a chain of diamonds and much more fitness. Betty, in her
striped blue-and-white chintz, a clean dimity petticoat, and a blue
ribbon round her short brown curls, looked like a cabbage rosebud--so
sturdy and wholesome and rosy that no more delicate symbol suits her.

Obed was dreadful in the old-fashioned costume of coat and breeches,
ill-fitting and shiny with wear, and his freckled face and round shock head
of tan-coloured hair thrown into full relief by a big, square collar of
coarse tatten lace laid out on his shoulders like a barber's towel, and
illustrating the great red ears that stood out at right angles above it.
But Obed was only a boy. He was not expected to be more than clean and
speechless; and, to tell the truth, Eben, being in the hobbledehoy stage of
boyhood--gaunt, awkward, and self-sufficient--rather surpassed his small
brother in unpleasant aspect and manner. But who would look at the boys
when Dolly stood beside them, as she did now, tall and slender, with the
free grace of an untrammelled figure, her small head erect, her eyes dark
and soft as a deer's, neatly clothed feet (not too small for her height)
peeping from under the black lutestring petticoat, and her glowing brunette
complexion set off by the picturesque buff-and-garnet chintz gown, while
her round throat and arms were shaded by delicate gauze and snowy lace,
and about her neck lay her mother's gold beads, now and then tangling in
the heavy black curls that, tied high on her head with a garnet ribbon,
still dropped in rich luxuriance to her trim waist.

The family approved of Dolly, no doubt, though their phrases of
flattery were as homely as heartfelt.

"Orful slick-lookin', ain't she?" confided Joe to Eben; while sinful
Sam shrieked out: "Land o' Goshen! ain't our Dolly smart? Shan't I
fetch Sylvester over?"

For which I regret to state Dolly smartly boxed his ears.

But the pung was ready, and Sam's howls had to die out uncomforted.
With many parting charges from Hannah about the fires and fowls, the
cow, the hasty pudding, already put on for its long boil, and the
turkey that hung from a string in front of the fire and must be
watched well, since it was the Thanksgiving dinner, the "weddingers,"
as Joe called them, were well packed in with blankets and hot stones
and set off on their long drive.

The day was fair and bright, the fields of snow purely dazzling; but
the cold was fearful, and in spite of all their wraps, the keen win