The story of my life ; or, The sunshine and shadow of seventy years / by Mary A. Livermore ... with hitherto unrecorded incidents and recollections of three years' experience as an army nurse in the great Civil War, and reminiscences of twenty-five years' experiences on the lecture platform ... to which is added six of her most popular lectures ... with portraits and one hundred and twenty engravings from designs by eminent artists ...

604

THE STORY OF MY LIFE.

anniversary of our marriage came on the sixth of May, 1895.
It was our intention to observe the day quietly, with our
children and grandchildren, sisters, nephews, and nieces, who
are living in Melrose. Our friends and neighbors objected,
and insisted on a larger celebration of the occasion, when
"the latch-string should hang out" for all friends and
acquaintances who might choose to come. We yielded our
preferences, and in the end were not sorry that our friends
overruled us. The following description of our "golden
wedding" is copied from the Woman's and the Melrose
Journals.
In their pleasant home in Melrose, surrounded by green lawns and
trees just bursting into leaf, with a charming view in the rear of Crystal
Lake, was celebrated on Monday, May 6th, the fiftieth anniversary of the
wedding day of Rev Daniel Parker and Mary Ashton Livermore.
The day was golden with sunshine, and the house, open to catch the
breeze, was filled with flowers in which yellow predominated.
The town was in gala mood, and from the Town Hall, the fire engine
house, and the schoolhouses, the stars and stripes were floated.
It had been the intention to issue cards of invitation for the anniversary
reception, but as the list of names ran up into the thousands, before
a "good beginning " had been made, it was decided to make the affair informal, and invite "all the United States "- that is, "all the people in the
United States who cared to come."
From two o'clock until seven in the afternoon, the house was thronged
with guests. Standing in front of the bay window, banked with roses
and palms, the wedded couple of fifty years ago received their friends, and
revived their youthful enthusiasm, amid the cordial expressions of love and
good will that were showered upon them.
In the sitting-room at the right, beautiful and numerous gifts were
exhibited, while in the dining-room, handsomely decorated, a bevy of
lovely girls served refreshments. Mr. John O. Norris and his wife,
Mrs. Henrietta Livermore Norris, the daughter and son-in-law of Mr.
and Mrs. Livermore, were the master and mistress of ceremonies on this
occasion.
The school-children of Melrose are great admirers of Mrs. Livermore.
One of the handsome schoolhouses of the town has been named for her,
and a bronze tablet inserted in the stone work of the building, bears the
legend, " Mary A. Livermore School." At two o'clock arrived a committee