Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1878-03-22

The green calash removed, Miss An
tiss proved to be an exceedingly small,
spare person, with n face yellowed by
time and lined with innumerable
wrinkles, sharp nose and faded blue
eyes. Taking her patchwork from her
bag, she at once began taking small
even stitches, sitting bolt upright in
her chair, casting sharp glances mean
while out of the window and about the
room, where no movement other favor
ite Annie escaped her. Mrs. Ford took
u rocking-chair and her knitting. Then
the conversation began.
"Be the boys and Jacob wellP'
Usually well. Jacob gifts pretty
tired by night, but the boys go ahead,
and do nicely. Sibyl said you'd been
awayp
"Yes, I've been clean n matter of
twenty miles to the Union; but it didn't
look very nat raj, and warn't sorry to
come away. There's hardly anybody
left there that knowed, either.h
"What is it like, Aunt Amp said
Lizzie, who had come in and seated
herself on the window-sill beside her.
"Oh, farms now, much as it looks
here. When we used to live there, on
Greene's Patent, between there ana
Peru village the pine-trees stood so
| thick on each side of the road u two
| ycars-old heifer couldn't crowd between
| them, and the sun never touched the
road in the longest summer days. 1t
was dreadful wild round there them
Aunt Ann paused to take up fresh
block of patchwork, and cast II sharp
| ,rln ,t l,n IL, ,Nf N in
the south window, bending over her
sewing, with sad, far-away look in the
blue eyes, and mournful dIpop at the
corners of the pretty mouth. Some
| thing lCdS the matter, Miss Antiss made
up her mind then and there. Annie
had not heard one word of the con-
versatlon going on around her, that
was plain enough to be seen. What
was the matterP that was the question
Miss Ann went over and over in her
mind, while her tongue kept time with
her needle.
"Do tell some more about it. Wasn't
that very wild place?'
"WildP guess it was! Why,when
/ was little, if any of the men-folks
didn't come in at dark, big fires would
be lit, and all the tin pans and tin horns
would be banged and blowed all through
the woods, everybody carryin' torch,
| till they found 'cm, or what what was
left on 'em.
"Our folks was Quakers My mother
was dreadful harsh, strict woman,
though father used ter wink at our
havin' good times. Many's the time
me and Liz beth's throwed our white
dresses in n bandboX out the winder to
our cousins, the Greene boys, and elm
out arter them, to run away to dance,
| footin' it four or perhaps six miles to it.
| When we'd be comm home, though,
| through them pine woods, 'twarn't no
| laughin' mattter-thc wolves on each
side on us among the trees. First one
would yelp and howl-make your hair
stand up straight-and then dozen
more would jine in, till it seemed as eff
they was close to our heels. How we
would clip it a-goin'! Sometimes, when
the moon was bright, we could see the
wolves a-skulkin' along between the
trees; if we had Il torch, the boys allus
waved it, and we allus KEEP a-talkin'.
But my! we was glad TO get home
safe"
"Aunt Ann, you must have been such
wild girl! and now you think I'm
wild. Why, I'd run ten miles if |
thought there was wolf anywhere
near me-
Times is changed since them days -
said Aunt Ann, guardedly. Il don't
suppose | was so dreadful wild for them
days. Mercy to me! is it five o clock?"
For Annie was setting the table,
with the same listless air and far-away
look Miss Antiss had watched all the
afternoon.
Ruth. don Annie look rather
spindlin' ?n Miss Antiss said, during
one of Annie's frequent excursions
from the room.
"Why, do you think so? She's been
sewing hard, harder than | wanted her
to. Perhaps you see her so seldom
that you see change more'n do. Do
you think she looks sick?n
"No; only kinder holler-eyed and
pimpin. | brung over some O. my root
beer: you'd better see that she drinks
it, and don't set indoors too steady.
Make her putter in the flower-beds or
somethin' of that kind" Miss Antiss
hastened to say, for, if Annie's trouble
was Il heart-ache, her mothers hustle
and worry about health and loss of APP
petite would be more than she could
endure; so she spoke carelessly, but, be-
ing the family and general oracle of the
neighborhood, her words received the
attention they deserved.
"My hair used to curl when was
young" Miss Antiss went on. "My
mother couldn't abide it, but father
thought it was pretty; so he used to let
and I'd curl it then. One night, when
| was asleep, mother took the shears
and just sawed it all off. Didn't feel
bad when | woke upr'
"Why, what a horrid woman she
must have beenr' said Lizzie, iumpin 9
down from the window-sill to set the
chairs around the table.
Don't speak disrespectful of your
gre't-grandmOther, Liz beth. She was
a proper smart woman, and did more
weavin' and spinnin' than any other
woman in the country Almost, but she
didn't believe in dancin' and curlin'
hair, and she fit the world s ways allus. -
Teas ready" said Annie, bringing
in the teapot, land fathers coming"
Farmer Ford was stalwart, sun
burned man, whose kindly brown eye,
beamed much warmer welcome thar
his quiet: 81 hope / see you well, Aun
Ann"
Supper passed off in more genera
conversation, in which Miss Ants!
took her own large share; and, as farm
ers retire early, the night was no
very old when Annie and Aunt Am
were shut up in the spare room to
gether. To have a quiet talk will
Annie had been Miss Antiss' chief rea
son for riding seven miles in the no
sun that day, but she made hersel
ready for bed in an unusually silen
mood, nor did she speak until, awfu
, and wonderful in a three-storied night
cap and frill on her night-gown cola
that reached to the end of her shoul
ders, she perched herself on chair b.
the bed where Annie was lying wit
bnt. ,,roftxy haf g,roaI ,x-a,. tho lnure