I never did in all my life have such a real tiptop time as we fellers
had last night. We acted charades, and I never did any before, and the
word was--no, I mustn’t tell you, because it has to be guessed by
actions, and when you get the paper that I’m going to send you, soon as
I buy a two-cent stamp, then you’ll see it all printed out in that
paper. The teacher the fellers call Wedding Cake, because he’s such a
good one, asked all the ones that board here to come to his house last
night, and we acted charades, and his sister told us what to be, and
what things to put on, and everything. You’ll see it printed there, but
you must please to send it back, for I promised to return.
There weren’t females enough, and so Dorry he was the Fat Woman, and we
all liked to ha’ died a laughing, getting ready, but when we
were--there, I ’most told!
O if you could ha’ seen Bubby Short, a fiddling away, with old ragged
clothes and old shoes and his cap turned wrong side out, then he passed
round that cap--just as sober--much as we could do to keep in! I was a
clerk and had a real handsome mustache done under my nose with a piece
of burnt cork-stopple burned over the light. And she told me to act big,
like a clerk, and I did.
Mr. Augustus was the dandy, and if he didn’t strut, but he struts other
times too, but more then, and made all of us laugh.
Old Wonder Boy was the boy that sold candy, and he spoke up smart and
quick, just as she told him to, and the teacher was the country feller
and acted just as funny, and so did his sister; his sister was the
shopping woman. Both of them like to play with boys, and they’re grown
up, too. Should you think they would? And they like candy same as we do.
And when it came to the end, just as the curtain was dropping down, we
all took hold of the rounds of our chairs, and jerked ourselves all of a
sudden up in a heap together, and groaned, and so forth.
I wish you all and Aunt Phebe’s folks had been there. We had a treat,
and O, if ’t wasn’t a treat, why, I’ll agree to treat myself. Three
kinds of ice-creams shaped up into pyramids and rabbits, and scalloped
cakes and candy, and _such_ a great floating island in a platter!--Dorry
said ’t was a floating continent!--and had red jelly round the platter’s
edge, and some of that red jelly was dipped out every dip. O, if he
isn’t a tiptop teacher! Dorry says we ought to be ashamed of ourselves
if we have missing lessons, or cut up any for much as a week, and more
too, I say.
And so I can’t tell any more now, for I mean to study hard if I possibly
can,
Your affectionate grandson,