Year: 1867

Margaret one pleasant afternoon in
the Autumn, as we sat together with
in the porch of her cozy little house,
from which lounging place a magnif
cent landscape and valley, wood and
lawn, lake and rivulet, lay extended as
far as the eye could reach, making us
feel, in the still, hazy, mollow days OF
the declining year, as if this were in
deed the paradise of earth-'When l
was little girl she repeated as she
adjusted her great silver framed spec
tacles and took up her knitting 4
was one of many happy people, children
of the first, second aud third genera
ton, who assembled around your great
grandfather's hearthstone-you were
not born then, Charley-to celebrate
the fiftieth wedding day. How pleas
antly ne and grandmother looked upon
US, and low fondly, as we congratulated
them on their golden wedding day, they
embraced and blessed US with tears of
Joy in their eyes, thanking that God
who had permitted them to remain to-
gether and have around them. perhaps
for the last time on earth, those whom
they loved and who loved them SO ten
derly in return.


'Ah! although it is many, many
years since that day, | remember the
dear ones, not few of whom are now
where our grandparents are-in Heaven.


Of course we youngsters had a happy
time of it. How we romped, and sang,
and danced and skipped about, to be
sure, just like so many young colts let
loose for frolic. What noise we did
make! Why, our parents could hardly
hear themselves speak: and the few
strangers that were present must have
thought US the rudest set of little peo-
pie they had ever seen or heard of.
But we cared little then for their opin-
ions of US. 1t was our holiday, and
we were resolved on making the most
of it.


Toward nightfall our animal spirits
were pretty thoroughly tanned, and our
bodies tired out we assembled in the
old parlor, with its polished oaken
beams, and sat down-that is, those of
us who were not asleep, to the festival
supper. There sat grandfather and
grandmother at the head and foot of
the long table-their guests and de-
scendants on each side of it-in the
funniest costumes imaginable. Why,
what do you think they had done
They had attired themselves in the very
garments worn by them when they were
declared bone of one bone and flesh of
one flesh


'Of course we all laughed heartily at
their unusual appearance, but they in
formed US that they were in the exact
fashion of half century before, and
added that in their day the dresses we
had on would have been laughed at as
ridiculous.


when we had finished the supper
and the dishes had been cleared off we
assembled in a great circle around our
venerated ancestors, whose thin, white
locks and wrinkled faces made US love
them all the more, and wonder how it
was possible that people could live to
the age they had. .


'One little curly-headed, laughing
eyed cousin of ours, Nancy Hemmitt-
she is dead now, poor thing-died of a
broken heart. She loved and married
fne-looking young fellow named Ben
jamin Wilson, who, year or two after
they had become husband and wife, fell
into bad ways, and eventually died a
poor miserable drunkard.


Nancy crept up to her great-grand-
father-she had always been great
favorite of his, because she looked SO
very like his own Nancy when he went
sparkling her-and asked him to tell us
a story, just to keep us awake. q


ga story he said; why, my pretty
little one, 1 believe l have told You all
the stories l ever knew; and yet,' he
continued after moments pause,
there is one I will relate that you
never heard before 1t is fitting you
should know it for the reason that its
catastrophe happened this afternoon
just fifty years ago, and your grand
mother was there and saw 1t all it was
sad affair, mother, was it not p he
added, as he turned to his companion,
who had climbed the hill of life with
him and who now with contented
heart was daily journeying by his side