MARY, RALPH, JAKE AND SIBYLLA VISIT THE ALLENTOWN FAIR.
Late in September Jake and Sibylla drove to the Allentown Fair. It was
"Big Thursday" of Fair week. They started quite early, long before
Ralph Jackson, who had come from the city the day previous, to take
Mary to the Fair, had arisen.
[Illustration: SECOND CHURCH BUILDING
Sheltered Liberty Bell, 1777-78. Photographed from the print of an old
wood cut used in a German newspaper in the year 1840]
Mary, while appreciating Sibylla's good qualities, never failed to be
amused at her broad "Pennsylvania German" dialect.
The morning of the "Fair," Mary arose earlier than usual to allow
Sibylla and Jake to get an early start, as it was quite a distance
from the farm to the Fair grounds. As they were about to drive away,
Sibylla, alighting from the carriage, said, "I forgot my
'Schnupftuch.'" Returning with it in her hand, she called, as she
climbed into Jake's buggy, "Gut-by, Mary, it looks fer rain."
"Yes" said Jake, "I think it gives rain before we get back yet. The
cornfodder in the barn this morning was damp like it had water on it."
And said Mary, "The fragrance of the flowers was particularly
noticeable early this morning." Jake, as it happened, was no false
prophet. It did rain before evening.
Later in the day, Mary and Ralph drove to a near-by town, leaving
horse and carriage at the hotel until their return in the evening, and
boarded a train for Allentown. On arriving there, they decided to walk
up Hamilton Street, and later take a car out to the Fair grounds. As
they sauntered slowly up the main street, Mary noticed a small church
built between two large department stores and stopped to read a tablet
on the church, which informed the passerby that "this is to
commemorate the concealment of the Liberty Bell during the
Revolutionary War. This tablet was erected by the Liberty Bell Chapter
of the Daughters of the Revolution."
The First Zion's Reformed Church was founded in 1762. In front of the
Church a rough block of granite, erected to the memory of John Jacob
Mickley, contained the following inscription: "In commemoration of the
saving of the Liberty Bell from the British in 1777. Under cover of
darkness and with his farm team, he, John Mickley, hauled the Liberty
Bell from Independence Hall, Philadelphia, through the British lines,
to Bethlehem, where the wagon broke down. The Bell was transferred to
another wagon, brought to Allentown, placed beneath the floor of the
_Second_ Church building of Zion's Reformed Church, where it remained
secreted nearly a year. This _tablet_ was placed by the order of the
Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, June 2nd, 1907, under
the auspices of the Pennsylvania Daughters of the Revolution."
This was all very interesting to a girl who had been born and reared
in Philadelphia; one who in earliest childhood had been taught to love
and venerate the "old Bell."
Ralph was quite as interested in reading about the old Bell as was
Mary, and said; "Did you know that the City of Philadelphia purchased
the State House property, which included the Bell, in 1818, in
consideration of the sum of seventy thousand dollars? No building is
ever to be erected on the ground inside the wall on the south side of
the State House, but it is to remain a public green and walk forever?"
[Illustration]
"No," replied Mary, "I did not know that. I don't think we will see
anything of greater interest than this at the Fair."
"I understand," said Ralph, "this is the third church building built
on this site, where the original church stood in which the Bell was
secreted."
Mary, possessing a fair share of the curiosity usually attributed to
the "female of the species," on noticing the church door standing
ajar, asked Ralph to step inside with her, thinking to find the
caretaker within; but no one was visible. A deep silence reigned in
the cool, dim interior of the House of God.
One could almost feel the silence, 'twas so impressive. Slowly they
walked up the wide church aisle and stood before the quaint baptismal
font. A stray sunbeam glancing through one of the beautiful,
variously-colored memorial windows, lighted up the pictured saint-like
faces over the chancel, making them appear as if imbued with life.
Mary softly whispered to Ralph, as if loath to profane the sacredness
of the place by loud talking, "I seem to hear a voice saying, 'The
Lord is in His holy temple.'" Quietly retracing their steps, they,
without meeting any one, emerged into the bright sunlight and were
soon in the midst of the turmoil and traffic incident to the principal
business street of a city.
The young folks boarded a trolley and in a short time reached the Fair
grounds, which offered many attractions to Ralph as well as Mary. The
latter was interested in the fine display of needlework, fruits,
flowers and vegetables of unusual size. Aunt Sarah's bread won a
prize. A blue ribbon attached to Frau Schmidt's highly-prized,
old-fashioned, patchwork quilt, showed it to be a winner. Ralph, being
interested in the pens of fancy chickens, prize cattle, etc., Mary
reluctantly left the woman's department of fancy work, and other
interesting things, and accompanied him. On their way to the outlying
cattle sheds they noticed two lovers sitting on a bench. Upon a second
glance they were convinced that it was Jake and Sibylla. Jake, beaming
with happiness, said, "Sibylla vos side by me yet?" They were busily
engaged eating a lunch consisting of rolls with hot "weiners" between
the two halves, or, as Jake called them, "Doggies," munching pretzels
and peanuts between sips of strong coffee, both supremely happy. A
yearly visit to the Allentown Fair on "Big Thursday," was _the event_
in their dull, prosaic lives.
[Illustration: DURHAM CAVE]