The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1869-09-17
History OF q One.Lex9e d Sol.
dier.

i AS TOLD By A HAND ORGAN.
From the Detroit Free Press. i
Tink-a-link-link!
"say' Paddy, dear, and did you hear, ,l-s~g
TheSne~s that's going round-" =, '~5-
Much obliged for the pennies
it's hot day, and pennies are scarce
Have history? OF course
have. A hand organ that has been
carried about from place to place
since '66, has seen and felt cnoush
to fila volume. r you amt a.
shamed to sit down here on tho carb-
stone beside a poor onc-leggcd sol.
der that does nothing but turn my
crank all day, sometimes signing
when he aces men look at me and
sneer, I'll tell you our history, fol-
I've come to be a part of the soldier,
and he often tells ME that he should
come nearer starvation if it wern't
for the tunes play. The SUM- il
hot and don't you see how it has
blistered the varnish around my
corners, and burned the face and
hands of the old veteran? But beg
gars can't be choosers, and Ned
sometimes tells me that the organ
business is but q higher step of beg.
gary. ~ ,le~ NO - 90 as@ ~
The FIRST thing remember was
being in large room in New York,
piled atop ofother organs untild al
most touched the aoor above, !
guess there must have been q thous
and ofusin' thatfro6m. 1t was ouly
ence in \ long time that the door
Of the room was ever opened; once
|iss while q surly-looking Italian
would come in and try some Of. my
companions. and perhaps buy one;
but I ofteh heard MY builder COM
plain of dull times. and wish he had
US off his hands. livery Well re-
member when the war broke out;
men who came in would talk about
it, and once ! heard . "copper"
head" tenS my owner. who was .
truly loyal man, that he needn't t
worry about the loss of stock. that
the hand organ business would be
mighty brisk after the war. fheard
my owner threaten him with arrest,
and boast that his party were going
to reward the soldiers for their pat
riotism. s.
ia Tramp, tramp, tramp, s..
si7 The boys aAe marchisg.
That wasa ssplesdid tuue pnee,
but after ths boys got to tfamping
around With hand-organs on their
backs, it didn't draw at all. One
morning after had heard that peace
was declared, owner came in, and
be looked so jolly, rubbed his hands
30 often, thnrws wonders ed WAT
good news had come to him. He
commenced taking US down, cns
after another, until he had q hum
dred sitting on the floor, and then
he gave directions to have us boxed
up and sent West. When | saw day
Light again, Ned, here, stood wait
ing to hear me play. He looked
pale and wan, and wondered iflos-
ing leg made peoplo look that way
ten years afterward. After he had
given me long trial, and tried in
vain to lower my price, he finally
signed over his pension papers and
took me away on his back. He sat
down by the roadside to rest, after
q while and be told me something of
his history. Hewas one of the 6rst
to enlist, be bolieeved in the Union,
right through. Men shook his hands;
fair ladies smiled On him. and be
was promised SO many Offices whom
be should return, that 0 he used to
often think, while lying in his tat
tered blanket down On she Potomac,
how hs could decline few Of them
and not hurt the feeling, Of bis Re
publican friencs. A' 11.8'
Then hurrah for the soldier 70 true,
H.. Hurfah for the red, whlss and biue.l
. There amt 30 much hurrahink
now % there was onc4, but pei rhaps
the sight Of cripples snd hand organs
don't breed enthusiasm. When Ned
came home wounded everybody
praiaed his devotion to the flag.
and you ought to Q hsse. seen tho
resolutions Of thanks which the next
Republican caucus passed. Ned
aas poors and awhennhe !got4absut
akain. n hiS dollars were mighty
sdarce. Itvasn,t much be could do
Nth one log. and 50 DO naturally