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222
A New England Girlhood, Outlined from Memory (Beverly, MA)
·
Lucy Larcom
16
"The
cheerfu'
supper
done,
wi'
serious
face
They
round
the
ingle
form
a
circle
wide:
The
sire
turns
o'er,
wi'
patriarchal
grace,
The
big
ha'
Bible,
ance
his
father's
pride."
A
grave,
thoughtful
face
his
was,
lifted
up
so
grandly
amid
that
blooming
semicircle
of
boys
and
girls,
all
gathered
silently
in
the
glow
of
the
ruddy
firelight!
The
great
family
Bible
had
the
look
upon
its
leathern
covers
of
a
book
that
bad
never
been
new,
and
we
honored
it
the
more
for
its
apparent
age.
Its
companion
was
the
Westminster
Assembly's
and
Shorter
Catechism,
out
of
which
my
father
asked
us
questions
on
Sabbath
afternoons,
when
the
tea-table
had
been
cleared.
He
ended
the
exercise
with
a
prayer,
standing
up
with
his
face
turned
toward
the
wall.
My
most
vivid
recollection
of
his
living
face
is
as
I
saw
it
reflected
in
a
mirror
while
he
stood
thus
praying.
His
closed
eyes,
the
paleness
and
seriousness
of
his
countenance,
awed
me.
I
never
forgot
that
look.
I
saw
it
but
once
again,
when,
a
child
of
six
or
seven
years,
I
was
lifted
to
a
footstool
beside
his
coffin
to
gaze
upon
his
face
for
the
last
time.
It
wore
the
same
expression
that
it
did
in
prayer;
paler,
but
no
longer
care-worn;
so
peaceful,
so
noble!
They
left
me
standing
there
a
long
time,
and
I
could
not
take
my
eyes
away.
I
had
never
thought
my
father's
face
a
beautiful
one
until
then,
but
I
believe
it
must
have
been
so,
always.
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