Year: 1876

Anna does not care about a griey
ance because she doesn't make al
outcry about it. My mother stood
with one hand in my fathers ant
famed him with the other steadily
steadily as clock work; and b.
gazed at her as if he would take hel
face into heaven with him. You'll
have hard time, 1 doubt he said
moving restlessly about; but Coz
will watch over you, and he, Wash
ington, will never see the soldier
families suffer. He's thoughtful an6
kind, he, Washington And ther
his mind wandered. and he died a
last with his beloved Generals name
on his lips"


"Did you ever see Washington
asked John, after little pause.


"If I only might have" said
grandmother wistfully. "If only
could remember that his hand evel
rested on my head, if l had evel
heard him speak one word! But my
eyes never saw his face. My mother
told me that he was very grand and
stately; but my father always seem
ed to think most Of his bravery in
battle and his tenderness to his men,


"Didn't your mother ever get a
pension?" was Johns next ques.
ton.


"Dear me, no. Strange how you
men who were in the last war al
ways ask that. She tried, and Par
son Greenough wrote letter for her,
but nothing ever. came of it, and af-
ter she died my brother James law
yer took itup and tried for twenty
years, and finally, in 1855, we got
$3.50, and the five of us and the
lawyer shared it between us. AS we
had paid him fees before and made
many journeys back and forth to
sign papers, we decided that it cost
US about seventy-five dollars


"Tell John about the times that
came next" said Anna, after the liz
tie party were established for the
evening in the parlor-grandmamma
very erect and stately, with her high
chair and footstool; John very COM
Portable in his camp-chair in the bay
window, and Anna nesting by his
side on an ottoman.


"Do," said John. 81 know heaps
about the times that tried mems
souls-I haven't read anything else
for months; but 1 don't know much
of the times that tried their bodies"


81 should have to give you the
story of twenty years Of hard work, to
tell you all the hardships endured
on account of my fathers enlisting,"
said Grandmamma; "but you can
stop me when travel so far beyond
the day we celebrate as to become
stupid. To begin at the beginning,
then, my mother found herself in
1856 with six hungry mouths to fill
and nothing to put in them, and little
strength to work to provide anything.
Ours was buta poor neighborhood at
best. Nearly all the farms were in
bad condition, on account of their
owners having been absent for years.
Nobody wanted help, for everybody
left everything undone that his own
hands could not accomplish. But,
out of charity, our next neighbor
agreed to take my oldest brother as
a chore-boy, and poor jim went away.
1t seemed hard to mother, do not
doubt, to send such little fellow out
into the world to earn his own living;
but poor thing, she had to harden
herself to it, and in three years she
had sent us all away. Lucy, who
was always the prettlest, was adopt
ed by a rich Englishman who came
to Berwick for his health; Charley
was apprenticed out; Mary went over
to Great Falls to learn to do house
work; and when 1 was eight years
old l was an apprentice girl, as they
called it then, in old Daddy Bailey's
house, at Portsmouth. Mother did
not want to send me away so young;
but it was a good place and the doc
tor said she must die soon with con-
sumption and she wanted to provide
for me. Hers was the old fashioned
consumption, however, and she lived
twenty years longer; always feeble
and delicate, but working steadily to
the end and trying to lay up some
thing to make up to us for our hard
childhood.


daddy Bailey's family we're kind
to me in their way; but oh! how l
had to work. There was another ap-
prentice, a girl about fifteen years
old, and house-keeper; but such
number of errands as they found for
me to do! Such scrubbing of and
irons and polishing of tables, such
endless sweeping and sanding of
floors, such miraculously accurate
dusting as they made me do! 1 Of
ten think of what an odd little figure
must have been as 1 hustled about
my tasks. My gowns were very full
and were made with puckering-
string around the waist and another
at the neck. They were open at the
back and showed the petticoat be-
meath; but as mine were usually
nothing particularly to be proud of,
I never cared much about this fea-
ture of my costume. My sleeves
were short and tight and ended just
below the elbow in the stiffest and
scantiest of frills, which by no means
softened the effect of the roughness
and redness that constant exposure
had given to my arms. / usually
had two dresses at time, and when
my everyday gown was worn out
my meeting gown took its place and
a new one was bought for me Sun
days. Moreover, these dresses last
ed a long time, because / almost in
variably wore a great apron of tow
cloth, reaching from my neck to my
feet"


"Those were the days of republi-
can SIMPLICITY and calico.'' said