The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1880-11-25
MY OLD WOMAN.

MY OLD WOMAN.
A Thanksgiving Sketch.
By JULIA A. WILLARD.
Most people delight in coincidents, be
they ever so simple.
Why they do we will leave the retail
dealers in mental philosophy to tell us, if
they know; if they do not know It's a
comfort for the amiable creatures to say
what they think and mental science will
meekly bear as much maltreatment as al
india rubber baby.
Meanwhile, will briefly tell my true
story of patriotism, pie and pathos.
During our late unpleasantness I was
connected with ward school IN New
York known as "Forty-seven." From
the beginning of the war it was noted for
devotion to the soldiers. We scraped
lint with the earliest scrapers and knit
socks with the pioreer knitters.
When things grew more serious and
hospitals began to fill we waited upon
rough, swearing men in crowded wards,
and saw wounds and heard greans, and
were jostled about in rude fashion, and
got deplorably out of our sphere. AS
other methods of work for the one cause
''obtained'' among live women, Forty.
seven kept its six hundred hands flying
until the end came.
In process of time the autumn of '64
rolled around; and, as will happen,
Thanksgiving was proclaimed by the
Governor, instigated perhaps by his &C.
complete, Dyspepsia.
When this delightful day drew nearer
the Principal Of Forty-seven rose as one
man, and made talk, closing in words
to this effect: "Girls, you are going to
have good time On Thursday. Among
the minor matters you will have plenty
to eat and drink of fine quality and great
variety; you will have friends and fun
and comfort yourselves, now, what about
the soldiers in Camp Blank, on the
Island2' ....
Well, the blessed girls looked at each
other in dazed uncertainty while one
might count two, and marred their fair
brows by deep lines of thought so long
that careful, deliberate person could
nearly have said Jack Robinson" before
the clouds cleared.
Then some genius burst forth:
"Let's bring 'em lot of Thanksgiving
pies!"
"GoodP' echoed the school after which
there was no need to second the motion.
Now, pies are not much when ones
deepest nature calls out for boned turkey,
lobster sauce, chicken salad and deviled
salmon-which must be devastating
thing to eat, but some people like it
and mixed pickles and chow; but
the girls could not carry all these things
to we'll men, to say nothing of convalesc-
ing warriors. So they put their fingers
in the pie business simply and solely.
And the Principal exhorted them more
over, not to bring bakers pies, but good
homemade ones, the best and biggest
they could lay their hands on.
Imagine three hundred girls mounting
scventy-two stone steps, freighted the
girls-with unnumbered pies! say un-
numbered, principally because it sounds
large. How many they brought will
never be known, but this may declare:
that never before saw, or dreamed of
seeing, so many pies together; and am
a veteran pie interviewer in good and
regular standing.
Also, some girl added an acre and a
half OF sugar gingerbread; and one dear
creature, whose father dealt in the weed,
brought big pile of "6ne.cut'' tobacco
and some "plug," ditto, & think they call
it), and cigars, genuine Chester County
Havanas, the odor of which made one
sneeze in Spanish.
%h;-I> %hok +obooco
of the girls; tor, during the morning
money began to circulate rather freely !;
then, suddenly there was ring, or pool
or a corner, or something I never learn
ed just what-but, at any rate, the
stamps all got into one pair of hands, and
those hands went up to the desk and in
CURED, "Would Miss Wadleigh let them
go out and exchange the money for an
equivalent in more fine CUT and shoney
dew and 'solace,' and John Anderson
my Jo.' and day Dreams and other
dead languages2"
Yes, Miss Wadleigh would! it was
the first time that upright soul ever
winked at even the appearance of evil.
She hated tobacco solid, LIQUID and
vaporous; but those heroes on the Island.
who had had their heads cut off-ln a
fgure-for their country, should have
pipes, as well as pies, on Thanksgiving,
even if it killed them!
Finally the things were all collected,
and many big basketsful they proved to
be. A man with an express wagon was
pressed into the service to carry our little
offering up to the camp, and great was
the jubllation with which we helped him
pack off.