The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1847-09-02
Another Letter from Ma or Jack
Downing.
Or THE ROAD TO THE WAR,
AITEI'g1 1874

AUGUST, 1917.
Mr.: GALES & SEAToN:
My dear old friends: spose you'll be a.
mazngIy disapnted to find I'm way Off here,
pu5hin on to the seat of war, and didn't call
to sec you when came through Washington.
But you mustn't blame me forit, for | couldn't
help it; the President wouldn't let me call :
he said I was getting quite too thick with
you, writing letters to you and all that. And
when he spoke about letters, he looked kind
of red and showed considerable spunll.
Says he, Major Downing, | have put a
good deal of confidence in you as a friend Of
my administration and if you are q friend
to it, you must let Gales and Seatou alone !;
keep ont Of their way and have nothing to do
with them; they are dangerous, niSchiet.ma-
king feers, cternally peckin at my adj
ministraion, all weathcrs. Let me try to
keep things ever SO snug, and lay my plans
ever 50 deep, they are sure to dig them all
up, lug them into the Intclligcnccr, and blaze
'cm all over the country. Comiound their
picturs, they are the most troublesome custo-
mers an administration ever had; they We
come pretty near swapping me two or three
times. So, if you are my friend, | warn you
not to be so thcl, with Gales and Seaton,
Well, says |, Colonel, you know I am a
friend to you and your administration, as
much as | ever WAS to the old Gineral and
his administration; and [ shall stand by you
and do every thing to help you out of this
scrapc you've got into about The war But |
don't know as thatnced to make me break
with Gales and Seaton. We've been old
friends SO long, it would be kind of hard for
me to give 'em up now; and l don't hardly
think they are quite SO bad as YOU think for.
They may not mean to do you so much hurt
when they put these things into their paper,
and only put themin because they think folks
want to know what's goin on. Mr.. Richie
sometimes puts things into his paper that folks
think don't do you 10 good.
The President give two or three hard
chaws upon his cud Of tobacco and says he,
Yes, Major, that's too true, it must be con-
fessed and it annoys me beyond all patience.
But then | have to forgive it and overlook it,
because Mr.. Richie don'tmoan it. The old
gentleman is always sorry for it, and always
willing to take it back. And then he's such
turf old Teller to fight the federalists cam
have a heart to scold at him much about his
mistakes and plumbers.
Well, says |, Colonel, being you've named
federaliSts, want to know if any of them an
imals is really supposed to be alive and where
in the country nowadays. Seeing seh aw-
fil accounts about them in the Union paper
all the time, l enquired all the way along
through New England, where they used to be
the thickcst, and couldn't get track Of one
and when | asked the folks there was any
fedcralists any where in them quarters, they
all stared at me and said they didn't know
what kind Of critters they was. When | got
to Downingville [ asked uncle Joshua about
it. He said, in his younger days there used
to be considerable many Of 'em about, but
they wasn't thought to be dangerous, for they
never was much given to fighting. But he
said he guessed they'd all died out long ago,
for he hadn't come across one this twenty
years, So now Colonel, says |, how is it they
are 50 thick in Mr. Riches paper all the
time ?
At that he gave me very knowing kind o
look, and lowered his voice down almost tt
a whisper; and says he, Major, I'll tell you
how that is. When Mr., Richie was a youn!
man he used to fight good deal with the fed
cralists, and took good deal of pride in it