The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1876-08-24


1856 with six hungry mouths to fill
and nothing to put in them, and little
strength to work to provide anything.
Ours was but q poor neighbOThood al
best. Nearly ali the farms were in
bad condition, on account OF tEeiI
owners having been absent for years
Nobody wanted help, for everybody
left everything undOne that his OWL
hands could not accomplish. Bot
out OF charity, our next neighbOI
agreed to take my oldest brother as 8
chore-boy, and poor Jim went away,
It seemed hard 10 mother, 1 do not
doubt, to send such little fellow out
into the world to earn his own living
but, poor thing, she had to harden
herself TO il, and in three years she
had sent US all away. Lucy, who
was always the prethest, was adopted
by rich Englishman who came 10
Berwick for his health Charley was
spprenticed out Mary went over to
Great Falls to learn 10 do house
work and when / was eight years
old was an apprentice girl, as they
called il then, in old Daddy Bailey;
house, at Portsmouth. Mother die
not want to send me away so young
but il was a good place and the doc
tor said she must die soon with con-
sumption and she wanted to provide
for me. Hers was the old fash.
iOned consumption, however, and
she lived twenty. years longer al
ways feeble and delicate, but working
steadily tn the end and trying to lay
up something to make MP to us fol
our hard childhood.
"Daddy Baiiey's family were kind
to me in their way; but oh how
had to work. There was another ap'
prentice, a girl about fifteen years
old, and 2 honsekeeper hut such 8
number OF errands as they found fOI
me to do Such scrubbing OF andirOns
and polishing OF tables, such endless
sweeping and sanding of floors, such
miraculOusly accurate dusting as they
made me do often think OF what
an odd little figure / must have been
as / hustled about my tasks. My
gowns were very full and We're made
with puckering-string around the
waist and another at the neck. They
were opened at the back aud showed
the pettieOat beneath but, as mine
were usually nothing particular 10 be
proud OF, never cared much about
this feature OF my costume. My
sleeves were short and tight and end
ed just below the elbow IN the stiff
est and scantiest OF frills, which by
no means sOftened the effect Of the
roughness and redness that constant
exposure and hard work had given to
my arms. usually had two dresses
at q time, and when my everyday
gown was worn out my meeting
gown took its place and 3 new one
was bought me for Sunday. More
over, these dresses lasted long time,
because / almost invariably wore a
great apron of tow cloth, reaching
from my neck TO nv feet"
"Fhose- were the days of republican
simplicity and Calico" said John sly
ly pulling Annals hair. "Fsll me
some more"
"Days OF republican simplicity" re-
peated the old lady, "they may have
been but, as calico was seventy-five
cents a yard, / knew very little about
it. Blue drilling and brown stuff
were the materials of my gowns, sir.
Gotten cloth was seveIty-five cents q
yard then and as / grew older and
tried to earn money by doing plain
sewing / was quite content that il
should remain high, for the price of
making an undergarment was al
ways the same as that of q yard of the
cloth that composed it. Long before
that time 1 had learned to spin, and |
weave, and spin on the little wheel ;
and when / married every garment
that wore, except my shoes and the
ribbon on my bonnet, was the work
of my own fingers. 1 was only ten
years old when they taught me TO
spin, and it WASN'T long before /
wouldn't have been afraid to do
days work with anybody. But my
spinning money went to Daddy
Bailey, and so tried to learn some
thing else, that / could do at odd
times and earn something for my
self. l did little coarse sewing for
one and another, and I learned to
knit spatter-dishes and 'gallOwses'-
braces. you call them John. Then /
got somebody to teach me the stitch, |
and learned to do barleycorns, and |
French knots, and braid work, and |
satin stitch, and feather stitch, and 1 |
don't know what. And / embroidered |
muslin in cOl0red silk for the ladies,
and braided and sewed straw and |
when / was fifteen bought my time |
Of Daddy Bailey, and began to earn |
wages. 1 stayed with him still; but |
was hOusekeeper now and had two |
apprentices to mind. "
Portsmouth was a very Old-fash-
ioned place then and for years after. |
Many of the old families kept negro |
who had been slaves and |
were very obsequious in their man
1ers to their masters and very fue to
everybody else."
Anna slightly astOnished John by |
arising at this junction, putting on
IN air of fiunkeyish importance and |
lsking agressively "You see gem
nan don't end o'LOug Wharf dis |
hat, white top boots,
zane in hand; CLUB on, watch in |
pocket Dat was me-"
Grandmamma laughed softly. $50 |
7ou have not forgotten poor old
Cesar LangdOn's Speech" she said. |
yant, John, and his airs were amaZ-
ng. The Governor was a gentleman
IF the old SCHOOL but Cesar was
,wice as dignified as he. He met |
Master Penhsllow one morning and
made that speech, with all the grav-
ty Imaginable. My duties as house,
keeper were TO see after everything
about the place and was responsible
or everything. 1t was necessary for
ne to be the last to go to bed and the
irst to rise, and in pig-killing and
time l had no rest.
We never bought any lard in the
hose days. We tried out our own,
md the process involved a vast
amount of lifting heavy boilers and
40 small risk that the stuff would
AXE fire. We did all our own churn-
ng, too, and all the working of the
butter fell on me. Still / had leisure
% sew, and I drew in two rugs and
made me rag carpet and braided
Jome mats"
"Where did you ever find time to
20 to school ?'' demanded John.
"Biess you, child" said grand
mamma, "I never went. taught
myself to re9d and write, asking Miss
Bailey question now aud then and
never read many books until your
began to teach me-"
"Where did you meet him first ?'
asked Anna.
"At a dance at a neighbor's.
There were not many public balls
hen but there were innumerable
pleasant parties, with dancing. It
was just the same then as it is now;
he poor emulated the rich and the
.leh strove to out shine each other.
IoE-e - t4---- r---sT~s was WudJ
spoiled my hair, Anna. heard John
Jcolding you before you were married
or cutting off q few locks on your
.emples. When Twas child 1 wore !
nv hair cut straight down behind,
except q small cluster of locks, which
we're tied together with q string just
below the top Of my head. Rich
Urls wore q ribbon. When I grew
1lder I used te cut my hair off short
1t the sides, and friZZle and curl it
With tongs, and powder it till my face
looked like full moon coming out
)f fog-bank. / broke and burned
ny hair all off I'm q few years and
nave worn false front ever since. So
please don't talk of the frivolOusness
1f 1876 any more, John. We were
mite ao had in 1z-G I aoouro u0TI ~