The Portland daily press., 1880-12-03
LRockland Courier.]
Our THANKSGIVING Dinner,

One of the first families of Rockland spent
Thanksgiving Day In the old-fashioned way,
In family reunion. There were present rela-
ives from six States, and among the number
was an elderly uncle from the western part of
the State, and widowed aunt on the wife's
side OF the family, from Connecticut These
two old people enjoyed the gathering immense
ly, and INDUCED in vast number of reminis
epces OF the times when they were children in
the same town, and froze in empany in the
little school-house with the open fire place.
At the proper hour the welcome announce
ment of dinner was received, and the company
made for the dining-room with commendable
CELEBRITY. The uncle from the Western part
of the State and the widowed aunt from Con-
necticut we're given seats at opposite ends OF
the table, and the business of feeding the
guests began. Just as all had got we'll into
the mysteries of the turkey and its accompan-
iments, it was noticed that the heir, strange
to say, exhibited an alarm ingly slim appetite.
and the head of the family alluded somewhat
anxiously to the fact The little incident
served to change the thoughts of the widowed
aunt in an entirely new direction, and she
broke out with:
II don't believe but it's biliousness that ais
him. 1t is apt to be the way with young folks
when the seasons changin'. 1 member one
Thanksgivin' when was girl, was so bill
iouS an yaller that mother said she'd as soon
set down to dinner with giniwine case of yal-
ler fever"
The heirs mother murmured something
about her guessing there wasn't much the
matter with the boy.
"Well. can't most alwavz tell - aruuad
the widowed aunt. II know jist how it was
one time with our next door neighbor Her
boy had bunch come on the back of his neck.
'Twarn't blgger'n acorn at first, but bime-
by it got big's hens egg. Oh, faint nothin'
-'tain't nothin', his mother kept sayin', an
SO she never did nothin' for it, an the fust
thing they knOwed he had runnin' sore on
his neck that lasted him clean into his grave"
and the good soul beamed around the festive
board with the utmost good-nature.
The head of the family made desperate ef-
fort to break up the current of the old lady,
meditations, and asked her if she wouldn t
have some moi OF the dressing.
"No--no more stuffin'," she replied; 81 don t
like to eat the nasty stuif-it always lays like
log in my stomach for two days. I member
the day ct dinner at Malissv's, she filled mo
full OF stuttin and like TO died.
There was a visible silence about the table,
save the sharp clashing OF the knives and
'orks. The lack of voices awoke the good aunt
to II Q again.
"Hearin' you all so dumb" she remarked,
puts me in mind of the time Neighbor Martin
broke his leg, in the Fall of 'thirty-nine
member, don't you, Horace?"
The uncle from the western part of the
state, thus adjured, came gallantly forward;
"You mean oil Martin, who had the catarrh
so bad?" he asked.
"Same one--same one;" nodded the widoa ed
aunt You member that, too, do you?"
wall, should think / did" replied the
10 VT1h hpnu
hear him cough and hawk clean down to the
| cOrner.'
Wont you have another piece of the white
meat?" here interrupted the agonized head oi
the family. But the aunt didn't hear him.
"Neighbor Martini" she went on, 'broke
tor that set it told him he must keep quiet
but lor' you couldn't do nothin' with him, an
80, almost the fust thing he did was to ketch
cold. You member, Horace?"
'Oh, l recolect it WE'LL" gleefully assented
the uncle, rubbing his hands, ''an' how the leg
was sweled up, aud the doctor said he'd have
to ianc5 it"
"That's it--that's it," Joined in the widowed
aunt with the liveliest satisfaction. Miss
Martin said She"
some more coffee?" implored the hostess in q
distressed voice.
Miss Martin said,' continued the good
aunt, not needing the interruption and gazing
conplacently aDont at the horrlhed guests,
who had abandoned their plates, "that she
didn't care how much he jabbed knives into
Daniel Chat was he husbands Dame) so longs
they didn't daub up the bed-cothes. You
member, don't you. Horace?"
'"Deed l do" responded the uncle with
| great satisfaction, IAN rec'lect how when
| they lanoed it, more'n quart
Let the girl take your plate, Uncle Horace,
gasped the heart-sjck hostess.
'-More'n quart--no, never mind, Til eai
right on this one, dear-moren quart-yes
both kinds if the bottom crusts done more'r
quart ONO, dear, no more coffee for me
"Yes, know the aunt interrupted San
they said that il the bandages WASN'T"
There was hurried movement of the chairs
and smothered gasping on the part OF
the rising guests. They said no, they
didn't believe they cared for the ,ssert Ii
was ry nice, ,sthey knew, but somehow they
see,neu TO have eaten 50 much turkey that they
didn't believe they wanted anything more.
All but the heir-his appetite came nobly to
the rescue, unaffected by any exterior circum.
stances
The uncle from the western part Of the State
and the widowed aunt from Connecticut,
started for home the next day. They said
nobody seemed to care much about having
them around, and they guessed they'd better
be going anyway.