The Delaware ledger. (Newark, Del.) 1879-19??, 1888-02-11

covered wagon drawn by our old
oxen, and l, crying to go with them,
was taken in a cart to Aunt Beach's
who lived forty miles from my old
home. was only nine years old,
but to this day l remember the scene
the strange wagon, the oxen, all the
people come to say goodbye, the
children peepingat the tent curtains |
and envying my wide-eyed little |
brothers and sisters who were. going |
away, our empty dismantled home |
and mother crying over my brother |
and me. He was left with cousin
and died two years afterwaId. At
Beach's there were three littl' chill
dren, and / to k care of theT. and
helped about the house. They
thought they trealed me kindly,
and never was whipped or abused
but starved for love and affection.
At Christmas time there was not
even mention of the day, no gifts
nor good dinner. l recollect Uncle
Beach sawed wood all day, and we
had corned beef for dinner. There
was no merrymaking at the Beaches
home. l made the children some
corncob dolls for gifts, and Mrs.
Be ,ch burned them up, for they
made litter.
Next to the Beach farm was a
beautiful old place where Ms. Han
nah Allen lived. She and the
Beaches had a bitter quarrel over a
fence line, and if we children ever
got on her land we were chased off
by a cross old gardener. Her niece,
Miss Eliza, was ugly and cross, and
seemed to be scolding all the time,
but the old lady was kind and gen.
tie. Sometimes when / stole out
into the road TO look at her flowers
she called me to the fence and gave
me some-holyhocks and roses, but
mostly great peonies, red, white and
pink, that filed myiwhole hand. 1
never told the Beaches of my visits
to Mrs. Aliens fence, and hid my
flowers up in the ayloft in the one
place where the children couldn't
climb. Sometimes Mrs. Allen gave
me apples and pears, which shared
with the children, but thev told on
me and l was punished for going
near Aliens. Often in our stolen
interviews Miss Eliza would call her
aunt or come out and tell her not
to talk to that little beggar and half
drag her away. remember there
were other nieces, too, tall women
with heavy black eyebrows, and
they seemed like a guard about the
poor old lady, and to come the mo-
ment Miss Eliza went away for a
day or so. But for all that Mrs.
Allen and / had many talks over
the fence-for she never asked me
inland told her about myself and
my unhappy life and she said her
; own childhood was much the same
and leaned over the fence to pat my
head, telling me l would come out
all right some day, and l saw her
eyes were full of tears.
/ can see her yet, little, straight
figure in black gown, lace ker-
chief pinned about her neck with a
brooch of George Washington, small
shoulder shawl over this, a white
lace cap over brown frock, bright
blue eyes, and on her soft wrinkled
cheeks the prettiest pink flush. l
remember her coming with big red
peony and pushing it hurriedly
through the fence before Eliza saw
her. She told me once that long
years past she had title girl like
me-prettier, she added, but a gem
tie little thing, and she and her
father, Captain Allen, the gravestone
! said had been buried nearly fifty
years. In one of my tramps across
land | found the small walled-in
graveyard where they were buried
and read tn slate tombstones, and
remember l flung myself on the
ground beside them and wept bitter
ly that they were dead. A pitiful
little mourner, but my grief was
very true and real. Once Mrs. AL
len handed me a piece of pretty
lowered silk, telling me it was a
scrap of her wedding gown, and
how treasured that
The Christmas day | was going to
tell you about was when | was ten
years old. After dinner the Beaches
} had taken the children and gone to
a funeral in the village, leaving me
alone in the house. l saw Miss Eli
"a and the hired man drive away ia
the same funeral-some farmer
everybody knew-and then I lock-
the door, hid the key under the mat
and crept out to the road. No one