The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1868-08-08
Correspondence.
FROM EARLVILLE
THE RAIN.

| THE RAIN.
| Ihere has been for long time past /. ..vo,o
drought in andNaround Earl Early PLANTED
potatoes are actually past cure, rain won't save
Them In many places pull up hill and nat
even bulb will be found in the hill. and ~.
vines are dying or dead Corn, In which liza. the
wealth OF the great west, has suffered baa,,
"hen corn begins to ear it needsI little rain
When too dry you will find many stocks. and
frequently whole hills, entirely barren of .,v
ears at all when there ears you will find lone
"snouts" entirely barren Of Kernels This Ia Tho
case this year.
But on Saturday, august 1stJ We were bless.
ed with an old fashioned summer rain Tn ~.
early morning it commenced drizzling, Just
enough to moisten the ground and prepare il to
drink up the heavy, subsequent rain About
o'clock A. NJ it rained, actually, poured down
straight into the earth. Big, warm drops
fell and danced in the dusty streets, TO the low
OF everybody. 1t rained go easily and lovingly
that the pedestrians would stand stock still in
the street, and do as they do in Spain, ''let it
rain" Out of my Office window, noticed one
man "happy as a clam at high water" lying
under shade tree, fat on his back, looking rev.
erently up though natures tears to natures God,
to say, ''ten thousand blessings on the summer
rain, so satisfied was he with himself and the
rain, that he would occasionally brush away
from his eyes the big and fast falling drops and
still smile on, like the enthusiastic hydropathist
taking douche bath. Il cleared up finely in the
afternoon, and summer seemed "a determined IN
wreath her wrinkled face in the smiles and be-
deck her person in the buds, blossoms and beau.
ties OF spring-time as the widow of forty.fye
winters is TO put on the smiles and witcheries Of
sweet sixteen In plain language, poor, sickly
mother earth went down into the water on Aug.
lst, 1868, and came forth healed and made whole.
- REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN OPENED.
The republican campaign for 1868 was opened
up at Robinson's Hall, in Earlville, July 3Ist,
by one viii. NJ Carlton, all the way from Hills.
dale College, Michigan, in the delivery of poem
entitled Fax as explained by himself This
word Fax (facts) is really the tail end of Colfa1,
euiogisuc OF whom the poem was intended to be.
The Michigan poet chose to omit Col tcoal) from
Colfax, for fear thatlsyllable of Colfaxs name in.
dictated too much black-and-tax for this latitude
and longitude, as it is plain that the poem was
the last chirp of Skilers tail end
'Ndseltur, non iii poeti," was the old fogy
maxim. Anciently the born poet was known to
visit the top of high mountain-the seat Of the
muses-'where bubbled up pure fountain, throw
ing its spray far ard wide, wherein he WAS per.
United to battle his wing. In addition TO this in
order to render his words sweet his lips were
moistened with the wonderful honey Of the ia
nous Hyblean bees. But this "poet among u.s.
evidently hasn't been "thar," but has been drink.
ing too freely Of Michigan swamp water and eat.
ing, instead Of honey, pork, onions and sourkrout
Artemus Ward. while pupil Of mine was re-
quired once in two weeks, together with other
pupils to hand into me a piece of composition for
my examination and correction. He handed in
the following poem, copy of which I retained
at the time and now have in my possession.
"TACHENs :"
"Tachen., he,
Clamb up in . tree
For his Lord to zee,
Ard sluattsd down he
This little poem well illustrates the Michigan
- II. ~