Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1859-12-16
uncle Abel aud Little Edward.

member my Uncle Abel the most perpen-
dicular, upright, downright, good man, that
ever labored six days and rested on the Sab
bath. You remember his hard, weather
beaten countenance, where every line
seemed to be drawn with n pen of iron and
the point of diamond his considerate
gray eyes that moved over the objects as if
it were not best to be in n hurry about see
ing; the circumspect opening and shutting
Of his mouth; his down-sitting and up-ris-
ing; all of which appeared to be performed
with a conviction aforethought, in short,
the whole ordering of his life and CONVEX
satioD, which was according to the tenor Of
the military order, "to the right about face
-forward-march ~
Now, if you have supposed from all this
trianguarism of exterior that this sgood man
had nothing kindly within, you are much
mistaken. You often find the greeuest
grass under snow drift and though my
uncle's mind was not exactly of the flower
garden kind, still there was an abundance
of wholesome and kindly vegetation there.
1t is true he seldom laughed, aud never
joked but no man had a more serious and
weighty conviction of what was good Joke
in another; and when some excellent WITH
cism was dispensed in his presence, you
might see Uncle Abel's face slowly relax
into an expression of solemn satisfaction,
and he would look at the author with GER
tain quiet wonder, as if it was astonishing
how such thing could come into mans
head. Uncle Abel also had some relish for
the fine arts, in proof whereof 1 might ad
duce the pleasure with which he gazed at
the plates in his family Bible; the likeness
whereof I presume any of you never saw !;
and he was also such an eminent musician
that he could 90 through the singing book
at sitting, without the least fatigue, beat
ing time like windmill all the way. He
had, too, a liberal hand-though his liber-
ality was by the rule of three and practice.
He did to his neighbors exactly as he would
be done by-he loved some things in this
world sincerely-he loved his God much,
but he honored and feared him more; he
was exact with others, he was moro exact
with himself-and expected his God to be
more exact still. Everything in Uncle
Abels house was in tho same time, place,
manner and form, from years end to years
end. There was old Master Rose, dog af-
ter his own heart, who always walked as il
he was learning the multiplication table,
There was the old clock forever ticking away
in the kitchen corner. There were the
never-failing supply of red peppers and
onions hanging over the chimney. There
were the yearly hollyLocks and morning
glories, blooming around the windows
There was the "best room" with its sanded
floor, and evergreen asparagus bushes, its
cupboard with its glass door, in one corner,
and the stand with the Bible and almanac
on it in the other. There was Aunt
Betsey who never looked any older, because
she always looked as old as she could; who
always dried her catnip and wormwood the
last of September, and began to clean house
the first of May. In short, this was the
land of continuance.
Old Time never seemed to take it into
his head to practice either addition, subtrac-
ton or multiplication on the sum total
This Aunt Betsey aforenamed, was the neat
ess and most efficient piece of human ma
chincry that ever operated in forty places
at once. She was always everywhere, pre-
dominating over and seeing to everything
and though my uncle had been twice mar
ried, Aunt Betsy's rule and authority had
never been broken. She reigned over his
wives when living, and reigned after them
when dead; and so seemed likely to reign
to reign to the end of the chapter. But
my uncle's last wife left Aunt Betsey a
much less tractable subject to manage than
had ever fallen to her lot before. Little
Edward was tho child of my uncle's old
age, and brighter, merrier little blossom
never grew on the edge of an avalanche
He had been committed to the nursing OF
his grandmamma until he arrived at the
age of indscretion, and then my old uncle's
heart yearned towards him and he was sent
for at home. His introduction into the
family excited terrible sensation. Never
was there such contemner of dignities,
such a violator of such high places and sane
titles, as this very Master Edward. 1t was
all in vain to try to teach him decorum.-
He was the most outrageously merry little
elf that ever shook head of curls, and it
was all the same to him on Sabbath or any
other day. He laughed and frolicked with
everybody and everything that came in his
way, not even excepting his solemn old faith
or; and when you saw him with his arms
round the old mans neck, and his bright
blue eyes and blooming cheek pressing out
by the black face of Uncle Abel, you al
most fancied that you saw spring caressing
winter. Uncle Abels metaphysics were
sorely puzzled how to bring this sparkling,
dancing compound of spirit and matter in
to any reasonable shape, for he did mischief
with an energy and perseverance that were
truly astonishing. Once he secured the
floor with Aunt Betsey's Scotch snuff, and
once he spent half an hour in trying to
make Rose wear her spectacles. In short,
there was no use but the right one, to
which be did not put everything that came
in his way. But Uncle Abel was most OF
all puzzled to know what to do with him on
the Sabbath, for on that day Master Ed
ward seemed to exert himself particularly
to be entertaining. edward must not
play on Sunday" bis father would say, and
then Edward would shake his curs over his
eyes and walk out of tho room MS grave as
the catechism, but the next moment you
might SEQ pussy scampering in dismay
through the "best room" with Edward al
her heels, to the manifest discomfort Of Aunt