A Little Girl in Old Salem

A Little Girl in Old Salem, by
Amanda Minnie

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Minnie Douglas
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Title: A Little Girl in Old Salem
Author: Amanda Minnie Douglas

Release Date: March 1, 2007 [eBook #20722]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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GIRL IN OLD SALEM***
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A Little Girl in Old Salem
* * * * *
THE "LITTLE GIRL" SERIES
A LITTLE GIRL IN OLD NEW YORK. HANNAH ANN; A SEQUEL.
A LITTLE GIRL IN OLD BOSTON. A LITTLE GIRL IN OLD
PHILADELPHIA. A LITTLE GIRL IN OLD WASHINGTON. A
LITTLE GIRL IN OLD NEW ORLEANS. A LITTLE GIRL IN OLD
DETROIT. A LITTLE GIRL IN OLD ST. LOUIS. A LITTLE GIRL
IN OLD CHICAGO. A LITTLE GIRL IN OLD SAN FRANCISCO. A
LITTLE GIRL IN OLD QUEBEC. A LITTLE GIRL IN OLD
BALTIMORE.
* * * * *
A LITTLE GIRL IN OLD SALEM
by
AMANDA M. DOUGLAS

[Illustration]

New York Dodd, Mead and Company 1908
Copyright, 1908 by Dodd, Mead and Company
Published, September, 1908

CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE

I TWO LETTERS 1
II THE LITTLE GIRL 19
III A STRANGER, YET AT HOME 36
IV UNWELCOME 52
V MAKING FRIENDS WITH THE LITTLE GIRL 68
VI GOING TO SCHOOL 91
VII CHANGEFUL LIGHTS OF CHILDHOOD 108
VIII SORROW'S CROWN OF SORROW 128
IX LESSONS OF LIFE 143
X A NEW DEPARTURE 161
XI THE VOICE OF A ROSE 180
XII CHANGES IN THE OLD HOUSE 194
XIII A TASTE OF PLEASURE 213
XIV IN GAY OLD SALEM 231
XV LOVERS AND LOVERS 248
XVI PERILOUS PATHS 270
XVII THE FLOWERING OF THE SOUL 288
XVIII THE PASSING OF OLD SALEM 296
CHAPTER I
TWO LETTERS

The Leveretts were at their breakfast in the large sunny room in Derby
Street. It had an outlook on the garden, and beyond the garden was a
lane, well used and to be a street itself in the future. Then, at quite a
distance, a strip of woods on a rise of ground, that still further enhanced
the prospect. The sun slanted in at the windows on one side, there was
nothing to shut it out. It would go all round the house now, and seem to
end where it began, in the garden.
Chilian was very fond of it. He always brought his book to the table; he
liked to eat slowly, to gaze out and digest one or two thoughts at his
leisure, as well as the delightful breakfast set before him. He was a man
of delicate tastes and much refinement, for with all the New England
sturdiness, hardness one might say, there was in many families a strain
of what we might term high breeding. His face, with its clear-cut
features, indicated this. His hair was rather light, fine, with a few waves
in it that gave it a slightly tumbled look--far from any touch of disorder.
His eyes were a deep, clear blue, his complexion fair enough for a
woman.
His father and grandfather had lived and died in this house. He had
bought out his sister's share when she married, and she had gone to
Providence. He had asked the two relatives of his father--termed
cousins by courtesy--to continue housekeeping. They were the last of
their family and in rather straitened circumstances. Miss Elizabeth was
nearing sixty, tall, straight, fair, and rather austere-looking. Eunice was
two years younger, shorter, a trifle stouter, with a rounder face, and a
mouth that wore a certain sweetness when it did not actually smile.
Chilian was past thirty. He was a Harvard graduate, and now went in
two days each week for teaching classes. His father had left some
business interests in Salem, rather distasteful to him, but he was a
strictly conscientious person and attended to them, if with a sort of
mental protest. For the rest, he was a bookworm and revelled in
intellectual pursuits.
The day previous had been desperately stormy, this late March morning
was simply glorious. The mail, which came late in the afternoon, had
not been delivered, causing no uneasiness, as letters were not daily

visitors. But now the serving-man, with a gentle rap, opened the door
and said briefly:
"Letters."
Eunice rose and took them.
"An East Indian one for you, Chilian, and why--one from Boston--for
you, Elizabeth. It is Cousin Giles' hand."
Elizabeth reached