Juliet signal. [volume] (Juliet [i.e. Joliet], Ill.) 1844-1???, 1862-09-02
MY CONTRIBUTION.

| had actually subscribed fee hundred
dollars! Not in all the history of my Civ
ings VAS there parallel to this. Five
hundred dollars! looked at the 6Iled-up
cheek after cutting it free from its blank
c mpanions, with fond reluctant ewes, ere
passing it to other hands; yet | was not
the grudging giyer this little hesitation i'm
piled. My bes was in the cause of ma
ii nal honor aud natl nal safety; and 10
+. caifirirg something for my country was
but disclsrging public duty. This was
my contribution to a fund our citizens we're
rsisigg { hospital and salitary needs. If
double the sum had been required Of ne
double W ii have teen given.
80 much Tor my country" said in
tn ught with feeling Of self-approval. |
felt ,hatI was a better and truer man for
the act. 'lf every enc would 90 as well
according t. circumstances There came
a slight chill To- my enthusiasm, consequent
on the thought that ! was doing So much
more. according u my ability than other
people. had seen the sUhscripuen paper.
Ii bore The record IT no larger contribution
than mine. Two citizens Only had put
down their uam,s for five hundred dol
arS.
To have given equally" | said to my
self. Mr. IIarlaud SHOULD have made bis
c. ntributiun a thOusan1 dollars instead &C
five hundred and Grant should at least
have come ~ to MY figures d. liar for dol
lar, he is quite rs well IF as | am. Then
as for L .mkinS, | cant see how he had
courage TO write down only fifty, IN the
face Of Eaf d, zen poorer men who each
! 1--WE their hundred. But we have test of
patriotism it ihls, and know where Ia place
men. Love Of country is a fne thing To
talk about. but when sacrifice is asked, how
rarely do we lind we'd aud deed in har-
muny."
1t is the most natural thing in the world
! 10 lie. speech .betray our thoughts. As
! moved about friends and acquaintances, a
word dropped here and a seBtance there,
revealed the secret Of my self-ap proyal; ana
doubt not that nearly all Of them under
stood what was goiug on in my hand-how
! l considered my contribution to the war
| fund, taking means into account, as the
| largest made by any man in the town.
| For me, Eve hundred dollars was large
! sum to give away. Tens, twenties, and an
\ occasion fifty, under the pressure of public
| calls for church or charitable needs, had
| passed ont through the carelessly loosened
! pure-strings. that drew back again with in.
( creasing tghtness on the diminished gold
/ but giving after this Ii beral and exhaust
| ing style was altogether a new experience
felt something poorer on account thereof
and began to mediate economies. When
| paid a thousand dollars Cor pair OF hor-
ses no i'm oppression like this was perceived
not even when enc of them got injured BY
q fall, and / parted with him for one hun
bred and fifty dollars. Here was dead
loss of three hundred and fifty dollars; bu
In face Of it nothing 50 like sense of pow
erty touched me as in the face of my con-
trIbution to the hospital and sanitary fund
| did not feel poorer for the three hundred
my fsh-yODd, though the money paid there
for was sunk investment, every dollar
nor for the six or seven hundred paid fol
summer-hOuses, garden statuary, and fancy
work about my grounds and dwelling. All
this being for my own qualification could
afford. The expence was calculated, and
taken as thing Of course. But this five
| hundred dollar gift to our country in heI
time OF pressing need, freely as 1t was be-
slowed, left me with feeling Of exhaus'
ton, as though weakened by an efOrI
greater than my strength.
| No wonder, such being the case, that
talked rather more than was seeming Of
what had done. We havein our town an
excellent but plain.spoken man, who, hi:
! life being one of the strictest integrity does
not stand in fear of anybody's opinion
He is not a rough or obstrusive man, but
as have said, plain-spokeD, free from
guile aud fattery. You can hardly con
verse with him for ten minutes without
knowing yourself little better than when
you began the conversation. His name is
| Preston.
I'VE have done our part" l said to him
as we stood together in the street one day.
We had been speaking of the war, and tine
necessity of supporting the government to
the full exten. of its needs. referred, in
saying sour part" to the various contribu-
tiOns in men and money which the people
in our particular locality had made, and
especially to the late subscription, which
footed up three dollars, Three thousand