, to the great scandal of
the primmy old serving man and serving
woman.
One long, wet day their pranks went
beyond all bounds; they wanted to act a
play in the drawing room, and to bribe
them from their intention, Miss Fernley
gave them the key of great lumber
room, and bade them 90 and ransack the
chests of ancient apparel therein contain
ed for amusement. Up we all accord
ingly went. Out upon the dusty floor,
with screams of laughter, the wild girls
tossed armfuls of garments of all degrees
of hideousness and antiquity; startled
sometimes by moth futtering out from
the heaps, and arrested often by the sight
of some article of attire more curious
than the rest One of them-Lettie,
the youngest-lit upon a sacque of Grim
son silk, and Immediately cried out that
she would dress up and astonish Aunt
Jeanie. Her costume, when completed,
was rather incongruous; but a quaint old
mirror against the wall showed her very
pretty, if fantastic figure, drapcd in the
crimson sacque, with amber-satin petit
coat, and black Spanish hat, with
plume shading down over her golden hair,
Lettie Fernley was bright-complexioned
Scotch lassie and as she walked with
stately step before the glass, you might
have thought her court beauty of fifty
years ago, stepped down out of picture
frame.
Meantime the eldest sister had been
pursuing her investigations into the depth
of huge, black trunk, and drew forth a
packet of letters, tied round with faded
rose-colored ribbon. What have we
here" cried she; "a mystery, a romance;
somebody's old love -lettersI
In an instant Lettie, still in the Grim
son sacque, was down on her knees by
her sister, full of vivid curiosity.
Gently, gently, said the other, turn
A'AS "HiAS i1oA Ill PdoiOHo uuSeiS IcJ us
consider moment before we discover old
memories. What hand traced these dis
colored characters? Is the hand dust
yet, or only slow and heavy with the dead
weight of age?'
Have done with your speculations,
Minta, and let the letters speak for them
selves, interrupted Lettie eagerly
Minta loosened the string, and divided
the packet carefully. A piece of printed
paper fell to the floor: it was a column
cut from a newspaper; the story of a
great battle, and an incomplete list of the
killed and wounded.
Let us lay that aside till we seek
clue for it'll we see whose name on
that list is connected with these letters
suggested Minta; and we all approached
our heads closely together to read the fa-
ded yellow pages The first letter was
written from vicarage house in Cumber-
land, and bore date half century ago
the writer was one Francis Lucas. We
had never heard the name before but
we conned the lines lingeringly, and with
interest, for they were such as all hearts
echo to-warm, loving, tender
Erapz,e II ,,o,x. " ba