f others, often
far inferior to him, and where he fancied the story of his flight from
New Hampshire was known to every one. Smarting with mortification, he
toiled until he could save a few hundred dollars to buy some acres in
the wilderness, far from all his former associates, and there he buried
himself with my dear mother and their five little children. But these
morose feelings were somewhat subdued as the years rolled on.

"With his children he was affectionate, but, like an old-school father,
very distant. He never struck one of us in his life--a glance being
sufficient to enforce obedience, or subdue the wildest spirits. He was
always as particular about the etiquette of the table as though we were
served by footmen in livery; and in our poorest days, when cups and
saucers were scant and spoons still more so, we were obliged to observe
the utmost decorum till we were helped; and any laughing or chatter
among the younger ones was immediately quelled by the emphatic descent
of father's fork upon the coverless table, with the words, 'Children,
silence!'

"Father was highly respected by our neighbors in Pennsylvania, and was
often urged to accept some county office. However, he always declined."

"Do you think, mamma," said Marguerite, "that grandmamma was as
handsome as grandpapa?"

A pause of a moment or two.

"They were very different," was her reply. "Mother had neither
father's brilliant face, nor his imposing presence, but she was a very
handsome woman. She had soft blue eyes, a perfectly straight nose, a
mouth rather large, perhaps, for beauty, but full of character, brown
hair tinged with red, and a transparent, though not pallid complexion.
If you wish more minute details, look at your uncle's picture. No man
ever resembled a woman more strikingly than he did our dear mother."

"In a recently published life of uncle," said I, "the author speaks of
grandmamma as often working in the fields, and describes her as large
and muscular, and possessing the strength of a man. Is not that an
exaggeration?"

"Mother was above medium height," was mamma's reply, "but her figure
was slender, with small and well-shaped hands and feet. It was her
pride that water could flow under the arch of her instep; and her
fingers, notwithstanding the hard toil of daily life, remained so
flexible, that, when fifty years old, she could still bend them
_backwards_ to form a drinking-cup."

"Let me tell you, Aunt Esthe