Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1915-03-06
Little Dollie' s
CONGESTION

Fractions or dates?' Then the storm
burst.
90 auntie!' walled Dollie; ever
and ever SO much worse than the two
of them put together! It's a compost
ton on Lincoin-ol Lincoln anG his
Times if you please--and | just per-
fectly despise compositions, specially
about folks. And there's nothing about
when Lincoln used to be president in
my history nor in any of my readers
and even if there were we're not sup
posed to copy. anyway How in the
world am going to write it, and what
n the world am going TO do?" Dollie
winked away big, round, very salty
tear.
"Oh. we'll, said auntie, cheerily.
maybe we can get some Information
without reading up; but now, dearie,
we'll make ourselves a bit neat for
very early supper so that Uncle Zach
and Aunt Loretta who've been spend
ing the afternoon with grandma, can
get home betimes.'
Company and supper put Dollle's
woes quite out Of her head until, when
the peach marmalaGe and cake were
making their second round, Aunt Kit
tie suddenly wanted to know!-
When did you say you have to hand
in that paper on Abraham Lincoln,
Dollie?''
"Oh, dear," groaned Dollie; but be-
fore she could reply, Uncle Zach, dear
srandmother's oldest brother, spoke up
eagerly:
ABE Lincoln! Why, helped elect
him, and big time we had ADDING 1t,
too. Wigwams for meetings on street
corners, and pow-wows, and parades,
end newspapers a-going on for him
and against him! And before his re-
election-hes one of our second term
presidents, as you may know, Dollie-
when he was a-passing through our
town by rail, l heard him speak, too,
and I'm proud and glad of it to this
day. We young fellows-for | was a
young fellow in those days-stood
among the crowd in the freight yard
when his train came a-slowing in, and
he came out on the platform. Well,
land alive! You might a-heard us a
shouting a mile or more away and a
clamoring for a speech. One of us
rolled a key o. molasses out from
among the big pile O. freight and stood
it up on end, and some of us swarmed
up the steps o. the train and helped
the president down, and then sort O
boosted him up on the key, and then
he begun to talk What he. said went
straight to the spot, can tell you. and
he could say an awful lot of just the
right sort O thing in about five min
utes. too Uncle Zach chuckled remi-
n;scently
why, remember that day." chimed
in Aunt Loretta II was only about
nine or ten, but I remember Lincoln
that day SOS I could paint him for you
Very thin and very tall, and all rolled
up in one o. those queer long shawls
with fringe on both ends-father used
to wear one just like it-and with q
high, black, narrow-brimmed hat"
"a shawl" objected Dollie.
yes" explained grandmother, I'VE
surely did wear queer clothes in those
days Women used to have full wide
skirts and straight and narrow waists,
and hats that ran up into high peak
in front and ended in cape behind.
Little girls went about in summer in
and in winter they wore long cloth
pelisses buttoned down in front. You
remember, Loretta, don't your
Indeed, do" laughed her sister-in-
law land three-buttoned, heel-less,
black prunella CATERS; while little
boys clattered about in thick, heavy
leather boots with copper tips to them
copper toes we used to call EN-"
There want so many newspapers
in those days" unused Uncle Zach,
land what we had were smaller far
and thinner than our newspapers
Yes; and we had to read 'em by the
light O. the sitting room lamp continu-
ed Aunt Loretta, while in the bed
rooms we still used candles
And things to eat and to wear go
ing up higher and higher!' exclaimed
grandmother. "If I was to tell you
what thing used to cost before the civil
war, l really think you'd not believe
mel"
And the big, thick heavy-as-lead
copper pennies-and not so very many
of them-we used to handle; and the
five, ten and twenty-five cent shin
plasters," said Uncle Zach; "and all
the queer coins of their own, issued
by big factories: why, even postage
SIdllpS we're leSdi ISuuCi dHu SouAd NC
passed across the counter like money
"ShaIl I ever forget sighed grand
mother, that sad spring morning
when my father cried out alond on see
ing his newspaper, and then read to US
in low and shaking voice that Lin
coin had been shot! Every house in
town went into mourning, with closed
shutters and yards and yards of black
and white paper muslin
Eyes, and Brother Sam and me-
went on Uncle Zach, stood in line
four hours and half-the better part
O. the night-waiting for our turn to
pay our respects to our martyr-presi-
dent-laid out in state in the city hall
with thousands O. men and women
before and after us to do the same.
Slowly we went in one door, passed
slowly by the fag-draped coffin, and
then out by another door, every eye
wet and every heart heavy with grief
fJr the man we'd lost. great. good,
wise president if ever there was one!"
The kindest of husbands murmur-
ed grandmother, land the most loving
of fathers"