Annals of our ancestors; one hundred and fifty years of history in the ...

126 ANNALS OF OUR ANCESTORS
did not sing, though she Hked to hear others do so; her favorite
hymn was the grand "Coronation" — "All hail the power of
Jesus' name!" Father's favorite was "How firm a founda-
tion." I seem to hear again that rich voice of his as the old
songs rolled forth from his lips out on the back porch, where
he rocked back and forth, holding close the little nestling
figure. One of his lullabies was:
The chariot, the chariot, its wheels roll in fire
As the Lord cometh down in the pomp of his ire!
Lo, self-moving it drives on its pathway of cloud,
And the heav'ns with the power of the God-head are bowed!
The judgment, the judgment, the thrones are all set
And the Lamb and the white vested elders are met!
I can remember no more of the words, but the full voice I do
not forget as it resounded under the walnut tree and rolled
out over almost the entire neighborhood. As he sang the last
line my childish imagination saw a long line of elders standing
wearing white vests
Our little sister early showed signs of mental brightness,
and mother took pains in teaching her, for she rewarded every
effort. We record an incident of her little girlhood when, in
talking to a child of one of the neighbors, she used the word
"disagreeable." " 'Disagreeable, disagreeable'!" mocked the
playmate; "that is one of your mother's big words!" At our
table when a word was brought in question as to pronunciation
or meaning, two members of the family would usually rush to
the dictionaries; we children turned to Webster's, and if that
authority did not coincide with father's opinion he showed us
in Worcester's dictionary, for he took this as the final word
in English.
In the springtime of her life our little sister made a pro-
fession of religion. She had gone with father to Antioch to
an August meeting, and I remember how she ran to meet me
on their return, telling me that she had been baptized. She
was the first of us children to take this step, though the young-
est of us all. Her example was good, and gentleness was a
strong point in her character. However, her gentleness and
tenderness did not grow out of an easy or languid tempera-