The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1876-02-24


An old red farm house is the home
of my heroine. Nesting cozily down
in the midst of clump of NAPLES al
the bottom of a rich and productive
valley, the substantial homestead of
Silas Buckwheat formed a pietur-
esque object Of interest to the passing
traveller. The Buckwheats were old
settlers in Maple Valley, and theiI
family history was known to all the
old residents of the surrounding coun.
try, even to the smallest of the bare
footed, broWn-faced urchins who dai-
ly climbed the rugged path leading to
the little log school house on the side
OF the bill. Any one of them would
have told you had you the mind tC
inquire, that "Uncle Silasn was the
only remaining son of old Ezekiel
Buckwhest, who came to Maple Val
ley, with few others, when the place
was little else than thick forest, and
by persistent energy and hard work
had acquired valuable property and
left it, with a good name, to his two
sons, Silas and Dennis. Your infor.
mer would have told you too, how
Dennis took to drink, and after wor.
rying his sickly wife into the grave,
met his own death by falling into the
mill-pond, leaving his only child-a
little girl-to the care of the well-to-do
and industrious Silas. Peggy was the
name of the girl ! They called hel
Peggy because the Bnckwheats were
extremely fond of plain names and
the appropriateness OF the name was
gradually demonstrated as Peggy,s
life developed. She was plain girl,
but . jewel without price 10 Uncle
Silas and his numerous family oi
harum-scarum boys and girls.
Peggy's childhood had known none
of the innocent pleasures which, tC
most Of us, form the pictures in our
recollections of youth. Early neg
lect and privation had permitted her
| to learn but little besides Self-reliance
and she grew to Womanhood, there
fore, the plain but energetic family
dradge. Nature was kind TO her in
two respects. A special genius foI
Homework added to an inborn taste
for music were her natural posses
sions. She had q voice of remarkable
sweetness and fexiblity, but with the
exception Of an occasional evening al
the village singing school, no oppor.
/ tunity WIS allowed her for its cultiya.
tion. Year after year she toiled fol
Uncle SiIRs and Aunt Hannah, anC
waited on her cousins from the Oldest
down to the baby. She worked tC
the music of her own songs, and hel
methodical habits and patient, vii.
ling disposition made her an inyaIu-
| able adjunct to the home circle. Al
time rolled she instinctively took thu
reins of government out of her Aunt
Hannah's mild grasp and drove The
domestic Dobbln in her own peculiar
| fashion. She became the centra
! figure in the household the pivot on
which all family matters swung. II
was peggy, come ;" peggy, 90 -
peggy, where is this ?'I UPeggv
where is that 2" and 'iPeggy, what K
to be done now ?" from morning un.
til night. Nothing could be done in
or about the old farm house without
first consulting Peggy. She 1t was
| who named the barnyard pets, picked
out the fowls and beasts for the sale
mart, superintended the dairy, kept
account of the quantities and disnosi.
tion of the crops, and carried the KEY:
of the closets. She was empress O
the department Of the cuisine, and tbs
big kitchen with its whitened foo
and pine furniture was to her an EN-
pire in which there never came q re
bellious subject.
Homeiy in feature, ungainly il
limb, awkward in motion and of 81
excessively bashful disposition, Pegg.
had scarcely the traditional "on,
chance in q thoussndp Of gettinI
married. But the wheel of life's lot
terry unexpectedly threw out to her {
prize. One day in the fair month o
June q husband came to her. 81
came in the form of a neighbor win
wished to borrow plow. A stalwar
bachelor-Enoch Goodsense by nam
just past the hey-dey of youth an,