Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1886-04-30
THE HOUSE BY THE RIVER.
From Household Words.

A"S SAOAAOS W0Lo AoAAS SoA0 w. Aucy
belonged to the days when the great
folks Of the land saw fit, by the de-
crees OF fashion, to have q Country
house" at Chelsea, or at Battersea,
or at Fulham, and so on.
Nowadays these dreams OF the
country have been irremediably
quashed by the renlorseless will Of
iron roadways. Perhaps--we only
use the vague word because we do not
intend to localize our house too dis
neutrality-suspicious. more than one such
iron roadway may carry folks on an
uplifted embankment past its upper
windows; perhaps hundreds OF busy
city workers may at the actual time
OF these words being written, be whirl-
ing past it's serene old garden. Radi-
ant nasturtiums fash their scarlet
and crimson and gold up from be-
tween tae autumn-dusted lines and
VOWS and hollies; the geraniums are
growing leafy, mignonette is growing
seedy-really, the people in the train
have no time to notice them. In g.
second they are flying across the river,
and in another they are above wharv.
es and coal-trucks, without vestige
OF hower-garden at hand. But in
the old house some serene spirit seems
still to rest.
Mrs. Lane, q widow lady, to whom
the place had come by a strange course
OF events, was such q quiet, peaceful
hammered lady, that one could scarce
ly help associating her with the veneer
alton one easily feels for old-world
glories. With a very slight sprinkling
Of romance, one might set her in a
picture Of some grand old time, when
lordly folks came to visit the old
house, and when hoops and powder
aye, perhaps farthingales and ruffs-
were parading the pleached alleys of
the garden.
But she had no ancestral claim on
the place. She had simply inherited
the housed from an eccentric cousin of
her husbands. That husband had
been prosaic, not wealthy, West In
dia merchant. and the cousin had
bought the place when, with a wharf
lying % little higher up the river, it had
come into the market. No romance
OF history, you see, can be found for
the Shore House, and, so far, no ro-
nance of the present.
All clue to it's ancient possessor had
gone. The wharf had been the attrac-
ton for John Sale, seeing that he had
other wharves contiguous, and he
wanted the house not at all. He was a
bachelor, and eccentric, and for five
years he let the place 60 to rack and
ruin. Then he had it repaired and
beautified according to modern fash
ion, as q local man interpreted it and
again he let it stand untenanted.
Now, eccentricities often grow out
OF what was once simple romance,
and it had been SO with this John Sale.
A very simple romance indeed had
come to him as q very young man, but
it had not brought to him the desired
ending; so when he was old, he was
known as a very cranky person. A
Sane person, assuredly, but still q
cranky one.
When he died, his will left most of
his property to charities, but q certain
sum and the Shore House went to the
heirs OF q certain Jane Lucas, of
Steveney, Bucks; failing such heirs
discoverable within year from the
testator's death, he willed that the
share should 50 to his cousin, Daniel
Lane OF Barbados, or his heirs.
No Jane Lucas could be heard Of.
Daniel Lane had died before John
Sale, 50 his family had tho house, and
strangely enough, on rummaging
amongst Sales papers, as strangers
will do, letter was found addressed
to Mrs. Lane.
Z It was couched in vague and mystic
rious language but it enjoined her never
to sell the Shore House. Why2
No one could answer. It was no L.
gally worded condition accompanying
her occupancy, but simply note. As
far an al abort a rnisSiva con1d 1o IT.
h;ntad IT. av;i accr,,;rn -. ~ 49,. 49, 49, ~
a h;at,,. : th;cL1u.r,5i.,S shast . , Ms.s
annthsr ~ ths = u,,s,;s nm1 ~ ~
wr;tar s.Yas 'ana - ,,a,, 10, Sc,
sal ~ ha,,s. ~ ~ soo t'''o =. = -, , W
Mrs lane va. ca1n, .nd aa,+1a .rd
csf,,l h,,+ w" ss,e s ts @uu
stant Fnr ons i ;nstant those ,os @ ~
%nrono1 l,on ls1,o -
But il she was calm ana n,,iet ahe
was alan gifted With ' common sense .es
and she aid "a heraa,f that az f;na =
house she WAS not i;La1v ~ o;ve awav
Sellinp i: MAS nora ' ma; ks al 'for 4 IA
denreciatinn 81 nrnnartu ah ~, soul. =
= 80. - r. - y :. !" -