New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-10-25
nEw.ENGLAND SKETCHES.
,,,rppraINING GUESTS.

vhen 49, yictuals to set me up. lou may CAV
OF on. home. and nothin' goes to the rign' spo''
=. - %" soU,t cit no stren't that way"
you Gun s,or WAS sitting at our breakfast taDiea
INV n;ros AGO. She was corpulent "oIi'n y,
Few Int she called herself girl, anu a' al
thir' "a " circles always went Win 'ho
psi"o' ,a,rsp Her name was Julia Rimer' one ha"
yo""e opd utterly uninterestlng, not 10 say ~
ave-! ,ocs with little eyes of blue ana naif' noV
pu'Sn .ha lost. but of such pale yellow coior 10
gray :" ,,,ost white. combed with absolutely un-
70 10 s,ootbness. back into tight " poo Ut INC
run0u - Ior head She was far from being oiu
pace ~ 70 have lost ali her teeth, but there "a'
enough " 18TH visible in her jaws. She ate Win
cny ono na with iuconceivabo rapidlty, BRING
ber h," ond of the blade round well 10 'ho
ins W. and then giving dcxterouS ''S''
from, ,.r failed of success. 90
wh'cn ,t one can know until one has tired now
not 'n" Ia can he shovelled into ones system III
giyen time in this way ~. , s;stsr "C,arv.p
,,,;a had come over. with ner s's'oi
june n.ighborhood for visit OF few days
INTO o"i a. wole our house their home. and were
1hoy or,ornoon visits, or perhaps l shou'u say
" raids. from this point OF vantage
m NAN - erst moved 10 RsnsOme half dozen
"no" a.. Primers had lived in a small white
y''S ,he other side of our garden ana JUST oppo-
mus "o.oss road" They liked the SITUATION
si'0 w % ,here was good deal of passin dowh
po'"" ,vbich we. though so near, did not nave
tn'' - a;,onent of seoing The place had been
inc 80 800 from childhood There they had braid
inv. .'aonasof wards of straw, much OF IL thaI
90 ~ fine Danstable, which useu 10 oe ni'"o
- av,ensiyo bonnets score OF years ago VI
Nv Cine. then the domestic braidlnS OF stra"
4 iva
;naustry that has ceased to be remunerati'e'
roro;rn braid being cheaper In Juna hi'hoi
.1,1dsood and earlier. mo. l." would orlng as
,.-h "a cents q yard The farmers mere
ahout. then raised aud prepared the rye
s,r,w It was bleached with oriin-
s,ons manipulated carefully, and hnaily
~ hr,d sold by the yard to the straw-shops.
rsod To have dim idea that those Dunstaoles
,roro mportcd goods believe they were caiied SO
nv Glib milliners. Ten dollars would be paid Ior "
bare bonnet. h.
Clara and Julia Rimer were, so to speak, Drought
mn on straw When infants, almost theY were
Taught to braid, and their tiny fingers could no'u
The straw in a curious, deft fashion. lhey nau
their "stent"; so many yards must be braided DO
..roo, worpinc and bedtime Their mother did
not keep thom al homo from school In scrupu,
,ouslv clean. and painfully ugly calico gowns and
bouse nj the corner. IT, beside the school, hours,
and the time devoted to braIding. there was nan
bour they were allowed TO pin small square red
blankets folded into triangular shape, on Vhoii
heads and could then go out into the garden Sc
dot,lv and look at the balm, grown in set plots.
This exciting pastime over they might return 10
the house. or they could pace about IN the yard
As for running and romping, Mrs. Rimer want
agon' to hay' her gals make no tom-boys OF them-
selves, If they did not behave, few yard,
Of braid were added to the "stent.
can imagine the poor little things sitting patient
". never daring to rebel. dipping their hngers u
the bowl of water 80 that the straw should be pill
able They thought such was the life OF all chill
dren.
When we first know the Rimers. Clara and julia
were over thirty years DID, and their mother stllI
rnled them with unfaling strictness She made
them clay up money in the bank" every year 1Or
themselves They were all living examples OF what
imagine to be meant by the phrase. "New-Eng-
land thrift" Had the family been put on All island
of sand in mid ocean they would in some way have
arranged to have their neat home with green
blinds their regular meals of pie and doughnuts
and beans, and they would certainly have lald
few dollars in the nearest sandbank besides. Per
fectly honest they were even If CLOSE" III was
pleasure to deal with them, for you were sure OF
not beng cheated. They went without thing I'M
I'll the money was in hand with which to pay for
it. All members of the Baptist Church at Mill VII
iage they walked there, mile and half, every
Sunday. and gained sufficient news to entertain
them until next meeting-time. used often ID
wonder what they thought about. for they seemed
as entirely devoid of imagination as Is pine chip
Wonderfully well satisfied with themselves they
were; they appeared to think they knew the world.
They had been to Boston once; the girls were
taken there by an uncle: all had gone on that oc-
easion TO a restaurant and hal oyster stews. Does
any ono need any more worldly experience Mill
Village was their cri erion by which to judge
everything particularly the place where they
found ont what were fashions DEGREES Sometimes
calico sacks with ruffles at the bottom were all
the style" at the village; sometimes 1t was tucks
instead of rullcs. Whichever way it was, the
Rlmers were always posted in regard TO fashion.
Upon one occasion a friend who had lost by
death mother and daughter in the same week,
was grieving bitterly, and saying, 3" it was very
hard how could she bear 1t 7" Mrs. Rmer looked
up over her spectacles, and asked scorchingly.
"Who be you a fndin fault with
Mrs Rmer. telling of this, remarked COM
placentIy concerning the woman, that she never
said nothn' more"
The husband and father had been some years
dead, of liver complaint" when VIC knew the fam
lily / have asked. in astOnlshment, many times,
how any of them ever survived childhood, shut up
as they were. The air the little rooms thick.
when we used to call there. Night after night they
slept IN bedrooms opening out of the sitting room
where they had sat all day with doors and windows
fast shut. These were eight by ten feet and
each held q bulky feather o. No human power
cOuld convince these peop.o that air was good
thing 10 breathe during the night They appeared
To have an idea. obscure but incradicabc, that it
in some way wastcful tn let fresh air into the
house. particularly at night. They never had done
it, and they were never going to do it, Three
years after arrival in Rau3Ome. Mrs Rimer
died.. Aftor much consideration and consultation,
the girls " moved to Slackyillc because Clary
she want very we'll aud couldn't 20 50 far to the
shop y; and in Sackvilo they would DO near n stra "
factory where they could both git jor6' 10 get
a jorb " is to get steady work. The house was
let. and SCR etimes, when work was dali. the girl.
walked the three miles from their new home. and
came here for visit. asking US to drive them back
when their II nv