Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1877-12-07
lLMOST SL-NCESS Ell

Before tuH war Madame l9allN was III tne
habit of speaking about herself as AN old wo-
man When | say the war. | mean, of couIse.
our own particular onc-the war between
North and South 1t will be a long time yet
| fancy. before Americans learn to use the
definite article in connection with any other
war Madame Lady could certainly have
been no younger ut the wars close, yet it was
not possible for any one to associate with her
the idea of age Hers was that vivacious
southern temperament. which is like the fire
flys fash, quick, vivid lighting the dusks of
misfortune and declining years with unexpect-
ed CLEANS. and never ceasing to shine so long
as life lasts. Impulsive, incousequent. mis-
chievous sometimes as any girl. but with n real
mothers tenderness for every needy and sor-
rowing thing-full of fun, full Of holpfulness
it is no wonder that We young people adored
her rs we did. Her house was the rallying
point for all our pleasures. There pic
MICS Were arranged and partners engaged.
reading classes talked over. quarrels made up.
and friendships inaugurated; and for each
and all Madame Lally had sympathy and a
suggestion. Go when you would. there was
always some girl 10y her side or at her feet
consulting in whispers about bonnet or an
engagement. or somebody afflicted with head
or heart ache was being cosseted on the sofa,
or pair of lovers were settling matters i'll the
parlor. while madame sat in the dining-room,
or IA refugee was telling his tale in the kitch-
en-, a tramp being fed on the door-steps.
The quaint white wooden house with its Ma
ryland furnishngs-N England frame
work iuclosing semi-Southern interior-was
refuge, rendezvous, resort and court of appeal
TO every body in our little town.
What had brought Madame Lally TO spend
thirty years Of her life in Toyerton, nobody
exactly knew. 1t was Toverton's good for
tune, but unaccounted for. as good fortune is
apt to be. She had been Miss Meredith, of
Baltimore. and her husband, it was rumored,
belonged in some way to the Lally-Tollendal
family. There rumor stopped, and madame
seldom assisted it by illusions to the past.
Lilly I.ally" she signed herself Mabel Sher-
man once ventured on joke about the odd
little name, but was promptly put down.
Better than Shilly Shally, my dear. rctor-
cd madame. with one Of her quick flashes
and Mabel who was notoriously proCastinat-
ing and unde cid,d. said no more.
Only once do | remember her reveItng at
any length to her own early days She was a
wonderful rdcoHt,tiS6 her stories were our
delight but they were usually about people
and places wholly disconnected with herself.
One evening, however, when n knot of us
who had been drinking tea with her were set
| tied round the fire, work in hand TO enjoy
| that comfortable sense of leisure and time all
before you which cold winter evening brings,
| she treated us to tale of different sort. 1t
arose from something which Marianne Abbott
| said about the freedmen. The Hampton
| School was but Just started then. We were
| getting up little fair for its benefit, so the
conversation naturally took that direction.
Doesn't it seem strange that one man
should have it in his power to set so many
millions free - said Marianne.
How horrid slavery was :" ejaculated Lucy
| Cannon. with a little shudder.
Madame Lally looked at her with n twinkle
in her eyes.
How many slaves did you ever happen to
see in your life, Lucy Z" she asked.
Il didn't say that | ever saw any," replied
Lucy. discounted. 'One can tell how dread
| full slavery must be without absolutely seeing
| it with ones own eyes
mo, one can't There you're mistaken,
said madame. You think you can, but you
can't. 1t is like reading i'll the newspapers
| about famines in India tidal waves in the
| Malay Archipelago. We all cry, Dreadful y
but we do rot feel in the least as We should
| had we seen for ourselves The idea does not
set an impression of horror upon us for life,
as the real thing would. Now / know how
bad slavery was for | was born a slGye-hold-
| er."
Were you really? How did You get rid of
|
all together.
Free them: Not at all. We sold them, n
replied Madame Lally, with an amused glance
at our Mortified faces. Slaves We're property
! in those dnys. girls nobody thought of free
ing them. 1t would have seemed quite as alb
surd rs to free mortgage bond or thous-
and dollar bill. We sold our slaves one fine
! day. every mothers son Of EN-, and we nevel
| owned another"
Il thought, began Marianne timidly,
then stopped.
What did you think? Don't be afraid,
Marianne. I've no feelings ON the subject to
be hurt"
Il thought that nice Southemers, even in
the worst days of slavery, seldom soh theiI
slaves"
"And you thought right. Almost no one
did-amOng gentlefolks, that is. Servants
were considered as part of the family. They
were cared for when they grew old, fed, phys
icked, buried, and had monuments erected foI
them, as if they had been relations. But ouI
slaves forfeited this right. They deserved
| nothing better than to be sold. What chill.
dren you are l declare All your eyes are
grown big and round-and yours absolutely
beg, Marianne Do you want very much tC
hear about it? / see you do. Well, then,
listen;" and our dear madame settled herself
in the attitude which, as We knew, preceded q
long eOnte.
II must go back TO the time when was
| young girl-not more than fifteen. Half q
century ago Heavens how hard TO realize
| that is We lived in C street. 1t wai
the fashionable street of Baltimore in those
days. Now people have passed away, ant
there is horse-railroad and shops and whai
not but it was delightful then. We hat