Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1890-01-10
NEW YORK, Dec. g., 1889.

NEW YORK, Dec. g., 1889.
Dear Brother Il got your letter
about Thanksgiving, but Miss
SlOcum. my teacher, has kept me
studying on my geography lesson
so like sixty all the time that l
haven't got around to answer it
before. She is going to be married
Christmas, and they are always
cross before that. She slapped
Jim Hawes OH the ear with a big
history of the United States and
he most had the headache for pref
ty near a minute, but he stayed
out of school two days and caught
onto bobtail cars and he was all
o. X. again.
The hired girl we had when you
went away has skipped and Ma has
been doing all the cooking, which
has been some tough. Pa claims
it isn't nothing like his mother
used to do. Ma give 1t to him pref
ty lively though when he said that,
and Pa took another potatow ano
didn't say anI thing more. Ma
don't seem to haYe the tackilty of
making her biskits we'll up like
Maggie hal. l asked her if she
made them with die like l read
about their making silver dollars
at the mint, and she settled me
quicker than she did Pa. Sis tried
her hand on some sponge'cake, but
she cOuldn'C get it out of the tin so
she didn't bsr1g it up. The cat
has had aboE: the best time cause
she has been Rving on Sises gold
fish. She has eat two of them, and
the other is swimming low down
among the rocks, and wags his tail
awful lively when 1 say "cats" to
him. The cat condn'C quite reach
the first one, but / sort of lifted on
him a little aud he landed it just
| like nothing. He sHeaked the next
one by getting up on Mas "RObert
Elsmore" which happened to be
handy. We got new girl today,
but don't believe she will stay
long. She tried the piano when
she was duStlng it and said it was
all out of tune, specially at the
right hand where the sharD-pointed
notes come from.
We have all been pretty busy
lately getting ready for Christmas
You will have a big time wheH you
come home for the holidays. Slt
has got you a smoking set-sht
told ne she wOnld box my ears Il
told so l thought I would just men-
ton it. The set cost So. She has
SIX segars in it. They cost tel
cents. She says that the man trlec
to sell her some that were ten anC
fifteen cents apiece, but she couldn'
see as they was any different from
the twenty-cent.a.dozen ones. II
told her she paid too much, an'
she was wishing she had got cent
apiece ones when Ma caught hln
wlnking at me aud made him keel
still pretty quick. Ma has got Il
a pair OF plllow.shams. L hear'
her telling Sis that she knew b
didn't like pillow -shams very well
but she thought if he had pair o
his own he might take more inter
est in them and learn to like then
She got him a hall lamp too. Sn
sad she's wanted a new hall lam
+ for two or three years. Sis has GO
-, him book called "Reports OH on
r Waterways" cause she says he
so fond cf boating and yacting.
We aren't going 20 get anythln
for Aunt Lucy thls year cause sh
~ didn't send Us anything last.
e. was Mas idea, and mine same too
" told Ma guessed we'd sho
y Aunt Lucy that we w'A'rnt no ra
e. bits, and she wanted to know II
er teen sociating with that horrld Jl
II Hawes again, and then she went
thinking what to give Aunt Mira
da. She settled on vase.
Z said pair of vases, bat Ma sa
n no, cause Aunt Miranda badl
done very well by us last year, al
she wouldn't be s'prised II &
u s;idn't send nothing this. L pl
- posed to lay low till Chrlstm
~ Day and if she done the squa
> thing to send over the vase In
afternoon and blame the slown'
on tie messenger, but she said
We're going to work that game
~ ~ Cousin Frank, though. Ii ne g
lte to the front, all right; II he 90
ed he'll fud that We amt doing mt
to at the sucker business this year
,SI The one we are spreading O
,at M selves on, you know, is Uncle v
OF liam. We sent his box today
tct avnress. He never sends ue nc