, 1877-11-23
The Mysterious Diamonds.
BY ELIJAH KELLOGG.

A notable woman 1Or ueclSlOn OI Cnar-
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 a Cape Cod turkey
that is, boiled salt cod.tis Thedigni-
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 re,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 shell 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 a string to the creatures leg,
tried to drive it to Bramhall's Hill, a
long mile from Turkey Lane.
The pig was as obstinate MS 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 80 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, the
old lady was obliged 10 suspend her
school, as the town was threatened with
an epidemic Of smallpox. A number Of
her scholars-amoDg whom were my
mother and uncles--were inoculated with
smallpox virus and placed in pest
house. Ma'am Price Gn 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
smallpox matter. as preventative against
his taking the disease. The patient was
first put under otrict regimen of diet,
and when the system was properly re-
duced, he was inoculated Being care
fully nursed, the disease was not much
more severe than 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
bade their taking 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 II contained over the shell
fish, stirring it with spoon. The boys
were angry, but Ma'am was calm. and
they cherished no ill-will towards her.
The good lady's house was resort for
captains of vessels who had been acquaiut-
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 yanilla-beans. People
troubled with some foreign substance IL
their eyes would visit her to have an eye
stone put in to take it out. Old ladie
frequently went to her house for sweet
scented beans to put in their snuff
We children often teasea our parent
for permission to carry some presents t
Ma'am Price, and were always rewarde