The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1877-01-27
SELECTED MATTER.
Mrs. Brown at the Centennial.
BY ROSE sTANDIsH.

When heerd by way of the Punkinyille Bugle,
that the Teneennial show had been opened in Eel
erdelfy, told cousin Jotham that 1 was a-goin'
myself.
Says he, "ElIniry, s'pose you know you can't
60 to Felerdelfy and put up to them tayerns for
nOthin'," says he
Il don't caiclate to put up to no taverns," says
l. "Pm gOin' to stop with my relations; and as
for the expense of goin' and comm that won't be
much, for all the railroad folks has put down their
fares so sister Peacock told me; and she and her
husband, and Elder DOoly and his famerly, and
lots of Baptiss brethering and sisters air goin'"
says l.
"Elmiry,' says he, "whO be your relations up to
Felerelfy any ~ay?" seys he, in an ironikIc tone.
II spose you've forgot that Mrs. Dingman and
her troop of young ones, that come down from Fell
erdelfy, when lived on my farm down to the Cor
ner, and stayed SO long" says 1. "She was my
diseased pardner's first wife's fourth cousin and
the vittles she and her young ones gobbled down
was enough to feller," says l. II calc'late
to git even with Mrs. Dingman, so I'm a-goin' to
make her a visit, and thatll save somethin', you
see," says I.
Says he, ats unhealthy in Felerdelfy; the wa
ters bad, hot weather is comm on and if you don't
ketch the smallpox or cholery you'll be lucky, and
if you do shan't pity you much, says he, bang
in the door aFter him.
But all these bears in the way didn't scare me-
i was sol on gOln, so l. commenced TO git ready.
Twas bout the fust of July when started for
the show. There was quite lot went from the
Corner; but the Peaeocks and their six darters,
and the Doolys, with their nephews and nieces
made squad by themselves, and I went under
their protection, as it were.
It's no fool of jarney from Punkinville to Eel
erdelfy, and when we got there was bout tuck
cred out. When l went to git out the cars,
pitched headlong down the steps, into the arms of
a strange man, breakin' his speeks, and barkin'
up his nose pretty bad. Factorum sakes alive!
don't know what could have become of me if that
man hadn't been there to kinder break my fall
went right to the tavern with the rest of the
folks for there want time, at that late hour to
hunt up cousin Dingman's folks. Bout the fust
thing the clark done was to hand me book and
ask me to write my name 1 thought twas kind
of queer that he should want my autOgraft, but
concluded that he took me for some of the distin-
guished winning from abroad mistake natural
enough, for l s'pOse | did cut quite igger in my
new alpaccy, all trimmed with ruf1es and gim-
cracks and cardamOn ribbings.
On account Of the tayern's bein full, we VIM
ming folks was all put into one room together, and
tight squeeze we had of it, tell you! Sister
Peacock, not bein' used to burnin gas, blowed it
out, but it was diskvered in time to save us from
ontimely death. Sister Dooly left the water
runnin', and come near drowndin' us out, and we
hadn't hardly got settled in bed when sister Pea
cocks youngest boy took with the nightmare,
and screamed and hoered so that he raised the
whole house.
Ny feelin's was all worked up so that 1 got mar
vous as settin hen, and if it hadn't been for my
hop-bag, that allus takes to put under my piller
when I'm in strange place, l. don't b'lieve I
should have slept wink that night.
The next mornin, started out to find cousin
Dingman. knOwed her street and number, and
after maxim good many inquiries and gttin' lost
several times, 1 made out to find it.
had notion Of walkin' right in, kind of neigh.
borly and sOciabe-ike, but thought I'd be kind
of pcrlite, jest raped on the door. The hired
gal come and in answer to my inquiry for cousin
Dingman's folks, l was disappointed, and clean
put out of my bias, to hear that they had gone
away, and wouldn't be back for the summer. Sc
there nothin' for me to do but go back to the
tavern, and board with the rest of the folks.
AS soon as the show was open we all started fol
it. see a man there at the gate takin' money, SC
says |:
GLOW much do you tax to go in and see the
whole?"
"Fifty cents, marm," says he, haulin' in th'
money.
"Haint that rather dear?" says 1. "Pve beer
to all kinds of shows down our way" says l, "ant
nobody ever taxed me over quarter" says l.
| give him piece of my mind, but he didn'
take no notice of it; at last / hauled out ny
luther wallet, paid what he asked, and went in.
Sich a jam as there was gotmy gownd rippe.
out of the gethers, and a couple of yards of tn
trimming was completely kerried away. l go
separated from sister Peacock and the Others an,
there was-a stranger in Turing land, as
were. Where to go, what to do, 7 didn't know
but wandered on and on, till come to the plac
where they kept the agricultural things; so l wen
in, and there | was fortnit enough to find 'em a
last.
Arter awhile, we went into the place where the
kept the machinery-the big injins, and all that
While was a-lookin', there a man come u
and stood nigh me- and he was a-loOkin', too.
hain't my mater to be ofish and resarved to an
human critter, so / asked him, in a neighbOrl
sort of way, how he liked the show.
Illustrate, marm," says he with furrin accent
You can bet your bunnet-strings that it knock
everything of the kind l ever see out to Brazil, o
anywhere in South Ameriky, furzinO," says he.