The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1875-03-20
From Appleton's Journal
Grapes of ThOrns and Figs
of ThiStleS.

little wisp of carroty hair, the habit she had
of living in kind of rapture OF content rem
dered her always pleasant tolook upon.
She seemed to be of no particular age,
though she had way of saying that she was
sssbout forty-odd," and as those who had
known her ten, fifteen, twenty years, could
detect no change in her, it was cheerfully con-
coded that she had right 10 be vague on
this delicate subject. She certainly had at
tanned to "forty -odd'' before she came to take
possession of the very small house and lot
beuueathed to her by her uncle, the eccentrlc
Major Samuel De Brooke.
The old gentleman was in his day an oddly,
and something of mystery. He used to
dress in semi military fashion, clustering and
staggering not little. He lad great dear
TO saw about the Mexican War, but of his
family he never spoke; so that not one OF his
acquaintances had heard of Miss DE BROOKE
before his will made her existence known.
A more harmless creature than this old mayor
never lived, and he was no sooner dead imam
his eccentricties were all forgiven. Every
bodv fastened To call on his niece when she
came, and everybody took fancy to her,
though she was, in her way, as great an oddl
tv as her old uncle, for whose memory she
cherished an unfeigned respect, always speak
ing of him as "My uncle the major;
7.My uncle the major" she would say to
each visitor in turn, twas man OF character,
hut peculiar IN his views. l will mention to
Won in confidence that our family name,
strictly speaking, is Brook; but my. uncle the
major revived in his own person our earlier
cognomen of De Brooke, by which our ances-
tors we're known; and being the only sur
yiving member of the family, shall henceforth
use the prefixed de in memory OF my uncle
the major. Yet 1 must say, in all honesty,
that never was called De Brooke before l
came into my Inheritance"
This inheritance was very small, three
roomed cottage, with little low porch In
front, slip of passage through the middle,
and narrow piazza at the back, the whole
surrounded by mere strip of ground: but no
small possession ever gave It's owner more
complete satisfaction.
Very little furniture had Miss De Brooke
''But what should do with more, my DEAR"
she would ask, ''when Pm so fond of space ?'
Happily, Miss De Brookes imagination was
unbounded; her small house was ''a roomy
abode y in her estimation; the little circular
grass plot in front of the porch, "a lawn,0
the stunted Cape myrtle and the two hydran-
gea were dignified by the name of ''the
shrubberles Her garden consisted OF two
narrow borders, in which she cultivated
radishes and lettuces, and where she sowed,
every year, row of touch-me.nots and row
of four-o' clocks. These two rows formed
what she called her "parterres," and the air
of satisfaction with which the CHEEKY little
dozen of these short stemmed flowers and tie
them into ''nosegay," was good to see.
But the little woman was of saving dlspo-
sition, and, though she would give her friends
of the best she had right royalty, she gathered
for her self only the fallen flowers, which she
would set about her window-sills in the oldest
little saucers with CANDY border. She was
inordinately proud ofthese saucers, and was
often heard to say that in her estimation they
Gould not he SURPASSED.
Nor were these extraordinary saucers her
only treasures. Never was any one little
woman possessed of such quantity OF OBJ
solete trash: buckles, necklaces bead-bags,
huge fans, gay parasols, and gorgeous shawls,
"redolent of the Orient" Miss De BrooAe
would saw. as she proudly exhibited them
and indeed they did eXhale strong odor OF
camphor.
But the most astonishing as we'll as the
most interesting of all her possessions were
the silhouettes that hung over the mantel-
piece in her little parlor. Below these stood
potchomania vase and an hour-glass, con-
cerning which ornaments Miss De Brooke
would inform the interested visitor that the
vase was in every respect equal to the cost
lest china, except that it would not hold wa
fer: and that the sand in the hourglass was
from the shores of the Red Sea, a statement
y. not to be doubted, since the man from whom
she bought il had assured her OF the fact; but
the sombre profiles that hung in rigid row
above threw the vase and the hour-glass quite
in the shade, and everybody turned with in
difference from the Red Sea sand to inquire
about the old lady with the formidable cap,
the old gentleman with the cue, the mourn
fnl LADY, leaning on a tombstone, the young
gentleman with the high collar, the young
lady with the braids, the other young lady
with the curls, and the gentleman with the
eyeglasses.
had something to tell. The old lady and old
gentleman represented grandmother and
Grandfather Brook, or De Brooke, upon
which statement would follow volume o
"reminiscences. The young ladies were half
sisters. for her mother had married twice.
The likenesses of the young ladies were un-
Improbable, even at the present day, Miss
De Brooke would say, complacenty, TOR the
originals had died young. The gentleman
with the collar had married the sister with
the curls.
"And did the gentleman with the eye
glass marry your sister with the brads, Miss
De Brooke ?'
"Oh. no, my dearp says Miss De Brooke,
with an unmistakable access of Importance.
"That gentleman was-ahem IAN admlrei
of nv own but couldn't well be spared out
of the family. being the eldest, and as it hap
pened, he married my stepfather's daughter.
we remained very good friends, however,
Mr.. Earl and /, until the day OF his death.
He had one son, Andrew, an only child, and
a promising boy he was, with fine, high
spirit of his own, FOR very soon after the death
of his parent he quarreled with those who
had charge of him, and ran away to sea, and
nobody knows what ever became of him,
poor fellow! Still, don't doubt that, If he
ever comes back, it will have been great
advantage to him to have seen The world.
.And do you look for him ever Miss De
Brooke? ?" asks the sympathizing visitor.
ooh, my DEAR who can tell what a day
may bring forth?" Miss De Brooke replies,
cheerfulv eff he is not dead, and if he
should come back in my time. shouldn't be
at all surprised to see him. But it was years
ago, and very likely l shouldn't know him
without an introduction. Yet, we shouldn't
he as strangers, I'm sure, for we were very
united family, though there were three sets
of us. NV step-father had two of his own,
and there was for my mothers share, and
those two young sisters among us all. was
the oldest, and mother was l to the family
in general, may say, for neither my mother,
nor my step-father, nor the two girls, had
any constitution to speak of. I've no doubt
INV own father might have been living to this
day if he hadn't been killed in railroad ac.
cident when he was young man, for the
Brooks, OF De Brookes, are hardy race after
thew arrive at about forty-odd; so Eve out
lived them all.
'eWe are originally from about Fredericks-
burg" SAYS Miss De Brooke, vaguely; shut
Pve undergone many vicissitudes. When
our family ties were all sundered, accepted
a position in Madame Rand's school in
Charleston. That title of madame was as
sumed, suppose, for grandeur, and it an
swered the purpose very well. 1t was my
Office to see after the young ladies generally,
and it was no sinecure, be sure, for the mad
anne was very strict, and the young ladies,
alas were quite the contrary; so that, be-
tween my zeal to obey orders and my natural
Discrimination to report on the young, ladies
I wonder my hair didn't turn gray. As it
was, itfell out deplorably.
81 didn't have an easy time, for what did
to please the madame was sure to displease
the girls, and rice oersa. Depend upon it.
it's all mistake about the tender-hearted
ness of youth. In all my dealings 1 never
met with any thing more astonishing than
the arrogance of the young; but have the
consolation, my dear, that their hardness
proceeded from their ignorance. 1t takes an
experience of the painful vicissitudes of life
to soften the heart! 1t is the want of this eX-
perience that makes young people so ready
with their gibes and their pranks. When
their turn comes to suffer, poor things, they