The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1866-06-12

and hunt my comb! Quick now, or II
=" etc. And finally no one is left us
but old Phoebe, limping about. By
this time Mrs. Ashley might perhaps
wake up to a sense of our condition
and call the negroes back again; or al
rare intervals Annie would Interfere.
Rising slowly, and without losing for a
moment her habitual smile, she would
tIke Kate to her mothers room, lock
her in and return without word, put
ting the child out of the way with no
more explanation or reProof than il
she had been a troublesome kitten.
Annie, when / first knew her, had
been for some months engaged and
having reached the advanced age oil
II, she was soon to be married Mrs:
Ashley consequently was in full tide OF
wedding pre- of anxiety,
and especially enger on two points
first, TO rival Miss Betty Burke's trOits-
SeuU, which might have been tri-
umphantly accomplished, but an econ
omical crotchet was at war with that
laudable ambition, and the poor wo-
mans ideas were most OF the time in an
ineXtricable mental tangle, which pro-
duced considerable uncertainty and at
last incOngruity in Annie'S tineTy.
Moreover, Mrs. Ashley had u wholesome
awe of her future son-in-law, whom
she had never spokenIto, though he had
so long been a weekly visitor at her
house.
/ remember helping lIer with prac-
tical suggestion, as she stood one day
in her dingy dining-room, hustered, un-
certain, trying to think of some way to
brighten it "A little. SIT looks $3.50
sort o'-so gloomy, eh? You know,
chr" Suppose you have it iGdShed, "
said 1. "Wnshed? WhatH VIII paint
wash? Why, will it?" 20.
Six years since the room was built.
Think of that ye semi-yearly house,
cleaners; and she had never heard OF
washing painted wood ----. ~ .
"DeIl" tried even then to frighteu her
mistress out of IL, but stood firm; and
the whole household were am Ized and
delighted at the renovation.
But there are compensating virtues
for even "a want of cleanliness. If we
had few comforts, we also had few
cares. For IA while mt least the LdiSsez
alter of Southern life had its charm;
and when the ugly slave blot could be
forgotten, it was easy to yield to that
nameIess fascination which Southern
lands all over the world possess.
Yanina was also not without its Mt
fractions. Groups of forest trees We're
left standing here and there-grand old
OakS, whose broad mOtiOnleSS bOughs
cast soft, cool shadows on the parched
grass and yellow sand. Butthe flowers
are the chief ornament of those milder
climates es-honeysuckles and jessamine,
Intoxicating in their fragrance; rows OF
stately lilies cleaning like enormous
pearls in the moonlight; gorgeous beds
OF tulips, the petals streaked with all
the splendors of the sunset skies; and
sweeter than all, the roses of infinite
variety inexhaustible as the sunshine,
cultivated with more care than any
thing else, and blossoming almost all
n hn rnnnn whpn over all This
odorOus beauty the Southern moon
came floating up into the purple heaven,
with tremulous golden splendor, un-
known to our colder sky; in its mys-
terious glory the whole scene was trans
formed, the bare houses sottened, the
desolate streets less lonely, and all that
by day was stale, fiat and Improbable,
was by nighIt the very home of romance,
full bare houses sOftened, the of all
beautiful possibilities.
During this long Southern summer,
one can be comfortable with very few
appliances. With shelter from the
sun, where you can catch the passing
breeze, one cares for little else. But
when the winter rains begin to gnther,
with long, cold driving storms of wind
and sleet and hail, one longs for the
soft-curpeted, furnace-heated, gas
lighted luxury of Northern homes.
Not all the chimneys smoked, though
ours did. In some houses the huge
Fireplace would glow with a cracking
pile of blazing hickory, to which the
Wuiling storm added new delight.
But most houses we're like the "Ash-
ley's.u AS it grew cold, the ladies
wrapped themselves in shawls; as IL
grew colder, they went TO bed. hnye
known them sleep more than halt
the time, during some particularly cold
week. Mrs. Ashley, however, would
finally send two or three old "uncleS"
to the woods to cut down some trees,
which they came dragging home, and
the lady considered her arrangements
for fuel complete. The logs lay soak
ing in the rain, and chuncks were hewn
of as they were required. Then, nfter
YOU had made "Ann" tell "Pete" to
tell Joe" to bring you some wood, If
you succeeded in making it burn and
could endure the smoke of the Chin
ney, you had only TO contend with the
draughts, which were as numerous as
the doors and windows. Sitting so
close that my dress bore marks OF the
flames, my fingers farthest from the fire
were often too cold TO use pin or u
needle. Lt st EL
or course, the gentry of Yanina could
never bring their lOrdly minds TO such
base uses as the consideration of the
state of their streets and ronds, which
during the rainy season were often inl-
passable even for carriages. II was no
uncommon thing for the school TO be
closed several days for thnt reason.
Just opposite my room, large pond
was formed every winter, at the juno
ton of two streets, and most amusing
it was to watch the gentlemen as they
sauntered toward the village after
breakfast. They would come to this
obstruction, contemplate il awhile, and
then as there was no way of crossing
tN ha
would leisurely saunter home again, to
wait till it should please sun and wind
to dry up the water from their path.
More picturesque and more comforta-
BILE than the great ugly barnS-con-
sidered the highest style OF art at
Yaniua-were the log cabins, in
which lived some of the wealth
whitewashed cabins clustered on hill
side over against the villagei in front
bloomed superb garden of roses, and
over them rose fine group OF oaks.
This was the pretty home OF kind
friend, and the broad low parlOr, with
its crimson carpet and its grand old
hickory illumination. was delightful
resort from the smoky, shivering at
mosphere of my home.
It had its Inconvenience, however,
as found the guest-chainber or cabin
was two or three rods from the others;
and during one of my summer visits,
the solemn glory of the night was bro
ken by the approach of the most dis
cordanL yells and groans, like nothing
else but what it was-the hideous up
roar of dozen ipsy men.
I thought of my frail lock, and my
low, unfaStened window, with its bro
ken pAnes, through which heard only
too plainly the drunken wisdom out
side; and trembling bolh with anxiety
l. L 49, WaWN