The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1881-02-16
THE OLD GENTLEMAy,s STORY.
A Stage Party showed Up-An Old
Fashioned Bride.
New York Times

spinning out verses and making silly
rhymes-and pray, what is the use of it?
My mother before her marriage, had a
pretty education-good enough for any wo-
man-God bless her soul l am talking
about, maybe, seventy-five, eighty years ago.
She could paint flower and make shirt
yes, madam, and play Mozart and cook pud-
ding, and do every one of them well. There
was not that sham semblance ofeducation as
it exists to-day-there was the reality. If
there had happened any vicissitudes of
fortune she could have gone out into the
world and taken care not only of herself.
but even of others. When she was married
that was in 1917, lord bless me only
two years after the battle of Waterlooll-
my father and mother went on their we'd
ding tour South, and were to spend month
on plantation belonging to some relatives
near Charleston. There was just such a
winter then as it has been this year. In
1912 my father nearly died from exposure
during the war, and had to be nursed for
years afterward. Well, they started, and
were showed up somewhere this side of
Richmond, and had TO stay at a way-side
tavern for almost week. In the stage
coach there were three other passengers
One of them was Spanish gentleman, on
he was to take shipping to Cuba The tav-
err was Just on one of the spurs of that billy
country where the Blue Ridge divides Vir-
ginia, and was as isolated as an Esquimaux
village in Greenland. Here was a nice to
do. Father was taken i'll and could not be
moved. The party were showed in, AID
the poor people who kept the house-only a
batting place for wagoners--had really moth
ing to eat. Though the parties in the stage
coach were quite unknown to one another,
they were perfectly willing to contribute
each his services to the general welfare. One
was first officer of ship then at Rich
mond, loading with -four for South
America; the other was a Boston man, in
the dry goods business. 1t was my mother
who organized the party. In the tavern
there was meal, but not enough meat to
feed one person for a day, and then as to the
meal, the horses to The stage-four of
them-had to be fed, for there were neither
oats nor hay. There were, besides, two
negro servants in the tavern, the driver Of
the stage, but, what was worse, from the
the cold, the drivers hands and feet so frost
bitten that he was laid up. Where he was
of some advantage was in his knowledge OF
the country. The Spanish gentleman
showed great deal of good Judgment, and
declared himself to be my mothers Lieuten-
ant. A horse was saddled, and the Spanish
gentleman sent out to forage, while mother
took everything in charge. The old man
and his bed-ridden wife who kept the house
abdicated entirely. There was plenty OF
money, of course, as the Spanish gentle
man was profuse with his gold
ounces. Starting out in the morn
ing of the first day in the heavy snow, on
q tour of exploration, he was expected back
at nightfall. But anxious hours elapsed
and he did not return. The Boston man
was sent out on another horse to follow his
tracks. At last, at nightfall, they both
came back. The Spaniard had sunk ex-
hausted on the snow, but had first tied his
horse to tree and hung on branch bas-
ket of provisions which he had bought
somewhere. My mother had providentially
sent out bottle of brandy, some of fathers
stores, with the Boston man, and that had
revived the Don. Then, my father having
been put to bed in the only room that was
habitable, the party ensconced themselves in
the kitchen. The negro servants were
made to bring in the wood fortunately there
was enough of that. There was nothing to
cook in but skillet, a boiler and Dutch
oven; but my mother went to work. Out
of chaos she brought order. The slips
Captain was invaluable He found young
porker in the pen attached to the house, and
he killed it and dressed it. Remember,
there were ten people to take care of, and
the four horses. Every day the Don would
go out with a gun and try and &C. some
game, but nothing was to be had. Now,
the nearest house was eight miles away, and
could only be reached through great drifts
of snow-quite impracticable for coach.
"The Captain made sledge out of an old
bed, big enough to hold two, and with the
Don they drove to that neighboring farm.
house and brought home enough food of its
kiDd-meal, bacon and potatoes-to last the
family for the week, but the first trip of the
Don had exhausted their chickens All the
horses save one had been carried to the
neighbor to take care of. My father the
third day got better-as did the driver,
through the careful nursing of my mother.
| Then the passengers, their troubles being
over, had right merry time of 1t. On the
fifth day party arrived, sent out by the
anxious stage proprietors, to discover what
had been the fate of the coach and the pas
sengers. Instead of finding a famishcd and
starving set of people, they found merry
party enjoying themselves. The succoring
party had of course brought good stock of
provisions. My mother, father has often
told me, determined to have a parting
banquet of the grandest character, and hav-
| ing cooked the whole dinner for some four
teen people, appeared herself at the table in
the best dress she had in her trousseau. She
was beautiful woman, as You may see from
her miniature painted by Dlrand, which /
shall show you. Father has often told me
that it was the happiest of dinners, and that
mother sang to them in her own sweet voice
some simple ballads of the day and that
right then and there solemn friendship
was sworn among them all, the driver in
cluded 1t was fully week from the time
they were showed in before they started
again on their journey. l only bring this
forward as sample of how useful handiness
and knowledge Of cooking is. l can't
tell you about the rest of the part, but the
Don kept up his acquaintance with my
father and mother for many years. Some
six months afterward my father. received
from Havana thousand cigars of that ia
nous kind which only former generation
smoked. As to my mother, she had very
beautiful bracelet sent her, for our Don was
no less person than the son of the Lieu
tenant Governor of Cuba. He went back
to Spain afterward and headed three or
four revolutions there and died some thirty
years ago. My dear madam, excuse all this
description of what took place at the be-
ginning of this century in Virginia way
side tavern; but do YOU really think any