Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1867-03-22
MistellaMfo II &.
(From Harper's Monthly.)
Old Aunt Matilda.
PARTI

1t is now good many years since Matil-
da Hastings was young girl spinning wool
in her mothers garrct Of summer after
noon. The sunshine streaned in at the
curtainless southern window. and made a
golden path along the carpetless floor. up
and down which she ran by the side Of her
big wheel, piercing roll upon roll and
singing;
And the drums are loudly beating,
America mas sain'd the day,
And the British are retreating.
America has gain'd the day.
And the British have departed.
Soopen the ring and choose another In,
That you think will prove true-hear,ed."
Strange to say. only one word of her song
had in her mind any meaning attached to
it aud that word was the last, which drop
ped from her tongue again and again with
a dcliciously tender trill. As to that great
day when the British came to the worse.
and the United States held up their heads
under flying colors. she thought nothing
about it /; she thought only Of her sweet.
heart, Nathan Armstrong who but he
was the man for her! truc-hearted and al.
together lovely!
All, how poor and plain and worthless
seemed all the young fellows Of the neigh
borhood in comparison! No blue eyes but
his had such tenderness in them, no tongue
but his such truth upon it, no courage was
SO stout, and no morality quite SO sincere
ly moral. She had slender gold ring on
her third finger that he had given her. and
she had good many dried roses in her bu-
rcau draws that had one time after anotl-
er been slipped out of his hand into hers
They We're not cngaged-that is to say.
not by any positive pledges given or taken
but Nathan had kissed her good many
times. and it was already understood that
he should 60 with her to church Of a Sun
day evening, and to the quilting and the
evening party, and once hc had said to her,
as at parting they lingerd under the wide
spreading apple-tree by the door-yard gate
Will the time ever come, Tilly, when we
shal always be tOgether!' and she had not
said him nay.
He had not been long home from college
at the time our story begins, and once or
twice since his return matters had not gone
quite so smooth as they used ; still. there
had been no quarrel. A little arrogance.
or the like Of it, on the part of Nathan,
and little s,nothcred dspleasure on the
part Of the girl-nOt quite resentment, but
something that just for the moment how
cred toward it, These trifes. however,
did not affect the general stability OF the
relatiCn between them.
He was made specially at home in the
house OF Widow Hastings upon that sort
of understanding that somehow comes
about without words, and came and went
when he chOse-breakfast or supping il it
~.,A <,f el.<.t tsa.,Ir
Mrs. Hastings was, in her motherly way,
almost as fond oi the boy as Matilda her.
self; for though he was a little wayward
aud impulsive, and given to carry things
upon occasion with something too high
hand, he had many generous and noble
qualities. was healthful iu body and mind,
young, ambitious, and more than common
y good-Iooking.
These were causes enough for liking him
without our surprising that she supcradded
the fifty acres of land that had been set
apart for him, or the thousand dollars that
were invested for his benefit in his Uncle
Toms big commercial house in the neigh
boring city-Cincinnati. We may, and
will, therefore, leave such a supositlon quit"
out OF the case, merely sugges ing that
there possibly are mothers in the world
with whom these considerations might have
weighed.
twas pleasant thought to the poor
widow, certainly, that her lily was going
To do so we'll and il she was little proud
OF it wi,hai. why she had q right to be 80 ;
and.as her girl spun in the chamber she
spun below stairs, only her threads were
drawn from material more subtitle. She
had sometimes spun her threads so long
that they easily entanglcd themselves
among the h0rns OF the elder Mrs. Arm
strongs sheep and cattle, and drew them
off as Natty's portion! An agreeable pas
time, aud enough, as it turned out. She
her little plot Of garden ground and the
few acres she cultivated. aud the desire Of
her life was to see Matilda bette: situated
in the world than she had ever been. Not
that they had not enough Of common com.
forts she was thrifty and managing. and
her girl, as we'll as she, did her part cheer
fully, and was content to wear washed
and iroued gingham to church, and to make
tho summer bonnet answer for the winter
too.
Ah, they were happy days. the days
when they dreamed dreams and saw visions
for they were more like sisters, these two
women. than mother and daughter. Mrs.
Hastings was young at forty, and Matilda
was old at nineteen. Sometimes. as they
sat in the glow of the iire,light of winter
evening. it would have been hard t" tell
which Nathan was courting as he tossed
his cav triAes Of talk from one to the other,
Strange to say the match was regarded
tavorabiy by the Armstrong side Of the
house-more especially by Mrs. Armstrong
who, in her provident zeal, had already
put aside, under lock and key, much fine
linen, both for bed and table, marked with