The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1896-07-15
AMANDA TODD.
BY MARY E. WILKINS.

Amanda Todd's orbit of existence is
restricted, of a necessity, since she was
born, brought up, and will die in this
village, but there is no doubt that ii is
eccentric. She moves apart on herow
little course quite separate from the
rest of us.
Had Amanda's lines of life been cast
elsewhere, where circumstances had
pushed her, instead of hemming her in,
she might have become the feminine
apostle of new creed, have founded
a sect or instituted new system of fe-
male dress. As it is, she does not go tc
meeting, she never wears bonnet and
she keeps cats.
Amanda Todd is 60, and she never
was married. Had she been, the close
friction with another nature might
have worn away some of the peculiari-
ties of hers. She might have gone to
meeting, she might have worn bon
net, she might even have eschewed
eats, but it is not probable. When
peculiarities are i'm the grain of a per-
sons nature, as they probably are in
hers, such friction only brings them
out more plainly, and it is the other
person who suffers.
The village men are not, as a rule,
very subtle, but they have seemed to
feel this instinctively. Amanda was,
they say, a very pretty girl in her youth,
but no young man ever dared make
love to her and marry her. She had
always the reputation of being san odd
stick" even in the district school. She
always kept by herself at recess, she
never seemed to have anything IN COM
mon with the other girls and she al
ways went home alone from singing
school. Probably never in her whole
life has Amand.. Todd known what il
is TO be protected by some devoted per-
son of the other sex through the mighty
perils of our village street.
There is tradition in the village that
once in her life, when she was about
p years old, Amanda Todd had beau
tiful bonnet and went 10 meeting.
Old Mrs. Nathan Morse vouches for
the reliability of it, and, moreover, she
hints at a reason. "When Mandy, she
WIS bout 26 years old" she says,
George Henry French, he come to
town, and taught the district school,
and he see Mandy, an told Almira
Benton that he thought she was about
the prettiest girl he ever laid eyes on,
and Almiry, she told Mandy. That
was all there ever was to it, he never
waited on her, never spoke to her, fur's
know, but right after that Mandy,
she had bunnit, and she went reg lar
to meetin'. Fore that her mother
could scarcely get her 10 keep a thing
on her head out of doors-allers carried
her sunbunnit a-danglin' by the strings;
wonder she wasn't sunstruck million
times-and as for goin' to meetin', her
mother, she talked and talked, but it
didn't do mite of good. s'pose her
father kind of upheld her in it. He
was most AS odd as Mandy. He
wouldn't 90 to meetin' unless he was
driv, and he want member. 'Nough
sight ruther go out prowiin' round in
the woods like wild animal, Sabbath
days, than go TO meetin'. Once he
ketched wildcat, an tried to tame it,
but he couldn't. 1t bit and chewed so
he had to let it go. | guess Mandy
gets her liking for cats from him fast
enough. Well, Mandy, she had that
handsome bunnit, and she went TO
meetin' reg'lar most a year, and she
looked as pretty as picture sittin in
pew. The bunnit was trimmed with
green gauze ribbon and had wreath
of fine pink flowers inside. Her moth
er was real tickled, thought Mandy
had met with a change. But land, it
didn't last no time. George Henry
French, he quit town the next year and
went to Somerset TO teach, and pretty
soon we heard he he'd married a girl
over there. Then Mandy, she didn't
come to meetin' any more. L dunno
what she did with the bunnit-stomp-
ed on it, most likely, she always had
considerable temper-anyway, | never
see her wear il afterwards"
Thus old Mrs. Nathan Morse tells the
story, and somehow to a reflective
mind the picture of Amanda Todd in
her youth decked in her pink-wreath-
ed bonnet, selfishly but innocently at
tending in the sanctuary of divine love
i'm order to lay hands on her own little
share Of earthly affection, is insepara-
ble from her, as she goes now, old and
bare-headed, defiantly past the meet
ing house, when the Sabbath bells are
ringing.
However, il Amanda Todd had elect
ed to 60 bareheaded through the viii
lage street from feminine vanity, rath-
er than eccentricity, it would have
been no wonder. Not young girl in
the village has such a head of hair as
Amanda. 1t is of a beautiful chestnut
color, and there is not gray thread in
it. 1t is full of wonderful natural rip
| pies, too-not one of the village girls
can equal them with her papers and
crimping pins-and Amanda arranges
it in two superb braids wound twice
around her head. Seen from behind,
Amanda's head is that of a young beau
ty; when il turns little, and her harsh
old profile becomes visible, there is
shock to the stranger.
Amanda's father had great shock
of chestnut hair, which was seldom
cut, and she inherits this adornment
from him. He lived to be an old man,
but that ruddy crown of his never turn
ed gray.
Amanda's mother died long ago /;
then her father. Ever since she has
lived alone in her shingled cottage
with her cats. There were not so many
cats Mt first they say she started with
one fine tabby, who became the moth
er, grandmother and great-grandmoth
er to armies of kittens.
Amanda must destroy some when
she can find no homes for them, other
wise she herself would be driven afield,
but still the impression is of a legion.
A cat is so covert, it sinks so secretly
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