The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-12-22
WASHINGTON, D. C.
lCONCLUDED.I


Yon might hear describe, my dear, should think.
E.G.
] saw a come near being killed
Because, like men, be borrid self willed
About TO start for a city far,
lie climbing up a railroad car;
Now the were going-were almost gone,
lie had bag ard shawl but he would get on,
And so he did, twas a sight TO appa,
For if he had fslen-he didn't fall
They have gone straight over him. bag and all.
Indeed |, myself was not very far
From being over, though not by a car
Bot a cart dragged eloss by broken-down Dobbin,
Whose scrsggy old head kept n bob-bob-b obbin'-
very ignoble kind ofwsy
To depart from this life, you will justly say
Because, if you must, for original sin,
Have your senses knocked by your skull knocke
in,
lis a mitigation, il is indeed,
To have il done by high-meli.ed steed,
Bestrode perhaps, at least in plan,
BY a very, uncommoniy, " nice young man.
With black moustache and g such loves OF eyesn-
Who shall pick you up with remorseful sigh-,
And beg all the doctors to their art
To bring back the pulse 10 your pulseless heart,
And ihen-and then-Oh us pretty, very
And leave out The best, the corollary;
But, dear me, where's The 10 brsg on,
Killed outright by a one-h horse wagon?
One evening, also, in taking a walk,
Begung the way with pie asant talk
Climbing hills excessively steep
That the only way get up creep
And the way TO get down on the other side
Was 10 put yourself into position and slide
AS Governor Banks, if report be true,
Would contineently suffer the Union TO do
Gathering raspberries ripe and rare,
Lazy lounging everywhere,
Watching the ants unceasing feet
Obeying some inv ard IN lDdsta,
And wondering. in the midsummer heat,
How they could ever stand il
Glad rather to be The uckess-est wight
That ever dined off or of h,rbs,
Than TO work like ami all the days of your life
And then to be picked in proverbs;
Looking up in the silent sky
Through leafy arches waving high,
Al pearl pale coudlets floating by;
And tasting in all their luscious plenty,
The sweets of the deles far niente;
We suddenly found that the night had come,
And we were alariningfy far I'm home
One half AT least of the nursery rhyme
Would Apply TO US that dismal time;
Fos where we were, and how Jared,
Nobody knew, If many cared. r.
Then arose some exciting scenes,
Discussing the question OF ways and means
What was the probab homeward way
There wasn't soul that pretended 10 say;
But to stand debating would never do,
For darker and darker IT. evening" grew,
And " lost in the waods" il TO great fun;
But tie sole tang thought OF, that could be DONE
Was TO start in some direction and run
All then and the e was a wonderful scurrying
Leapng, and plunging, and painting, and hurIying,
stumbling over the fallen trees,
A shudde'ing al every sigh of the breeze,
marvellous scaling of FIVE rail fences
Entirely regardless Of consequences
A pitching into all sorts of bitches
And coming out with the of the pitches,
rusuing of cambria, streaming of ribbon,
And Declines ana Fsils, not found in 0ibbon;
And "a coming al last TO thsedge OF the woods
Al terrible cost in the way of dry goods,
And looking back in The darkness there
TO catch gmps of a huge black bear.
Or, we didn't exactly see hun, but ,hen,
We were told next day. by several men,
That bear had been killed there two winters ago,
BY party of braves from the farms below;
Aud we certainly mething furry and black,
n 1 a dozen feet from our homeward track,
Aud m wing towards Us, twas easy 10 prove,
Or looking rs if it going 10
My, my dear, twas pais plain could be;
lfyou don't believe it. just 80 and see.
CANTo Military.
Arms and the man sang the old-world Bard
And |, when heard that The Light Horse Guard
Were furnishing up their furnished swords,
And producing powder from hidden boards,
And brushi & their beautiful go.d-lace coats
And buttotng their collars close up their thoat
Ard waving their plumes as if marching to war
As G. liant and brave the young Lochnvar,
Remembered the words of the old Mantuan,
Whose trumpet-ring is enough to Undue
With partial love, and pride, and FIRE;
And was seized with a sudden desire,
A martial ardor, a noble rage,
A sacred fury that naught could assuage
Bat the smell OF powder, although admit
I'm not oversize ked with what Yankees call grit"
But am, I'D confess if my rhyme would allow,
Chckenhe hearted, and since it will not avow
I'm only endowed with the courage of puIlets,
And like my powder without the bullets
]; occurs 10 me, since began 10 write,
Twas a wonderful case of second. sight,
marvellous prescience-the unseen power
That often provides for future weai,
By using the mood of the present hour,
To ward off the blows which the years shall deal.
For, look you, il Governor Wise should come
laundering nc rfwsrd with beating of drum,
And braying of ,rumpcts, and tooting of fife,
And firing OF cannon, and war 10 the Knife,
Having blown the Army 10 Mercury
with the breath ofhis angry lips,
And snapped The Navy Jupiter
With his thumb and inger-tips,
Having taken the Capitol, Treasury, White House,
AID demolished that overgrown Cape Cod Lighthous
Called The Washington Monument-why, 'rwould L
good
To know little how matters stood;
To see if from all epsule,s
We could excavate hero
Whc could tilt n ,ance measure a swcrd
With General Tsaferro;
II our small-fsed farmers and artisans
Unchivalsoss, meek and merry,
Could prove a match on the battle field
For the warriors of Hsrpers Ferry.
(Achilles and they would splendidy match,
And make an invincible air;
For he invincible all but his heels
And they are invincble THEREBY
Well il happened, whatever the mot We might be,
That took a friend, a friend took me,
And went out in quest of the sights 10 see.
Never the witty Horatius Flaccus
Met in The streets Of Rome, / wis,
Throneing the rites of Semelean Bacchus,
Mobilium turba Q4iriti,tm like this.
Nurses with babies and babies with toys,
Making the most indies cribable noise;
hosmakers, come from the driving of pegs,
Tailors uncuring traditional legs,
Crinoiine crushing its crepitous way,
Organ men grinding a dolorous lay,
Monkey careering in wonderful antic
And driving the small boys delightedly frantic;
wheels lnterlocking with terrible crashes,
Draymen king their tortuous lashes,
Not knowing precisely just where the smash is;
Young lady frightened by gambolling cur.
No room TO faint and il there were,
Best glove is missing-no chance for a search,
Peep hastily earth-ward, the crowd gives a lurch,
Forcing you into unwilling adhesion
To smiling, red-whiskered, blue shirted Milesian-
And 10! there the soldiers, the cause Of your woe,
body ofcavalry, CONNIE IL faut,
" All saddled all bridled, all fiji for a 6ght,n
And what, after all, is the wonderful sightf
Scores of lean horses with very fat riders
Imposing doubt TO youthful outsiders,
Bot not even having the grace to look canty
As Burns did 10 balance his Rosinante-
And man before them with iron lung,
And brazen throat, and churchben tongue,
Mems nn a canIinual steady sc-eech %