Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1885-09-17
~Larayette,s Visit.

On Townsend street. on the Hill. says
The Pittsburg Commercial Gazette,
lives Mrs. Isabella Law, aged 81. The
old lady is piquant ndremarkably live
y for such an elderly person. Caress-
lng her canary yesterday, she turned
| upon the reporteran eve Tiled with life.
and said: You have come to hear me
talk?' Acknowledging the fact, the
reporter led the old lady to converse,
and she straightway went to the point,
as follows.
II remember the coming OF Lafay-
cite we'll. The people came to our place
at Braddock, and | never saw a %iollier
crowd. The whole n-eighborhood was
filled with horses and carriages usedb by
the people TO come there, as we had no
railroads then. Lafayette was an old
man then, and the trip on a flatboat
had worried him. My husband, James
Law, had gone to the boat to get them
on shore, and | remember he told me
the general fell in the water and spoiled
his breeches while trying to land. We
had a band then"
The old lady laughed at her recollec-
ton of the band, and her eyes seemed
to look back over the years and find }
qualification in the memory. She con-
tinued: There were four horns, and
the man who had the biz one made me
laugh, for ON persoa had cut q po-
tato and put it into his horn, and he
could not blow it.; and what with the
ducking the general got and the lack of
music his landing was a very tame at-
fair. His visit was to Gen. Gibson's
widow, and she came to me and bor-
rowed all my cups and saucers and tea
spoons for the occasion, and the gener-
ais son carried one of my teaspoons
TO France. | made a pudding that day
for Mrs. Gibson of whortleberries. We
made it in a large earthen pot, and
when it was placed on the table it broke
and scalded John Stylesworth. He
married the first McCandless who came
here. Gen. Lafayette arose at the Ia
bic and said: 4 like pie, and l like
American pie, but this is too much pie,
and then everybody laughed.
eve had church services next day,
and the church was four miles from the
house, and, of course, we all put on our
ribbons, and | had a nice cap, and my
husband had bought me a pair of nice
shoes, and l and two other ladies
started for church, and we went bare
footed through the fields, intending to
strike near the church and then put on
our tinery and play the lady. 1t was
hot, and we stopped in the woods to
battle our feet, and while doing so we
were startled by a yell, and we ran and
never stopped until we entered the
church, and there we were a sight,
sure. They were singing, Come, Thou
Fount of every Blessing and they just
stopped singing and laughed at us, and
Lafayette, laughed too. Oh. | felt aw-
full bad; but you see, | could not come
out, for they would see my face, and
so | had to stand it. | shall never for
get the preaching thstday. 1t was old
Elder Wilson, and it just seemed as if
he preached ut my bare feet all the
time.
1.-The generals father came to me
that night and told me that his father
was tired and FESTIVE from the action
of some of the Pittsburghers, and want
ed to get away. He asked me to talk
to the general and get him to go on the
next day, and | did so. He was talking
to Mrs. Gibson. and / went right up to
him and said, i want to see YOU and
he smiled and led me to Il seat, and,
would you believe it? | only had a cal
leo wrapper on, and then he said, | am
tired, but your people are kind, and
therefore / do not feel it.
II have heard them say it was not in
1926 when he came here, but | know it
was, for my baby was born that year,
and so | know it"
A confusion of memories mere took
possession of the old lady, and she
seemed to be lost in dreaming Of the
time sixty years ago.