Page:Letters of Life.djvu/161

Rh it is to be hoped, unconsciously exclaimed, "You lie!" And the illusion was dissolved.

Mrs. J. Lathrop survived her husband many years, and, until past the age of ninety, retained her active habits and mental capacity unimpaired.

Three children appertained to this branch of the Lathrop dynasty. The eldest, Thomas, evidently inherited the energy of his mother. He possessed a laudable ambition to sustain the dignity of an unsullied aristocracy. No equipage was so conspicuous as his, no horses so fine, no harnesses so lustrous, no carriages of such immaculate neatness and taste. An elegant mansion rose at his word, on a commanding eminence. To our more plebeian eyes it was like that of "Peveril of the Peak." Two sons and five daughters enjoyed and beautified this attractive abode. The eldest, who bore the name of her distinguished great-aunt, seemed to partake of her excellences. So many elements of consistency and moral beauty did she reveal, that mothers said to their daughters, and teachers to their pupils, "Do and be like Jerusha Lathrop." A child, who was perhaps too often reproved by comparison or contrast with so perfect a model, replied petulantly, "I wish there wa'n't no Rush' Lotrup. I'm tired out of the sound." Similar was the sentiment of the Athenian peasant, who desired to vote for the banishment of Aristides, because he was tired of hearing him always called "the Just."