The Lincoln County herald., 1871-11-02
PlNWEA FAxON'S CAMPAIGN.
BY IRsKISa n. HAMILTON.

vel Faxon, Who, - the sign outside an
souuesd, Esd the contents sf the store
implied--Ieslt in groceries, dvy good
end notious." Neas by-her large, ~
tund person we'll fitting the capaciou.
rocking chair in which she vas seated =
vas Mrs. Samantha Faxon, the better
half, or more truthiully speaking, tn,
better two thirds of Mr.. Faxon. The
worthy couple had just finished dinner
and it being o very warm, sultry day
aud the good people Of Elderbush villag,
preferring the sholtcr Of their homes tc
exposure to the sun, there were, there
fore, no customers in the store at the
time. Mr.. Fsxon had been to the post
office. aud having rnturned with ths
Weekly Bombazine, of which be was q
conscientious reader, and firm believer
- had cooked himself back in his chair
so that his round, shining, bald pate,
rested against q show case, placed his
steel spectacles firmly over his nose
arched his eye brows SO as to get good
ready, and then plunged into the mass Of
war news before him. Mr.. Faxon's
practice OF the art Of reading Oike many
others) consisted in an industrious NOV
ing of the lips, probably on the principle
of those health writer's who advertise
thorough mastica,ion Of food before it is
swallowed, and which Mr. Fsxon may
have thought included mental ailments as
we'll. Anyhow, his mental food was we'll
chewed before It reached the intellectual
stomach. As for Mrs. Faxon, thsoroti
cally she was knitting, practically she was
sleeping, If closed eyes and 40 occasional
snore were any criterion. A good dinner,
good digestion, and a warm day, arc ex
cellent incentives to slumber, we all no
doubt owledge, and Mrs Faxon pos
sessed these incentives in an eminent
degree, 80 the knitting rested quietly in
her lap, aad the ball Of yarn rolled down,
unnoticed, behind q -four barrel, to be.
come play thing for the little gray
kitten,
How quiet it was in Elderbush that
day ! Aye! how quiet in the cities,
villages, and hamlcts, all over the North
yet far away in southern land thousands
Of dear, brave boys we're falling like leaves
in autumn time, before the deadly FIRE Of
armed rebellion. No sound Of the fierce
cam onade, the ishrill scream OF shrapnel
and shell, reached those northern homes
No dying grosn, or last faint cry for
mother, wife, or sister. ere the lips be,
cama silant forever in deaih-fell in the
faintest degree on ,hos; far home spots
All, no yet wives were being made
widows, children fatherlcss, and mothers
childless. Hearts were being wrung and
torn with anguish-and it was all quiet
peaceful and still at home. God bless
the soldier boys say We with all our
heart, All honor to the empty sleeve 4!
All honor to those dear ones who have
gone down 10 the shock Of battle that
great, union cry Of the dead. who in
platoon and column, are marching with .
tarmp, tramp, down the ages forever
For them
"No morning gun from the dark forts embrasurc,
No drum beat from the wall,
No bugle note with soft an tn rilling measure,
Shall awake with its CALL"
However. We did not pick up our pen
to moralize only to weave in some sort,
ont Of our own varied experience. story.
We have stated it was quiet in Elderbush,
and after dilligont research through the
columns Of bis paper, Mr.. Faxon also
discovered it was "all quiet on the Po
tomac." This important announcement
did not seem to coincide with Mr..
Faxon's ideas of crushing a rebellion, for
bs threw aside his paper impatiently, and
taking off his spectaclos, exclaimed:
"Goodness s,kes, if it don't beat all
Sam Hill do wish the President
would decompose some Of them giuerals,
and put better mon 10 their places. Its
scandalous, the way they're doin' things"
Mr.. Faxon's use of appropriate words
was not always certain, and it is likely
he means depose instead Of decompose !;
though from our own remembrance Of
the "masterly inactivity" of the Potomac
Army, We think, may be, he was not far
wrong. and if some Of the Generals had
been "decomposed" tho country would
have been better off.
whats that you said, Faxon any.
thing goin' wrong ?" asked Mrs. Faxon,
disturbed from her nap by the vehement
speech Of her spouse.
"A pesky sight 10 wrong, I should
think" said the little merchant, rising
from his chair, aud pacing mp and down
the floor excitedly, with his hands behind
him, slightly elevatiug his dimiuutive
coat tails.
"Sskes alive what's the mattov with
ye?" said tho now thoroughly aroused
D
with 20? Better take q little Of that
bonses tea"
"Ut, no! tsias my dinnes--is's shs
Army OF che Potomac. Here, instid Of
fotierin up the incmy. they're gone into
camp aud lost all they've gained BY their
non delay, when shsy might jist as we'll
have sakss Richmond % not"
"is chat air. 1 thought msbbe you
sssa't feeiis' ssH," answered the 70.
fieyo3 Mgs. EaHOo Aanin0 h,ck in her