"Friend Mitchenor" and "Moses" were not difficult to
learn, but it seemed a want of respect to address as "Abigail" a
woman of such sweet and serene dignity as the mother, and he was
fain to avoid either extreme by calling her, with her cheerful
permission, "Aunt Mitchenor." On the other hand, his own modest
and unobtrusive nature soon won the confidence and cordial regard
of the family. He occasionally busied himself in the garden, by
way of exercise, or accompanied Moses to the corn-field or the
woodland on the hill, but was careful never to interfere at
inopportune times, and willing to learn silently, by the simple
process of looking on.
One afternoon, as he was idly sitting on the stone wall which
separated the garden from the lane, Asenath, attired in a new gown
of chocolate-colored calico, with a double-handled willow work-
basket on her arm, issued from the house. As she approached him,
she paused and said--
"The time seems to hang heavy on thy hands, Richard. If thee's
strong enough to walk to the village and back, it might do thee
more good than sitting still.
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