How She Felt in Her First Corset, and Other Poems

A tightly laced corset turns a town party into a comic complaint in the opening poem of this small collection. Published in Butte, Montana, in 1887, Matthew W. Alderson's verses move among local gatherings, courtship, family affection, and everyday arguments about money. The title piece places farmers, riders, and their families at a celebration in Belgrade, where fashionable dress proves uncomfortable for one young dancer.

Humor sits beside direct advice about kindness and marriage. A lover offers devotion as his greatest possession, while the answering letter weighs household work and financial security. Elsewhere, a proud horse becomes an image for the difference between harsh treatment and patient guidance, and preparations for a baby bring domestic happiness into focus. These short poems offer a view of nineteenth-century American social expectations through conversational voices, rhymed exchanges, and occasional pointed jokes.