Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1873-05-13
Selttt Storp.
4 STORY OF TO-DAY,

Eleanor Collins WAS the Youngest child
and ONLY daughter ut Judge Collins oi
Col,msvilic, Mass. The Collins family
belonged To The genuine Sew England
ari>tocracy, that Ia. Ihey L'a,tcd That
they could trace their pedigree iu q ,lIcct
line from one OF The passengers who
crossed the Atlantic in the NAY hoWer. on
her iirs, trip to America 1t might have
been iasL. attended with some difficulty
ior the present generation OF COliinSes to
produce documentary evidence 10 support
TIN. assertion. but they could at least lay
Just claim to quite gocdly array Of
grandIaIhers, great'grandiathers and
great great grandialher>. Not only did
luc faded pages OF The family record, in
several old Bibles but Slndry ancient
heir looms. H. Nil. dozen or two ot
battered old teaspoons. bruised and
hong suffering tea pot, AN ugly shaped
sugar bowl, and queer Old tankard. all
Ur ,il@cr. though rather thin and quite
dec,cpit from age, still existed - tanSl'
ble proof, thar the Colinscs OF the past
had been respectable, that Is well to do
folks in their time
But the Collins family did huI need TO
look back altogether to prove their claims
20 consideration. If they could boast ui
having among their torela.hers aud near
relatives doctors OF divinity. professors
in Yale College, a,torney-generals. one
senator. and one governor, the old judge
was every whit ~ good man, IN hi>
tOwnsmeu's esteem, as the best at the
race: aud ot his three sons the oldest
WAS lawyer. and u rising politician.
who babe fair 10 be senator himself IN
time. the second was doctor in good
practice. and the third had recently
graduated at West Point and was station
ed on the western frontier.
Ii was tradition that the girls 81 the
family had always done their part 10y
iudicious marriages to build up the tor
tunes of the CdllinseS, and there WAS no
reason why Eleanor the Judges young
est child. should not marry rs well rs
the daughters Of her house were wont
10 do. She was - Slender, New England
GIRL. whose forehead WAS too high. whose
nose WAS too large. and whose mouth
VA, two wide loi the strict canonS ct
beauty; but she had transparent and
blooming complexion, large soft gray
eyes. SUCH wealth OF bright auburn
hair; and, above all. so vlvacious and
changing an expression, which iIIumlned
and transformed her face when she spoke,
that il her claim TO real beauty could he
Justly disputed that she was most attract
i've and charming was indiSputable. She
was intelligent and tolcrably we'll edu:
Gated she could read little Virgil she
had been through algebra, though she
never exactly knew how she did it she
had parsed Millions Paradise Lost; she
had studied chemistry and natural phil.
osophy. and "knew enough about them
for all practical purposes" her father
vas wont 10 say, and she did not dispute
ihe statement, since she could not by the
widest stretch of Imagination, conceive
OF the emergency in her every day lie,
where she should be forced TO apply these
sciences TO actual use She played the
piano remarkably well, aud sang the old
song kar usher ,aved. 20 pieasehlm, and
few OF the new To please herself, in II
sweet though unframed voice. She was
skilled in all matters pertaining TO the
household She could bake cake. sweep.
dust, iron, and rs for sewing, with her
that was iRs al. lSeed,e work was
her delight, and her def fingers were
equally at home in the shaping OF the
commonest of garments, or the daintiest