|
My mother's
maiden name was Ruth Bennett. The Bennetts lived in Wayland
just beyond the Weston Town Line at the corner of
Plain Road and the Post Road. The main portion of
their house was torn down some years ago but the diningroom-kitchen wing
is still standing behind a gasoline station and
liquor store. My grandfather Bennett died before my time, and
until his death the family spent summers in Wayland and winters
in Boston. At the time of his death they were living at 93 Beacon
Street, a large brownstone house facing the Public Garden. My
grandmother's father, Judge Edward Mellen, owned a house in Wayland
Village as well as the little law office there.
My grandmother was well-read, very proper and quite easily shocked.
When I had become old enough to delve into the classics I noticed a set
of Fielding on her shelf which seemed out of keeping with her
strict sense of propriety. I asked her if she considered Tom Jones a
good book. "Yes," she replied, "but
of course there are parts we're not meant to read." |