The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1878-04-05
tFrom the Boston Advertiser, March 1871
Mary,s Little Lamb.

This is the last week of the spinning bee at
at the Old South Westinghouse, aud the chill
dren will be interested in the following story,
which is substantially correct except that the
lamb fed upon more singular beverage than
milk, namely. catnip tea. Mary has at some
Inconvenience promised to come each day this
children. Friday will be her seventy second
birthday.
Who would have believed that the little pet
lamb which followed Mary everywhere would
now be helping to save the Old South Church
All children know the old song:
"Mary had a little lamb,
Its fleece was white as snow,
And everywhere that dary went
The lamb was sure to Co."
And many of them know that there is in Bos-
ton an old church on Washiugton-street at the
corner of Milk. The land upon which it staud:
Is worth great sum of money
there was much danger that the house would
oe torn down to make room for block OF
stores. The old church has been so famous 10
the history of Massachusetts, that there was q
save il a number of women of wealth bought il
pledging over S400, 900. For months they have
Oeen bard at work in great manv WAYS to
secure money enough to paw for it. For sever
al weeks past "Aunt Tabitha'' has held a
spinning bee in the church. Three or four old
ladies, who were famous sDinners iu their
young days, when it was the custom to wear
homespun garments have had their hatchels
and reels aud wheels, and have spun for the
people. A great many have watched them at
tneir work each afternoon. To add to the at
fractions of the exhibition, the old ladies have
oeeL dressed 10 the styles which were com mon
when they We're young and have worked in an
oid-time kitchen with its open fireplace and
glowing logs.
Among the visitors one day was the real
Mary who, when little girl had the pet lamb
Tor her owD. She was very willing to tell the
story; suppose we listen with the rest Little
Mary's name was Mary Sawyer, and she lived
in Sterling, M ,ss. She is now Mrs. Tyler, of
Somervile. vigorous lady over 20 years old.
one moruipg she went out TO the barn aud
found two little lambs which had been born in
the night. OGe was so weak and small that
her father said it was of no use to try to raise
It, Mary's tender heaIt pited the tiny crea-
ture, and she begged her father to let her try to
save it, He gave it to her care, promising that
II it lived it should be her lamb. Mary took it
into the house, wrapped it up, laid it in a warm
place, and fed it carefully with milk. All day
she watched it. and all night too. In the
morning how glad she was to hear her father
say that the lamb would live!
1t was no wonder that the pet lamb loved its
small mistress and wanted to go everywhere
with her. The day that it went to school and
was turned out, it happened that young man
was there who saw the whole and wrote out
the story 10 the verses which the children
know 80 we'll The lamb lived and thrlved and
had lambs of its own; it ran ia the fields with
the Cattle. till Que day coy with sharp horns.
while playing, tossed it iato the air, and it fell
bleeding at the feet of Mary, who happened to
be in the field. With deep grief she watched
its life go out From the lambs wool quau-
tisy of yarn bad been spun, aud Mrs. Tyler
brought some of it to Aunt Tabitha's bee and
sold it at 25 cents for each piece, so that up to
last week Msry'5 littls lamb had earned $50
toward paying for the Old South Church in
Boston. This is the true story of Mary's little
lamb.