Number Fourteen. KITTY GRAFTON. FOUNDED ON FACT. iSoston: PUBLISHED BY WHIPPLE AND DAMRELL, No. 9 Cornhill. NEW YORK: SCOFIELD AND VOORHIES, No. 118 Nassau Street. 1838. Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1857, Br WILLIAM 8. DAMRELL, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. TO THE READER. AMONG the most favorable notices, which have been so kindly bestowed upon the Temperance Tales, there have been occasional strictures upon the exhibition of deacons, church-members, and clergymen, in an unfavorable light. The story now offered to the world, may be read without disquietude, by those, who are sensitive upon this point. A respectful regard for the opinions of oth ers has prompted the writer to offer a plain expo sition of his own. If, in these humble efforts to promote the wel fare of mankind, the holy office of pastor and its correlative offices of deacon and church-member had any where, on any page, been otherwise ap proached than with affectionate respect, there would assuredly have been good ground of of fence. But it has been far otherwise. Not only have these offices, as such, been presented in the most respectful point of view, but examples can readily be found, over the length and breadth of the Temperance Tales, of individual deacons, church- members, and clergymen, of the most pious and exemplary lives and conversations. The stricture must therefore be considered, as limited to the occasional introduction of an anti- temperance minister, a rum-selling deacon, or a drunken church-member. Three questions nat urally arise in this connection, which the writer proposes to ask, and, so far as he is able, to an swer. FIRST : Have such things ever existed, as anti- temperance ministers, rum-selling deacons, and drunken church -members ? SECOND : Do such things still exist, notwith standing the extensive spread of the temperance reform, and the prayers and entreaties of its friends ? THIRD : If such things exist, does their expo sure tend to retard the progress of the temperance cause, or to bring the offices of religion into con tempt ? To the aged, whose memories are yet vigorous, it may seem a work of supererogation to construct a formal reply to our first inquiry. Before the dawn of the reformation, rum-selling, not on ac count of its respectability, but of the dangers at tending it, was intrusted to grave men, to men of sober lives and conversations, and ivho were firmly attached to the constitution and laws. Such has been the very phraseology of the law, through all our colonial, provincial, and state legislation. The deacons in every village were men of this de scription ; and the finger of the statute seemed to point towards them and church-members, in a very intelligible manner. Accordingly a large pro portion of such persons, in the ratio of their whole number, were engaged in the traffic, from the very commencement of our national existence.* Had the trade in the means of drunkenness been a safe one for the consumer, the restrictive language of the law would not have been employed. It would have been needless. And, had the traffic been con fided to ordinary hands, it is reasonable to infer, that there would have been fewer intemperate clergymen. For they would not have been so likely to purchase their intoxicating liquor of a purely secular dealer, as of a deacon or a church- member. It is not to be denied, that the holy of fice of a deacon and the solemn profession of a church-member contributed to clothe with an air of respectability that very traffic, which, now that it has been thoroughly stripped and publicly ex posed, so many good, and wise, and pious men * NOTE. A grave and highly respected friend, to whom these remarks were read in manuscript, states that, in his native village, where a venerable deacon had long been en gaged in the retail rum trade, two taverns were established, m process of time, whose proprietors, though not at all re markable for the sanctity of their lives, soon acquired from their customers the appellation of deacons. hold to be disreputable, and even immoral. It seemed to be a safe and consistent doctrine, that a clergyman might becomingly purchase and em ploy any article, which a deacon or a church-mem ber, iii good standing, would openly expose for sale, having been licensed for that very purpose by authority. Certain it is, that intemperate clergy men were not at all uncommon. Those, to whom this assertion may appear too broad, we refer to " Barbours Temperance Tables," showing the in fluence of intemperance on the churches, and to the candid statements of all persons, whose years enable them to speak from experience. Nothing can be more pertinent here, than a few extracts from a late letter to the Rev. Dr. Edwards, from the Rev. Leonard Woods, D. D. Professor of Chris tian Theology, in the Theological Institution, An- dover, Massachusetts.* " When I entered on the work of the ministry (thirty -eight years ago) it was the general and almost universal practice for ministers to make a frequent use of stimulating drinks, espe cially on Hit Sabbath. They considered this practice an important means of promoting their health, sus taining them under fatigue, and increasing the vigor of their constitution. The generality of physicians approved of this practice, and often recommended brandy, urine, gin, etc., as the best remedy for diseases * Ninth Rep. Amer. Temp. Soc. p. 49 Vll of the stomach and lungs. Every family that I visit ed, deemed it an act of kindness, and no more than what common civility required, to offer me wine, or distilled spirit, and thought it a little strange, if Ire- fused to drink. Jit funerals, the bereaved friends and others were accustomed to use strong drink before and after going to the burial. Jit ordinations, coun cils, and all other meetings of ministers, different kinds of stimulating drinks were provided, and there were but few who did not partake of them." * * * * * * * * The state of things which I have referred to, among men of my own profession, togeth er with its manifest consequences, began, early in my ministry, to alarm my fears. I remember that at a particular period, before the temperance reformation commenced, I was able to count up nearly forty minis ters of the Gospel, and none of them at a very great distance, who were either drunkards, or so far addicted to intemperate drinking, that their reputation and use fulness were greatly injured, if not utterly ruined. And I could mention an ordination, that took place about twenty years ago, at which, I, myself, was ashamed and grieved to see two aged ministers liter ally drunk ; and a third, indecently excited with strong drink. These disgusting and appalling facts I should wish might be concealed. But they were made public by the guilty persons ; and I have thought it just and proper to mention them, in order to show how much we owe to a compassionate God for the great deliver- viii ance he has wrought." This evidence might be continued to any desirable extent. In the second place, we ask, if there are such things, at the present day, as anti-temperance min isters, rum-selling deacons, and drunken church- members? The reformation has done much to purify the world in this respect In the language of the Rev. Dr. Woods, " We owe much to a com passionate God, for the great deliverance he has wrought" And yet, even at the present day, this deliverance, though an object of devout thanks giving and praise, is by no means complete. The testimony, in the writer's possession, furnished from various quarters of our country, affords melancholy proof, that deacons and church-members have by no means relinquished the use nor the traffic ; and that clergymen may be found in every denomination, who set their faces, in a bitter spirit, against this "great deliverance" for which, with Professor Woods, such multitudes arise to offer their grate ful homage to a compassionate God. At one mo ment, we have " reasons for not joining the temper ance society, by a clergyman" At another, a minister boasts before his people, in the very spirit of ex ultation, that he and they have not formed them selves " into a Bible society, or a temperance, or an education, or a benevolent society" To-day, a bishop lectures against the temperance society, and pub IX lishes his lecture to the world, assuring them up on the faith of his lawn sleeves, that " the success of the, temperance society mill be the triumph of infidelity" We are scarcely permitted to recover from one false alarm, before our nerves are exercised by an other : a reverend reviewer next proclaims the true "state of the temperance reform" and informs us, that the cause is "at a stand;" while, in the same breath, he calls upon his brethren and friends, to " drag the wheels " of a machine, which he has already averred to be perfectly motionless and still. Nor is this all ; another reverend divine, who has been " every thing by fits and nothing long," turns round upon his old confederates, and op poses those very doctrines, which had been the object of his zealous affection, and puts forth a long tirade against the temperance society, and all the grand moral and religious combinations of the age ; assuring us that the temperance society, in particular, is utterly defunct ; and referring the world, for a succedaneum, an infallible panacea for all moral maladies, to the book of common prayer and the doctrines of the primitive church. Over this production, the editor of a religious pa per, himself also a clergyman, and who, could he have grasped the sword of St Peter, would have certainly cut the rest of mankind to his own stature, literally gloats, pouring forth, at the same time, the most vituperative language against the temperance society and its supporters. Nor is this all ; when the Massachusetts State Temper ance Society, upon a late occasion, requested the clergy to preach upon the subject of temperance, a clergyman, not contented with a contemptuous neglect of that society's request, entertained his hearers with an anti-temperance discourse, dili gently arraying before them every text, which could be misconstrued to afford comfort to the wine-bibber. Nevertheless the temperance re form moves gloriously forward these efforts of its opponents are speedily forgotten ; in the lan guage of another, Lethean gulfs receive them, as they fall, And dark oblivion soon absorbs them all. It is abundantly manifest, however, that the tem perance reform has not had its perfect work among clergymen, deacons, and church-members. The writer has before him incontrovertible evi dence of the intemperance of several clergymen, deacons, and church-members ; in some cases amounting to stupid drunkenness. Within a short time, a minister, somewhat advanced in years, a member of the temperance society, was found to be in the constant practice of privately drinking gin, and was summoned before the society for that offence. Deacons and church-members are notori ously engaged in the traffic and in the manufac ture, not only by wholesale, but, hi the more dis- XI gusting form, retailing it to every applicant In making this statement, the writer relies on the evi dence of conversations, held directly with men of this description, upon the subject of their degra ding traffic. It is not long, since he partook of the sacrament, while the tavern-keeper of the village, sitting in the same pew, did the same thing; and, in less than half an hour, the writer having return ed to the inn, saw this church-member openly sell ing brandy in his bar, and drinking it himself without the slightest indication of embarrassment. The testimony on this point also could be gathered in abundance throughout the land. We now, in the third place, inquire if the ex posure of such examples has a tendency to retard the progress of the temperance reform, or to bring the offices of religion into contempt ? It must be apparent, that the great body of rum-sellers delight to shelter themselves behind this vanguard of deacons and church-members, their sanctimonious co-ordinates in this melancholy traffic. It is, at present, believed to be as reputable for the consu mer to buy, as for the deacon and church -member to sell : here again the holy office and the Chris tian profession, in their misapplication, exert a baneful influence upon the morals of a people, and certainly tend to retard the progress of the reform. It will be difficult to convince the inhab- xii itants of a city or village of the immorality of the traffic, while a deacon or church-member therein openly pursues it, and yet maintains, un impaired, his relations to society and to the church. Wherever such a condition of things exists, it is worse than absurd to marvel that the temperance cause is at a stand, or even losing the ground it had already won. Its very worst opponents, in such cases, are those, who, by precept and exam ple, should prove themselves its warmest friends. Experience has shown, that reason, however effec tual, with impartial minds, is of but little avail, when self-interest argues upon the other side. Never was this remark more applicable, than to rum-selling, deacons and church-members. They are more readily influenced by pathos than by reason too frequently they are unmoved by either. There is a last, and, as the writer believes, a legi timate resource ; Ridiculum acri Fortius et melius magnas plerumque secat res.* It is not easy to perceive, in what manner the whole body of deacons, or church-members, or clergymen is to receive detriment from such an exhibition of their inconsistent and worthless as sociates, until we can comprehend the nature and extent of that mischief, which is wrought upon * For ridicule shall frequently prevail, And cut the knot, when graver reasons fail. FRANCIS. xiii the natural body, by the extirpation of an ulcer or a cancer, or by the removal of a corrupt and of fensive member. Reason, or pathos, or ridicule, in the former case, may, by the blessing of the Lord, produce the same beneficial results, which are achieved, in the latter, by the knife, or the caus tic, or the actual cautery. Neither can it be read ily perceived, that the rule of righteousness re quires of all the deacons in the land to cast their Christian graces into common stock, and then de clare a dividend per capita, among them all. Still further, should the friends of temperance ex pand that mantle, which is said to hide a multi tude of sins, sufficiently to cover all the distille ries, taverns, and dram-shops, owned or controlled, directly and indirectly, by deacons and church- members, throughout these United States, it would be of no possible avail ; for the enemies of temperance would assuredly tear it away. The very forbearance, in relation to such offending members, would indicate the point of morbid sen sibility, which the foes of the reformation would not fail to perceive. But the irreligious, the scoffer will delight to witness these exhibitions of intemperate clergy men, and rum-selling deacons, and church-mem bers ! The scoffer would indeed have reason to smile, if the wearer's bands, or lawn sleeves, or the office of deacon, or the profession of a church- XIV member were accounted by Christians, not simp y a prima fade but an indelible and unquestionable stamp of sanctity forever. The offices of the church are not more likely to come into disrepute, at the present time, by an in timation that drunkenness may be found among the professors of Christianity, than was the profes sion of Christianity itself, when an inspired apos tle rebuked the drunkenness of the primitive dis ciples around the table of their Lord. But these offices may well be considered of doubtful dignity, whenever the concealment of corruption shall be deemed essential to their well-being. It is desirable to show, that there is no other absolute security from the evils of intemperance, than in the whole armor of a cold- water man. It is not possible more forcibly to exhibit this truth, which such multitudes appear unwilling to believe, than by exhibiting, in a striking light, the insufficiency even of the offices and professions of religion to protect those teachers and disciples of Christianity, who, while they pray not to be led into temptation, obviously prefer the path of danger to that of safety. KITTY GRAFTO1V. MY ministerial labors commenced in the village of Heathermead, about nine years ago : and, in these times, when a love of change appears to be almost epidemical among min isters and people, it may seem somewhat re markable, that I still preach where my pastoral life began, to many willing ears, and, I trust,^ through God's mercy, to some sanctified hearts. I was first called to the ministry as the col league of a very aged man, the Rev. Adrian More. He was my father, not after the flesh, my own natural father I never be held ; he perished at sea, a few months only before I was born. This aged minister was ray father in the Lord. I was placed under 16 KITTY GRAFTON. 106 his care, to be prepared for the university ; and the good old man prepared me, I trust, for the faithful service of the best of masters. When I quitted the university, I was instructed for the ministry under his direction ; and, subse quently, at his own request, I became asso ciated with him in his holy office. This ven erable man, at the age of eighty years, gave me the charge upon my ordination ; and my first public discourse, on the ensuing Sabbath, was a sermon over his lifeless remains. He was ripe for the sickle, and longed to be gath ered in. The energies of a good constitution and the grace of God had sustained him for six and fifty years, in the performance of his sacred trust ; and when, in God's good time, his spiritual guard was relieved, by the institu tion of another at his side ; this faithful old sol dier of the cross laid down his armor of the present world, and went to that rest, appoint ed for the dead, who die in the Lord. During the period of my pupilage, we had many pleasant rambles together, and I never failed to gather some useful instruction by the 107 KITTY GRAFTON. 17 way ; for his conscientious impressions of duty, as my instructor, forbade him to be satisfied with affording me the mere technicalities of education ; and our conversation, at such times, was eminently useful, in the improvement of my reasoning and colloquial powers. Upon one occasion, we had strolled almost to the confines of the next village ; in which it was a matter of painful notoriety, that the clergyman consulted his own comfort, rather than the spiritual wants of his parishioners : " Let us turn," said my old master, with a smile upon his benignant features, in which the slight touch of pleasantry, that first arose, was speedily chased away by an expression of sadness ; " let us turn," said he ; " let us not press farther upon our brother's domains, lest we be suspected of coming to see the na kedness of the land." Upon the very bor ders of the adjoining village, though within the limits of our own, there stood an ancient cot tage, of peculiar structure, with its multiplied gables, and its second story projecting over the first. From its broken windows and doors, 9 18 KITTY GRAFTON. 108 I supposed it to have been abandoned. It is yet standing, and is the very last cottage, as you leave Heath ermead, on the north. In the rear of this building, there were, at that time, the remains of an uncommonly large barn ; the timbers and roof were then in exist ence, but the boards and the lower part of the interior had been removed. As we drew near, a female came forth, and stood, without any apparent motive, looking steadily towards us, as we passed. " I did not think it was in habited," said I. " It is not," replied my old master, " excepting by that lone woman." As we drew nigh, I had an opportunity of ob serving the solitary occupant more closely. Her person was tall and thin ; her eye, sun ken and haggard; and her hair, which was wholly uncovered, and quite gray, bore no evidence of personal attention. The ex pression of her countenance was decidedly bitter and malevolent. When we came in front of the cottage "Good morning, Mrs. (jrafton," said my old master. The effect of his salutation would have been as perceptible 109 KITTY GRAFTON. 19 upon the features of a statue. She stood per fectly still, gazing upon us with unabated se verity, and in perfect silence. " I will try once more," said he, aside. " I hear excellent accounts of your children, Mrs. Grafton." " Umph ! the poor-house ! " she replied, with a sneering expression, and walked back into the cottage, without uttering another word. " It is in vain," said he, as we walked slowly away ; " this unhappy woman is utter ly impracticable ; I can do nothing with her, though I have made many and various at tempts, for several years." " Is she crazy, sir?" I inquired. "There are some persons who think so, but I do not," he replied. " Here she has lived all her days. That cot tage was built by* her father; she was born there ; her parents died there ; there she was married ; and there she gave birth to five children ; and she is resolved to die there. No she is not crazy she is desperate. Her case is one of the most extraordinary that I have ever known. The story is too long to be told during our walk home ; but, if I have 29 KITTY GRAFTON. 110 no partieu'ar engagement this evening, I will relate it to you." My old master had scarcely returned thanks after our evening repast, and seated himself in his arm-chair, when I drew near, and look ed up in his face with an expression which he readily understood. " Well, my child," said he, "you shall not be disappointed of your story, though it may cost me some pain in the relation." " How old was that woman, sir," said I, " whom we saw this morning at the cottage door ? " " I cannot tell you precise ly," he replied, "without a recurrence to my records ; she is well advanced in years, though somewhat younger than you would be led to suppose from her appearance. Harrowing care and bitter disappointment will some times lay hold of time's checkered signet, and suddenly fix the impression of old age, as ef fectually, as though it were done by the more dilatory process of time itself. But I will tell you the story from the beginning. Very ma ny years ago, there came to this village a man, whose name was Gotlieb Jansen : he brought Ill KITTY GRAFTON. 21 with him his "wife. They were of that class of persons, who have been called redemption- ers. They came to this country from a vil lage on the borders of the Rhine. They were extremely poor, and embarked with an understanding, that, when they arrived in America, they should voluntarily bind them selves to servitude, for the advantage of the ship-owner, until their passage-money should be paid. They arrived at the port of Phila delphia ; where, at the present day, there are some opulent and fashionable families, who have good sense enough to trace, with pleas ure, their origin to those redemption ers of Germany, who brought nothing hither from their native shores, but honest hearts and willing hands. Gotlieb Jansen and his wife, upon their arrival, were young, healthy, in dustrious, frugal, and strictly temperate. He was an expert gardener, and well skilled in agriculture, in all its departments. In the me tropolis of Pennsylvania he soon found employ ment for his talent in horticulture. As wages were proportioned to experience and skill. 22 KITTY GRAFTON. 112 Jansen's compensation, and the perquisites and privileges of the garden and green-house of a private gentleman, in whose service he labored, soon procured him the means of re deeming himself and his young wife from their voluntary bondage. He continued to labor in his vocation, with uninterrupted health and indefatigable industry, for seven years. His employer was a member of the society of Friends, of whom Jansen never spoke but with affectionate respect. At the end of this term, his earnings, which had been judiciously in vested, under the counsel of his Quaker friend, amounted to no inconsiderable sum. He was desirous of trying the virtue of his faithful share and pruning-hook upon acres and or chards of his own. He has often told me how much he suffered, when he came to break the matter to his kind master. The ^Quaker paused for some moments ; and at length observed, that he owned a tract of fair land in that part of the village of Heathermead, which is called Heathermead End ; that he might go and look at it ; and, if he likec^ it, 113 KITTY GRAFTON. 23 he should have a deed of it for a certain sum. Jansen lost no time in making a journey to Heathermead, and examining the land, which was manifestly of an excellent quality. He discovered, however, that the tract could readily be sold, for a greater sum, to the farm ers of Heathermead, who best knew its value Here, as he failed not to perceive, was an ad mirable chance to cheat the old Quaker ; bui double-dealing was not one of the secrets, by which Gotlieb Jansen's prosperity had arisen. He faithfully represented the matter to his master : ' Thee likest the tract ? ' said the Quaker. c It is as fine land as I ever saw,' said Jansen, c and I am greatly pleased with it.' ' Thee hast served me seven years,' rejoined the Quaker, c and thee hast pleased- me right well. I well know the value of that* land, but thee shalt have a deed for the sum I said unto thee.' 1 have seen Gotlieb Jan sen shed tears of gratitude, as he described his separation from his old Quaker master, when, with an affectionate pressure of the hand, and Fare thee well, friend Jansen/ he put into 24 KITTY GRAFTOX. 114 his hands the deed of this valuable tract, foi not more than three fourths of its real value. " Gotlieb Jansen's first care was to erect up on his land the house and barn, the remains of which we passed this morning. The pe culiar structure of the one, and the unusually large dimensions of the other were subjects of much conversation in the village ; and, if all the strictures, which were made upon Jansen's proceedings at the time, had been collected together, we should have quite a volume of commentaries. The general impression, for a while, ran decidedly against him, as a whimsi cal* fellow. At a short distance from his dwelling, he had erected, rather for pleasure than profit, a little conservatory for plants. At that time, probably, not an inhabitant of Heath ermead had ever beheld a green-house ; and the good people of the village were ex ceedingly perplexed in relation to the proprie tor's design ; but, as Gotlieb, while his build ings were in progress, was busily engaged in planting an extensive orchard, the farmers' wives were almost unanimously of opinion, 115 KITTY GRAFTON. 25 that the new structure was designed for dry ing apples. They were not a little disposed to laugh in their sleeves at poor Gotlieb, for erecting such a building, so long before he could possibly expect to gather apples from his young trees. The farmers themselves were not altogether without good cause, as they esteemed it, for a little chuckling, at Jansen's expense. Underneath every apple- tree, as he set it in the ground, he had placed a large flat stone, which, they pleasantly observ ed, was not likely to afford much nourishment. This was a German custom, designed to pre vent the roots from tapping, or striking down ward, and to compel them to take their course along the upper and richer soil. " Gotlieb Jansen was a man of few words. Those precious hours, which so many disin terested people devote to the affairs of others, this honest German bestowed upon his own : he labored on, contented with the proverb, which bids those laugh, who win. Matters soon however began to wear a very different appearance. His intercourse with the peo- 10 20 KITTY GRAFTON. 116 pie of Heathermead speedily established his reputation, as an obliging, good-natured man ; he seemed not desirous of wrapping himself, or his affairs, in unusual mystery ; and the farmers' wives were particularly inclined to think well of Gotlieb Jansen, when he ex pounded the riddle of the green-house, by tell ing them, that it was meant as a plaything for his 'good woman,' who was extremely fond of cultivating flowers. In a few years, his agricultural success had thoroughly estab lished his reputation, as an excellent husband man ; and Jansen's farm became not less an object of attraction to the farmers of the vil lage, than his green-house and flower-garden to their wives and daughters. He had readi ly assimilated and become one of the people ; and was universally beloved and respected. About a year after his arrival in this village, his wife gave birth to a daughter. Gotlieb and his wife, in the progress of time, became members of our church, and they were pious Christians. Their daughter, Christiana, grew up an uncommonly beautiful young woman. 117 KITTY GRAFTON. 27 She was their only child ; and, if the parents were particularly censurable for any fault, it was for their doting partiality towards this interesting girl. They were more than will ing to gratify her, in all her desires. Her spirit was high, and her temper extremely quick ; but her heart was full of generosity, and her disposition, towards those she loved, was amiable and kind. She inherited the partiality of her parents for the cultivation of flowers ; and the garden and the little green house were her chief delights. Her features were characteristic, in no very remarkable de gree however, of her foreign origin ; but, at the age of eighteen, she was singularly at tractive. Kitty Jansen was, at that time, de servedly styled the beauty of Heathermead End. Her surpassing comeliness was univer sally acknowledged, in our parish, with a single exception. There was a Miss Pamela Mickle, who had herself been handsome in her day, but was then in her wane, who sol emnly protested, that she never could see it. After the description, which I have given 28 KITTY GRAFTON. 118 you of Kitty Jansen," continued my old mas ter, " you will scarcely be able to trace a ves tige of that lovely girl, in the miserable crea ture, that gazed upon us, as we passed the cottage. But it is even so. That was Kitty Jansen. That desolate wilderness was the same, which my poor friend Gotlieb once made to blossom like the rose. That aban doned dwelling was then the habitation of joy, and love, and peace, and prayer. In all my parish, and my parishioners love me above my deserts, I have no where been more kindly greeted than in that cottage. Whenever I came, and however they were occupied, all things were gladly sacrificed for the sake of a little conversation with their pastor. Gotlieb would leave his plough in the furrow, and the good wife would hasten from her dairy ; and even Kitty, though she never seemed to rely upon the only cure foundation, like her parents, would not suffer me to depart, without an offering of her choicest fruit, or a bunch of her finest flowers. By the aid of a mischievous memory, it is 119 KITTY GRAFTON. 29 all before me, for an instant and now again it is gone. What a curse has fallen upon poor Gotlieb's little Eden! The simoom could not have wrought the work of destruc tion more effectually. " There was living in Heathermead, when Kitty Jansen was about eighteen years oi a g e ? a 7 oun g man, a farmer's son, whose name was Ethan Grafton. He was a very capable and industrious young man. While his father cultivated a small hired farm, ad joining Jansen's, Ethan availed himself of his proximity, and cultivated the affections of the old man's daughter ; and it soon began to be whispered about, that young Ethan's crop would be worth more than his father's, should they be successful in getting in their respec tive harvests. Pamela Mickle said it never would be a match in the world ; and, after that, the most incredulous began -to believe it. The popular prophecy was correct ; and, in less than two years, Ethan Grafton wedded the beauty of Heathermead End ; upon which memorable occasion, poor Pamela Mickle 30 KITTY GRAFTON. 120 laughed herself into a violent fit of hyster ics. It was thought to be an excellent match. I certainly thought so myself/' said my old master. " Grafton was apparently an amiable man, and wonderfully popular in our village. He was active, and intelligent in his business ; and, under the instruction of such a teacher as Jansen, it was augured that he would, in time, become the most accomplish ed farmer in the county. " Old Gotlieb and his wife had stipulated, that their only child should not leave them in their old age ; so Ethan married on, as we say, when a woman takes a husband, rather than a man a wife. For years, the happiness of this family appeared to be as complete, as any earthly thing can be. How often," con tinued my old master, " have I seen Gotlieb, of a summer evening, sitting on the green be fore his cottage door, with the good book open upon his knees, and surrounded by his little grandchildren ! He was an even-tem pered old man, and his whole life was free from every appearance of ostentation. It is 121 KITTY GRAFTON. 31 true, when his old friend and patron, the Qua ker, came to visit him, as he did, once at least in every year, there was commonly, for a few days before his arrival, no little bustle and preparation, in the cottage at Heather- mead End. The Quaker was a noble-looking old gentleman, arrayed in a suit of the finest broadcloth, cut, to be sure, according to the fashion of the society of Friends, and of course without cape or supernumerary button. I never shall forget the magnificent pair of horses that he drove. They cost him, as Gotlieb said, one thousand dollars. I once asked old Jansen, what induced him to make such a parade for his Quaker friend, particu larly in the culinary part of his arrangements. c Vy,' said Gotlieb, c de old gentleman ish von of de kindest and pest men in de voorld, and he ish temperate in his eating and drink ing, but he like de roast duck vary veil, and he know ven he ish done to a turn.' " Gotlieb and Theresa Jansen, his wife, were stricken in years. There was nothing like morbid sensibility in the attachment of this 32 KITTY GRAFTON. 122 couple, yet they were devoted to each other. They appeared to be governed by a sober conviction, that two heads and two hearts are better than one, when their efforts and their energies are concentrated, for the creation of a joint stock of domestic happiness. They were reasonable people, and understood aright the process, which God employs to wean his children from the present world ; they read volumes of wisdom in the storm and tempest, and found a meaning in the flickering cloud, as it takes somewhat from the splendor of the brightest mid-day ; they submitted with the confidence of devoted children to the disci pline of their teacher ; and, when age and its wearisome retinue of cares and infirmities were at hand, they were not compelled to make a hasty preparation for heaven. The tyrant and the usurper have occasionally worn their armor beneath their robes of state, in the spirit of fear : in another spirit, old Gotlieb and his worthy partner, however oc cupied, whether in their Sabbath clothes or working apparel, by day or by night, had 123 KITTY GRAFTON. 33 worn their armor of righteousness upon the right hand and upon the left. The old man had grown too infirm for the labors of the field, but I have seen him," said my old mas ter, "of a spring morning, sitting upon the green bank, and looking down upon his good ly acres, with two or three of his grand children about him, while Ethan Grafton, his son-in-law, held the plough, and his oldest boy Elkanah, who was not over seven, rode the mare. No war-horse was ever fonder of the fields of his youth than old Gotlieb ; nor did the former ever turn his ear to the trum pet, more eagerly than this old man to the first full drops of pattering rain, as they fell, after a long interval of drought, upon the parching ground. " One fine morning in May, old Gotlieb walked forth with little Elkanah, to whom he was particularly attached, taking his pocket Bible, as was his constant practice, to read upon the way. The old man used to say, that he loved most to worship God in the fields, where he could have a full view of the 34 KITTY GRAFTON. 124 works of his hands, and where he could gaze upward, without any thing of human crea tion, to obstruct his view. He returned much earlier than was his custom. Little Elkanah came first into the house, and brought the tidings, that his grandfather had been very faint. The good old wife received him at the door. He sat down in the stoop before the cottage ; and, as he gave her it had been his custom for many years the first branch that he could find of the dogwood in full flower, c Dat ish de last,' said he with a faint smile. Old Theresa turned away, for an instant, to conceal her emotion. As she came back to him with a glass of water, c Gotlieb,' said she, c Kitty says the new rose, in the green-house, that you wished to see flower, is just coming out. The garden looks finely, this morning ; and, when you feel stronger, you and I will go and walk in it, Gotlieb.' The old man shook his head, as he placed both hands upon his heart. They sent for me," continued my old master. ' He was vqry low, when I arrived ; and the 125 KITTY GRAFTON. 35 physician, who had been previously summon ed, proclaimed his end to be near. He said little. c She tells me,' said he, pointing to his wife, e that we shall walk in the garden together : so we shall, but it will be in the garden of Eden.' After he had lost the power of speech, he drew Elkanah towards him, and put into the child's bosom the little pocket Bible, which had been the companion of their rambles. " In two days after, this good old man yield ed up his spirit. For many years, Theresa had cherished a strong hope, that they might be permitted to commence their heavenly walk together. This hope had operated upon her mind with such force, as to produce something like a belief, that it would be so. What there may be of philosophy in such matters how far the force of a powerful and long-cherished presentiment may physically operate in the production of such results, I pretend not to comprehend. I have nothing to do, but with the fact. Good old Theresa performed the last offices of love ; she closed 36 ' KITTY GRAFTON. 126 those eyes, that had never looked upon her but with affection. The next morning she rose not as usual. When her daughter enter ed her chamber, her features were so perfect ly composed, that, at first, she seemed to be in peaceful slumber : it was not thus the corruptible was there, but the spirit had fled. During the still watches of the night, it had quitted its tabernacle, and already commenc ed its passage with that of her husband to the garden of Eden, for a closer walk with her Savior and her God. Their bodies were buried in the same grave." When my old master had arrived at this point, he drew a heavy sigh. " Ah," said he, " it would be refreshing to rest here, but truth, however painful in its progress, presses us for ward. After the death of the old people, Ethan Grafton and his wife continued, for some time, to live happily together. Except ing in the ordinary allotments of Providence, it would have been a very difficult matter for a common observer, to have anticipated the cause, which should annihilate their happi- 127 KITTY GRAFTON. 37 ness, or even deprive them of any material part of it. Old Gotlieb had such unbounded confidence in the wisdom of his son-in-law, and in his affection for his daughter, that he gave him his entire property by will. When the old man planted an orchard, he probably no more imagined, that he was laying the foundation of the temple of discord, within the precincts of his peaceful cottage, than Noah supposed, when he planted a vineyard, that, by an abuse of its products, he should bring down the curse upon Canaan. But it fell out, in the course of time, that, as the patriarch drank of the wine and was drunken, so Ethan Grafton's incomparable cider and perry were found abundantly capable of pro ducing the same mischievous result. Gotlieb Jansen's orchard had long been an object of universal remark. The old man had spared no pains, in its culture and preservation. In the words of Bayley McGrudy, the Scotch schoolmaster, who taught the school in Heathermead, when displaying his library of two hundred and forty volumes, c There wa*. 38 KITTY GRAFTON. 128 nothing like it in all Heathermead.' Ethan, as I have said, was a popular, and, of course, a very hospitable man. The quantity of cider, which he annually manufactured, was enor mous, and its quality so very superior, as to insure a ready and extensive market. The liberality of old Gotlieb had made his son-in- law the sovereign master of many broad acres, a capital homestead, an excellent stock, and some ready money. When a young man, somewhat abruptly, steps into an estate, so entirely transcending his primitive aspirations, he is commonly liable to an epanchement du cceur, an opening of the heart. No sooner was the legitimate period of mourning at an end, than Ethan Grafton began to invite his friends to come and see him. And, long be fore, there were not a few, who used to say, 1 The Graftons must be very lonely ; let us go and sit an hour or so with Ethan, and taste his cider.' It must not be supposed, that Ethan Grafton's cider was such miserable, vapid trash as is occasionally met with, upon the dinner tables of country taverns, whose 129 KITTY GRAFTON. 39 employment sets the teeth on edge, and brings tears into the eyes, and deprives the human countenance, for the time, of all its rational proportions. There was no more re semblance than between the waters of Heli con and those of a washtub, or between nec tar and the very smallest of small beer. Ethan Grafton's far-famed cider, like the wine, so fatally administered by Ulysses to the Cyclop, was truly ' Mellifluous, undecaying, and divine.' He had a prodigious amount of cider and perry in bottles, of different years, marked and numbered, and arranged with the greatest care, on their respective shelves, in his cellar. When he entertained his friends, and de spatched little Elkanah for some particular bottle, it was impossible to shut out the com parison, if it be lawful 'parvis componere magna? between the young farmer of Heath- ermead End, and some metropolitan entertain er, with his steward of the wine-cellar at his elbow, book in hand, ready, at a word, to 40 KITTY GRAFTON. 130 proceed to any specified compartment, sec tion, and range of the subterraneous treasure- house, and select the identical bottle, which the master requires. " Certain it was, as Bayley McGrudy used shrewdly to remark, that, when the tears ceased to flow at Heathermead End, the cider began. Ethan used to boast that he had cider in his cellar, that was 'full as good as any wine.' Whether its effects were evidences of its good ness or badness, it became matter of demon stration, within a couple of years after old Gotlieb's death, that it would produce drunk enness about as soon ; and that drunkenness, so produced, would as readily steal away the brains, and sour the temper, and blunt the kindlier affections of the heart. Ethan's cider was certainly very much like Noah's wine in its operation and effects. It soon began to manifest, in its influences, the truth of his as sertion, that it was quite equal to wine ; and, as the first domestic quarrel, after the flood, and the curse of Canaan were the almost im mediate consequences of drunkenness on wine, 131 KITTY GRAFTON. 41 so the first harsh treatment, which Gotlieb's grandchildren received from their father, was a severe kick, bestowed upon little Elkanah, for selecting the wrong bottle of cider, while his father was endeavoring to prove to some young associates, the correctness of his fre quently-repeated assertion, that his cider was equal to wine. Poor Elkanah, who had be come weary of his repeated embassies to the cellar, and was somewhat sleepy withal, had mistaken the direction, and produced a stale bottle from a range, which had proved worth less ; and, when Ethan, who was waiting for the applause of his guests, whose glasses he had filled, found himself repaid with shouts of laughter, and perceived the cause, he could not restrain his anger, highly excited as he was already, by the cider he had drunken. He dealt the poor child a terrible kick with his cowhide boot, and was in the act of step ping forward to repeat it. At that moment, Kitty was stirring up the fire ; she had the tongs in her right hand. She marked the harshness of her husband, and heard the cry 11 42 KITTY GRAFTON. 132 of bor favorite child ; in an instant she seized the boy's arm with her left hand, and drew him behind her, out of the reach of her hus band's grasp ; at the same moment, she raised the tongs over her head, and, with a single but effectual sweep, cleared the table of its contents in the twinkling of an eye ; bottles and glasses were broken to atoms upon the floor. The contending parties stood, for a few seconds, fiercely eyeing each other. i What do you mean by this ? ' cried Ethan, in great anger. c You're a brute,' replied the exas perated wife. ( Dare you say this to me, in my own house ! I'll make you pay for it,' cried he, holding up his finger. e Your own house ! ' she exclaimed, with a look of ineffa ble derision. c Hasn't my father paid for it, already ? ' she continued, with an expression of taunting bitterness. < You shall answer for this,' cried Ethan, boiling over with an ger, and stamping his foot upon the floor. c I'll never answer a drunkard,' she exclaim ed, as she hurled the tongs upon the hearth, He stepped towards her in great wrath, but 133 KITTY GRAFTON. 43 his companions interposed, and held him back, while his highly-exasperated wife walked slowly out of the room, leading off the terrified little Elkanah, who, never having witnessed such a scene before, was now made acquaint ed with a new code of sensations. Farmer Grafton's friends pacified him, as well as they could, and took their leave. As they walked homeward, one of them observed that Ethan w r as in the wrong to kick the little boy as he did. That was readily admitted ; but another remarked, that he had as lief be one of Sam son's foxes, as to have such a firebrand tied to him for life. A third suggested, that he did not believe there had ever been any serious disagreement between them before. All three agreed, however, that Ethan was entirely right in one particular, and that his cider was certainly equal to wine. Pamela Mickle soon heard of the affair, and nearly wore out a pair of new shoes, in spreading intelligence of this domestic uproar from one end of Heathermead to the other. The match had turned out, as she affirmed, precisely as she expected from the very beginning. 44 KITTY GRAFTON. 134 " The better sort of people in Heathermead, I mean not the wealthier, but the Christian aristocracy of the village, were grieved, that old Jansen's descendants should be visited with any serious affliction. They had re marked, with regret, that Farmer Grafton was not so attentive to his business as he used to be, and that he was getting somewhat engaged in horse-racing. In regard to his wife, it was admitted, on all hands, that her temper was exceedingly violent, when excited by a sense of injustice ; but it was agreed, that it did not exhibit itself upon ordinary occasions. In deed," said my old master, " Kitty Grafton had, not only a generous, but a magnanimous spirit. She was an admirable housewife, and devotedly attached to her husband, so long as he deserved her affection. With her, it was love for love : yet her affections were not gov erned by any selfish principle. There are gentle spirits, that can suffer all but death, and yet love on. There are not a few, who still love those barbarians, with whom mar riage is a milder name for tyranny they love 135 KITTY GRAFTON. 45 and cling to the very brutes, that rule them with an iron rod, and why? because they are the fathers of their children ! And, with such, this is cause enough why love should never die. There are some, who adhere to their drunken husbands, and seemingly with the same increasing measure of devotion, which they themselves bestow upon the vile objects of their idolatry. They love the very shadowy recollections of their brighter days ; and, while those heartless wretches, who led their confiding steps to the altar, yet crawl, like diseased and degraded reptiles, upon the earth j the doting affection of their fond hearts is sufficiently powerful to beget a moral oph thalmia, and they can perceive nothing to paralyze their love. The heart of Kitty Grafton was cast in a different mould ; and, though kind treatment would probably have preserved its affections, in all their original warmth and freshness, neglect could not fail to chill them through abuse would certainly convert that heart to stone. " By what process the reconciliation between 46 KITTY GRAFTON. 136 Ethan and his wife was achieved, I cannot tell. They were at church the next Sabbath ; their conduct towards each other was appar ently civil and becoming; but I thought it was not so affectionate as it had been. When describing the Rhone and the Arve, an agree able writer observes : c The contrast betiveen those two rivers is very striking ; the one be ing as pure and limpid as the other is foul and muddy. Two miles below the place of their junction, an opposition and difference betiveen this ill-sorted couple are still observable; these, however, gradually abate by long habit, till, at last, yielding to necessity, and those unre lenting laivs that joined them together, they mix in perfect union, and flow in a common stream to the end of their course'* But for these unrelenting laws, how many ill-fated al liances would be severed ! How many wretched beings would delight to break away from their loathsome, drunken yoke-fellows ! * Moore's View of Society in France, &c. Vol. I Let. 24. 137 KITTY GRAFTON. 47 Kitty Grafton had no ordinary share of pride withal ; and, next to being happy, came the desire of being thought so. For a time, she bore her afflictions in silence. If Ethan was more from home than formerly, she consoled herself with her children, and rilled her time and her thoughts with her domestic concerns. Her little green-house and garden, in the care and cultivation of which, she had been abun dantly instructed by her good old father and mother, still afforded her a source of rational satisfaction ; and, could she have been per mitted to enjoy them, and to see her children rising into life, with a reasonable prospect of happiness, she might have lived on content ed, though not absolutely happy ; and accom modated herself to her lot, as the wife of a drinking, prodigal husband for to this degra ding appellation Ethan Grafton now bid fair to establish an indisputable claim. " Among his acquaintances, there were some, who were not entirely willing to allow, that Ethan's cider was equal to wine ; and, after a fair trial at the Little Black Dragon, a tavern 48 KITTY GRAFTON. 138 in Heather-mead, upon thanksgiving night, (on which occasion, the judges were so drunk, that it was impossible to obtain any thing like a righteous decision of the question,) it was de termined to continue the matter, for further advisement, at Ethan Grafton's cottage, upon the ensuing Christmas eve. "In the course of those unprofitable years, which had followed one another, like billows upon the ocean, since old Jansen died, Ethan Grafton had frittered away the estate in an unaccountable manner. Under the old man's will, the fee, or full property of the estate, was in himself; and his wife had no other claim upon the soil, which her father had won by the sweat of his brow, than her right of dower. Even this partial interest, Ethan had induced her, upon various pretences, to relinquish, from time to time, until it remained to her in the cottage only, and a few acres around it. The ready money, which old Jansen had left, had begun, after six or eight months from his decease, to disappear. The stock, in the course of a few years, were either sold, 139 KITTY GRAFTON. 49 or had died off; and, as Ethan neglected his farm, their places were not supplied. In about seven years after Jansen's death, al though there was some show of property, and the stock of cider was still kept up, (for the ap ples grew without culture, and it cost little to grind them,) yet it was pretty well understood, that Ethan Grafton, to use the village phrase, was getting dreadfully down to heel. It would have been better for Ethan, if the real extent of the small residuum of estate, that he yet possessed, had been more clearly de fined, in the eyes of his neighbors. But he was still supposed to be a man of property, though his affairs had, somehow or another, become embarrassed. He accordingly, on the strength of this delusion, continued in tolera ble credit ; and was able, now and then, with a little swaggering, to borrow a few hundreds ; and thus, by increasing the burden upon his already broken shoulders, to complete the work of his destruction. For one, that knew how much of Ethan's property was deeply mortgaged, and how little was clear, hundreds 50 KITTY GRAFTON. 140 in the village of Heathermead were entirely unacquainted with the facts. He still, like most other mortgagors, was himself in posses sion, exercising visible acts of ownership over the property. How often do we witness the evil consequences of such a condition of things as this ! The man, who frequently reiterates a lie, is not more liable, at last, to fancy it is true, than the proprietor of mortgaged prem ises to believe they are his own. How fre quently such estates are found, after the death of such nominal proprietors, inadequate to pay the debt, for whose security they were con veyed ! Yet how frequently is it the fact, that such nominal owners of estates, such bona fide proprietors of nothing, have eaten, and drunken, and arrayed themselves, for years, upon the strength of this imaginary wealth ! Poor Ethan Grafton actually believed him self, even then, to be a man of considerable property ; and employed no small part of his time, when not occupied in the demonstra tion of his everlasting problem, that his cider was equal to wine, in unsuccessful efforts to 141 KITTY GRAFTON. 51 obtain additional loans, upon his overburdened estates. "It was long a mystery, in the eyes of those, who really knew that Ethan Grafton had de prived himself of three fourths, at least, of all his estate, by what means he had squandered his possessions. The secret was well l^nown to a few. Neglect of his business readily ac counted for his not growing richer. Horse- racing, betting, and drinking had undoubted ly diminished his property, in a very sensible degree. Still, however, the rapid loss of his wealth, especially during the two last years, was an enigma, which the wiseacres of Heath- ermead were utterly unable to explain. " As the destruction of the outer works is commonly among the earliest operations of an enemy, so the first manifestations of the pow er of that evil demon, which warred against the peace of this once happy family, were the fallen fences, and dilapidated walls, and bro ken windows, about the cottage at Heath- ermead End. Kitty had long found it ex tremely difficult to obtain money from her 52 KITTY GRAFTON. 142 husband, for the common occasions of herself and her children. Debts accumulated rapid ly, and duns became importunate and trouble some. One morning, Ethan had just finished his breakfast, of which a portentous pitcher of cider formed a component part, when he perceived Mr. Bagley, the grocer, riding tow ards the cottage. Ethan comprehended his object, and concealed himself in the cellar, previously directing Elkanah, whose mother had stepped out, to say. that he was not at home. Old Gotlieb had not read the Bible to his grandchild in vain. To the grocer's inquiry, the boy therefore replied, that his father had told him to say he was not at home. This, of course, produced an unpleas ant eclaircissement ; and, when the grocer had gone, Elkanah received a buffet, which brought him to the ground. This broken- spirited boy, who had repeatedly witnessed the dreadful uproar, which arose between his parents, in consequence of his complaints, suffered in silence, and crept, for refuge, to the garret. 143 KITTY GRAFTON. 53 " Notwithstanding the immense quantity of cider, which Ethan's farm produced, of which he sold a large amount, in barrels and bottles, he never seemed to have any ready money ; and, whenever his wife attempted to get an insight into his affairs, he told her that women were fools, and knew nothing of business. They had, at this time, one girl and four boys; and their mother, though frequently exasperated by her husband, still retained her maternal feelings, and patched and repatched the ragged remnants of their little apparel ; and, as yet, though hopeless of their father, gave not all up for lost. Ethan Grafton had, for some time, delivered large quantities of his cider at the distillery ; and, of late, he had been in the habit of receiving a few barrels of cider brandy, in part payment. For more than a year, he had suffered severely from the operation upon his system of that malic acid, which abounds in cider, and whose effects are perfectly well understood by medical men. He had become habitually subject to severe colic; he had even indicated no equivocal 54 KITTY GRAFTOtf, 144 symptoms of partial palsy. But he began to feel essentially better, from the occasional employment of the cider brandy. Christmas eve was drawing nigh, upon which occasion the question was to be fully settled and de termined, whether Ethan Grafton's cider were or were not equal to wine ; and, as he was determined to establish its reputation beyond the possibility of all future doubt, having se lected the bottles, which he designed to pro duce, he abstracted thirty-three and a third per centum of their contents, and then filled up the bottles with an equal amount of cider brandy. " When old Gotlieb Jansen perceived him self to be surrounded by a little progeny of the second generation, he introduced into the cottage at Heathermead End a custom, as sociated with his boyish recollections of ' Fa der Land,' on the borders of the Rhine. A small tree, commonly the box, in its pot of earth, was introduced into the best room of the cottage, upon merry Christmas eve ; and the old man, with the assistance of Theresa, 145 KITTY GRAFTON. 55 scattered some gold leaf upon its deep green foliage, and .attached to its branches those lit tle presents, which were designed for their grandchildren. These annual arrangements had been, for years, a source of heartfelt sat isfaction to Gotlieb and his wife ; and to their youthful descendants an object of de lightful anticipation. After the death of her parents, Kitty Grafton had never omitted the custom, upon the return of this happy festival. The golden tree had never failed, once in ev ery year, at the appointed time, to spread its luxuriant branches ; and her little ones, happy, at least for a brief season, had been permitted to approach in order, and, with their own hands, to gather its valuable fruit. Hitherto, Ethan himself had appeared to feel some de gree of interest on these occasions ; and, al though with increasing indifference to the happiness of his children from year to year, he had commonly contributed a small sum for the purchase of those toys, which were essen tial to their short-lived carnival, upon Christ mas eve. Upon the present occasion, Kitty's 56 KITTY GRAFTON. 146 suggestions and hints were of no avail. Ethan turned a deaf ear to them all ; and, to her di rect request for a very trifling sum, to purchase the means of happiness for the children upon this occasion, he replied, with great harshness, that he had not a shilling ; and knew not where to get one ; and that it was a stupid, German custom, and had lasted long enough ; and that he would hear no more of it. Though highly offended by Ethan's answer, which contained something like a reflection on her parents, she, for once, restrained her temper, and walked silently away. Her husband, probably, would not have opposed her wishes, and denied his children these long-expected pleasures, which came but once a year, had he not made an important engagement for that very evening. He well knew, that more than a dozen of his associates were then to assemble in his cot tage, for an object of no less importance, than the decision of a question, in which his feelings had become deeply involved wheth er Ethan Grafton's cider were equal to wine. His best apartment would be required for the 147 KITTY GRAFTON. 57 use of this convention, and Elkanah's ser vices would be indispensable. But of all this his wife suspected nothing. We are not prone to call those to participate in our privy counsels, who are well known to be heartily opposed to our practice and our principles ; and it is a mere act of justice to state, that, however excitable and violent, the temper of Kitty Grafton received no adscititious stimu lus from any intoxicating liquor. No pledged member of a thoroughgoing cold-water society ever abstained more rigidly from all inebriat ing drinks. The occasional flashings of her natural fire were said, by those, who had wit nessed them, to be sufficiently alarming the stimulus of alcohol would probably have driv en her, sooner or later, during her domestic troubles, to .madness or to murder. " When her husband had thus refused to assist her, in furnishing out the Christmas fes tival for their children, she went up into her chamber, and sat down with her arms folded, and an angry cloud upon her brow. She had not continued long, ruminating upon her 58 KITTY GRAFTON. 148 misfortunes, (for every new affliction naturally served to revive the gloomy record of the past,) when Elkanah, who had been present, during the conversation between his parents, crept up into the apartment. c Mother,' said he, ' I wouldn't be worried about it ; we can have our tree just as well as we had it last year.' She gazed upon her first born ; her features, for an instant, changed their expression of anger for that of sadness ; and her eyeballs were glazed by the gathering tears, which oozed from the natural foun tain too scantily to fall ; like the moisture, which occasionally floats over the brassy sky, during the burning solstice, but descends not in showers, and is speedily absorbed. c You can have your tree, Elkanah,' she replied, ' that your poor old grandfather took so much pleasure to prepare for you, and whose leaves he tipped with gold leaf. That is in my closet ; but I have nothing to hang upon it for you all, as I used to have.' c Never mind, mother/ said Elkanah, c we can do very well ; Richard has got his hum-top that 149 KITTY GRAFTON. 59 he had last year; just as good as ever ; and Rachel has got her doll; Eli says he will hang up his whistle; and, before to-mor row night, I can whittle out a go-cart for Robert.' ' And what will you have to hang up for yourself, Elkanah?' inquired his moth er ; she seemed, for a brief space, to forget her misery, while listening to Elkanah's inge nious device for the celebration of the festi val. A faint ray of sunlight beamed upon her features, as she contemplated the con tented disposition of her child, who could thus volunteer to be sufficiently happy in the enjoyment of second-hand pleasures. ' And what,' she repeated, c will you hang upon the tree for yourself, Elkanah?' 'I've been think ing, mother,' said he, ' that I should like to hang up the Bible that grandfather gave me.' "Christmas eve at length arrived. The tree had been placed in the centre of their bettermost room, its appointed place upon such occasions, for many years ; and already its branches bent beneath the burden, in part, of its last year's fruit. Kitty Grafton, sur- 60 KITTY GRAFTON. 150 rounded by her five children, who were re solved to be happy, upon any terms, was busily engaged in directing the simple cer emonials of the fete. Her countenance had even lost that expression of bitterness and anxiety, which, of late years, had predom inated there. The strength of the maternal principle had subdued all foreign recollections for the time. The almost unvarying custom of her husband to return, of late years, at an advanced hour of the night, had relieved her entirely from all fear of interruption. The sound, therefore, of his well-known tramp, on the entry floor, filled the assembled group with consternation. Even the mother be came pale for an instant. Her husband's Voice, calling loudly for Elkanah, summoned the poor boy from the apartment. In a short time he returned with his father, bringing in as many bottles of cider, as they could conve niently carry. No sooner did Ethan discover the preparations for the festival, and the tree in the midst, than he inquired, with a terrible oath, addressing himself to his wife, who had 151 KITTY GRAFTON. 61 risen from her seat, if he had not told her that he would have no more of such German trumpery in his house. c Haven't I a right,' said she, as the color mantled into her face, c haven't I a right, in my old father's house, to make his grandchildren happy?' 'Your old father,' said he, c was an old German beg gar.' ' You are a liar,' she quickly replied, as she clinched her fist, and her eyes shot fire. Ethan hastily put his bottles on the floor, and all the children but Elkanah ran screaming in terror from the apartment. < There,' said he, with another horrible oath, breaking the tree to pieces, and hurling the little tokens in every direction ' that's to be gin with, and now, if you give me another saucy word, I'll whip you to a jelly.' Du ring this ebullition of wrath, Elkanah, unper- ceived by his father, had picked up his little Bible, and concealed it in his bosom. c O, father,' cried the agonized child, c beat me, father ; I did it ; don't beat poor mother.' c Get out, you ill-begotten brat,' cried the in furiated father. c Grafton,' exclaimed his 62 KITTY GRAPTON. 152 wife, with an expression of mingled rage and scorn, < I wish I was a man for five seconds, I'd strip your tawny hide from neck to heel ! ' ' Father, father/ cried Elkanah, 1 look up the road ; there's folks coming.' ' I see 'em,' said Ethan Grafton to the boy ; c clear off this rubbish right away, and set out the table ; and as for you,' turning to his wife, 'if I wasn't agoing to have company, I'd jest cut a saplin, and strip you to the skin, and tie you up by your two thumbs, and, if I didn't cool your German blood for you, my name's not Ethan Grafton.' c Grafton,' she replied, in a steadier tone, moving slowly tow ards the door, 'I'm glad to be gone from you and your gang. There'll be time enough to cut your saplin when they're gone ; but, if you lay the weight of it on my body, I'll die in the struggle but I'll have your heart's blood.' The guests were at the door ; Ethan had no time to reply ; and he bit his lip, and doubled his fist at his enraged wife, as she proceeded up stairs. Elkanah had cleared the room, and set out the table, and stood 153 KITTY GRAFTON. 63 trembling in the corner, awaiting his father's commands. "After such vulgar greetings, and horse laughs, and slappings of shoulders, as com monly mark the first gathering of a rustic club, the company assembled around the ta ble, upon which Elkanah had been directed to place several bottles of cider and a suffi cient number of glasses. It would be an un profitable task to attempt a description of those individuals, who were convened in Ethan's cottage, for the purpose of settling the c cider question.' Next to Dick Dagget, the butcher, who had relinquished business, and retired upon a handsome reserve, after cheating his creditors out of seven eighths of their lawful demands, the most important per sonage was Dr. Pullet, a rubicund, full-favor ed, notable blackleg, who had a local habita tion and a name, in many towns and villages, in which he had exercised his skill, by filch ing the unwary of their cash in hand ; and, if it better comported with the convenience of his cullies, the doctor was exceedingly ac 64 KITTY GRAFTON. 154 commodating, and would try a rubber, for al most any stake, from a stout gelding to a goose berry tart. The residue of the group consist ed chiefly of young farmers and mechanics, who had long shown a preference for Ethan Grafton's cider, before the pleasures of their own firesides. c What's the matter, Grafton ? ' inquired one of the company, soon after they were seated ; i you look down in the mouth.' ( O, no great affair,' replied Ethan, scratch ing his head, c Elky, my boy, fetch the cork screw.' c I guess he's thinking about the cat tle that Pullet won of him last night, at the Little Black Dragon,' said one of these boors, with a reckless laugh. c I hope a little matter like that don't trouble ye, Mr. Grafton,' said Pullet. c The dogs take the cattle,' replied Ethan ; if a body hadn't nothing more to be vexed about than the loss of a yoke of oxen, he'd be pretty well off, I reckon there, tell us what ye think o' that,' filling their glasses and pushing them round. ' That's royal cider, Grafton,' cried Dagget, smacking his lips. 'But, for pity's sake, tell us whose m 155 KITTY GRAFTON. 65 grave you're agoing to dig to-night? you're as solemn as an owl, Ethan ; what's the mat ter ? ' c Why,' said Grafton, < there's a skil- linton, you know, in every house.' c Ha, ha ! that's it, is it ? ' cried Dagget ; c the old black mare kicks up, does she, Ethan ? why don't ye switch the jade as I do mine.' c That's well enough for you, Dick,' Ethan replied, 6 but it won't work quite so well with the Ger man breed, I tell ye. I shall have to try it though, I guess, afore long. But let's hear what ye think o' that cider.' 'Why, Mr. Grafton,' said Pullet, pouring out a fresh tum bler, ' this is superexcellent cider ; there can be no better ; but, upon honor, it isn't quite equal to wine. 3 c That's all you know about it,' cried Ethan. c You're up to cut and shuf fle, doctor ; but I wouldn't say much about cider an I was you. This here, that you've been a drinking, isn't such superexcellent cider arter all. The old man, Jansen, made this, more than ten years ago, and its lost its strength, and got a leetle flattish ; if you should drink a barrel on't, you wouldn't feel 13 66 KITTY GRAFTON. 156 a mite brisker.' c I don't know about that,' said one of the company, ' I'se drank only two tumblers and a half, and it makes me feel pretty comical any how.' ( I'll show ye cider,' said Ethan. c Elky here Elkanah where's that brat gone ? ' c He's asleep,' said one of the guests. < Wake up, you lazy dog,' cried Ethan, as he pulled him violently by the ear, ' wake up, sir, and, if I catch ye sleeping agin, I'll give ye something to keep ye awake, I'll warrant ye ; here, take a basket, and bring up ten bottles from the lower shelf, and if you bring the wrong ones, I'll take both your ears off.' Elkanah rubbed his eyes on the sleeve of his coat, and proceeded to the cellar. c What do you value your gray mare at, Mr. Grafton ? ' inquired Doctor Pul let. c My gray mare,' replied Ethan, 'why somewhere 'twixt one and two hundred.' 'Well,' continued the doctor, I don't alto gether want to take away that yoke of cattle, that I won from you, at the Dragon, without giving ye a chance to win 'em back ; I'll put 'em agin your gray mare, and try another 157 KITTY GRAFTON. 67 rubber.' < Done/ cried Ethan Grafton, slap ping the table as he spoke ; ' but here comes my snail of a boy ; let's try the cider first what made ye so etarnal long, ye lazy brat ? ' < I come as quick as I could, father/ said Elkanah. < Ye lie, ye did'nt ; get into the corner, till I call ye,' said Ethan, shoving him aside. ( There, tell us what ye think of that,' said he, as he poured out the new specimen. That caps all,' cried Dagget, as he held out his empty glass to be replenished, ' that goes to the right spot any how.' ' The best cider I ever tasted by all odds,' exclaimed the doctor. ' Still I'll tell ye what, there seems to be a sort of a want of a kind of a ' ' Haw, haw, haw,' cried half a dozen voices. It's pretty good cider I guess,' said Gibbins, the journeyman tailor, c for it makes your tongue take plaguey long stitches, doctor.' respect ing his mother and the children, he expressed a wish to visit the cottage. We proceeded 215 KITTY GRAFTON. 125 together. I informed him, by the way, of the circumstance, which had lost me his mother's confidence, and he disclosed to me his plans, respecting his younger brothers and his sister. He told me, that the Lord had placed the means abundantly in his power, for doing good, and that he felt ac countable for their employment. When we arrived at the cottage, the children were playing before the door. The elder instantly recognized his brother, and exclaimed, as he ran into the house, c Mother, Elkanah has come ! ' Kitty came forth with a degree of earnestness, in her look and manner, which sur prised me. There was a faint smile upon her features, and her lips trembled with emo tion. c Elkanah ! ' said she ; but as he ap proached her, she observed me, for the first time, and clapping her hands upon her ears, she returned to the house, exclaiming, as upon a former occasion, c Fll hear nothing of the poor-house.' " Elkanah followed her into the house, and I told the children to inform him, that I had 126 KITTY GRAFTON. 216 returned to the parsonage, and should expect him there. " It was late in the evening, before he came. His spirits were evidently depressed hy the scene he had witnessed. He informed me, that, when he had followed his mother into the cottage, there was no longer the slightest evidence of emotion ; that his efforts to rouse her from her apathy were utterly ineffectual ; and that she had scarcely appeared to listen to his propositions for her advantage. When he suggested a removal from the cottage to a more comfortable residence, she shook her head with a slight expression of anger ; and, after a short pause, exclaimed, Here I was born, and here I will die.' In answer to his request for permission to remove the children for the purposes of education, she said, c Very well they'll all be drunkards.' " Elkanah Grafton remained a fortnight in the village. It would be superfluous to say, that he visited his old friend Rawlins, and took tea three or four times with Ezekiel 217 KITTY GRAFTON. 127 Atherton and his wife. Elkanah gathered his most important lessons from an infallible teacher; and I have never known an indi vidual more oblivious of injuries or more tenacious of the recollection of benefits than he. " There are many interesting circumstances, connected with this narrative, which I cannot relate, without an extension of the story to an unwarrantable length. The residue may easily be told, in a summary manner. Many years have passed away, since those days of domestic desolation, when poor Elkanah was a broken-spirited slave, in the cottage of his drunken father. He yet lives, opulent, re spected, and beloved the benefactor of his fellow men. He took upon himself the education of his three brothers and his sister. The latter is now the wife of a respectable professional gentleman in . One of his brothers became a merchant, and is a man of wealth. The other two, at El- kanah's charge, received a liberal education. 128 KITTY GRAFTON. 218 Of these one prepared for the ministry, but has been called, I trust, to a better world. " In the Mahometan empire, refreshing fountains are often presented to the view of the traveller by the side of the public way. Of these many are pious foundations. Trees are planted around them. Here the pious Mussulman throws off his mantle ; spreads it for a carpet on the ground ; and with his prayers, unites his expressions of gratitude to that benefactor, to whom he is indebted for the waters of the fountain, for shade, and for repose. In a distant corner of our country there is a fountain of learning and piety, whose streams have already gone forth to refresh and irrigate the world. For centuries to come, the Christian disciple, in a higher and a holier spirit, while he partakes of its living waters, shall mingle with his thanks giving to the Most High God his grateful recollections of its founder that wandering boy, who, having no earthly father to comfort and to guide, became a child of God a 219 KITTY GRAFTON. 129 steward of the poor a benefactor of man kind. Such was Elkanah Grafton. " Having long since despaired of my best efforts, when directly employed upon that miserable woman, whom we saw this morn ing, I have sometimes induced other persons to convey to her the tidings of God's kind and merciful dealings with her children. She has but one commentary on such occa sions < They'll all be drunkards.' Every thing is done to render her situation comfort able. Efforts were made, by her son's direc tions, to repair the cottage, and put the estate in better order ; but she expressed so much displeasure, and even anger, that I ordered the workmen to desist. She told them, if they repaired it, her children, when they became drunkards, would certainly tear it to pieces. She is desperate, as I told you before. This word is often used in a violent sense ; I do not so intend it. She is without hope, and, of course, without happiness. It was once far otherwise she and her husband were 19 1G KITTY GRAFTON 220 among the happiest of that class of my parish ioners, whose happiness was vested in mere earthly joys and possessions ; and I truly be lieve, that, such as it was, that happiness might have continued, unimpaired, to the present hour if Ethan Grafton's cider had not been equal to wine"