The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1873-07-11
YOURS TRULY" CELEBRATES THE
FOURTH.

Jelly, and pack butter for winter, and do
some quilting for the boys bed-the
boys are always kicking the comforts to
pieces-and was up 10 her eyes in these
occupations, which were varied only by
turns at the wash-tub and dish-pan,
with copy of the NEW NORTHWEST in
his pocket, containing the news that
Everybody was going to ST. Joe" This
didn't excite her much, but when she
read that flaming leader entitled
Americas Natal Day" Yours Truly
became too patriotic to stay at home.
Sixteen glasses of currant jelly had been
sealed and stored away upon the pantry
shelves as a trophy of the mornings
work; the day was getting too hot for
further depredations on that comfort in
the frames up stairs, besides Yours Truly
had imbibed the Spirit of Seventy-six;
so she startled her mother by cutting a
pigeon wing while whistling Yankee
Doodle, and then suddenly said: "rm
going to celebrate at st. joe"
Dick and Phil were going as matter
of course. They had been blaeking their
boots and coaxing their mustaches-to
little purpOse-fOr ever so many hours,
and now they stood, in the full pledged
glory of white shirt bosoms-ironed to
perfection by the energy and skill of
Yours Truly-and listening impatiently
for the expected train.
''May'nt / go, mother?" demurely
asked Yours Truly.
81 can't spare the money, child" was
mothers answer.
Phil is year younger than Yours
Truly, and you ought TO see him turn
his nose up if anybody calls him ''child."
"But Dick has money and so has Phil,
mother"
'They're boys, you know" was her
reply.
81 can't help that, God knows" was
the indignant rejoinder of Yours Truly,
as hurrying up stairs she doffed her
calico and donned her muslin, gave her
hair all extra muss, set her hat atop of
the frizzes, and hurried down again.
~ thought it was decided that you
were not to 60" said mother, a little
veXed.
"You were mistaken then, mon ami"
was the dutiful retort, "and now | want
some money" Mother hadn't n dollar.
Father had given the boys little
spending money and gone of to Port
land as one of the officers of the celebra-
tion there, leaving mother and daugh-
ter to cool their patriotism over the
cooking stove. 'I'll lend you u dollar"
said Dick. He always was better
natured than Phil. There was no time
TO lose, for the train was coming and we
reached the station on a brisk run, just
a. the bell sounded the signal TO 90
ahead. Hundreds of men, women and
children were crowded i'm open cars,
some standing, some sitting and all
talking at once. The engine switched
its long tail Of ears at every turn of the
road, trailing its living line of freight in
its wake as ii went smoking through
the valley, and Yours Truly forgot that
she was celebrating the Fourth for her
brothers on borrowed dollar which he
longed Of right full more to herself than
Dick. As We sped along through the
green pastures and beside the still waters
that bOrdered them, she forgot for the
nOnce that woman's work at home for
man brings no remuneration, no COM
petence, no justice, nothing but tarors
forgot that she was going forth 10 cele-
brate the natal day of masculine legisla-
tion isn't that what you call it, Mrs.
d.? p and becoming imbued with the
spirit of the occasion, she gave herself
up to reverie that was destined to be
interrupted at intervals by reinforce
ments of holiday-be-suited pleasure
seekers, who Joined the crowd at the
various stations.
II newspapers were to be trusted
Yours Truly would not write repOrto-
rial critiques in consideration of the
shabby pay she gets, but somebody
must tone down the exaggerations and
thus sustain the truthful reputation of
the public press lest its lie become too
strong to make soap that will ever
purify public sentiment; so resigning
all expectation Of personal gain she inn
molates herself upon the altar Of truth
and reaches st. Joe, just as an old can
non, loaded to the muzzle with dirt, ex-
plodes into fragments, tears up the
bushes and scatters the people at fear
full rate.
One of ye locals of the Portland press
says there were ten thousand people
present, and none of 'em drunk. Yours
Truly knows better! Subtract five
thousand from ten thousand and YOU
have large margin for exaggeration
upon imaginary thousands left. As to
mo drunkenness" that points too fine.
There was plenty of it. But then, we
had Star Spangled Banners and spread
eagle OratiOns, and heat aud dust and
music and dancing and patriotism and
dinner We had McGibeny's and Gas
ton and fire crackers and soda. We had
swings and ice-water and shade and
sunshine and fatigue and Fourth of
July. Surely nobody could reasonably
ask for more. But Yours Truly fails TO
see why women are not ''unsexed" on
such occasions. Are these gatherings