USA > Pennsylvania > Lehigh County > Bethlehem > Bethlehem and Bethlehem school (history of Moravian Seminary and College for Women (Bethlehem, Pa.)) > Part 11
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It was a monotonous state of existence these schooldays of my young life at Bethlehem; and I marvel not, that the untamed disposition of such a restless, uneasy character, as Lizzie Gould, should not only have excessively wearied with it, but sought in an excitement of its own creating, occa- sionally to diversify the scene. For independent of its retired situation, the pupils, at that period, were kept so secluded from contact and observation from outsiders of their little world, that opportuni- ties were rare for subjects of interest or excitement, save what happened within the precincts of their own domiciles, among their ownselves. Hence every incident of any note whatever which did take place, naturally would make a more durable im- pression upon my memory, than if the case had been otherwise. And such remembrances have
186
BY-GONE YEARS.
been ever cherished, because of their association with this period of my early history, as connected with my juvenile walks, sports, pastimes and pur- suits.
How such recollections have fastened upon my heart ; and even now as I write, phantom-like these visions of the past start out from the treasured re- cesses in which they have so long been hid, in the chambers of the mind, in all the realities of such a perspective view, and appear before me. Though distant now, how vividly do they present them- selves ; I retrace the pilgrimage of life, and travel backward through the vista of bygone intervening years, with the lightning speed which a faithful memory alone gives, to the period when, as a little girl, I first entered upon these scenes, and commen- ced the experience of the trials of human existence. And as I return thither and take the pen of a truth- ful historian, so strongly do they present them- selves before my mental vision, that I seem to re- live over this portion of my checkered and eventful life.
Then bear with me, kind reader, while I speak of these reminiscences, and continue to recount some of the passages of the days of my childhood, and imagine myself again a school-girl at Bethlehem : as just left the covert of my own loved home. the sheltering wings of fond parental affection, and influence, for this seminary of learning provided by the Society for their young people.
187
FUN AND FROLIC.
And now I say, let imagination plume her wings and place me there ; and thus I am again at Beth- lehem School, where I wish you to fancy me, at present, walking out with my associate roommates, while a little beyond us is the class to which Lizzie Gould belongs. She is with them, though a con- siderable way ahead of these girls; indeed so far off, that she is no longer visible to us ; yet we in- stinctively know she is there-must be with that party who started off at such a rapid rate only a few moments ago, among whom there was such a merry shout just as they were leaving, and who looked so significant and happy, no doubt in the prospect of some anticipated fun and frolic. And see! I cer- tainly am right ; for how the rest of this class are hastening their steps-it must be to join them-then look at those girls, how eagerly they are pressing forward, while one of their teachers who accom- panies them, is almost out of breath in following her charge. And sure enough, in the foremost set is Lizzie, and you surely would be certain of this fact, did you but get a glimpse of her countenance, and mark its expression beaming with its antici- pated enjoyment; and did you chance to rest your eyes upon her companions so full of expectation of promised pleasure.
There ! see !- they are hastening on very rap- idly, evidently towards some wished-for locality. Presently they halt-when directly there falls upon the ear a merry shout from that gathered group,
188
1
MISCHIEF.
amid an ominous shaking and rattling of various branches of trees. Then as you approach, nearer and look upward into that tall pear-tree, or may be some other kind of fruit or a nut-bearing tree, per- haps upon its highest limb, you will see the mis- chievous girl perched, hard at work, scattering the fruit below, for the joint benefit of the whole com- pany.
She remains thus industriously engaged, until her companions upon the look-out announce that the teacher is in sight. Then down she springs with the greatest possible speed, quite in time to meet the dear unsuspecting Sister ; and before she can ask any questions, has presented her with some of the best of her spoil-for it is against the rules of the school to do such naughty tricks, the schol- ars being only allowed to gather what has already fallen, and never permitted to pick any off from the trees.
It is ever a beautiful sight to see trees laden with rich, ripe, mellow fruit; and when within reaching distance, the temptation is great to any passers-by, to possess themselves of a portion of it : but particularly this is the case with a parcel of hungry school girls-aye, indeed, sometimes irre- sistibly so ; especially when they have such a de- termined and daring spirit as Lizzie Gould to favor the enterprise of getting as much of it as possible. In truth, I believe that she always was the first to propose ways and means, how she and her compan-
189
THE BULL.
ions could manage to evade the laws, in order to obtain such forbidden gratifications.
She used several stratagems to accomplish this object, and lost no opportunity in rendering them available. Sometimes these were, first, the result of accident, and made subservient to her purpose until found out; and when obliged to abandon it, she generally had another expedient, ready to sup- ply its place. One of the most amusing, as well as successful of these devices was the following, which impressed itself particularly upon my memory.
In the pedestrian excursions we frequently took, we had one route which many of the scholars pre- ferred to any other. It passed a very fine apple or- chard, and if I recollect right, it was on the road leading to Nazareth, and called Nazareth Lane. It so happened, that one day as a class or two were tak- ing their customary walk upon this road, suddenly an enraged bull came in sight, bellowing most fear- fully, and kicking up the dust before him. The animal seemed to be coming towards them, which very much frightened both the teacher and schol- ars : and in their terror, all climbed over the fence, to get as quickly as possible out of his way.
Here they found themselves in the orchard of which I have spoken-and directly after in the presence of the owner thereof, a very respectable and kind-hearted man, who no sooner saw their ter- ror, than he sought to calm it. Besides, with con- siderate kindness and generosity, he invited the
190
A WAY TO GET APPLES. .
whole party, one and all, to walk through his or- chard, and to help themselves to some apples, which offer, as may be readily supposed, none re- jected : on the contrary, all gladly accepted. Then all these girls, at least twenty in number, gathered not only enough to eat while there, but as many more as they could carry away with them; in the mean while arranging among themselves, how they could secure further supplies of apples from this or- chard. Hereupon they went to the unsuspecting farmer, and thanked him for his kindness ; then beg- ged permission to retreat thither again, in the event of another similar annoyance from the bull, to which the good man without any hesitation kindly agreed.
Poor, dear man ! he little dreamt how much this promise involved-for ever after when these girls walked that way, which was now more frequently than before, it was their wont to send several of their number, considerably ahead of the rest, to imitate the voice and actions of the bull, in a kick- ing up of the dust, with the sound of bu-u-u-n-u. bu-u-u-u-u, which immediately followed. It so hap- pened, this always occurred just as the majority of the class were close by the orchard of the friendly farmer, when there was a simultaneous scream from a number of the girls of, "the bull! the bull !-- don't you see the bull !- dear me, what shall we do now !"-In the meanwhile, with well feigned aların, each of them precipitately tumbled over the good man's fence into his orchard, when they unscrupu-
:
191
A SAM PATCH LEAP.
lously helped themselves, filling speedily the bags and handkerchiefs which they had brought with them for the purpose. This trick succeeded several times ere it was discovered : it originated in the fer- tile brain of the mischievous Lizzie.
The next incident regarding her which I mean to recount here, was her taking a Sam Patch leap from the top of the Lehigh bridge.
At the period to which I refer, the water was so low in the river, no one could easily have been drowned in it, had they fallen from the bridge. Sev- eral classes of the scholars were crossing it together, hers among the number, when one of the girls on lean- ing over, noticed this fact to her associates, observ- ing at the same time, if such an accident should oc- cur, it need not excite the least apprehension of danger to life as the consequence. Then some speculation arose as to the probable depth of the water; which Lizzie Gould hearing, called out :- " Who dares me? and I will measure it myself!" " I do," replied a thoughtless companion.
In a moment more the reckless Lizzie was upon the top-in another she had taken the plunge amid the screams and entreaties of her affrighted school- mates. The greatest consternation and alarm im- mediately ensued among all that gathered group, for none of course knew the result, and notwith- standing the assertion just made, the general im- pression at the moment prevailed, that perhaps by this foolish temerity she had actually killed herself;
192
THE PUMPING FROLIC.
but to the infinite relief of all, they soon perceived her endeavoring to rise, though evidently in pain. She did not however succeed. Next she tried to laugh; but she really suffered too much, conse- quently had to give up the attempt. A boat there- upon was speedily procured and manned, which made for the spot and brought her to shore. If I recollect right, she escaped this time without any broken limbs, and was not seriously hurt, but only had a few bruises, and a sprained ankle.
Another circumstance in reference to this trouble- some and mischievous girl, I think occurred antece- dent to the above affair.
Close by the kitchen of the school, was a reser- voir, which supplied all the water used in the Institution : it so happened that from some reason unknown to me, the water had acquired an un- pleasant taste, which caused it to be considered un- wholesome. In consequence, our Principal resolved to have it all drawn off. He thought this would be good exercise, as well as amusement for the girls. On this account, he proposed a pumping frolic, when each girl who chose, could take her turn at the pump ; and the whole to be finished off with a feast of brown cakes (round-hearts) and apples. This proposition the scholars, generally, gladly acceded to, and it resulted in a season of merriment and fun.
Brother Steinhaur, then the Principal of the School (the Inspector, as he was called), together with his wife and baby-boy, were there; and the
193
SPORT AND ENJOYMENT.
whole of this interesting family being very popular throughout the school, this circumstance materially enchanced the pleasures of the afternoon. And as I write, how well can I picture to my mind's eye, some of the little incidents of this memorable oc- casion --- the letting off of the steam of our young spirits, if I may be allowed so to express the pleasur- able excitement we were in, together with the fre- quent explosions of mirth and fun which ensued; and how some of the girls, among whom was Lizzie Gould, begged one and another of their schoolmates to allow them to take their turn in pumping, in ad- dition to their own.
Then how much sport we afterwards had in va- rious games and plays ; and how the girls romped and enjoyed the cheer provided for the occasion, which was the promised brown cakes and apples, together with some weak sangaree. The latter was added, I believe, to prevent bad consequences re- sulting from the novel employment in which we had been engaged. And then how tired all the girls were, and glad to retire to our dormitories, where most of us soon after were locked in the arms of Morpheus.
But presently the soundest sleepers were aroused from their dreams, and a general awakening oc- curred, caused by the most terrific screams imag- inable, which increased more and more to a loud unharmonious chorus of many voices.
" Murder ! murder! murder !- oh, what shall I
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194
THE ALARM.
do !- I shall certainly be killed !- oh dear, what shall I do !- Pray save me, save me, I am getting murdered !- Will nobody help me!"-with other similar expressions, were heard from a voice above the rest, in which others joined in the most piteous and distressed tones.
These fearful sounds originated with the first- mentioned voice, and the whole disturbance seemed to be in the immediate vicinity of her bed, where most of the teachers and a number of the scholars, occupants of the apartment, were soon assembled in great terror and dismay. There they directly saw what appeared to be a long round stick, with which some invisible hand was belaboring their un- fortunate schoolmate. It came from an aperture in the ceiling. It so happened, precisely here, that is, directly over the spot where this girl's bed was now placed, formerly hung a large lantern. This had recently been removed, because the hook was fastened in no beam, but only in simple lathing, which proved insufficient to sustain it. Indeed the plaster in consequence broke considerably, and left quite a large hole. They perceived that the stick, by whomsoever used, was evidently sent through this opening from the story above-a large waste apartment, occupied for no other use, than as the general trunk-room of the school.
"But who could be the person to have the boldness of doing this thing?" was the question asked by all; for who would venture in that lone
195
THE LUCKLESS OFFENDER.
garret, filled with trunks and lumber of various. kinds, and at such an unseasonable hour of the night. Could it be some robber ? or a mischievous person ? and to what intent were they thus employ- ed ? These were natural queries which immediately suggested themselves to the minds of many, while the more fearful and superstitious opined that, per- haps, it was a ghostly visitant, and this one of its nocturnal pranks.
But among both teachers and scholars for a space, all were too timid to mount the stairs, and go into the trunk-room, in order to ascertain to a certainty, who this midnight disturber of the peace really was. At length, however, one of the teach- ers, more courageous than the rest, proposed, if others would join her, to ascend to this place for the purpose. Several immediately offered, when together in company they proceeded upon their tour of investigation. They took the light out of one of their hall lanterns to enable them to see ; also, to assist in their research. As soon as they opened the door, they were directed by the sound to the spot from whence the alarm came.
There, they immediately saw a young female who was the luckless offender. They found her seated in the inside of an old rickety chest, with a broom in her hand, the handle of which she had forced through the aperture, and pushing it up and down very rapidly, and with the greatest diligence. On nearing this fearful object, they soon recognized
196
SOMNAMBULISMI.
it to be no other than Lizzie Gould. She had her eyes wide open, but apparently did not notice their approach.
"Why, Lizzie Gould ! is it possible it is you who have been frightening us all, almost to death ! Why, what is the matter with you; and what has poor Fanny done, that you are pommelling her after this strange fashion? Say, why don't you speak-stop instantly, I tell you !"
But to all these queries, there was at first no answer; at last she said :
"Why, I am pumping, ma'am! Don't you see, I'm pumping, ma'am ?" and then resumed her work.
"Nonsense !" said the teacher, "come down directly and go to bed."
But Lizzie continued plying the broom-handle vigorously, apparently not heeding what she said. The teacher then held the light close to her eyes to ascertain if she was really asleep; for she, as well as those with her, were still incredulous in the mat- ter. As she did not directly blink, they were sat- isfied that there was no pretence about it. They thereupon shook her ; and this, together with the light, and the voices around her, soon aroused the child ; and thus this affair ended.
At another time, she put her companions in a fright, by screaming out in her sleep, that she was on fire; and several times by walking about the dormitory, and occasionally passing her hand over
197
THE ACCIDENT.
the faces of one and another of her sleeping school- mates. These propensities were a great annoyance, and gave considerable trouble ; but of the latter one, . however, somnambulism, I believe, they succeeded in curing her-at least, the means they used proved an effectual remedy while she remained in the In- stitution. They placed a tub of cold water by the side of her bed, which, when she stepped into, al- ways directly awakened her. Yet this had to be done after she was asleep, or it proved of no avail whatever ; for if she knew to a certainty of this vessel being there, she would carefully avoid put- ting her foot into it.
But this witch of a girl did many more queer things while she stayed at Bethlehem, yet only one more will I mention, which resulted in causing greater alarm on her account, than any thing else which I can remember concerning her.
She climbed up into a crab-apple tree, which was on an unenclosed lot near Squire Horsefield's house, and, if I recollect right, situated on the very brink of a liill which overlooked Water street, and the mill-stream below. But she happened to get upon a branch not sufficiently strong to bear her weight. In consequence, she had scarcely perched herself upon it ere she found it cracking under her, and both were speedily rolling down the declivity to the bottom, which brought her close to the river. Quite a number of persons saw the accident, and with anxious fear, they gathered around her, when they
198
REMOVAL FROM SCHOOL.
directly perceived that the poor girl was really badly hurt. She could not move, and groancd terribly. Some one immediately ran for the doc- tor, while another went to Brother Steinhaur, and both were upon the spot as quickly as possible. The former discovered, that, besides being consid- erably bruised, she had fractured two limbs. I think they were an arm and a leg.
As quickly after as it could be done, Brother Steinhaur had arranged with two strong men, who took Lizzie under their charge, and carefully con- veyed her to the sick room of the Institution, where she was long confined to her bed, when her wild nature, for the time being, became considerably subdued. Yet, as soon as she got sufficiently better to sit up, her natural gayety of spirits, together with inclination to mischief, returned. Indeed, she was so lively and pleasant, so full of funny sayings and drolleries, as to cause infinite amusement to all who came about her. But when she had entirely re- covered, upon the representation of the Principal, her friends removed her from the school.
"Yet remember, Lizzie Gould, that we all love you," said one of her kind teachers at parting; "but it is best, my dear child, that you leave us; far better than to remain here, and perhaps break your neck."
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DADDY THOMAS.
THERE is scarcely an individual living, who so- journed any length of time at Bethlehem during the first quarter of this century, and for many years antecedent to it, especially those who were at all interested in the school, either as visitor or pupil, but must, methinks, have seen, if not made the ac- quaintance of this venerable, excellent old man ; for he was one of the natural curiosities of the place, also the appointed guide of the stranger through the town-a living chronicler of its history from the very commencement-besides the glad messen- ger to the girls of the arrival of their respective friends, as well as the bearer of their letters, to and from the Post Office.
I have been told, he made himself very popular with all classes of society by his primitive simpli- city of character, excessive good humor, and socia- bility of disposition ; but with none probably was he such a favorite as with the scholars generally, who called him Daddy. Indeed he was the Daddy
200
THE DADDY OF DADDIES.
of Daddies among the Daddies of Bethlehem to all the young folks there. It being an appellation so universally bestowed upon him, that he was known by no other; and he richly merited this fatherly title, on account of his kind parental manner, though he never had any children of his own.
I believe he followed the trade of a carpenter, and worked industriously at this business when not engaged in the official duties I have specified. He was an illiterate, but not an ignorant man; for he possessed considerable of that knowledge which is better than human learning, and only to be obtain- ed in the school of Christ. Besides, the Daddy possessed a tolerable good memory, which he had well stored with the ecclesiastical history of his church, especially that portion of it, as I just in- timated, referring more particularly to the settle- ment of Bethlehem-and being very familiar with every nook and corner of the place, could give an account of all its inhabitants from the oldest to the youngest-besides, knew numerous anecdotes of the people, also of the customs and manners which marked the early history of that town. These va- rious circumstances made him altogether a very desirable companion to the stranger at Bethlehem, who had become interested, and wished to obtain correct information upon the subject.
In fact, my impression of him is, that he was truly a primitive Moravian, such as I love to fancy the fathers of the modern church of the Society ;
1
201
DELINEATION OF CHARACTER.
simple in his habits, possessing fervent and child- like piety of trusting faith, and full of charity and kindly feelings to everybody. Added to this, he maintained that peculiar quaintness of style of dress, speech, manner and way of thinking, which used to characterize the members of this denomina- tion ; yet with this difference, that they were prac- tised by him in several respects more irregularly than usual, owing to some little eccentricities ap- pertaining to the good man himself.
I allude particularly to his general appearance, to which he gave less attention than was usual among their people. Indeed he cared so little about the outward adornings of his person, that, although I do not like to acknowledge it, from the respect and love I bear his memory, yet truth compels me to admit that the good old Daddy was inclined to be somewhat careless with respect to himself. In consequence of this infirmity, or rather eccentricity of character, his wife, as long as she lived, and afterwards his adopted daughter, considered it a necessary duty whenever he was called upon to ac- company visitors through the place, to take it upon themselves to put him in a proper condition for the purpose. I have been informed that very good- naturedly he submitted, like a well trained child, to be washed, combed, brushed, dressed and bar- berized, in order to be presentable for the occasion; to look smart to the grand folk, as he used to term his fashionable company. And these were the pre-
9*
202
THE DADDY AND THE LITTLE GIRLS.
parations usually made with our dear old Daddy, when about attending to his official duties.
I knew him only a few years before his decease. at the very close of his life. At this period, in conse- quence of his advanced age, he had become exceed- ingly feeble, which of course incapacitated him from attending to any business whatever, and fully prepared and perfectly willing, he was calmly wait- ing the summons to his eternal rest. His wife, I be- lieve, had long since died, which left him altogether in the charge of the adopted daughter I mentioned, who was the child of a deceased missionary of the church. This duty, methinks, must have been quite agreeable, since, notwithstanding his infirmities, the Daddy continued amiable, affectionate, and cheerful. In addition, like kind-hearted people generally. he retained his partiality for children, and maintained his popularity among them by his pleasantries to- wards them. With the little girls especially, he was a great favorite. They were always pleased to pass his door in the hope of seeing him, or to en- counter him in their walks, when, as soon as they espied the good old man, they were wont to run up to him, while many of their voices would simulta- neously shout out, " Daddy Thomas ! dear old Dad- dy, how do you do ?"
This exclamation would immediately cause him to halt, turn his head in the direction thy were. and in a very tremulous voice reply, " Well, well, who is it that axes for me? you know my sight is getting dim now."
203
FORBIDDEN FRUIT.
"It is us, Daddy ! dear Daddy !"
" Whatty, whatty, my dear children ! I am right glad to see you ; " then leaning his aged and worn- out frame for support upon his staff, he would smile as he surveyed the gathering of young faces around him. "The Lord bless you, my dear children ; your presence is right welcome to my old eyes," after which, taking the hand of each, he cordially pressed it, and said some more kind words ; and it may be he did this to some whom he had never seen before, and who joined the others of their school- mates, either from curiosity, or the better motive of seeking the kindly notice and benediction of this excellent old Daddy.
"But, dear Daddy, how are you, really ? pretty well, I hope !"
"Yes, pretty and well both, my dear children ; and you all are so too, I see."
"But do kiss us, dear Daddy, won't you ?"
"Why I don't know that I can, my dear ; it is against our rules, it is forbidden fruit, my child ; and I may be hauled over the coals if I do," was sometimes the answer, which would make the girls laugh.
"Never fear, Daddy Thomas, we will prevent that, for none of us will tell."
And then it was amusing how the old man would pretend to be really afraid that he would run the risk of getting himself into trouble should he do so; and would look anxiously around to see
204
THE STOLEN KISS.
if any person belonging to the Society were observ- ing him.
"But we must have a kiss, dear Daddy, indeed we must have one."
"Well then, there is no other way but to steal it, my dear children," holding his cheek to us the while. Thereupon we all did kiss the venerable old man, though perhaps his beard was full an inch long.
I remember sometimes he answered our inquiries concerning himself by saying : "I am pretty hearty considering how well stricken in years I am ; " o". " you see I am here yet, and as long as I can, I shall be glad to see you, my dear children ; and I feel weaker and weaker, but yet strong enough to shake hands with you all; " and then after, "The Lord bless you all," we would leave him, and he would totter away, his aged and withered form bent over with the weight of about four-score years, leaning heavily upon his cane.
This good old man, besides being one of the curiosities of the place at this time, also, a connect- ing link with a past generation of the olden times of the church, its customs and its people, was a great attraction to visitors, many of whom had heard of him from relations and friends who had been there years before, and had made his acquaintance. But presently we did not meet him any more, the rea- son being, that increasing feebleness so impaired his powers of locomotion as to prevent it.
4-
205
THE ARRIVAL.
But notwithstanding so infirm in body, the men- tal powers of the Daddy remained unclouded, though somewhat impaired by his extreme old age. Yet he continued serene and happy in mind, and was still a cheerful and entertaining companion. But his memory, as might have been expected, failed considerably. It must have been about this time, and I think not long before he died, that the following circumstance occurred.
He was sitting eating one of his meals, probably his dinner, and just engaged in picking a bone, when the door of his apartment opened to receive a party of visitors, consisting of a gentleman and lady with several children. They were non-resi- dents, and had but recently arrived in the place.
As soon as they had entered, the lady, who was elegantly dressed, quickened her pace, and ad- vanced to the old man, saying in delightful tones : "Is this dear old Daddy Thomas?" at the same moment smiling and extending her hand.
The Daddy dropped his bone upon the plate, and looked up at the speaker. "Yes, my child, it is the Daddy ; but my sight is so poor now, and my memory is getting so bad, that I really do not know who you are."
"I will certainly excuse you for that, Daddy Thomas," replied the lady, "for it is really such a long time since you have seen me, that I could scarcely hope that you would be able to recognize me, at least in appearance; and I am very much
206
THE LADY.
changed since then, for I was but a child at that time. But don't you remember little Lina ?"
"Lina," repeated the old man, "Lina ; " then shook his head and remained a space lost in thought.
"Yes, Lina," said the lady, " the little girl whose papa and mamma pleased you so much with the snuff-box full of snuff, and the tea which they brought you. Don't you remember this ? "
But the Daddy's mind continued in a haze upon the subject, and he did not answer. The lady how- ever continued :
"Don't you recollect how you went with us through the Sisters' House, their garden, and the church ? and besides, showed us the first house built in Bethlehem, and the place or bed, I forget which, where Count Zinzendorf usually slept when he was here, and some other things which at present I can- not recall to my mind. Dear Daddy, surely you do not forget all this? Now don't you remember me ? "
" Perhaps so," said the venerable man, hesitat- ingly. "It may be that I will after awhile, my child ; but I cannot say certainly that I do so yet."
"Oh, do try, dear Daddy Thomas, for I cannot bear to think that I have entirely passed from your remembrance."
" Well, I really do not yet know if I can ; " but as he said this, he fixed his eyes upon the coun- tenance of a little girl opposite, and seemed to re- gard her with considerable attention.
207
LITTLE LINA.
A thought suddenly passed through the lady's mind. Hereupon she beckoned the child to her.
"Perhaps," she continued, " this child will as- sist your memory, as she is now about the same age, and said to look very much as I did at that time."
The little girl was placed in a way so as to af- ford the best possible view of her. Then suddenly the old man's countenance lit up with intelligence, and placing his hand upon the shoulder of the lady, he exclaimed :
"Oh, now I remember ! you are talking about my little friend Lina ! is that her ? "
"Oh no !" said the lady, " but a child of hers. I am Lina, and these are my children; and this is my husband, Mr. C.
"Oh, now I understand ! " replied the Daddy. Whereupon the gentleman shook hands with the old man, and so did the children; then he kissed the latter, all in turn, notwithstanding his greasy mouth and hands, for in the excitement of the mo- ment, he had forgotten to wipe either; and worse than all in consequence, he had left the mark of his fingers upon the beautiful and costly cashmere shawl which the lady had on.
Yes, there it was upon the shoulder, the whole of that vencrable hand; and so conspicuously de- veloped, that it did not escape the observation of even the old Daddy himself, who seemed very much mortified at the circumstance. As soon as
20S
THE PRINT OF THE DEAR OLD HAND.
the lady perceived this, she very good-naturedly made light of the occurrence ; and his feelings were calmed by her repeated assurance that it was no matter at all; and upon his asking whether the stain could be removed by washing, she only smiled as she replied, " that she did not care whether it could or not, nor did she mean to try ; indeed she considered her shawl now more valuable than ever, since it had the print of dear old Daddy Thomas's good old hand upon it."
This is a well-substantiated anecdote; and I have no doubt of the truth of it, in all its essential particulars.
Daddy Thomas died, I believe, only a short time after it occurred, and his end corresponded with his tranquil, peaceful, and inoffensive life.
THE END.
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