The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1877-11-15
The Mysterious Diamonds.
BY ELIJAH KELLOGG.

BY ELIJAH KELLOGG.
A notable woman for decision of char
acter and strictness of discipline was
"Ma'am" Price, as she was called, who
taught school in Portland, Me. Polly
Price, her daughter, was an active, bright
girl, whose nimble tongue was always
ready with every and any body.
The scheol-room was in Mrs. Prices
own house, which stood in Turkey Lane,
so-called from this circumstance: A man
who lived in the street invited the Rev.
Samuel Dean to dine with him and par
take of turkey. When the parson came,
he found on the table not choice, two
legged biped, but Cape Cod turkey
that is, boiled salt cod fish. The digni-
fed selectmen of the town christened it
Newbury street, but the less stately peO-
pie called it Turkey Lane and by that name
it was known for more than forty years.
When the British bombarded Portland,
Ma'am Price, seeing that Turkey Lane
was directly in range of their fire, removed
her household goods to place of safety.
Polly was determined to save her pig.
A sea-captain at first assisted her. But
as shot and she'll came thick and fast, he
advised the determined girl to leave the
animal, as it was not worth risking life
for. Polly, however, was obstinate, and
fastening string to the creatures leg,
i9sss u ia sdEEiys . it to Bramhall's Hill, a
The pig was as obstinate AS Polly was
determined, and the contention between
them delayed their progress. Red-hot
shot whizzed by her, shells fell around
her, and one bursting flung huge piece
of the earth so near as to strike the stick
from her hand. But save that pig she
would, and save it she did.
Mrs. Price came to Portland from one
of the West India islands She was
woman of culture and decision, and very
strict in her school discipline. If any
boy or girl refused to hold up his or
her head, fork was put under the chin
You may judge that she allowed no tri-
fling with her commands.
Some years after the bombardment,t the
old lady was obliged TO suspend her
school, as the town was threatened with
an epidemic Of smallpox. A number of
her scholars-smong whom were my
mother and uncles-were inoculated with
smallpox virus and placed in pest
house. Ms'am Price Gin whose expert
ence and judgment the parents trusted,
was employed to take care of them.
1t was customary, before the discovery
by Jenner, to inoculate a person with
small pox matter, as preventative against
his taking the disease. The patient was
first put under strict regimen of diet,
and when the system was properly re-
duced, he was inoculated. Being care
fully nursed, the disease was rot much
more severe than a mild varioloid. A
patient seldom died and scarcely one was
disfgured by pits.
The young patients over whom Ma 'am
Price watched had long been kept on wa
ter Cruel, and were convalescent. Two
of them, Stephen and Hugh Mcclellan,
moved by . keen appetite, procured,
through friends outside, two Holsters.
All the patients had seated themselves
around the table and were about eating,
when, Unexpectedly, Mrs. Price made
her appearance. She peremptorily for
babe their taking a mouthful of the lob
ster, saying it would kill them. But they
determined to eat, live or die.
Seeing their obstinacy, and as the boys
were large, being unable to prevent their
eating by physical force, she took out
her snuff-box and strewed the yellow
Scotch snuff 1t contained over the shell
fish, stirring it with a spoon The boys
were angry, but Msam was calm, and
they cherished no ill-will towards her.
The good lady's house was q resort for
captains of vessels who had been acquaint-
ed with her and her husband when they
lived in the West Indies. They brought
her many presents of fruits, shells, coal,
eye-stones and vanilla-beans. People
troubled with some foreign substance in
their eyes would visit her to have an eye
stone put in to take it out. Old ladies
frequently went to her house for sweet
scented beans tn put in their snuff-boxes.
We children often teasea our parents
for permission to carry some presents to
Ma'am Price, and we're always rewarded