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As quoted from: St. Nicholas Songs, The Century Company, c. 1885
Mary Mapes Dodge
Told me so I could not doubt it, How she danced -my grandma danced! Long ago. How she held her pretty head, How her dainty skirt she spread, Turning out her little toes; How she slowly leaned and rose- Long ago." | Dimpled cheeks, too, -ah, how funny! Really quite a pretty girl, Long ago. Bless her! why, she wears a cap, Grandma does, and takes a nap Every single day; and yet Grandma dance the minuet Long ago." | Grandma says; but boys were charming- Girls and boys, I mean, of course- Long ago. Brave but modest, grandly shy- She would like to have us try Just to feel like those who met In the graceful minuet Long ago." |
archived 03/18/09
 | " Whatever it is, the open fire gives the last touch of domesticity to a home. It is worth the little extra expense it costs to have its daily beauty and brightness, and no one who has ever been able to compass it will ever again do without its joy. In localities where wood is plenty and to be had for the trouble of getting it, people may indulge themselves in rousing fires with a big black log, or a roaring blaze which goes joyously up the chimney and diffuses warmth through a large room." " That is for the dweller in the country. We of the town sometimes have to be satisfied with a mere imitation blaze in the shape of a gas log, and this is better than nothing, but best of all is the real thing itself." |
archived 02/20/09
 | Division is as bad, The rule of three it puzzles me, But fractions drive me mad. |
archived 02/03/09
 | "1. A little girl has come, with her mother, to see a show of foreign animals. 2. The large bird, which we see, is an emeu, and is found in New Holland. 3. It is somewhat like an ostrich; but it has three toes, while the ostrich has only two. Neither the ostrich nor the emeu can fly. 4. In the cages we can see a lion and an orang-outang. The orang-outang belongs to the monkey family. It is found in the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, and in some other countries. 5. Its arms are so long that the tips of the fingers can touch the ground when it stands upright. Its body is covered with coarse, reddish hair. 6. Lions are found in India and in Africa. The African lion is the largest and strongest. He has large, fiery eyes, and a long, shaggy mane. 7. His roaring is like the sound of distant thunder; and, when he is angry, he lays his head to the ground and growls so terribly that the animals which hear him are struck with affright." |
archived 01/24/09
A Tale of the Days of Discounts in New-York by Epes Sargent "Mr. Buckwood was reclining, after a fashion peculiar to himself, in a luxurious arm-chair, a segar in his mouth, and one leg stretched upon an adjacent table, while the other rested upon the head of a plaster Shakspeare. Mr. Singleton was pacing the floor with impatient strides, and with a face, which betrayed anxiety and vexation." " 'Be cool, man,' said Mr. Buckwood, lazily exhaling a cloud of tobacco-smoke; 'take comfort. It will be all the same a hundred years hence.' " |
archived 01/19/09
 | Carols in the street; People going with bundles Everywhere we meet. Holly, fir, and spruce boughs Green upon the wall; Spotless snow along the road, More about to fall!" |
archived 12/14/08
 | "About the table meet to-day, and feast with joy and mirth; And many a tender word they say around the radiant hearth. And thanks they give to God above, whose hand upon their way Has been a hand of constant love and led them to this day. 'God save and bless the dear home-land! God save our flag from shame, God keep us ever, strong to stand A nation in His name.' So, from its dawn to sunset's hour, we keep Thanksgiving Day. For sheaf and seed, for bud and flower, for life and death we say, 'All glory to the Lord of Hosts! All glory, honor, praise!' The psalm is heard on all our coasts, our seas and inland bays." - Margaret E. Sangster |
archived 11/12/08
 | "The school luncheon is a matter upon which the girl and her mother find it difficult to agree. The desire that her child shall eat nourishing digestible food leads the parent to frown upon such indigestible and toothsome dainties as tarts, fruit cake, doughnuts and crullers. Too often when the girl's lunch box does not contain that which her sweet tooth craves, her mid-day 'snack' is supplemented by a piece of pie from the nearest baker's . . ." |
archived 10/13/08
| "Another thing to be considered is, that we Americans eat more animal food than almost any other civilized nation. A super abundance of animal food is not good for the stomach; and when persons who indulge themselves too freely in this article of diet, are of sedentary habits, or do not use a great deal of exercise, ill consequences may easily be foreseen. With respect to exercise, very few persons, except labourers, use enough of it; and constant bodily employment, in the case of labouring people, prevents many of the bad effects which might otherwise arise from errors in diet. Hence it comes that labourers seldom have the dyspepsia, and very seldom the consumption; notwithstanding they are more exposed to the changes of weather than others. People must do one of three things, viz., use a good deal of exercise, be very temperate, or be sick." |
archived 10/05/08
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archived 09/27/08
 | We do not waste time when we take outdoor exercise. This, too, some of us need to remember. When we are ordered by our medical counselors to walk or drive every day, to get the air somehow and set the blood in motion, we are ready to obey, but a more sensible way would be to anticipate the prescription and take the exercise so that we may keep well. |
archived 09/15/08
 | The choice of a school is a very important thing. In these days, when graded schools and excellent public schools abound in cities, many parents at once send their children there. There is, however, a choice among these, and a choice also between public and private schools. For some children the smaller private school is far better during the first years, and where parents can afford to pay for their children's tuition, they should hesitate long before sending a little child into the crowded classroom where one young teacher is obliged to train as many as fifty or sixty children, which frequently happens in our large cities. |
archived 09/05/08
 | Do be good, dear girls and boys, Do not let me hear this noise! Take your books and slates, or play Quiet games while I'm away. |
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