Old Abe.

As i am such a poor composer I feel that I cannot do justice to any subject, but I consider there is always a beginning to evry thing, and so will make a trial, and will shall take for my subject the war Eagle Old Abe and will give you his history as far as I am able.

 

I have been told he was caught by an Indian belonging to the Brotherhood tribe who live on the Fox River in this State, and was given or sold to one of the regiments from this State.

 

He has been in a great many battles, and (if I recollect right what I have heard he was wounded) He now belongs to the State, lives at the Capitol, and has all the delicases of the country, and eny thing he wishes for and nothing to trouble him, but to see and be seen. He has visits from all strangers who come to the Capitol. 

 

In the spring of the Year 1868 he left home to attend the National Convention at Chicago, to nominate a President, but I have not seen any reliable account, showing how the Hon. old Gentleman voted, prehaps he was neutral, but I think he is a good union Eagle and loves his country.

 

I never had the pleasure of an introduction to him, but met him in this City at the Soldiers Home fair, and was lucky enough to pick up one of his feathers, under the perch on which he sat, but the companion of Old Abe the person who had him in charge would not let me keep it, as a feather out of Old Abe was very valuable and all that fell were sent to his old comrades in the war as a momento of the hard fought battles they had been in together. And I hope he may live a great many years more as history tells us they live to a great / age and that he may never be called upon to go into battle again.

 

With this very poor history of Old Abe, I will stop and will expect you to excuse me if it does not meet with your favor, as I told you in the beginning I am a poor hand at writing compositions. /

                                                                                               

Olive Buttles

2^nd Grade

 

[upside down]

 

& & &                                     A New York Teaparty

& The company commonly assemble at 3 o'clock unless it is a in winter time, when the fashionable hours are a little earlier, that the ladies may get home before dark.

 

The tea table is crowned with a huge earthen dish, well stoced with slices of fat pork, fried ham, cut up into morsels, & swimming in gravy. The company is seated around the table & each being furnished with a fork they try their dexterity in getting the fattest pieces in the dish, in much the same manner as Indians spear salmon in the lakes. Sometimes the table is graced with immense apple pies or saucers full of preserved peaches or pears, but it is always sure to boast of an enormous dish of balls of sweetened dough fried in lard & called dough-nuts, a delicious kind of cakes scarce known in the city. The tea is served out of a very large tea pot ornamented with paintings of shepherds and shepherdesses taking care of geese & chickens boats sailing in the air & houses built in the clouds & other little [?] It is the custom of the beaux to see how quick they can drink up the contents of the teapot / To sweeten the tea a lump of sugar is laid beside each cup & the company keep continuously nibbling & sipping untill they have finished. At these parties the greatest propriety & best deportments prevail. No flirting, no coquetting, chattering & romping of young ladies, nor amusing & monkey tricks of young gentlemen. On the contrary the young ladies seat themselves in the straight high back chairs & go to work steadily at their kniting & never open their lips unless excepting to say "Yes, sir" or "Yes madam" to any question that is asked them behaving in all things like decent & well educated damsels. As to the gentlemen, as each of them smoke their pipe.

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