Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1866-11-18
MEFEOREC JEU D,ESPRIT.
Brick POmeFOy's Observations - How
He Watched, what lie Saw, and What
Happened 10 Him.

] EedQ IN t1e AilAaiidES THAI oi Ai4C ACtH
November, 4. ID. 1866, there was TO be
grand shower Of meat or meteors from wa,
up there way down here, commencing a
three o'clock in the early pant of the morn
ing. The papers all said 50, too. Th'
wives, widows, children, cooks, chamber
maids, pretty girls and unpretty girls, al
said 50. What a meteor was l knew not
As the shower was coming from the Little
Bear, / thought it was sausage storm
which / could bear. Thought it was sau-
sage storm, for the sage5 foresaw, or the ioul
Eages saw it. Thought could meet it with
Platonic emotion Then / found it was mol
meat, but shower Of stones in a liquid
form. OF course they were precious stones.
| So said the cook, the chambermaid, and
everybody. l wanted some, SO resolved to
| be on hand.
Midnight came The subscriber sleeped
not. Like JOSEPH, he slept not because he
was not sleepy. / dozed till two o'clock in
the A. NJ, and in the bed, or words to that
effect. | wrestIed with the ghost of five
dozen raw oysters, four pigs feet, head of
cabbage, bottles of catsup. aAd ten mugs of
ale. 1t was a severe wrestle, and breathed
the free air of my native hills as it went
marching on. l arose at two. 1t was the
first rose of autumn at that hour. l looked at
my watch. 1t was three. l thanked the
Giver of all good that l was not in New
York, when the brave, basutiful BUTLER,
with his secondhand eye was there, or my
watch would have run down to Lowell!
The meteor shower was a free show. Re
served seats for ladies. l wanted front
seat and arose to onectI manufactured my
toilet Ia General, WAsHBURN as he tore it
out of Memphis like aphantom flag of truce.
l would have made a good ballet girl for the
Black-Crook, but my waterfall was not con-
structed right for the wear and tear of the
stage. Vide SMYTH! l went upward like
DANIEL in the lion institute, or like ELIJAH
with his skating park head. l arose through
the skylight to the dignity of the roof. The
morning was in the dim distance-very
much that way. The twilight was colder
than the skylight, and l tried them both
My opera glass was ct my uncle's-had been
to three balls and didn't return!
Must have glasses. Took one along in
sections. The right-hand barrel came to a
focus on rye! The left-hand barrel acted
on cogniacl To look through this style of
upper-a-glass, shut both eyes and open the
mouth. Through a dark glass things are
seen-at times. With this style of glass we
had a sky-light view. sat on the roof 1t
was "rooF place to rest on. Not like
come rest in this bosom to which we a-spi-
rol Of us. The air was foreign. 1t was
chill But we were not North or South
merry cuss for all that Who would be
merry cuss, sitting on cold roof dressed as
| was, waiting for something to turn up?
dangled feet over the ledge. l saw stars
overhead. | looked up for once in my life,
you bet. My neck ached. Then | tried
the glasses-frst one barrel, then two.
Above us were stars. l saw stars on the
street. They had blue coats on. The stars
overhead winked at me when / raised ''the
ryew The stars below me didn't wink
They snored. The stars overhead were in
the milky way. The stars below me were
not in that way, but in Broadway They
were notl the milky way style of stars
saw dimly. My opera-glass was too
strong. 1t made me nervous. looked
about and saw much ghosts on the roof
Felt quite grave. Felt like coughiG Many
ghosts. Didn't see the meteors. Saw
many heads out Of windows below. Pleas
ant morning. No rain. No waterfalls at
that hour on Broadway.
How l walked Was looking for meteo'sl
The stars over head were looking for mete-
ors. At last they winked. twas very cold.
Used the opera-gass often. One barrel at
a time. Warmed me inwardly, but the heat
lodged in my thorax. Like political SER
mons, it didn't warm the back part of its
audience. My dress was like that of Gen.
WAsHBURNE when he left all garments but
one and fed through Memphis. He was a
modest man. so he ran. Perhaps he wanted
exercise, and ran for that. l wanted exer-
else. The meteors didn't meet. So l thought
to run over the roof. Ran against ghost.
1t spoke to me. Il screamed, ooh my dar-
ling child p Says /, care you my mother
have you a strawberry or blackberry mark"
Says the ghost you've knocked me down
you've killed my babe | held in my arms"
ooh dear, offered to get her another" She
said: "You laundering brute~ "My name
is not BUTLERp quoth | to her. The ghost
was married one At least, there was cir
cumstantial evidence pointing that way. She
was taking the morning air; and while taking
it she lost her morning heir! Says | to the
ghost: LEND me a garment" "And 60
without" said she. "Shiftless female" said
/. you're another" spoke she. 81 tried
the opera-glass again." Said she: ooh, you
amt naughty, naughty man, then, after
alp "Why so?" "Hand me your nursing
bottle" Mistaken ghost. Then l knew she
was from the spirit land.
The moon began to strengthen, but it
came not to focus. The gentle zephyrs
zephyred like the devil-or words to that
meaning. | felt n GOODNESS creeping over
me. No meteors yet. The ghosts chartered
all about me. l felt rheumatism. The
opera-glass grew lighter-bOth barrels. l
found a chimney-top. 1t felt generous. 1t
gave out subdued warmth. II was brick
chimney, therefore | sat on it. No meteors
yet. The stars commenced falling back like
SIGEI.. thought it was strategy to induce
the meteors to advance. The chimney felt
a little warm. ! emptied the bottles and
threw the corks Al red-headed ghost with
out a waterfall. ] slung the bottles over the
battlements, that city editor below might
see stars.
l remembered that the Fire Commission
ers were to ring bell ten times to wake me
up when meteor died; and like a ship on a
bllow, child in q bath tub, hen on her
nest, or a BUTLER taking his spoons, l slept
like a babe across its grandmother's knee
getting warmth where needed it.
No meteors yet.
slept. B0 not long smelt something!
Ii aWOke me. 1nOugnL u was meteor.
Says /, "Bully for sciencew The smell in
creased. grew nervous, but could not tell
where. l was in bog. A meteor had
struck, l knew it. Things were burning.
And | had no accident policy The world
was on fire. The smoke was all about me
Its ghosts sat there in smoke and white
cotton with frills.
All, ma! Fiend of the lower regions.
But have thee / arose quickly. Curses
on the man who invented sleep? Confound
the cook who built the fire at the other end
Of that chimney. When ] arose, cotton
cinder. fourteen inches long by four inches
wide, noated off like an army balloon. Sleep
is not good! Opera glasses are not good, if
unloaded too rapidly. l didn't see the
meteor, but the doctors saw it. 1t was in
named-red hot. | Think ! shall not sit on
chimuey-or on any thing else-for many
DAYS. No more meteors for me! 1t was
sensation-demned mean one at that. The
papers knew better. 1t was a Copperhead
lie! Tenderly thine,
"BRICK" PoMERoY.