The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-08-11
ANCESTORS
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By Frances French
@, 1888. Mcclure Newspaper Syndicate.
wNU Service


YF YOU'VE ever seen Howe Hollow
In the spring. you've seen some
thing. A background of low, roll
ing hills, covered with soft green
Through the valley, a winding clear,
shallow brown stream-Howe brook.
IL is called-an occasional rocky ford
across its bubbling surface. and will.
lows sweeping their long branches
down over its waters. The green and
pink of blooming apple trees on the
slopes of the stone-cleared farms. Zig
tagging old gray rail fences marking
the ancient boundaries, or straight,
wide, old gray stone walls. sometimes
as wide as the span of a mans arms.
And, Graded in the green trees,
small, old white clapboard houses, with
green blinds and faded red brick chin
neys. Not big houses, for Howe Hol-
low has never supported rich popu-
lation. But comfortable houses, that
have been kept In good condition by
generations of comfortable people.
If you had seen Howe Hollow as it
lay in the soft twilight of an evening
in late May, with the sun just leaving
the treetops and the thrushes singing
their sweet spring song in the gather
ing dusk, you perhaps would not have
wondered at the love Martha Howe bore
1t. Her father. and her fathers ia
theirs before him-her husbands an
cestors, too-had lived there through
the years. The blood of old Joshua
Howe, who had founded the settle
ment two centuries before, flowed
through the veins of her son William.
And Martha Howe, widow a few
years after her marriage, had seen to
it that William knew and venerated
Howe Hollow and all that it stood for.
But, dear me, Anna Pratt" she said,
rising stiffly from her knees before
her Sweet William border, where she
had been ruthlessly roofing out weeds.
II don't mind because William went
to the city. OF course not Young
people today aren't content with the
things that made life complete for US
when we were young" She spoke
slowly and carefully as she busted
her hands against each other TO free
them from the soft earth of the flower
border.
mo, it appears they aren't" Mrs.
Pratt spoke acidly. 81 know times
change. Martha, but I've always said
Howe Hollow was good enough for
anyone-leastwise and more specially
for a Howe-and I'll always stick to
it. And what your William can find
any better down In New York than we
can find right here l don't know"
Mrs. Howe said only, "Come on up
on the porch and sit down, Anna. I'll
just run in and wash my hands and
get shawl and then come back and
sit here a while. / love these spring
twilights."
But perhaps If you had seen Howe
Hollow in the soft, sleepy twilight of
that late May evening you would have
wondered how flesh and blood could
endure it. Perhaps you would have
sympathized with some of the younger
Howe Hollow inhabitants, who CRATE
fully shook it's dust from their feet,
as lightly as Martha Howe shook the
dust of her Sweet William border from
her fingers. Howe Hollow!" said one
young wit, "Yeah! It's hollow, all
right. And how!'
Martha never blamed William for
choosing the city instead of his an
cestral home for his work. William
had developed real talent, as boy, in
painting. She had conserved the fam
lily resources to the utmost that she
might give him a good education-in-
Guiding two years work in Paris. Now
that he was successful magazine
illustrator she took it quite for grant
ed that he should elect to live in New
York. Naturally, that was the place
for him. But in spite of her careful
refusal to discuss the situation with
her old friend Anna Pratt, Martha was
troubled.
Times were bad-everybody knew
that. William had been, graciously
and generously, sending something to
Martha each week to help keep up
the old house. He had done it more as
a matter of repaying her for his ex-
pensive training than as filial duty.
He had been careful in making Mar
tina feel that. But even now a success
full illustrator might find himself bit
short of funds. 1t was not surprising
that William had less money than he
had had And William was in love.
He had written his mother of his en-
gagement to Felice Leeways. Felice
had made good beginning toward
real success as motion picture ac-
tress, when a fall had famed her
slightly, but permanently, in such n
way that she could not hope for a fu-
ture as screen star. William and
Felice were to be married-tOmorrow
Then in few days they were coming
to visit Martha. And Martha knew,
from Williams letters, that he would
ask her TO give up her old home among
the New England hills and go back
with him to New York. At her age.
Even the Willy Fox C.;