1. "Andrew's Eggs"
Posted by Kat on Jul-11th-02 at 4:51 AM

I have pondered the origin of "The Andrew Selling EGGS Story" for quite some time.  I never really believed it, and since it seemed that nobody cared but me... I decided to spend some time looking around.  Alas, the search is not yet finished, but if anyone can add to this list, please do!


KENT, Forty Whacks, 1992, p. 2 :
"It was not an unusual sight to see gaunt, Scrooge-like Andrew, in the black, double-breasted Prince Albert and string  tie he wore winter or summer, carrying a basket of eggs from his farm to sell on his way to the bank."


BROWN, The Legend, The Truth..., 1991, p.33 :
" Andrew collected his many rents personally, and it was not uncommon to see him on his rounds with a basket of eggs. These were a product of his farm holdings, and he offered them for sale at just one penny more a dozen than the leading local grocer. It is difficult to picture a more than six foot tall, slim, seventy-year-old, dour-faced man dressed in his trademark morning clothes maintaining his dignity with a rent book in one hand and a basket of eggs in the other. "


LINCOLN, A Private Disgrace, 1967, p. 50 :
" (On occasion, Andrew went down street carrying a little wicker basket of eggs, solemn in his long black Prince Albert, and peddled them to his business associates. To Andrew, money was money; he could reverence a nickel as much as a thousand dollars. He sold those eggs like an altar boy following the priest with a little tray to prevent a crumb of the Host from falling to the ground.)"

p. 56:
  "Only, he had no imagination, and he was obsessed with his property, large and small---though one of the richest men in town he saw nothing funny about peddling his spare eggs downstreet in that little wicker basket."

-----------------------------------

-There is no reference to eggs in the Inquest.
-Preliminary, Morse, p. 246 & 248:
"I got some eggs from there (the farm) for Mr. Borden, that is all."
Later Morse is asked, "Then you went over to Swansea and did an errand for Mr. Borden, got some eggs for him?"  Morse replied, "Yes, Sir."
-In the Trial, the only "egg" referred to is the Egg-breaking dare by the jail Matron to Lizzie.
-In the Witness Statements, "eggs" are part of the reason Morse gives Eddy for visiting the farm. 
P. 36:  Frederick Eddy:  "He said Mr. Borden sent him over to see how I was, and get the eggs."  He mentions that Morse brought 3 pears in a rattan basket...."I said to him, after he got his eggs, 'how about the oxen Mr. Davis of South Dartmouth was to have to use?' "...."Since hearing of the murder, it has seemed to me a singular coincidence that he should have come over that night for the eggs, for had he not, I should have taken the train and gone to Mr. Borden's Thursday morning...."
-Any reference to Andrew selling eggs on his business rounds does not appear in:
deMille.....1968
Porter.......1893
Radin.......1961
Spiering...1984
Sullivan....1974    or
Pearson's "TRIAL"...1937
-Some of these may contain the jailhouse story of Lizzie trying to break an egg.
-So far, then, the earliest reference is good ole' Lincoln.
-This took a long time, and I still don't know who started this anecdote...I thought it would be Pearson.  It still COULD be Pearson, but in one of his essays. (?).  Anybody have an essay?

The obvious threat is this: Buy these cracked eggs at a higher price than in the stores, or get thrown out next month. There's plenty who are willing to pay more for your rooms.
Since they controlled the banks and loans, they can restrict new building to get the highest amount. It still goes on nowadays [zoning laws to restrict new, competitive buildings].

In "The Borden Case" (Studies in Murder)Pearson writes: "I have heard him described by one who remembers him coming from his farm -- a tall and erect old man, in his black clothes, carrying a little basket of eggs.  That last bit is significant; Mr. Borden owned farms across the Taunton River, in addition to more than one house in the city.  He had built one of the best office buildings in Fall River and the value of his estate was between $250,000 and $300,000.  Yet he was not averse to bringing a few eggs to town, and selling them to some dealer." (p.11 Modern Library edition, 1938)

Finally!
thankyouthankyouthankyou. Diana.

You have a good memory.

O.K....now, this originally came out in 1924, and I believe it is Pearson's first stab at writing about the Borden case.

You quote, "I have heard him described by one who remembers him..."

I wonder who this is, and why they are not named.  I suppose because Lizzie was still alive?  Do we just blindly believe this description, uncorroborated?  I guess it could be *common knowledge* or gossip, but only one person is specified.  And Pearson doesn't get everything just right.

It couldn't be Andrew's *in-laws*, or his sister... they were gone by 1907.

Charles Cook was still alive...he was around until 1934.

I wonder if this tale can ever BE succesfully traced?

Oh, Kat -- you flatter me! Of course I didn't just remember where I'd read that.  It was your suggestion that led me to the Pearson essays. 

And, I agree, it is frustrating when authors don't credit their sources.  We'll never know who told Pearson about the eggs, I guess. 

But as far as Pearson not always getting things right -- I know that Radin proved, quite neatly, how Pearson had edited the trial testimony to bolster his own assertion of Lizzie's guilt. But Radin seemed to stop there.  Do you know of other instances where Pearson "got it wrong"?

[Edit Here:  I take it back.  I cannot say Pearson got it wrong.  I guess I really think that he tended to sensationalize, or "popularize"--what I mean is to capture and describe aspects about the characters and case that tended toward "legend" with a bit of "myth" thrown in.
Since I have none of the essays here now, that's the most I can say now.  But I do like the way he presents the case.]

Pearson repeated scurrilious (sp.) gossip, though he still is my favorite author on the case.  He seemed pretty rational about what he did print.  He did repeat the "cat-killing" slander about our Lizzie, but went on to admit it sounded implausible to him...This is sort of what I meant...repeating these things keep them in the public memory more than his personal stated belief in it's lack of foundation.  But he did write a *fine line*, balancing this *popular* aspect of behind-the-scenes revalations, with more responsible reporting.  It was obviously a very successful approach, if he is still read and admired today! [Edit].

Some people believe he was simply a Librarian, and never interviewed real characters, but I disagree.

I wish I had all his essay's here.  I could go through them and answer you properly.

Anyway, I WAS impressed with your answer...Stef and I talked about you at dinner tonight!  You give references and page numbers and are so helpful...yea, I'm impressed!  Thanks again!

(Message last edited Jul-12th-02  2:01 AM.)