SOME one has said that it is hard to live under the shadow of a great name. It has been my great privilege and happiness to live, not under the shadow, but in the light of two honored names, those of my father and mother. They were honored and beloved because of their own love for and service to their fellow-men.
My father was nearly eighteen years older than my mother. He had had the responsibility and care of his young blind pupils for ten years before his marriage. Hence he was well fitted to take an active part in our training, especially as he dearly loved children. The absence in Europe, for more than a year, of my mother and the two younger children, Harry6 and Laura, brought Julia and myself under his care when we were respectively five and six years old. We thus early formed the habit of close companionship with him, to which, as the elder, we had special claim. Indeed, we all followed him about to such a degree that he once exclaimed jestingly, “Why, if I went and sat in the barn I believe you children would all follow me!”
The housekeeper7 who was with us in these early years would sometimes say, “You do not know what a good father you have.” Of course we did not. We knew that “Papa” made us his companions whenever he could possibly do so. We knew that as “a good physician” he bound up our small wounds and cared for us when we were sick. We knew that if we did wrong we must expect his firm yet gentle rebuke3. Did he not tell me about a naughty little devil I had swallowed, bidding me open my mouth so that he could get hold of its tail and pull it out? Lessons of thrift8 and generosity9 he early inculcated. We received a penny for every horseshoe and for every pound of old iron we picked up about the place.
He constantly sent, by our hands, gifts of the delicious fruit of the garden to our schoolmates and to the blind children.
When our mother played the most delightful10 tunes11 for us to dance, Papa would join in the revels12, occasionally pleading “a bone in his leg” as an excuse for stopping. Together they planned and carried out all sorts of schemes for our amusement and that of our little friends.
When, at a child’s party in midwinter, fireworks suddenly appeared outside the parlor13 window, the great kindness of our parents in doing so much for our amusement began to dawn upon my childish mind. Indeed, the Howe juvenile14 parties were thought very delightful by others besides ourselves.
Our parents told us stories of their youth, in which we were greatly interested. My father must have been a very small boy when he was alarmed by the Howe coat of arms—three bears with their tongues out. I fancy he came across this vision in the attic15 and that it was banished16 there by Grandfather Howe, who was a true Democrat17.
Father also told us that the family was supposed to be related to that of Lord Howe. I find the same statement made in Farmer’s genealogy18 of the descendants of “John Howe of Watertown freeman 1640, son of John Howe of Hodinhull Warwickshire.”
Anecdotes19 of his school-days showed that my father, despite his feelings in the presence of the three bears, was a very courageous20 boy. At Latin School the master whipped him for some small fault, but could not succeed in his amiable21 intention of making the child cry, “though he whipped my hand almost to jelly.” His Federalist schoolmates were as brutal1 as their master. Because Sam Howe, almost the only Democrat in school, refused to abandon his principles, they threw him down-stairs.
Grandfather Howe lost a great deal of money by the failure of the United States government to pay him for the ropes and cordage which he, as a patriotic22 Democrat, supplied to them in large quantities during the War of 1812. Hence, when his son went to college, young Sam Howe helped to pay his way by teaching school in vacation. The country lads, some of whom were bigger than he, thought they could get the better of the new schoolmaster. He restored order by the simple but sometimes necessary process of knocking down the ringleader. The handsome young collegian found more difficulty in managing the girls!
He must have been very young when he assured his sister that the pump had a very agreeable taste on a frosty morning. The confiding23 girl followed his suggestion, but found it difficult to remove her tongue from the cold iron.
Among his many pranks24 at college, the most original was a nocturnal visit to a fellow-collegian who had a store of good things in his room. “Sam” Howe entered the window as a ghost and carried off a turkey. When the unfortunate owner of the feast waked up and looked out of the window, he saw a dim white figure rising in the air. Later on, the bones of the bird neatly25 picked were laid in front of his door. The boy was greatly worried and fully26 convinced that some supernatural being had visited his room. The affair so preyed27 on his mind that his fellow-students finally explained the joke.
Strange to say, my father did not have much patience with his son when brother Harry displayed at Harvard the same kind of mischievous28 ingenuity29. They had both inherited this quality from Grandfather Howe if we may judge by the following story.
Having promised to pay Sammy a penny for every rat he caught, the old gentleman surreptitiously withdrew the rodents30 from the trap. But Sammy was quite equal to the occasion. He parried by making the same animal serve for several mornings, until his father exclaimed, “Sammy, that rat begins to smell!”
Grandfather Howe was very fond of building, a taste inherited by his descendants. When there was a question of his erecting31 a house on her property, his second wife said to him, “But your children would never permit it.” The old gentleman’s wavering resolve at once became fixed32. He had no notion of listening to dictation from his sons and daughters. So he built the house, which, of course, became the property of our step-grandmother and went ultimately to her heirs, instead of to his own descendants, the Howes.
My father always cherished the memory of his own mother, Patty Gridley, who was a very beautiful woman, of a lovely and sympathetic nature.
He liked to see his daughters sitting at their needlework. “It reminds me of my mother,” he would say. He could not bear to see bread wasted, because of her early teachings of thrift. On the top of his father’s house, there had been a cask or vat33 into which the lees of wine were thrown and left to ferment34 into vinegar.
With our mother, also, we had a delightful comradeship. Having been brought up with undue35 strictness herself, she resolved that her children should not suffer in the same way. Hence we had a happy familiarity with our parents; yet we felt their superiority to ourselves. Mother taught us many things, after the fashion of mothers—lessons in the conduct of life and in social observance, of course. To be considerate of others, to enjoy small and simple pleasures, to take good things in moderation—these were a part of her philosophy. If we made a noise after the baby was asleep, we instantly heard her whispered warning, “Hush!” Indeed, it was an offense36 in her eyes to disturb any one’s rest.
Her efforts to teach us punctuality were not altogether successful. There were dreadful moments when sister Julia and I were so late in dressing37 for a party that Mamma would be reduced almost to despair. Sister Laura saw these things and, being a wise little maiden38, resolved that when her turn came to go into society she would be punctual. She carried out her resolution.
When we were old enough, our mother took us to the Church of the Disciples39, by my father’s desire. He himself went only occasionally, but then Papa had a church of his own, which we sometimes attended. In the great hall of the Institution for the Blind, he held at six o’clock every morning a brief service for the pupils. The deep reverence40 of his voice as he read a lesson from the Bible, the solemn tones of the organ, the sweetness and beauty of the fresh young voices as the blind larks41 suddenly burst forth42 into their morning hymn43 of praise, were things never to be forgotten. Truly Papa’s church was not like any other!
Many stories of her young days we heard from our mother. They were different in many ways from our own happy and athletic44 childhood. It is true that, like ourselves, she belonged to a family of six brothers and sisters, who had merry times together. But the great misfortune of losing her mother shadowed her young life. Aunt Eliza Cutler (afterward Mrs. Francis), who took, as far as she was able, the latter’s place, was most conscientious45 in fulfilling her duties. But she was very strict with her young charges. Witness the story of the little girl whom Julia invited to tea. After this rash act her courage completely failed her. She did not dare bring her visitor down-stairs, and sat miserably46 waiting the course of events. The delay seemed to her interminable, but at length a message was sent up, coldly inviting47 “Miss Ward,” as she was called even in childhood, to bring her friend down to tea. She never repeated the offense.
Our mother was very fond of her grandmother Cutler, who spent the last years of her life under her son-in-law’s roof. She was a woman of literary tastes as well as of personal charm. The niece of General Francis Marion, the “Swamp Fox,” Grandma Cutler possessed48 a goodly share of spirit. Thus when Wemyss, the biographer of Washington and Marion, dined at the home of Grandfather Ward, Mrs. Cutler took the careless historian to task:
“Mr. Wemyss, how is it that you say in your Life of the General that you have never heard what became of his sister Esther, my mother?”
The old lady was a flaming Huguenot, as her letters show.
I fear that, despite the fact that she had been a belle49 in the Revolutionary period, she took snuff. Our mother told us that the Ward family carriage was in the habit of stopping at “Lorillard’s,” then a small tobacco-shop, to buy great-grandmother’s favorite brand—this, if I remember aright, was Maccaboy.
In our mother’s story of her early life the dominating figure was that of her father, Samuel Ward, the third of the name. She fully recognized his great affection for his children and his almost painful desire to shield them from all evil. Evidently to Grandfather Ward “the world, the flesh, and the devil” were not outworn features of a half-forgotten creed50, but dreadful realities. He was as liberal in giving money to good causes as he was illiberal51 in his religious views. During a period of hard times (perhaps in 1837), he suggested to our mother that they should take care of the conservatory52 themselves, sending away the gardener.
“For I will not cut down my charities,” quoth Grandfather Ward.
He left a large fortune for those days, but it was a good deal diminished by the management of his brother, who did not understand real estate. The Grange, formerly53 the property of Alexander Hamilton, was a part of it. The Ward family desired to have this sold to a great-uncle, for the nominal54 price of ten thousand dollars. My father very properly protested, yielding in the end, for the sake of peace. Some twenty-five years later it was worth one or two million dollars, but the family were unable to hold it after the panic of Black Friday, September, 1869.
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1
brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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rebuke
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| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
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rebukes
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| 责难或指责( rebuke的第三人称单数 ) | |
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ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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housekeeper
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| n.管理家务的主妇，女管家 | |
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thrift
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| adj.节约，节俭；n.节俭，节约 | |
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generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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tunes
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| n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调 | |
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12
revels
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| n.作乐( revel的名词复数 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉v.作乐( revel的第三人称单数 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉 | |
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13
parlor
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| n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅 | |
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juvenile
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| n.青少年，少年读物；adj.青少年的，幼稚的 | |
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attic
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| n.顶楼，屋顶室 | |
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banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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democrat
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| n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员 | |
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genealogy
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| n.家系，宗谱 | |
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anecdotes
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| n.掌故，趣闻，轶事( anecdote的名词复数 ) | |
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courageous
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| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
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amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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patriotic
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| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
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confiding
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| adj.相信人的，易于相信的v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的现在分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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pranks
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| n.玩笑，恶作剧( prank的名词复数 ) | |
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neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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preyed
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| v.掠食( prey的过去式和过去分词 )；掠食；折磨；（人）靠欺诈为生 | |
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mischievous
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| adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的 | |
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ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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rodents
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| n.啮齿目动物( rodent的名词复数 ) | |
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erecting
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| v.使直立，竖起( erect的现在分词 )；建立 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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vat
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| n.(=value added tax)增值税，大桶 | |
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ferment
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| vt.使发酵；n./vt.（使）激动，（使）动乱 | |
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undue
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| adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的 | |
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offense
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| n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪 | |
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dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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disciples
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| n.信徒( disciple的名词复数 )；门徒；耶稣的信徒；（尤指）耶稣十二门徒之一 | |
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reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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41
larks
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| n.百灵科鸟（尤指云雀）( lark的名词复数 )；一大早就起床；鸡鸣即起；（因太费力而不想干时说）算了v.百灵科鸟（尤指云雀）( lark的第三人称单数 )；一大早就起床；鸡鸣即起；（因太费力而不想干时说）算了 | |
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42
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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hymn
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌 | |
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44
athletic
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| adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的 | |
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conscientious
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| adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的 | |
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miserably
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| adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地 | |
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inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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48
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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49
belle
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| n.靓女 | |
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creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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illiberal
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| adj.气量狭小的，吝啬的 | |
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conservatory
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| n.温室，音乐学院；adj.保存性的，有保存力的 | |
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53
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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nominal
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| adj.名义上的；(金额、租金)微不足道的 | |
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