. Recollections of Auton House .. . piece of preserved ginger, thesyrup of which had run under the bottom of the whip-glass andstuck the same to the heap of raisins, two figs,one heart and round, oneglass of calfs-foot jelly, threeor four sentiments, with tells rolled up in them, andfour prunes. The prospect of these goodthings made us hail with de-light every one of MotherAutons parties. Once, on acold December night when thethermometer was at zero, andthe carriage-wheels creaked on the snow, occurred quite an excitingevent. The back drawing-room fire-place was piled up with logs tomu
. Recollections of Auton House .. . piece of preserved ginger, thesyrup of which had run under the bottom of the whip-glass andstuck the same to the heap of raisins, two figs,one heart and round, oneglass of calfs-foot jelly, threeor four sentiments, with tells rolled up in them, andfour prunes. The prospect of these goodthings made us hail with de-light every one of MotherAutons parties. Once, on acold December night when thethermometer was at zero, andthe carriage-wheels creaked on the snow, occurred quite an excitingevent. The back drawing-room fire-place was piled up with logs tomultiply the heat. There was neither gas nor furnace in thoseclays, and people had to rely upon hickory wood and wax candlesfor bodily comfort. The great halls of houses were cold as Green-land. Everybodys back was goose-flesh, while everybodys facewas red-hot. That night in particular the wood was piled up, andits yellow glare shot out into every portion of the remember among the company a Southern lady who. 56 RECOLLECTIONS OF AUTON HOUSE. wore a crimson velvet gown trimmed with white lace, and ownedlots of darkies. Suddenly there was a cry of fire ! The wood-work in the middle chamber, just above us, had ignited from theheat of the chimney below. There was an immediate commotionamong the fair dames and lordly cavaliers, who rushed up the frontstairway in order to save the ladies wraps, — their green silk calashes,and ungainly india-rubbers, their long yarn stockings to drawover the silk ones, and their satin-wadded pelisses, — which were piledup in elegant confusion on the middle chamber bed. There was only a voluntary fire department inthose days. Every boys father waseither a fire-ward or a captain inthe bucket-brigade ; so when thealarm was sounded the old leathernbuckets which hung in the glass-house were snatched from theirfastenings and brought into imme-diate requisition. Beautiful women, with jeweled fin-gers and dresses tucked back, stood
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookidrecollectionsofa00hopp2
