Utica Free Academy - Academician Yearbook (Utica, NY)

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,. , , .,, ,I pi, '.,,,,- - ,gr-,zfjp ai ' traits of those who had been, during their life-time, masters or mistresses of The Elms, and in surrounding cabinets, were treasures of each generation, a bit of old rare china from one, ga silk fan from another, a sword from another, and so on. There was even a tiny pair of hand-embroidered mocassins .and a bag of bead-work in one compartment, testifying to the tastes of some early Ainsworth dame. ' I i There was one conspicuosly blank spaceon the wall, to which I could not help calling my friend 's attention, inasmuch as every other available inch, was utilized, andin fact' the pictures from the last two generations had been hung in a little .adjoining room, containing, for the most part, old records and documents. 5 Ah, said my friend, Hthat blank space is kept- in' our family hall, in loving remembrance 'of one who should have been mistress of 'The Elmsf but upon whom the shadow of a terrible superstition fell, causing her to be an alienfrom friendsand family. You must be weary of looking and examin- ing, sit down here before the fire-place and I will tell you all that I know of Charity Ainsworth, who alas, never succeeded to her true position in the history of this house. 7 ' . So there, lost in the comfortable recesses of a great leather :arm-chair, before the curious old fire-place, where the dancing light and shadow ofa roaring fireseemed to reveal all the ancient secrets and treasures of the weird room, I was carried back, by my friend's narrative, to a time of early colonial struggles, and frontier hardships, before even the shadow' of .a separation between Great Britain, and the colonies-to that black year of 1692, the saddest in the whole history of New England. Charity Ainsworth was the only child of most intelligent :and loving parents, loving, yet possessing all the strictness of the Puritans, who lived in the fear of God and the rightousness of man. A I-Ier childhood and girlhood had been comparatively free from hardships which many had encountered, and up to her sixteenth year ,but one cloud had darkened her horizon. That was the loss of her friend and comrade from babyhood, Philip ...gg-

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The Absent Portrait H HE winter of 18- had been a most trying one for me in theprofession. Never had the hospitals been more- crowded, nor 'had the cases seemed more hopelessly intricate, and much as I loved the work, the awful strain was telling. on me. So it was, that, when a letter. arrived from old r ' 'college chum, Richard Ainsworth, inviting me to spend a Couple of months with him at his old home near Salem, I gladly accepted the much-needed opportunity for rest and recreation, besides being delighted at the prospect of seeing my old friend, Dick, again., , The Ainsworths' place had proved to be a large, well-kept farm, known as The Elms, with a magnificent, old-fashioned country-house, parts of which were almost two centuries old. The first two weeks of my stay 'had provided excellent weather, so that most of the time had been consumed out-of-doors, in long excursions, or simply delightful laziness. But at length one rainy day, when we were obliged to stay in doors, Dick planned for me a long-promised treat, a more thorough eX- amination of the curious old mansion, with its many nooks and hidden crannies, and in particular a minute inspection of the old library, with all the family relics it contained. T Accordingly I passed through massive and curious old chambers, revelled in the fine old works of art and the magnificent plate which were family heirlooms, and imbibed all the ancient beauty of the- place. . T But for beauty, richness, antiquity and historical interest, the library, with. its collection of books, old and new, its massive carved furniture, its family portraits and relics, was indeed a 'revelation to one who had always lived so much in the present as myself. With almost every portrait there was a story to relate, some characteristic of the individual, pleasing' or otherwise. The walls were covered entirely with the por- - I ' i201

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Wendover, who had disappeared from Salem Farms Seven years ago. g v He had been playing out in the woods one day with others of his own age, when in some unaccountable way he had strayed from the rest and become lost, deeper' and deeper in the woods. Nothing further was ever known' of him, and although the most careful search was made,'not even a corpse, or the foot-prints of a struggle remained to show his 'grief- stricken. parents and friends whether he had met his death through wild beasts or prowling Indians, or had died- of starvation, in the lonely woods. '4Such catastrophes were not unknown to the people of that period, and in the years that followed, the bitterness of first grief, was swallowed up almost in forgetfulness ofone who had been with them such a short time. But there was'o'ne in Salem Farms who never forgot her comrade Philip. lt was Charity Ainsworth, who, in spite of all indications tothe contrary, always hoped that her little friend still lived, and believed that she would ultimately see himuagain. Indeed so firmly was this conviction rooted in her heart, that she shunned the society of boys and young men, although by this time most of her girl friends had married, and even her parents would have liked. her to wed one of the many fine young men in the community. b l But Charity would listen to no suiter, so that one by one those who had been charmed by her sweet bright face and gentle manners, had left her to court more responsive maidens. Ambrose Graham, alone, of them all, was intensely passionate in his love, and ceaselessly importuned her to return his affection. He was, to all appearances a fine, handsome, manly young fellow, of good family and means, and highly desirable in all eyes but Charity's. She ,still remained true to her childish lover, and preferred a single life, to marriage with one whom she could not love. Since her people 's prosperity made it impossible for her ever to want, she determined to give her life for others, and especially 'to care for the sick and the poor. An old llldidll servant, who had worked for them many years had taught ..2'7.. .f .1 1 ' 'viffzzzrz iff J ?fiif5 fv i1 any