The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1898-08-10
FINDING 4 LON Err.

BRING rae u beau without dcmy."
81. Andrew Il night had come around
just X times in the brief existence of
Martha MeClntock, and for years at
the midnight hour Of the fatcful day
the girl had said her little speech to the
ladybuR
II Is an old superstition that he or sho
who desires To Inc happily mated must
find 4 hdyhug on st Andrews day
| Tho tiny black beetle must be imprison.
ed all day and be- given It's liberty in
the witching hour of ghosts aud COB.
Inns Then within year will como n
bean Ia marry tho lady fair.
In llanIton township every boy and
| girl, since they were old enough to know
anything nt heaus and sweethearts, fol
| lowed the old time s,lpcrstitious custom
on st. Andrews night II any of them
married within the year they oNtollet
the efficacy of the charm Of the lady
bug, and the young folk Of llonitun be
heYed all the moro faithfully in it
Martin MeClintock begun To try tn,
charm at the age Of ii, not because sh,
lacked schoolboy beaus, for she was
| pretty Bfri, but because marriage meant
to her moro than lover aud "A protect
| or 1t meant a deliverer from an un.
| kind fate
The MeClintocks belonged to some of
| the oldest families of Virginia. They
had been well to do once upon time.
but had become impoverished Grief
carried away Marthas mother, and
then her father died, leaving the poor
girl =! ne il the world. sayo for the
klnahin Of an old aunt, who had become
estraASod from the family many years
ago She was the sister Of Martina IA
ther who had forever incurred tho dis
pleasure of his family by marrying the
prctticst girl III an adjoining township
rather than tho bride they had chosen
| for him
To this aunt, who was well of in
worldly goods, Martha was sent by tho
| town authorities. Tho girl was not n
! welcome gift from the township, but in
view of her close relation to Martha IS
father and her ability to house and feed
and clothe her sho could not well refuse
| To receive her. To tic the sensitive, ten
der, young creature. who had been
| loved Ia idolatry by two doting parents
to IL sour old maid, who looked with af
lection upon no one but half dozen
cats, was like imprisoninR "A lark In u
dismal cagc
In this loyeloss atmosphere the child
grew into maiden She WAS given as
pnAI "a ffIngpi tAtt H.. IL,
f0r her spinstcr aunt Stunned the criti-
cism Of her neighbors. which would
have been poured out upon her had
she neglected to give so bright II girl
the necessary schooling Martha learned
rapidly She took advantage Of every
| opportunity to enrich her mind and as
all tho teachers were fond Of her and
sought to bring as much brightness as
| possible into the young girl Il life her
school days were among the happiest Of
| her existence. At tho age of 10 her
| guardian took her from school, bclicy-
ing that She had done enough so far as
| her niece'A mental development was
| concerned
life Of drudgcry began with that
! day for Martha McClintock The sery.
ant was dismissed, and sho was install.
ed as maid Of all work. The tedium and
hardship Of mental labor might have
been borne in patience had she not been
cut of from all companionship with the
young people Of the place. She met them
only on Sunday ut church, and even
then the ogre eye Of the spinster con.
fined the intercourse to mere greeting
N Il friendly handshako from the more
courageous youths Of the village.
Tho monotony Of her lonely life made
Martha respondent, and her daily prayer
was one for deliycrance from the scrf-
dom Thus st, Andrew day came for
the eighteenth time III the young girl =
life, and in accordance with the custom
Of the young folks Of her acquaintance
she searched high and low for lady
bug among tho shrubs Of her aunt 5
garden. The season was late, and tho
bugs and beetles had not come out as
carly as formerly, Ladybugs were un.
usually scarce that year. and Martha
was sorely disappointed when her search
availed her nothing.
In bitter tears over her hard lot tho
girl retired for the first time since she
could remember, unable to carry out the
! charm with the ladybug.
Her sleep was restless and frequent
| ~ broken by the sobs She could not
control At midnight she arose. Per-
haps she would find II ladybug, after
all, if sho went out now i'll the moon
light and renewed her search among the
| grapeyines that trailed around the fence
at the far end of the garden. Softly she
crept down stairs and out of tho real
door Her aunt was u sound sleeper
! and the girl felt safe from her molesta