The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1910-08-11
THE YOUNG LIFE OF MARGARET
T.. SANGSTER.
BY Cora Lowe Watkins.

by IOEd Lowe "dLhlus.
Ia an old farmhouse buried deep
in snow. on a stormy night In Feb
ruary. 1898, a mother was gladdened
by the arrival of little daughter.
There were already two sons In the
family, and the mother longed for a
little woman-child. and had prayed
that God would give her a daughter.
The little girl inherited the name
Margaret, as she was the fifth to bear
1t in successive generations.
The old farmhouse In which Mar
garet was born had been a tavern
during the Revolution, and the room
In which she passed her first three
months had been used for the nightly
revels of the Hessians. The old ma
hogany cradle in which she was rock
ed was an heirloom In the family,
and all through her childhood Mar
garet was proud of the fact that she
had slept in the very room where
part of the British army had quar-
tered, and that she had Washington's
birthday for hers.
Her father, John Munson, had emf
grated to Canada at eighteen, and
had made a place for himself In New
York. He was a Wesleyan Metho-
dist, and one of Margaret's tenderest
memories of her father was of his
walking about the house of a Sab
bath morning singing snatches Of
his faVorite hymns: "Begone, unbe-
lief. my Saviour is near; and. 80
Saviour obey, and have laid up their
treasures above"
During Margaret's first seven years
the family attended the Reformed
Presbyterian Church. for her father
had Joined his wife's church. From
the time her little feet could walk
Margaret was taken to church. Her
hat and wrap were removed, and she
could take nap as comfortably as at
home; but she was not allowed to
talk or move about, and early learn
ed an important lesson-the art of
sitting still. When she was a little
older she was given pencil and pa
per, and could draw pictures or print
the letters of the alphabet during
the sermon. Later she was allowed
to have a book to read during the
sermon.
In her early childhood Margaret
Sat on her fathers knee in the fire.
light while he amused her by making
shadow pictures on the wall with a
handkerchief. or by telling her sto-
ries. The little girl learned of Abra-
nam Offering up Isaac; of Jacob
dreaming with a stone for a pillow,
while the angels went to and fro be-
tween earth and heaven; of Joseph
Sold into Egypt; of Samuel, and Da-
vid, and Daniel. So well were these
stories told that the attention of the
little listener never tagged. She
heard, too. of her fathers early life,
and tales of favorite uncle, besides
a collection of airy stories and ia
bles.
Taught by her mother Margaret
could read soon after her third birth
day. At the age of four she could
read any printed page, and at seven
was reading Colonial history. The
mother had used the Psalms and the
Proverbs for the reading lessons of
her little girl. Margaret's spelling
book was blue-back Noah Webster
Her delight was in a little red-bound
book called "Swift's Natural Phil
osophy," which dealt with practical
matters.
While reading was so easy for her,
she was very clumsy in learning to
manage a pen. Having learned to
write on her slate by holding her pen
ell in tight little grasp, she found |
it difficult thing to write in a CODY
hook with the pen held loosely in the
hands. Her teacher did the best
with her. and then gave up in des-
pair, and allowed her to hold the
pen as she liked. Not until then
did she learn to write legibly, and |
at that time she was ten years old.
Children of Margaret's day lived |
wholesome and simple lives, and
when visitors were present they
were s'seen, and not heard" They |
did not occupy the center of the
stage, but were washed. dressed and
put in a corner, where they had their
own fun. and looked upon their pa
rents as infallible. Margaret's child
hood was free from illness and free
from responsibility outside of little
household tasks.
When Margaret was a little girl
Sunday-school was held at two in the