St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1897-01-01


The ancient Priscilla she pedaled away,
Hurrah for Priscilla of old
A.spinning her twenty -four knots every day
Hurrah Tor Priscilla of old
The modern Pris pedals with double the
power,
And spins OF her twenty.four knots every
hour,
And puts up her wheel, and is back in her
bower;
What now for Priscilla Of old?
The ancient Priscilla she spun for her loom,
Hprrah for Priscilla of odl
From glimmer Of dawn till the eventide
gloom:
Hurrah for Priscilla of old
The modern Prs doesn't get up quite so soon,
Street.yarn can be spun by the light of the
moon,
Some fellow to dlsh and some other to spoon
What now for Pris lila of old?
The ancient Priscilla spun wool, to W and flax.
Hurrah for Priscilla of old
The modern spins rubber, with serpent-ike
tracks;
Hurrah for Priscilla Of old
The ancient, her wheel-pn she waved as a
wand,
The odern, she has to have one in each hand
And when she gets warm doesn't need to be
famed;
What now for Priscilla of old?
John Alden, the ancient. W as modest and true /;
Hurrah for John Alden OF old
The modern John doubts if tits worth while
to WOO;
Hurrah for Priscilla OF old
Is he solemnly coming the question of pelf
Or, likewise, becoming bit of an elf?
Well, the modern John also may speak for
himself;
Hurrah for Priscilla of old
Would not Pilgrim mother have been
made dizzy had she been obliged to re-
member at just what minute she was
due at the Woman's Club, the Christian
Endeavor society, the Womans Auxil-
larry, the Foreign Missionary society, the
sewing society, with all the committee
work appertainng thereto? Some one
speaks of The Womans Club movement
as the intellectual fancy-work" which
has superseded in a great measure the
elaborate needle work of former days.
| hope / am not irreverent in denomi-
mating many Of her church industries her
spiritual fancy-work.
The first Womaus Club mentioned
was established in Boston in the days of
Cotton Mather. Mrs. Anne Hutchinson
was the leader of the movement All
went well until she mace bold to criticise
the minister. She was a woman of great
force and intellectual ability, and sue
ceeded in making the women Of her club
ardent adherents to her views.
In the church controversy which arose
in consequence, the chronicle quantity
says these club women "hooked in their
husbands" but their opponents were vic
torious and the Hutchinsons were ban
ished from the colony.
That there were in the Pilgrim Mothers
other tendencies not unfamiliar to us is
proved by this. The fathers found it
necessary little later to make a law
that the width of woman's sleeve
should not exceed twenty-five inches.
We know, too, that the serious charge
was made against Madam Johnson, wife
OF one Of the Pilgrim pastors in Leyden,
that she wore "topish hat" The rec
ord does not say so, but we may safely
conclude that the accusation was made
by those who sat behind her in church.
These human touches seem to bring
these mothers, so far removed in time,
and so exalted in their position in history,
near to u.s. They were frail and human,
but they were grand and sanity. They
knew how to live and how to die.
am proud tonight, Mr.. Chairman, to
add my word of testimony to their char
acter, although it is quite unnecessary.
am more than ever grateful for this
spirit of sweet and holy living which
they implanted here in New England,
and which is our inheritance.