Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-08-20
LA AYETTE'S VISIT.
RecsIlections Of an Old Lady who
Lives at Pittsburgh.

On Townsend street, on the hill,
says The Pittsburgh Commercial
Gazette, lives Mrs Isabella Law, aged
81. The old lady is piquant and re
markedly lively for such an elderly
person. Caressing her canary few
days ago, she turned upon The repor-
Ter an eye filled with life, and said:
You have come to hear NE talk?"
Acknowledging the fact, the reporter
led the old lady to converse, and she
straightway went to the point as fol~
lows:
II remember the coming of La
fayette well. The people came to our
place at Braddock, and I never saw
iollier crowd. The whole neighbour
hood was filled with horses and car
riages used by the people to come
there, as we had no railroads then.
Lafayette was an old man then, and
the trip on a fatboat 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 band
there"
The old lady laughed at her recol-
lection of the band, and her eyes
seemed to look back over the years
and find qualification in the memory.
She continued: There were four
horns, and the man who had the big
one made me laugh, fer some person
had cut potato and put it into his
his horn, and he could not blow 1t;
and that with the ducking the general
cd +la loo 1f L
was very tame affair His visit was
to Gen. Gibson's widow, aHd she
came to me and borrowed all any
cups and saucers and teaspoons for the
occasion, and the generals son carried
one of my teaspoons to France. /
made pudding that day for Mrs.
Gibson OF worileberries. We made it
in a large earthen pot, and when it
was placed on the table it broke and
scalded John Styles worth. He mar
RED the first McOandless who came
here. Gen. Lafayette arose at the
table and said: 4 like pie, and [ like
American pie, but this is too much
pie, and then everybody laughed.
1--WE had church services next day, /
and the church was four Eailes 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 [ and two 9th
er ladies started for church, and we
| went b2refooted through the fields, in
tending to strike near the church and
then put on our fnery and play the
lady. It was hot and we stopped in
the woods to battle our feet, and while
doing so we were startled by yell,
and we ran End never stopped until
were a sight, sure. They were stag
ing, Come, Thou Fount of Every
Blessing and they just stopEsd sing
ing and laughed at us, and Gen. La
fayette laughed too. Oh, felt awful
bad; but you see, [ could not come
out, for they would see my feet, and
50 / had to stand it. shall never
forget the preaching that day. 1t was
old Elder Wilson, and it just seemed
as if he preached at my bare feet all
the time.
"The generals son came to me that
night and told me that his father was
tired and FESTIVE from the action of
some of the Pitfsburghers, and wanted
W SCt away. hC dShcO uIO W tdlh W
the general and get him to go CD the
next day, and I did so. He was talk
ing to Mrs Gibson. and I went right
up to him and said, Z want to see YOU
and he smiled and led me to a seat,
and, would you believe it? I only
had calico wrapper on, and then he
said, am tired, but your people are
kind, and therefore Go not feel it.
IT 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 I know it."
A confusion OF memories here took
possession of the old LADY, and she
seemed to be lost in dreaming of the
time sixty years ago.