St. Landry democrat., 1882-03-18
One Hundred Years Ago.

One hundred years ago little girl
named Mary Butt was living with her
parents at the pretty rectory of STAN
ford-on-t he-Terne, in England. She was
a bright and beautiful child, and when
she grew up she became Mrs Sherwood,
the writer of a great many charming
stories for young people.
But nothing that she wrote is so en-
PERTAINING as the story of her childhood,
which, when she was an old lady, she
told to please her grandchildren. 1
wonder how the girls who read this pa
per would endure the discipline which
little Mary submitted to so patiently in
1892.
From the time she was six until she
was thirteen she wore every day an iron
collar around her neck, and a back
board strapped tightly over her shout
ders This was to make her perfectly
straight. !. Perhaps you may have seen
here and there a very stately old lady
who never was known to lean back in
her chair, but who always held herself
as erect as soldier on duty. If
so, she was taught, you may be sure,
to carry herself in that way when she
was little girl.
Poor Mary's iron collar was put on
in the morning, and was not taken off
until dark, and worse than that, she
says: Il generally did all my lessons
standing in stocks, with the collar around
my neck. | never sat on chair in my
mothers presence. @sf-:a
Her brother and herself were great
readers, but you can count on the fin
gers of one hand all the books thev had
to read. .tRobinson Crusoe,'' tive, sets
of Fairy Tales "The Little Female
Academy and ..Esop' Fables formed
the entire juvenile library. They nsed
to take Robinson CSusoe,'' and seat
themselves at the bottom Of the wide
Staircase the two heads bent over
the page together. Whenever they
turned leaf, they assembled step, I'M
til they reached the top, and tn en- they
began to go down again.
Little Marten was not very .persever-
ing with his Latin, so. although it was
not then the fashion for girls. Marys
mother decided that she should begin
the study in order to encourage him.
The sister soon distanced the brother,
and before she was twelve her regular
task OF morning was fifty lines of Vir-
gil, translated as she stood in the
stocks. 40 's''z' f'f5 ftttsf
You will ask what sort Of dress this
little girl was allowed to wear one hum
dred years ago. In summer she had
cambrica and in winter linsey-woolsey
or stuff gowns, with a simple white
muslin for best. Her mother always
insisted on a pinafore, which was a
great loose apron worn over everything
else, and enveloping her from head to
feet. ..s.u +. - = IT, tu.s@f .FE.r
1t is quitelo refreshing to find that
neither the blackboard nor the Latin
took from the child a love of play and of
dolls Her special pet was q large
wooden doll, which she carried to the
woods with her, tied by a string to her.
waist, after the grown people had de-
cided that she was too big to care for i
dolls. A friend one day presented her
with a fine gauze cap, and this was the
only ornament she ever possessed as
child.
| think the little girls who compare
1882 with 1882 must be thankful they
were not born in the last century. l
know that I am. Yet little Mary Butt
was very happy child, spending, when
permitted. hours of great delight in the
woods and groves, and listening eagerly
to the talk of the learned aud Travelled
visitors who came to Stanford Rectory.-
Margaret E. .Sangster, IN Harper.
Young People.