Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1869-08-13
MISCELLANEOUS.
THE PROPHETIC PISTOL.

!" AND that" said l, is pretty nearly
all that have to tell you" N
The above words formed the pcroration
'of a synopsis Of several years travelling
communicated by me to fellow -passen.
erfrom he lsingfors to StocSholm, as VIC
1eaned over the side of the good shin
llberg, and watched the countless groups
OF rocky islctsb crested with green foliage
. which arose on every side from the srnooth
transparent sea. My auditor was q long,
lean, wiry American, with cold clear eve
aud look of indomitable firnlness in
every line of his pinched sallow face,
which gave him the aspect Ito quote from
pugnacious friend of minel "of a man
you would like to be back to back with in
. .taroN,H3 Al,S u NaAAgh a W
Wal, stranger" remarked he at the
close OF my narrative, "yu hev bin about
bit, | reckon: but yu haint seen much,
and what's more, yu hain't done much
neither"
My dignity was somewhat ruffled by this
e piain4spoken criticism; for privately re-
garded myself as a second Sinbad, on the
strength OF moderate acquaintance with
the majority of the countries which figure
on the tourists visiting list Moreo Ger
my listener had himself provoked n. o con,,
municativenessr by q series of c.eaTchi no
questions upon every point of NV ,,er'
sonal history, from the color of nv grand. and
fathers hair to the am ,nnt of ,nocIst. s
money allowed me &c Rugby. Conse.
quentiy} there was, PERHAPS, shade OF
dc,nAohy SC IN my "Jne asI replied: "Tve
zone uo1e VhaSi aid but, of course, every
Dogy gan lave as many adventures as
yoni Ff IA ylOU ri
Wal, yu air about right thar" returned
ne taking my words literally "Pve seen
q few things in my time, reckon : but,
lnarkJye, it's cause I've looked about me,
and fixed for doin' somethin' wharever
went, stead o. trailin about with my eyes
shet and, my hands in the pockets o. my
panteys, like som folk. Now, I'll tell yu
how yu Britishers travel yu jest foller
the railway track right square from one
big town to another, and see the opera
houses, and the theaytres, and the prom
enades,. and stitch like /; and O course yu
meet a heap o riffriff, and mayhap get
yure eye teeth drawn a little too slick
and ater devOtin' three weeks or a month
10 seem country with some millions o
people in it, yu come back and write a
tarnation big book to say, 'thatair country
ain'tfo great pile o punkins ter all the
critters thar afr all lazy and shiftless, and
good for nothin' but to cheat and tell lies
--and no wonder, seein' they'r only cussed
turriners, and hain't got the inestimable
blessin' of a free British CONSTRUCTION,
Thar, now, stranger" he concluded, with
the paternal superiority of missionary
instrueting Hottentot, that's the way
gu go to work; but, yu observe, faint the
right way, nohow yu kin fix it."
,FAud how did you 90 to work, then ? "
asked |, wishing to divert the current of
this flood ofextempore criticism. -n
"a "Wal, fixed to do somethin' and done
iti leastways, man that's been a team
ster in the Rocky Mountains, gold-dig-
ger IN Australey, a sailor in the Iniine
Ocean, a storekeeper at Shanghai, news
paper editor at San Franciskey, and an
agent for one notion or another in every
country In Europe, mout say he'd done
somethin', guess, if he had mind to-"
T.; !" And have you really done all that?"
asked /, somewhat startled at the catalogue.
= Reckon hev; I've been kinder movin'
round ever sin was as big as mOlasses
. jar, and amt done yet. Guess I'm like
John Browns soul in the old song-I go
a7marohin' on. pretty cOnsid able, and II
take while to tire me of 1t tew.pi n ~
And do you always travel alone, then ?"
Reckon do, leastways, what yu'd call
alone I've got a bOsom-friend here,
a though" he added with a strange ehuekle,
putting his hand into his breast pocket ;
and he's done me more'n than one good
turn in his time, so tell We Yes, sir, he
has that; and what's more, he speaks or
holds his tongue just as please, which
faint every man as nd dot"
And with this eniginatical preface, he pro
duoed u small but very handsome revolver,
fitted with a spring bayonet, and orna-
mented about the stock with eleven studs
of silver, arranged in the form of a square,
which would be completed by the addi-
ton of twelfth.
= Amt that a friend, now, strangerS"
said the Transatlantic exultantly "and
good friends we've been, him and me; |
never mistrusted him but once, and that
war down in Australey, when I war gold
diggin' up Turon way. Two fellers cum
b to my tent one night, cause they'd hearn
as I'd heap o. gold thar, and they thought
o. bein' 50 kind as TO relieve me o. fhe
'sponsibilityao' gardin' it. / hearn 'em
cfeepin' in, and o course the fust thing /
did war to slap all six barrels into 'em. lest
TO give 'em hint not to call a'ter Visitin'
hours. l hearn a screech, and then pat
TIM o. feet runniR' of but it war too dark
to see anythin', and all the rest o that
night my teelin's amt to be 'scribed, no
howl nssi- ~ { az q, - a. ,..,t,..l . (, lfT
- Ali you were AFRAID y0u had killed one
of them, l supposef@ said /, pleased at
this solitary touch of humanity in my
grisly Acquaintance. ,,F ,4sr-stt isusH
7,a " Killed why, darn 1t, stranger, dye
wanI TO insult mel No, by Jingot / war
fraid I'd missed one ON 'em and to have
my own revolver miss close range, ater
being true 70 me for SO many years. were
more y i could bear (The pathos with
which he said this was indescTibable.) -
felt portic Loy cheap all that night, so i tell
yei yu might hay bought me for a cent,
spy lime fore morning. but as soon as
ie war light, Icm out, and thar seen one
felier lynn dead before the tent door, and
track o blood all whar fOther had run
of, jest like y strick % molases 'crOss a
buekwheat rake !; and, says i, Thank
. Heaven. I've hit 'em both = and the Weighl
that war taken of my mind In that aiI
moment stranger, thar amt no .'scribin
itr ~, .'...- 49,,
The real fervor of his tone as he uttered
the last sentence, with all the air of a good
man, whose conscience has Just blsentfe-
heyed Of some overwhelming burden can.
not be conveyed in words
~ ~ daresay you'd hardly guess, now
stranger that ! tust saw this revolver in q