The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-08-22

There Is always one pIed9"AS - =
ing. the summer in the country, one pleas
ure which stands out prominently ana
which is rs certain as the sun or the
moon or any of the mysteries that we
oo,,n+ as certain but which are extreme
" uncertain. This certain pleasure IS the
fair given for the benefit Of the poorest
church In the neighborhood. we We're
warned of it about two weeks ago when
+bn minister called to solicit donations
He * n pale young man, who looks half
starved. but he has high aspirations. He
boards with one of his congregation, an
elderly lady who likes to have man in
the house. and the result is that he looks
rs if the strongest meat given him were
tea and toast. Still much must be for
given him. since he has to live on $3.50
year and please a congregation largely
composed of women. The fair is always
got up when summer boarders are to the
fore. probably because the natives object
to spending money and know that the
average summer boarder is n soft thing
easily fooled In the very beginning we
all promised to give something toward
the fair. and to go the second night 70
the entertainment.
1t was beautiful to see the basket OF
fancy work that went down from our es-
tablishment. One lady, who wears her
hair in a Psyche knot, gave a plate COW
cred with postage stamps. Everybody
pronounced it very artistic, but to me IL
suggested that the measles had broken
out in or on china. Another lady, who is
fond of saying that she never wastes
ANYTHING. has been learning how TO knit
lace for flannel petticoats, so she gave all
her failures-that is, those where stitches
had been dropped or where any old
worsted had been used, in place of that
showing proper colors. It's curlots how
willing we are to give trumpery to the
Lord. Then there were little hats to
hold hair-pins-in reality dust collectors
pincushions, tides. and the usual riffraff
that is supposed to be suited to a ba-
Zaar.
A SIGNIFICANT GIFT.
| knitted FIVE washcloths. tied cake
of soap on each, accompanied them with
the quotation, Cleanliness is next to
godliness.'' and earnestly prayed that
they would be sold cheap and often used.
We heard about the first night. With the
thermometer at about los, a stove was
voted to that inoffensive minister. lie
also got a monogram quilt. 1t was so
sweet to think that on it were the mono
grams of all the choir. Then very
brazen looking girl who'd been going
around from house to house asking peo-
pie to give her votes on bicycle got
left. much to my delight, but because
she was a half orphan and cried so hard
they gave her a rocking chair with a red
plush cushion. / wonder if she will sit
in that chair and imagine she's riding
bicycle.
On the night of the musicale-we all
of us gave a prolonged sound to the
last syllable rained, not in the or
binary way. drop by drop, but as if the
hoses up in the sky had been turned down
on the earth. The consequence was
that the audience arrived in rubbers, in
traps of various kinds. and under UNI
brellas varying in age and size. The UNI
brellas did not add to the brilliancy of
the scene, as, owing to the fact that all
the neighborhood was intimately ac-
quainted, nobody would let go of his or
her umbrella long enough to allow it to
be checked. The eager listeners were
difficult to seat, but after all the child
rem had been put in front the remainder
dispersed itself wherever its frocks would
show best or its young man be within
nearest reach.
FLOSSY FRILLKINS' SOLO.
Then the minister came out on the
platform and announced that little Flos-
sy Frillkins would play for rs. Flossy
is a long-legged specimen of about eleven
years. As soon as you look at her you
are conscious of only two things, her
mouth and her legs. Her legs have a
fashion of running riot all over the place,
and whenever child is missing, part of
somebody's wash is lost, or pet dog has
disappeared, people look first for these
legs and then trace up whatever is gone.
1t is said that large mouth is an evil
dence of great affection. If that is true,
Flossy will love the entire world, for her
mouth. like clam shell in shape, ex-
tends placidly from one ear to the other,
and when she yawns you wonder If she
has swallowed baby. She was dressed
in q stiffly starched white frock, wore a
blue sash, and had her hair crimped so
tightly that she couldn't wink her eyes.
Consequently she looked like a Dutch
doll.
However. the children all aplauded her
appearance, duc-
rewski was heard in an undertone to tell
one of the boys sitting near her to SHUT
up.' Then she began. She gave us the
national airs, with many variations, and
then, when this was applauded, began
to play something that sounded very
much like the scales. Fortunately just
here she broke down and had to be con-
Quoted out in tears because boy was
making faces at her. In my musical
memories Flossy will always stand out
prominently.
THE DEVOTED DUETISTS.
Then we had the pleasure of listening
to duet given by two young people who
were metaphorically wrapped up in each
other. The young woman, who was
rather fair to look upon, joined her voice
to that Of a young man who looked
neither fair nor brave He wasn't quite
so tall as she, but what he lacked in
height he made up in mustache. This
was thick, stubbly and creased with
something that even from the thirteenth
row smelled like sassafras. His hair
was parted ON one side, and a curly lock,
the kind that country people call roach,
reposed upon his manly brow.
And these two loved each other. They
sang off the same sheet of music, and
this was about the way the song went
~ .o,o ;ee,,ad ea11ndc Of "finklp tin.