quite a crowd in the evening and took in over three hundred dollars.
Charlie Hills and Ellsworth Daggett stayed there all night to take care
of the hall. We had a fish pond, a grab-bag and a post-office. Anna says
they had all the smart people in the post-office to write the
letters,--Mr. Morse, Miss Achert, Albert Granger and herself. Some one
asked Albert Granger if his law business was good and he said one man
thronged into his office one day.
_February_ 23.--We took in two hundred dollars to-day at the fair. We
wound up with an auction. We asked Mrs. George Willson if she could not
write a poem expressing our thanks to Mr. Backus and she stepped aside
for about five minutes and handed us the following lines which we sent
to him. We think it is about the nicest thing in the whole fair.
"In ancient time the God of Wine
They crowned with vintage of the vine,
And sung his praise with song and glee
And all their best of minstrelsy.
The Backus whom we honor now
Would scorn to wreathe his generous brow
With heathen emblems--better he
Will love our gratitude to see
Expressed in all the happy faces
Assembled in these pleasant places.
May joy attend his footsteps here
And crown him in a brighter sphere."
_February_ 24.--Susie Daggett and I went to the hall this morning to
clean up. We sent back the dishes, not one broken, and disposed of
everything but the tables and stoves, which were to be taken away this
afternoon. We feel quite satisfied with the receipts so far, but the
expenses will be considerable.
In _Ontario County Times_ of the following week we find this card of
thanks:
_February_ 28.--The Fair for the benefit of the Freedmen, held in the
Town Hall on Thursday and Friday of last week was eminently successful,
and the young ladies take this method of returning their sincere thanks
to the people of Canandaigua and vicinity for their generous
contributions and liberal patronage. It being the first public
enterprise in which the Society has ventured independently, the young
ladies were somewhat fearful of the result, but having met with such
generous responses from every quarter they feel assured that they need
never again doubt of success in any similar attempt so long as
Canandaigua contains so many large hearts and corresponding purses. But
our village cannot have all the praise this time. The Society is
particularly indebted to Mr. F. F. Thompson and Mr. S. D. Backus of New
York City, for their very substantial aid, not only in gifts and
unstinted patronage, but for their invaluable labor in the decoration of
the hall and conduct of the Fair. But for them most of the manual labor
would have fallen upon the ladies. The thanks of the Society are
especially due, also, to those ladies who assisted personally with their
superior knowledge and older experience. Also to Mr. W. P. Fiske for his
valuable services as cashier, and to Messrs. Daggett, Chapin and Hills
for services at the door; and to all the little boys and girls who
helped in so many ways.
The receipts amounted to about $490, and thanks to our cashier, the
money is all good, and will soon be on its way carrying substantial
visions of something to eat and to wear to at least a few of the poor
Freedmen of the South.
By order of Society,
Carrie C. Richards, Pres't.
Emma H. Wheeler, Sec'y.
Mr. Editor--I expected to see an account of the Young Ladies' Fair in
your last number, but only saw a very handsome acknowledgment by the
ladies to the citizens. Your "local" must have been absent; and I beg
the privilege in behalf of myself and many others of doing tardy justice
to the successful efforts of the Aid Society at their debut February
22nd.
Gotham furnished an artist and an architect, and the Society did the
rest. The decorations were in excellent taste, and so were the young
ladies. The eatables were very toothsome. The skating pond was never in
better condition. On entering the hall I paused first before the table
of toys, fancy work and perfumery. Here was the President, and I hope I
shall be pardoned for saying that no President since the days of
Washington can compare with the President of this Society. Then I
visited a candy table, and hesitated a long time before deciding which I
would rather eat, the delicacies that were sold, or the charming
creatures who sold them. One delicious morsel, in a pink silk, was so
tempting that I seriously contemplated eating her with a
spoon--waterfall and all. [By the way, how do we know that the Romans
wore waterfalls? Because Marc Antony, in his funeral oration on Mr.
Caesar, exclaimed, "O water fall was there, my countrymen!"] At this
point my attention was attracted by a fish pond. I tried my luck, caught
a whale, and seeing all my friends beginning to blubber, I determined to
visit the old woman who lived in a shoe.--She was very glad to see me. I
bought one of her children, which the Society can redeem for $1,000 in
smoking caps.
The fried oysters were delicious; a great many of the bivalves got into
a stew, and I helped several of them out. Delicate ice cream, nicely
"baked in cowld ovens," was destroyed in immense quantities. I scream
when I remember the plates full I devoured, and the number of bright
women to whom I paid my devours. Beautiful cigar girls sold fragrant
Havanas, and bit off the ends at five cents apiece, extra. The fair
post-mistress and her fair clerks, so fair that they were almost
fairies, drove a very thriving business.
It was altogether a "great moral show."--Let no man say hereafter that
the young ladies of Canandaigua are uneducated in all that makes women
lovely and useful. Anna Dickinson has no mission to this town. The
members of this Society have won the admiration of all their friends,
and especially of the most devoted of their servants,
Q. E. D.
If I had written that article, I should have given the praise to Susie
Daggett, for it belongs to her.
_Sunday, June_ 24.--My Sunday School scholars are learning the shorter
catechism. One recited thirty-five answers to questions to-day, another
twenty-six, another twenty, the others eleven. Very well indeed. They do
not see why it is called the "shorter" Catechism! They all had their
ambrotypes taken with me yesterday at Finley's--Mary Hoyt, Fannie and
Ella Lyon, Ella Wood, Ella Van Tyne, Mary Vanderbrook, Jennie Whitlaw
and Katie Neu. They are all going to dress in white and sit on the front
seat in church at my wedding. Grandmother had Mrs. Gooding make
individual fruit cakes for each of them and also some for each member of
our sewing society.
_Thursday, June_ 21.--We went to a lawn fete at Mrs. F. F. Thompson's
this afternoon. It was a beautiful sight. The flowers, the grounds, the
young people and the music all combined to make the occasion perfect.
_Note:_ Canandaigua is the summer home of Mrs. Thompson, who has
previously given the village a children's playground, a swimming school,
a hospital and a home for the aged, and this year (1911) has presented a
park as a beauty spot at foot of Canandaigua Lake.
_June_ 28.--Dear Abbie Clark and Captain Williams were married in the
Congregational church this evening. The church was trimmed beautifully
and Abbie looked sweet. We attended the reception afterwards at her
house. "May calm and sunshine hallow their clasped hands."
_July_ 15.--The girls of the Society have sent me my flag bed quilt,
which they have just finished. It was hard work quilting such hot days
but it is done beautifully. Bessie Seymour wrote the names on the stars.
In the center they used six stars for "Three rousing cheers for the
Union." The names on the others are Sarah McCabe, Mary Paul, Fannie
Paul, Fannie Palmer, Nettie Palmer, Susie Daggett, Fannie Pierce, Sarah
Andrews, Lottie Clark, Abbie Williams, Carrie Lamport, Isadore Blodgett,
Nannie Corson, Laura Chapin, Mary F. Fiske, Lucilla F. Pratt, Jennie H.
Hazard, Sarah H. Foster, Mary Jewett, Mary C. Stevens, Etta Smith,
Cornelia Richards, Ella Hildreth, Emma Wheeler, Mary Wheeler, Mrs.
Pierce, Alice Jewett, Bessie Seymour, Clara Coleman, Julia Phelps. It
kept the girls busy to get Abbie Clark's quilt and mine finished within
one month. They hope that the rest of the girls will postpone their
nuptials till there is a change in the weather. Mercury stands 90
degrees in the shade.
_July_ 19, 1866.--Our wedding day. We saw the dear little Grandmother,
God bless her, watching us from the window as we drove away.
Alexandria Bay, _July_ 26.--Anna writes me that Charlie Wells said he
had always wanted a set of Clark's Commentaries, but I had carried off
the entire Ed.
_July_ 28.--As we were changing boats at Burlington, Vt, for Saratoga,
to our surprise, we met Captain and Abbie Williams, but could only stop
a moment.
Saratoga, 29_th._--We heard Rev. Theodore Cuyler preach to-day from the
text, "Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world." He
leads devotional exercises every morning in the parlors of the Columbian
Hotel. I spoke to him this morning and he said my father was one of his
best and earliest friends.
Canandaigua, _September_ 1.--A party of us went down to the Canandaigua
hotel this morning to see President Johnson, General Grant and Admiral
Farragut and other dignitaries. The train stopped about half an hour and
they all gave brief speeches.
_September_ 2.--Rev. Darius Sackett preached for Dr. Daggett this
evening.
1867
_July_ 27.--Col. James M. Bull was buried from the home of Mr. Alexander
Howell to-day, as none of his family reside here now.
_November_ 13.--Our brother John and wife and baby Pearl have gone to
London, England, to live.
_December_ 28.--A large party of Canandaiguans went over to Rochester
last evening to hear Charles Dickens' lecture, and enjoyed it more than
I can possibly express. He was quite hoarse and had small bills
distributed through the Opera House with the announcement:
MR. CHARLES DICKENS
Begs indulgence for a Severe Cold, but hopes its effects
may not be very perceptible after a few minutes' Reading.
Friday, December 27th, 1867.
We brought these notices home with us for souvenirs. He looks exactly
like his pictures. It was worth a great deal just to look upon the man
who wrote Little Dorrit, David Copperfield and all the other books,
which have delighted us so much. We hope that he will live to write a
great many more. He spoke very appreciatively of his enthusiastic
reception in this country and almost apologized for some of the opinions
that he had expressed in his "American Notes," which he published, after
his first visit here, twenty-five years ago. He evidently thinks that
the United States of America are quite worth while.
1871
_August_ 6.--Under the auspices of the Y.M.C.A., Hon. George H. Stuart,
President of the U. S. Christian Commission, spoke in an open air
meeting on the square this afternoon and in our church this evening. The
house was packed and such eloquence I never heard from mortal lips. He
ought to be called the Whitefield of America. He told of the good the
Christian Commission had done before the war and since. Such war stories
I never heard. They took up a collection which must have amounted to
hundreds of dollars.
1872
_Naples, June._--John has invited Aunt Ann Field, and James, his wife
and me and Babe Abigail to come to England to make them a visit, and we
expect to sail on the Baltic July sixth.
_On board S.S. Baltic, July_ 7.--We left New York yesterday under
favorable circumstances. It was a beautiful summer day, flags were
flying and everything seemed so joyful we almost forgot we were leaving
home and native land. There were many passengers, among them being Mr.
and Mrs. Anthony Drexel and U. S. Grant, Jr., who boarded the steamer
from a tug boat which came down the bay alongside when we had been out
half an hour. President Grant was with him and stood on deck, smoking
the proverbial cigar. We were glad to see him and the passengers gave
him three cheers and three times three, with the greatest enthusiasm.
_Liverpool, July_ 16.--We arrived here to-day, having been just ten days
on the voyage. There were many clergymen of note on board, among them,
Rev. John H. Vincent, D.D., eminent in the Methodist Episcopal Church,
who is preparing International Sunday School lessons. He sat at our
table and Philip Phillips also, who is a noted evangelistic singer. They
held services both Sabbaths, July 7 and 15, in the grand saloon of the
steamer, and also in the steerage where the text was "And they willingly
received him into the ship." The immigrants listened eagerly, when the
minister urged them all to "receive Jesus." We enjoyed several evening
literary entertainments, when it was too cold or windy to sit on deck.
We had the most luscious strawberries at dinner to-night, that I ever
ate. So large and red and ripe, with the hulls on and we dipped them in
powdered sugar as we ate them, a most appetizing way.
_London, July_ 17.--On our way to London to-day I noticed beautiful
flower beds at every station, making our journey almost a path of roses.
In the fields, men and women both, were harvesting the hay, making
picturesque scenes, for the sky was cloudless and I was reminded of the
old hymn, commencing
"Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood,
Stand dressed in living green."
We performed the journey from Liverpool to London, a distance of 240
miles, in five hours. John, Laura and little Pearl met us at Euston
Station, and we were soon whirled away in cabs to 24 Upper Woburn Place,
Tavistock Square, John's residence. Dinner was soon ready, a most
bountiful repast. We spent the remainder of the day visiting and
enjoying ourselves generally. It seemed so good to be at the end of the
journey, although we had only two days of really unpleasant weather on
the voyage. John and Laura are so kind and hospitable. They have a
beautiful home, lovely children and apparently every comfort and luxury
which this world can afford.
_Sunday, July_ 22.--We went to Spurgeon's Tabernacle this morning to
listen to this great preacher, with thousands of others. I had never
looked upon such a sea of faces before, as I beheld from the gallery
where we sat. The pulpit was underneath one gallery, so there seemed as
many people over the preacher's head, as there were beneath and around
him and the singing was as impressive as the sermon. I thought of the
hymn, "Hark ten thousand harps and voices, Sound the notes of praise
above." Mr. Spurgeon was so lame from rheumatism that he used two canes
and placed one knee on a chair beside him, when preaching. His text was
"And there shall be a new heaven and a new earth." I found that all I
had heard of his eloquence was true.
_Sunday, July_ 29.--We have spent the entire week sightseeing, taking in
Hyde Park, Windsor Castle, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, the
Tower of London and British Museum. We also went to Madame Tussaud's
exhibition of wax figures and while I was looking in the catalogue for
the number of an old gentleman who was sitting down apparently asleep,
he got up and walked away! We drove to Sydenham ten miles from London,
to see the Crystal Palace which Abbie called the "Christmas Palace." Mr.
Alexander Howell and Mr. Henry Chesebro of Canandaigua are here and came
to see us to-day.
_August_ 13.--Amid the whirl of visiting, shopping and sightseeing in
this great city, my diary has been well nigh forgotten. The descriptive
letters to home friends have been numerous and knowing that they would
be preserved, I thought perhaps they would do as well for future
reference as a diary kept for the same purpose, but to-day, as St.
Pancras' bell was tolling and a funeral procession going by, we heard by
cable of the death of our dear, dear Grandmother, the one who first
encouraged us to keep a journal of daily deeds, and who was always most
interested in all that interested us and now I cannot refrain if I
would, from writing down at this sad hour, of all the grief that is in
my heart. I sorrow not for her. She has only stepped inside the
temple-gate where she has long been waiting for the Lord's entrance
call. I weep for ourselves that we shall see her dear face no more. It
does not seem possible that we shall never see her again on this earth.
She took such an interest in our journey and just as we started I put my
dear little Abigail Beals Clarke in her lap to receive her parting
blessing. As we left the house she sat at the front window and saw us go
and smiled her farewell.
_August_ 20.--Anna has written how often Grandmother prayed that "He who
holds the winds in his fists and the waters in the hollow of his hands,
would care for us and bring us to our desired haven." She had received
one letter, telling of our safe arrival and how much we enjoyed going
about London, when she was suddenly taken ill and Dr. Hayes said she
could never recover. Anna's letter came, after ten days, telling us all
the sad news, and how Grandmother looked out of the window the last
night before she was taken ill, and up at the moon and stars and said
how beautiful they were. Anna says, "How can I ever write it? Our dear
little Grandmother died on my bed to-day."
_August_ 30.--John, Laura and their nurse and baby John, Aunt Ann Field
and I started Tuesday on a trip to Scotland, going first to Glasgow
where we remained twenty-four hours. We visited the Cathedral and were
about to go down into the crypt when the guide told us that Gen. Sherman
of U.S.A. was just coming in. We stopped to look at him and felt like
telling him that we too were Americans. He was in good health and
spirits, apparently, and looked every inch a soldier with his cloak
a-la-militaire around him. We visited the Lochs and spent one night at
Inversnaid on Loch Lomond and then went on up Loch Katrine to the
Trossachs. When we took the little steamer, John said, "All aboard for
Naples," it reminded him so much of Canandaigua Lake. We arrived safely
in Edinburgh the next day by rail and spent four days in that charming
city, so beautiful in situation and in every natural advantage. We saw
the window from whence John Knox addressed the populace and we also
visited the Castle on the hill. Then we went to Melrose and visited the
Abbey and also Abbotsford, the residence of Sir Walter Scott. We went
through the rooms and saw many curios and paintings and also the
library. Sir Walter's chair at his desk was protected by a rope, but
Laura, nothing daunted, lifted the baby over it and seated him there for
a moment saying "I am sure, now, he will be clever." We continued our
journey that night and arrived in London the next morning.
_Ventnor, Isle of Wight, September_ 9.--Aunt Ann, Laura's sister,
Florentine Arnold, nurse and two children, Pearl and Abbie, and I are
here for three weeks on the seashore.
_September_ 16.--We have visited all the neighboring towns, the graves
of the Dairyman's daughter and little Jane, the young cottager, and the
scene of Leigh Richmond's life and labors. We have enjoyed bathing in
the surf, and the children playing in the sands and riding on the
donkeys.
We have very pleasant rooms, in a house kept by an old couple, Mr. and
Mrs. Tuddenham, down on the esplanade. They serve excellent meals in a
most homelike way. We have an abundance of delicious milk and cream
which they tell me comes from "Cowes"!
_London, September_ 30.--Anna has come to England to live with John for
the present. She came on the Adriatic, arriving September 24. We are so
glad to see her once more and will do all in our power to cheer her in
her loneliness.
_Paris, October_ 18.--John, Laura, Aunt Ann and I, nurse and baby,
arrived here to-day for a few days' visit. We had rather a stormy
passage on the Channel. I asked one of the seamen the name of the vessel
and he answered me "The H'Albert H'Edward, Miss!" This information must
have given me courage, for I was perfectly sustained till we reached
Calais, although nearly every one around me succumbed.
_October_ 22.--We have driven through the Bois de Boulogne, visited Pere
la Chaise, the Morgue, the ruins of the Tuileries, which are left just
as they were since the Commune. We spent half a day at the Louvre
without seeing half of its wonders. I went alone to a photographer's, Le
Jeune, to be "taken" and had a funny time. He queried "Parlez-vous
Francais?" I shook my head and asked him "Parlez-vous Anglaise?" at
which query he shrugged his shoulders and shook his head! I ventured to
tell him by signs that I would like my picture taken and he held up two
sizes of pictures and asked me "Le cabinet, le vignette?" I held up my
fingers, to tell him I would like six of each, whereupon he proceeded to
make ready and when he had seated me, he made me understand that he
hoped I would sit perfectly still, which I endeavored to do. After the
first sitting, he showed displeasure and let me know that I had swayed
to and fro. Another attempt was more satisfactory and he said "Tres
bien, Madame," and I gave him my address and departed.
_October_ 26.--My photographs have come and all pronounce them indeed
"tres bien." We visited the Tomb of Napoleon to-day.
_October_ 27.--We attended service to-day at the American Chapel and I
enjoyed it more than I can ever express. After hearing a foreign tongue
for the past ten days, it seemed like getting home to go into a
Presbyterian church and hear a sermon from an American pastor. The
singing in the choir was so homelike, that when they sang "Awake my soul
to joyful lays and sing thy great Redeemer's praise," it seemed to me
that I heard a well known tenor voice from across the sea, especially in
the refrain "His loving kindness, oh how free." The text was "As an
eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad
her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings, so the Lord did lead
him and there was no strange God with him." Deut. 32: 11. It was a
wonderful sermon and I shall never forget it. On our way home, we
noticed the usual traffic going on, building of houses, women were
standing in their doors knitting and there seemed to be no sign of
Sunday keeping, outside of the church.
_London, October_ 31.--John and I returned together from Paris and now I
have only a few days left before sailing for home. There was an
Englishman here to-day who was bragging about the beer in England being
so much better than could be made anywhere else. He said, "In America,
you have the 'ops, I know, but you haven't the Thames water, you know."
I suppose that would make a vast difference!
_Sunday, November_ 3.--We went to hear Rev. Dr. Joseph Parker preach at
Exeter Hall. He is a new light, comparatively, and bids fair to rival
Spurgeon and Newman Hall and all the rest. He is like a lion and again
like a lamb in the pulpit.
_Liverpool, November_ 6.--I came down to Liverpool to-day with Abbie and
nurse, to sail on the Baltic, to-morrow. There were two Englishmen in
our compartment and hearing Abbie sing "I have a Father in the Promised
Land," they asked her where her Father lived and she said "In America,"
and told them she was going on the big ship to-morrow to see him. Then
they turned to me and said they supposed I would be glad to know that
the latest cable from America was that U. S. Grant was elected for his
second term as President of the United States. I assured them that I was
very glad to hear such good news.
_November_ 9.--I did not know any of the passengers when we sailed, but
soon made pleasant acquaintances. Near me at table are Mr. and Mrs.
Sykes from New York and in course of conversation I found that she as
well as myself, was born in Penn Yan, Yates County, New York, and that
her parents were members of my Father's church, which goes to prove that
the world is not so very wide after all. Abbie is a great pet among the
passengers and is being passed around from one to another from morning
till night. They love to hear her sing and coax her to say "Grace" at
table. She closes her eyes and folds her hands devoutly and says, "For
what we are about to receive, may the Lord make us truly thankful." They
all say "Amen" to this, for they are fearful that they will not perhaps
be "thankful" when they finish!