A Bloodsmoor romance: Joyce Carol Oates's little women

Mrs. … made every effort to keep her little girls as merry as possible; and to prevent them from dwelling o'er much upon the fact that their beloved father was absent and risking his precious life, that the Union should not be dissolved. Of course the little girls and their mother prayed together, on their knees, at least thrice daily; but, in the evenings, they greatly enjoyed themselves, gathered around the piano. … How warm, how merry, how delightful, these evenings in the parlor, so very long ago)