Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1883-02-15


Ter Raleigh, without the policy,
however, that doubtless urged the
action Of the latter, placed hissled
over the gutter. making a safe
bridge for our Footsteps The next
moment, with heels high in the air
AS his stature allowed, and face
downwards, he was Shedding at
break-neck speed -dowa the. slope,
who'll ollyeObliyious to all. else but
The fun, a moment of which was
to him as exquisite enjoyment as
were the hOilors tn Che cloak sac
rificing subject. heaped upon him
by Englands 5 greatest, ifnot best,
Queen. No matter what The
weather, IN 4 agreat city like this,
there are no 'siethargic surround
ings," as some of your local cor
respondents, Messrs. Editors, de-
plore is the case in their midst.
yet, as in the quietest village of
some back corner Ofths world, one
may find the most complete retire
ment and privacy as he or she
may chose. To US, there is not a
more delightful recreation to be
enjoyed than a quiet evening, with
the curtains drawn TO shut out the
outside glare, with the CRATE aglow,
and the genial gaslight rejecting
"A costly cOrnered table. cheerily
smiling with books. There can
be no lethargy thus surrounded,
even If the world stood still. Such
surroundings are as Obtainable as
well in a back corner, with the
added poetry Of the great, crack
ling pine log, making It's pleasant
music on the wide hearth of our
graTdfathers' day, and the trim
Argand shedding a mellow light
over the low white walls, as the
tagiow dleofour revered grand
mothers. % there is a grand poem
in the associations of that tallow
candle, ''the light of other days"
associations that brim golden
bOwIn that meier can be broken
and freight a "silYer chord" that
ne'er can be lOosed! ! Every one
feels this who remembers the old
home, with its dear faces, reflect
ed by the candle on the, little
round stand in the corner nearest
the FIRE. There sat the grand
mother, the clicking sound of her
knitting needles mingling musi-
cally with the pleasant song of the
tea kettle; the supper table with
its solid hospitality; the busy
mother; the father With his
newspaper, the cooling of baby
TO the frolic of happy children.
This is a picture that might hang
upon the gold-tinted walls of some
of our alace-hOmes, and to do it
reverence would honor the high
stepping DANES crazed with the fe-
yer for modern bric -a-bac. Alas,
we see no grandmothers in this
day of fashion, except among the
lowlv or t:at sweet faced people.
the Friends. The calico gown and
folded white kerchief, the wide
silk apron, and frilled muslin cap.
are the glories of long Ago.
Bangs and frizzes, bandeaux and
puffs, and every folly of the beau
monde, distinguish the grand
mothers OF to-day, and the nearest
sound To the click of the knitting
needle is the clank OF the
gilded chain scouting the abOmin-
able little poodle or the spiteful
Spitz. When our eyes are blest at
sight of All old time grandmother,
we feel like bowing our head in
reverence. Grandfathers are more
general. Neither the richly freigh :
ed warehouse, nor the lofty draw
ing room, can hide him, and he
refuses to be modernized under
the lash of the silver plate or the
grand, gloomy and peculiar" style
OF imported tapestry. We had
intended to say, " en- diverted
from the tenor of the subject by
the remembrance of the dear old
grandmother about the home fire.
side, that ''lethargic" was 4 sad
point TO arrive at. We could not
realize it any where while bird
twittered from the leafiess tree in
lessons of . happy life, and bit
OF blue sky peeped from behind
the dark winter er-cloud, telling of
the ''silyer lining" Even in the
silent city of the dead, letharrv
has no place. The ''low. green
tent, from which no curtain out
ward swings" the tall white shaft,
the simple tombstone, the cluster
ing evergreen. the trailing cypress.
the bending willow, all, all are
restless voices proclaiming lessons
to ronse both body and mind TO
earnest action Quietness has its
peculiar destinations, but the chan
ces to observe the world in ali it's
various phases. is one Of the special
advantages to be enjoyed in mingling
with the great hustling human tide
that flows onward from day to day
with little ebb tide. 1t is a study to
watch the restless throng; every face
Is a history that, were it written,
would serve to instruct or to warn, to
bless or TO curse, coming generations
as the history Of no oTher age has
done. for the world was never before
so ahead of time. Every thing moves
IN "hot haste; every motion seems
to call out ''to arms: for tbs but a
battle-and every thing moves as Il
the foe, lost Time, was at hand, from
the imposing Adams Express, with
its dashing driver, to the tiny doll
wagon in the hands of its baby mis-