Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1885-08-05
"HE THREE BEARS.

Atsome distance from the high-road
= the summit Of the steep hill which
Jsads down into the sleepy little town
,f birmingham, there stands lonely
g7ey house. with many old trees behind
and about II. A long avenue of dark
sud stately pines leads up to the house;
bat the great iron entrance gates are
never thrown open TO admit visitors.
Nearly every day little Freda Leslie
suses in her walk, and says 10 the
1urse-girl who attends her
What house Is that, Bridget?"
That there's the den, Miss Freda, -
answers Bridget.
"Who lives there?"-''The three
beaTs, miss
The same bears that are in my story
bOOk;''
10 be suTe-the very samelN
Al this point The conversation uSu-
alY comes to an abrupt conclusion,
and the Two Scamper down the hill in
the direction Of home as fast as their
legs viii carry them.
Were Freda Leslie born
and bred, as her informant Bridget,
she would aSSuredly never have COM
pleted heT eight short years without
learning the sobriguet bestowed long
ago BY some county wit upon the OWL
sSOf tie Den, Adam, Anthony and Ad-
nzn BarTe-a sObriquet justly earned
bTmen who hunted and tshed and shot
and rode with the zeal and dexterity
Of9yages, and who as resolutely as
sayageS set the laws of society and con-
yenti0lality IL defiance. refusing any
iIiea isaip with their felloes-men, and
living year in, year out, a selfish reck-
sS existence, with aims no higher than
Any four footed beast
SaltshIre, only too desirOus of reveng-
mg itself on wealthy men who, instead
Of taking their place in the country,
chose 10 lead life SO unprecedented,
vas life with extraordinary tales re-
FectIng the HIeRGge Of the Den. The
three bears were popularity supposed to
share all their meals with their horses
and dogs, and 70 dispense entirely with
knives and forks, prefeTring TO tear
theI meat 10 pieces with their fingers.
RumOT also whispered that they cast
aside all tailor made garments when
within doors. wrapping themselves in
the skins Of wild animals instead, and
Tat their hatred OF the other sex was
50 deep that not even kitchen maid
vas kept TO wash dishes, the entire
s0rk Of the household devOlying on an
Old nan servant and his wife who had
lived with the Barre family for many
years. They we're absurd stories for
tae most part, certainly, but still with
iasi Sufficient truth in them TO obtain
easy cTedenee in somewhat thinly
populated country district about two
hundred miles from London.
Tie Barre family had been noted for
generations in Saltshire as eccentric,
and these three last representatives Of
ulel lace seemed IN no way inclined to
Z. lheT fame IN this respect die out.
Vi The brothers, Adrian, the third, was
We most companlOnabie. In his young
efdays, when the death OF both parents
lelt Tie tho sole masters Of the Den, he
uzl separated himself from Adam and
aA'Aolg, and Travelled d good deal |
aoIOaa, returning home but at rare in !
IESl'als, and then only for short time
EVENTUALLY however this taste for row.
w lled out, and be settled down at |
He Den, as great a recluse as his elder |
u.Vlnefs; while Saltshire, getting tired |
length OF their strange unsociable |
na'', Their determination to avoid |
sNIg or receiving any hospitality, left |
- = entirely 10 themselves, till round |
-OouI Them and their dwelling there |
sc" up by degrees a thorny hedge of |
!SVei5 That, as time passed on, peo- |
F.e became less and less anxisus TO pen
state. - ~
Mother" says Freda, as, with a |
-'1,'atlye .s5 air, she rocks her doll back /
al Au and forward on her knee, IL |
t.s.sul t.esul you sad that there were no |
alt alt leit In the world now. and that |
tue;' '''-'0 "oio io"iiJ qul'e
vi, NB a chill October evening. The
a. so Whistles a sad low wal, wreaths
sri55. IIs white mist hang phantom-like
- ---.lsl the haif-clad trees, while in the
ioss ~. Ied5erows every brown and yel-
az Ss ~ Z, every red and purple berry
ts.. o. WIN moisture. Within the cot
M. ny paIior the fire blazes cheerily. Ten
rr5S" lt'5S ago Bridget coaxed it into a
~! name, let down the red curtain
tbs s' llIapeS the one window. and lit
wm. GU |, shaded with a pink shade, the
IB.' VI feda's mothers nmble fingers
en- e:-'erwards Mrs. Leslie herself
eI,,. u ler brown ulster wet and
& III Fra3 With the fog. her hair, yellow
disor5,a,aS ,,a own, hanging all damp and
Tbsraa - about her pretty pale face.
rsT r-e Was large rosy apple in the uI-
dOetdrrG,e. M rGeaet ior Freda, put there by the
LssI,ss Two little girls, to whom Mrs.
psir "e 1ousht music, and there was
knjftst5 warm warm red knitted gloves as well
Vtbs ~; ~ rich maiden lady who lived
Dawn D1g o-ler side of Uppir CHAM, on the
lie vsss s.ol road, and to whom Mrs. Les
ilg;na t".ee week to give a lesson
ai5 !. u might be ones birthdavr, Freda
Cove. ssl'sldIly, sna as she tried on the red
heT5IIba.iIl ana then ran into the kitchen
W. ler treasure to Bridget.
Fsrpsd she returned, appearances
70 De very quiet. for her