Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1880-08-06

! father used "a. boast that his dauehterf
had really Christian names. The eldest
was Mary, the second Martha, the third
Anna and the youngest Elizabeth. The
/ eldest was. when I first knew them,
actually engaged to q young gentleman
who had just taken Q wrang1er's degree
i ct Cambridge, and had gained prize
Tor q Greek epigram. Such an effort OF
genius seemed next to miraculous at
Littleton, for the people Of the village
never gain prizes for Greek epigrams.
The farmers who had heard Of his sue
cess used to stare at him for prodigy,
and almost wondered that he should
walk on two legs, and eat mutton, and
say Chow do, You do?" like the rest
Of the world. And everybody said
he was such nice man. He never
skipped irreverently over the river, as
some young men Of his age would do,
but always went over the bridge. II
was ednying to Geo how gracefully he
handed the young ladies over the said
bridge, Mary always the last, though
she was the eldest. The young Squire
of the parish was generally considered
as the suitor of the second. The
third had many admirers; she
was what is called a snowy young
woman, having q little Of the theatrical
in her style. She was eloquent, lively
and attitudinizing. She had q most
beautiful voice, and her good papa used
to say: my dear Anna, the sound of
your voice is very delightful, and it
doe, me good to hear you sing to your
own harpsichord, but I wish I could
hear you sing at church."
| Poor man he did not consider that
there was no possibility of hearing any
other voice while that of the parish
clerk was dinging in his ears. Eliza
beth, the youngest, was decidedly the
prettiest of the four sentimentality was
her forte, or, more properly speaking,
her foible. She sighed much herself,
and was the cause Of signing to others.
I little thought when I first saw them
that I beheld nest of predestined old
maids but it was so, and the next time
that I saw them they were all living
together, spinsters. How I was occu-
pied the next thirty years would be
tedious to relate, therefore I pass over
that period and come again to 1ttleton.
Time is like mischievous urchin that
| plays sad tricks in our absence, and so
disarranges things and persons, too, that
when we come back again we hardly
| know where to find them. When made
my second visit to Littleton, the good
old rector had been several years in his
grave; and, when I asked after his
daughters, I was told that they were
living, and were together, and that they
occupied the white cottage. T was rath-
er pleased to hear that they were single.
though I was surprised at the informa-
ton. knew that I should be we'll re-
ceived; that I should not find all their
old affections alienated by new ties. I
knew that should not have to encounter
the naughty and interrogatory eyes of
husbands; that I should not be under
the necessity Of accommodating myself
to new manners. I had, indeed, some
difficulty in making myself known, and
still more difficulty in distinguishing the
ladies, the one from the other, and con-
Meeting their present with their past ap-
pearance; for Annals attitudinizing days
were over, and Elizabeth had ceased to
sigh. But, when the recognition had
taken place, we were exceedingly glad
to see each other, and we all talked to-
gether about everybody and everything
at once.
Ny call at the white cottage was at
the latter end of August. The weather
was fine, but there had recently been
much rain, and there were some very
heavy clouds, and some little growing
of the wind, like the aspect and tone of an
angry schoolmaster, who had just given
boy sound thrashing, and looks as if
he we're half inclined to give him some
more. The cottage was very small, very
neat, very light. There was one parlor,
and that was very pretty one. A small
carpet covered the middle of the room;
worked fire screen stood in one cor
ner piece Of needlework, represent
ing Abraham going to sacrifice Isaac,
hung opposite the door shells, sea
weed and old china stood on the man.
tel-piece; an old harpsichord in black
mahogany case stretched its leviathan
length along one side of the room; six
exceedingly heavy and clumsily -carved
mahogany chairs, with high backs, short
legs and broad, square, fiat seats, any
one of which might have accommodated
all four sisters at once, according to
their mode Of sitting, stood around the
room; these chairs I recollect, had
been IN the dining-room at the rectory,
but then there was great lubberly cub
of footman to lug them about. The
Fireplace was particularly neat. It had
an old brass fender, polished up to
the semblanee Of gold, delineating
in its pattern divers birds and
beasts. the like of which never entered
Noah's ark, but they had q right to go
in by sevens, for they were as clean as
a penny. The poker looked like
toothpick, the shovel like an old-fasl-
Toned salt spoon, and the tongs like a
pair of tweezers. The little black
stove shone with an icy GOODNESS, as if
the maid had been scrubbing it all the
morning to keep herself warm; and the
cut paper was arranged over the vacant
bars with a cruel exactitude that gave
no hopes of fire. The ladies themselves
looked as old as the fireplace; and I
could hardly help thinking that a stove
| without fire, at the cold end of August,
looked something like an old maid.
The ladies, however, were very chatty;
they all spoke together-or nearly 80 !;
Aux WHICH, OA0 OcSdu tA0 Otuo1S WSA0 W,
one after another, in the way and after
the manner of q catch, OF, more accu-
rately speaking, perhaps somewhat in
the simiitude Of fugue. They talked
very loud and sat very upright, which
last circumstance I should have thought
very conducive to health, but they we're
not healthy; the fact is, they lived too
| sparingly, for their father had left much
less than had been expected, and they
were obliged to keep up appearances, as
| they still visited the first families in the
neighborhood. By living together they
had very much assimilated in manners !;
they all had the same sharp, shrill
voice, and the same short, snappy, not
snappish. manner Of speaking.
When called on them I had not
dined, but I supposed they had, for they
asked me to stay and drink tea with
them though I should have preferred
dinner to tea, yet for the sake Of such
old acquaintance I was content to let
that pass. They pressed me very much
to take glass Of wine, and I yielded
but afterward repented it. Single ell
derby ladies are very much imposed on in
the article Of wine ll-luck to those who