Looking Back: An AutobiographyRichardson, Merrick Abner
History
Looking Back: An Autobiography
Richardson, Merrick Abner
Richardson, Merrick Abner, 1841-
E. Y. Fisk and his son now possess the historical property. The son
from Springfield, who was haying there at the time, invited us and all
the other Richardson tribe to come and camp on the homestead grounds,
sit on the old walls, gaze over the western mountains and even coquet
with the star Venus evenings, all of which look now the same as when
our ancestors saw them 200 years ago.
That day, July 19, 1916, with those girls, viewing the scenes and
taking pictures of the surroundings, imprinted on my mind an oasis of
beauty ever awaiting recall as I journey over the trackless sands of
time.
The present seemed to pass away as the past unfolded its charms while
we were reminded of the long ago.
Sacredly we listened to the voice of Mother Mary calling Winnie from
the kitchen door, saw the men in homespun shirts and trousers coming up
from the meadow below. Heard the careless boy whistling while unyoking
the lazy oxen. Saw old dog Towser sleeping in the shade. And in the
pasture far away we seemed to hear the faint tinkling of the cow bell
on the brindle steer.
Day dreams, says one.
Imagination, says another.
May it not be that when death removes this earthly garment, we will
again realize that the past, present, and future are one.
If the image of the face before me now is the retention of the face
I saw yesterday, may not all fiction, invention and imagination be
retention of occurences we can only recall in parts?
The power of recall is mysterious. If we dream of the dead as living
when we know that they are dead, but we cannot recall that which we
know, may we not know of pre-existence but lack the power to recall?
Thus Lina, Joe and myself spent a happy summer day on the New England
hills, which we will pleasantly recall when the cold winds of winter
rattle the doors and windows and we are hugging the radiators.
JIM HALL
During the days of the New England pioneers our early church had more
trouble in evolutionizing Christianity from bigotry than in driving
the red man from his native lair. Therefore, as the records show my
ancestors to have been entangled in this muss, I have arranged, in this
family record, and the story of my life, the story of Winnie and Jim.
One warm May evening, in 1693, a stranger, who said his name was James
Hall, appeared at the door of Deacon Felker's home in Stafford, Conn.,
and applied for a job. His face betokened firmness, his speech was
clear and distinct, while a tinge of sadness seemed to pervade his
distant smile.
He claimed to be a good chopper and, as the deacon was now clearing up
his future home in the New England wilderness, he soon bargained with
Jim for all the season.
Hall soon became a favorite in the colony, broke all the unruly steers,
saddled the ugly colts, collared Bill Jones, the terror of the town,
and thrashed him soundly; but did not attend church until the influence
of Winnie Richardson changed hatred to forgiveness.
LOVE SPATS
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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