The Richmond palladium., 1865-02-23
Mrs. Biake's Visit to the White Noun
tains
BIZ CLARA AUGUSTA.

one too. ! dunno but what I've as good
a right to as any other individoal. /
! don't owe nobody nothing, except jim
I Hanson, the tin pedlar, for a strainer, ,
and I've got more'n rags enutf to settle
I with him-or shall have when | cut up
! Calebs cotton fannil shirts; and then
owe Tim Gorch's wife three cents for
Citing me pound of salleratus and not
making the change.
L could pay her now jest as well as not
if she q only take a siled postage stamp;
but she don't take stamps for fear the
post Office will bust up. Miss Gorch IS
/ the most cautionsest woman that ever
/ you see.
We had n hard summers work of it
| no mistake 1t makes my back ache to
/ think or it. Feed has been so poor on
account Of the dry weather, that the
cows has worked thirselves clean into
! skilIitons a keeping from starving, and
haint give no milk worth menshuning.
Butter has been SO skcerce and high,
that I've jest felt as if it was a sin to use
it common; and | haint allowed our
folks none sense last July To be shore,-
| allus have butter on the table-a plate
ful on it; but if anybody goes for to
tech of it, l just tread on their toes, and
give EN- look that stops proceedings at
once.
One plateful has lasted us all summer
l believe it's Citing lectle strong
now; but it'll have to do this month out,
/ guess.
Along, in June, sometime, Samuel
White he went up to the White Noun
tains; and when he got back, he had
more to tell than anybody that had been
to the North Pole need to have had.
All that he hadn't seen wouldn't have
paid for looking at.
He sot me into tilt to 90 and see for
myself
/ spoke to Betsey Jane, my oldest,
about it, but she only turned up her nose,
and sed I'd better stay at home. Betsey
is an awful hand to CAD about herself,
but she's never willing for me to stir out
side the threshold. She's afeard she
shall have to wash dishes. | never seed
anybody quite so afeard of sling their
hands as she is. She takes Il sight of
pains with 'em, and does EN- up III tat
tered rags every night of her life, to keep
'em smooth
But as it happens, | haint under Bet
sey James government yet, so | made
all my Preparations just as If she was
tickled to death with the idea of my go
ing.
The first of August sold ten chees-
es, that come to leetle rising seventy
five dollars.
/ went to Dover rite off, and bought me
a scarlet merino gownd-a yaller satin
bonnit, trimmed with blue and lalock-
colored roses; and the slic1est green
and blue shawl that ever you sot eyes on
to-
/ got me some new false hair-fOr
Jest between you and me, mine is so thin
can't do much of anything with it; and
then got .'rat' TO roll it over, SOS to
make me look like girl
After I'd got determined on going, |
went over and asked aunt Peggy Miles
to go with me. Sne sed she'd like
to. only she dassent 90 in the rail road,
for she should sartingly expect it TO blow
up and carry every man, woman, and
child with it, And as for a steamboat,
it would be sinful to tempt Providence
by Citing into one of them contrivances
of Satan. Aunt Peggy is a ieetle pc
cooliar in her ideas, but nice woman
for all of that.
So told her to fix herself to start in
two days and we'd go with the old mare.
She's nigh onto seventeen years old
the mare is-and haint had nothing but
oat straw to eat this summer, but she's
as spunky as Il colt, if you jest tech her
with the whip.
/ got some new shafts put into the
waggon-the old ones has been tied up
with shoe strings this two years, and We
dassent step onto um and l took my
green fiannil quilted petticoat and cush-
ioned the seat and put braided rug in
to the bottom for our feet to set on, and
my red and blue calico comfortable to
take up in front of us cool mornings.
We had considderble baggage hut
then it takes good deal for females
that purtend to be ladies. l had a trunk,
three bandboxes, a cap box. carpet-bag
full of gingerbread, an ambrillar, para
sol, a peck measure to feed the hoss with,
a spare shawl, bottle of Eneament, in
case l should be took with the newrOllo-
gy, and q clothes line, to tie the old mare
with.
Aunt Peggy, she had two band boxes,
a valees, satchel of turnovers, a sugar
box of doughnuts, a siNquart pail full
of pickles, two baskets full of apples,
and Bounce, her dog.
l objected to her kerrying the dog;
but she sed she wouldn't be separated
from him for no money She couldn
go to sleep of nights without Bounce on
her feet
The first day we travelled six miles and
hauled up by the side of the road for re
pairs One eend of the wagon seat
broke down; but put the pail of pickles
on top of the sugar box and stuck them
under the seat, and made it all right.
/ The next day we did better. We went
| e'enamost twenty miles | held the reins
and aunt Peggy she did the walloping
with the whip-and the old mare went
/ like a hoss Lots of folks banter'd me
| to swop hosses But told EN- l hadn't
no time 70 talk with en-, l was bound for
! the White Mountains.
/ Aunt Peggy had the worst of it. Her
arm was so lame after q day or two, that
she couldn't skeercely git it 10 her head
/ At the eend of five days we got in
sight of the mountains, and stopped at
a small house rite in under mountain.
and close to quite smart little pond of