Blanche Sellers Ortmann

“ This the old House foresaw, and it opened wide its portals to welcome a Northern family. Being all-wise, it knew that all men are brothers and that between them, God’s finest handiwork, there should be no dissension. This should be left for the dwellers of the under-worlds, that are not so high on the ladder of life as is man.
Never does the old House hold its head quite so high as when the pink-coated horsemen gather with their hounds and thoroughbreds for a cross-country run. ”

“ The red-brown varnish spread on smoothly, filling every pore of the wood without stiffening the vibrations that were to [44] sound through the world for centuries, and under loving fingers tell in a volume of tone the heart story of each successive owner of the violin.
Here I have been for years, hanging in my green bag from a rusty nail in the attic, forgotten and neglected by man, my only friends and companions the fairies that come and dance in the moonlight on the attic floor. It was they who told me of the happy bride that awaited her bridegroom’s coming in the quiet old house beneath me. ”

“ Never again shall I be neglected, but shall live in light and sunshine, vibrating happiness in this world, and foretelling the wonders and beauties of the world to come, where there are no green bags, no rusty nails or long, tiresome intervals of waiting for my master’s hand to play upon my finger board and make my sounding posts dance with joy.
My master’s soul told me of his journeys to other planets, and of his longing to return to earth to fulfill all his dreams and do the good he had left undone, and how with my help he now hoped to reach the heart of man. ”

“ When you are favored with a peep into his nest, you think it a strange place to keep quinine pills, for the resemblance between these and the little eggs is very striking, both having the same shape, size, and color. I dislike to think of this lovely dream-like bird as one of the most bloodthirsty of the feathered tribe, but a fight between two humming birds always means death to one, for their long bills are as sharp as darning needles, and they are expert fencers. ”

“ The old House looks down approvingly on the happy company, for it has come into its own, sheltering in these later days kind, cheery people that respect its past glories and love its present homelike spirit, for to them its every stick and stone spell Home. ”

“ Their little beady eyes notice my every motion, and they show off by bullying and chasing the hedge sparrows we meet in our walk, seeming to say: “Get out of our way, you disrespectful birds. Don’t you see the Mistress out for a walk?” The poor little hedge sparrows hurry and scurry to the nearest tree, cocking their tiny heads to one side, as if saying: “Why all this excitement? She’s not so much!” ”

“ And when the moon rises, the plaintive call of the whip-poor-will comes up from the glen. He is a solitary fellow, never coming near the house, although I feel he serves with the nightingale as a night watchman.
[27] I find myself growing sleepy, and as I glance over to the Boxwood Flats, it is apparent that for hours the occupants have been asleep, dreaming of the early worm and of the happy sunshine that to-morrow holds for them.
Good night, my friends. May there be another day for us to meet and enjoy ourselves. We are all a part of the great scheme, each a cog in the wheel of Destiny. ”

“ Ghosts of horsemen can fairly be seen riding hurriedly in every direction, indignant at such intrusion, while the red brick walk, with its border of boxwood, scorns the noisy intruder with its brass lamps all a-shining, and tells of the days when the stately coach with its load of pretty maids and matrons all a-flutter passed by on its weekly trip to town. ”

“ Man is prying into the secrets of your lives and habits, endeavoring to solve the mystery of your migratory flight. Where did you obtain the knowledge of the compass which enables you, after a journey of hundreds of miles, to find the very tree that last year held your nest? ”

“ Whenever she walks [23] across the lawn in the direction of the flats, they dart down in front of her nose with a cry half of fear and half of play. They always fly away from the nest, flopping on the ground as if hurt, to attract the dog’s attention, and leading her by stratagem to the farther end of the garden. Then, with a tantalizing chirp, they fly back to their nest.
When the shadows grow long, the proud parents take the little ones out for a lesson in flying. ”

“ During that autumn I was shipped down to my master’s estate in Virginia, where the horses are all trained for fox hunting and not for speed. I enjoyed a few runs, but the hunters do not know what this sport is; their game evidently is not to see how fast they can go or how high they can jump, but how close they can keep to the dogs without stepping on them. It always makes me angry to be held in, so I do not make good as a hunter. Moreover, I have developed a cough, which makes it hard for me to breathe, and being infectious, compels me to spend my days alone in an open field. ”

“ Because of the spirit of dissension still harbored in the hearts of our people, for many years the South [15] has been crippled and disheartened and North and South have been divided. Time alone can heal these differences and make us one again. ”

“ I stretched myself very close to the ground, making no false moves, and the earth danced away under my flying feet. My jockey clung to the snaffle and never used the whip. I could hear the other horses coming after me, breathing and snorting, their jockeys all using whips and spurs. By this time I had but one thought—to keep in the lead and to win, win, win! As we turned the half-mile post my jockey put his whip on me. This angered me, for I was only waiting to come a little nearer the field so the finish would be more [35] brilliant before my master. ”

“ The [22] families in the other flats all take a hand in reproving the gentleman for his carelessness, and it takes many minutes ere all is peaceful and quiet again.
The green opening or door of the robin flat is large and much worn, for the husky baby robins eat their weight in worms each day, and keep their loving parents more than busy coming and going with their bills full of goodies. The catbird has time to sit on his doorstep and sing to his little wife in modest gown of Quaker gray, encouraging her to stay on her nest. ”

“ But his little wife lived her life happily content, performing all her duties and fulfilling her destiny as ordained, and at the end passing on to a higher stage, working that out, then passing on to higher and still higher stages, until at last she became a human soul in the form of a happy little child. ”

“ It was humiliating at times to have to run with the ordinary park hacks one meets on the bridle paths; but for my master’s sake, for my master was always good to me, I would hold back and try to make it “sporty” coming in at the finish. ”