St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1886-07-03
SAME OLD THING,

! S~"e VIZ ] tJtTVNs
Prove That Surprise Parties Were just
rs Amusing Years Ago rs They Are To-
day.
One of the brightest spots in this
weary and checkered life-a period
whose recollection helps to tighten the
cares and cheer the dropping spirits Of
depressed humanity-is that made by
those delightful social occasions when
friends and neighbors meet to celebrate
some pleasant event and greet one
another with bright smiles and good
cheer.
In the happy years of my young man.
hood 1 had the delightful privilege Of
attending many of these rare social oc.
casions. and now being homeless
travelling man, and polite society is al
most unknown to me, the memory of
society as knew it in the young and
hopeful period of my life comes to me
with peculiar pleasure. The particu-
lar events that haunt my memory are
the wedding anniversaries or those oc-
casions when the neighbors, young and
old, got together to give one of the old
and most respected neighbors a grand
surprise. Surprise parties iourished in
those days, for no one in our neighbor-
hood was able to give party and they
had to put up a job and inflict the thing
on somebody else.
remember we'll the fuss it took al
our house to get ready, and it is fair to
presume that it was the same in other
houses, for our family was but the
average of humanity. My dear old
paternal parent would always begin by
saying he didn't care to go; he'd ten
poking off over there to Jones', but he
would be pitched into by my fond
mother with: ''Why don't you want
to GO? Don't you want to be sociable?
Do you want to live by yourself all the
time? It's pity if you can't be half
way neighborly," and the poor old man
would stir himself around and get on
his Sunday clothes that fitted him just
as though they belonged to somebody
else. Then he would puff and grunt
and twist his face into all kinds of
shapes, trying to button his collar on.
While he was stopping to breathe he
would say: 1--WE a notion not to wear
that thing" and he would be met with:
''Of course you'll wear it; now, how
you would look there without q collar
on" Meekly he would submit, and
after he had got it on he would look
feel like fool with collar on"
The party would finally all get to-
gether and make a descent upon the
doomed neighbor, and, after a great
clatter and affectation of pleasure on
the part of the enforced hostess, peo-
pie looked about to see how they could
dispose of themselves, and then sat
down in the chairs along the wall and
waited, seemingly '.for something to
turn up" A few of the intimate
friends of the family, together with the
hostess, would take themselves to the
kitchen and laugh and gossip together,
and slice up the inevitable cake and
cold chicken that parties always
brought, and have pretty good time,
but in the sitting room and Psrlor
affairs would be getting on rather
stiffiy. Nothing in particular seemed
to have turned up yet. the folks
would be still waiting. Before long
the women would get together and stir
up quite an animated conversation
among themselves, and the men would
be left, a woe-begone and helpless
looking lot of mortals, sitting along
the wall in an unbroken line. Some
of them would try to look unconscious
of their awkwardness and would gaze
about carelessly, twirling their thumbs,
and when they got tired of twirling
them one way they reversed the mo-
ton and twirled them another. One
man would be sitting with his legs
crossed, looking wearied and sick at
heart until his foot began to 60
to sleep, and he for a moment
was relieved by having something
to do in shifting his position
on to the other leg. After awhile. even
changing one leg over on to the other
grew monotonous and he began to wish
it was time to 60 home. Two or three
old farmers sitting near each other
would get to talking crops or the mar
kets. and for the time lose their con-
straint until the ladies came along,
passing around the aforesaid chicken
and cake on little plates which the
guests took on their laps. Ladies could
manage them well enough, but the men
exhibited all their native awkwardness,
trying to balance the plates on their
knees, and at the same time endeavor-
ing to appear at ease. A few of the
holder spirits among tine young men
would bestir themselves and get into
the circle of the ladies, but this was
considered quite daring, and cases of
it were rare.
Ny soul used to be moved with pity
for the stranger or newcomer in the
neighborhood. who was very cordially
invited to the place, but when he got
thepe everybody seemed to be afraid to
approach him, or say word to him,
and he sat the picture of abject misery
throughout the whole evening.
Time would finally come to 60 home.
the women making a great stir getting
on their things, and the men, now that
they had chance to get up and stretch
their legs, felt quite bright again and
thought: "Well, it wasn't so bad after
all;" and after they had got home their
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