The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1871-03-02
Ihe Knight oi tracy City

iiis ianic' uis iortUhN anu MS life for the
guerdon Of bright eyes.
And verify, the modern dame hath little
need of knights.
So ilercely does she battle for her own con
tested rights.
In this enlightened age the pen is miglltlcg
than the sword;
And having learned to WELD it. she no
longer. owns II lord.
With this. the tongue and JQHot-hoe. a fear
fll combination.
She has wcll-nigh suljugated the lord of
the creation; y
And his chartered rights invaded, and his
,scepter overthrow,
The poor fellow has er0Ugl to DO to. try to
hold his. own.
Still, here and there, we sometimes find.
within a noble nature,
A spark of chivalry which spurs to peril
GUS adventure;
For beauty cannot lose its charm, whether
the lovely creatures
Eroider and sing within their bowers, or
stump the world AS preachers :.
OF woman's rights and. gricvous wrongs.
of manllood's base oppression, .
And the duty Of each covering slave to
enter on her mission.
Such was the inspiration Of the knight OF
Tracy City,
Whose brilliant exploits form the ilemeof
this unworthy ditty--
A man of noble, generous soul, who,
through lies various stages,
Has always been, viii always be-, a cham
pion of the ladies.
A miShtier pen than mine 'twould take to
paint the situation
In which tnis good knight found himself
before the excavation
Upon the rugged mountain side, where
modern spirits Gold
Display their lace Of enterprise, in the dig-
giny OFT Of coal.
Before him stood Il dusky throng, terrific
sons of Afric,
Armed to the teeth with stick and stone,
spade, shovel, ak and pick
Warriors whose houSaaaS had at last
crushed ont This great "rcbcllion,"
When Yankees. Irish, Dutch had failed TO
do it by the million.
Fierce was each face; their eycballs rolled.
glaring from out the blackncss;
Wild were their gestures and their looks:
their words were fierce and reckless.
I'VE swar we won't go in dat hole" they
clamor in Il breath.
For de dirt to fall down pom us and
mash US all to death;
And if you white folks Oar to try to drive
us niggers in,
Well pitch right in on you an break the
last bone in your shin
Just in the rear, ana closing up all pros
pect of retreat,
A band Of sturdy miners stood, bcgrimcd
with dirt and sweat.
Their lowering brows, their muttcred
words expressed Il fierce defiance
Twas plain that with the mutinecrs they
were in close alliance.
There. go it, Sambo,' cried out one, his
fierce eyes flashing daggers;
We'll back We; for, BY all the saints, wen
never work with uagcrs.
stockholders, ifye love your lives,
had better quit.
Or a hundred stout >hilIalahs will quickly
make you git
The good knight Of my story, with some
Others quite as brave,
Stood some moments in reflection on this
complication grave.
a man of kind and generous soul, Of social.
tender nature,
He could not liul it in his heart to hurt a
human creature.
And, besides prudential reasons concorn-
ing gain and pelf:
He had some slight objections 10 being lprt
hinseV,
But while these various causes all urged
him to surrender,
There came into his troubled mind a
thought gallant and tender
The vision Of p maiden fair Of whom the
good opinion
Was dearcr far to him than coal, or riches
or dominion.
A maiden of a valiant race, from the land
of Lee and Jackson.
Whose brothers and whose conntrymen
were never known to back dOoa.
Familiar with heroic deeds, 'twcrc very
doubtful whether
ever smile upon him if he now
showed the Hhte feather.
And what were life without her smile, es-
teen and appreciation?
far worse than vanity, and misery
and vexatlon.
So, screwing up his courage to the desper-
ate point of sticking,
He resolved to give these niggcrs a most
consummate kicking:
And calling to his comrades at once TO
tiercely fall on,
He led them to the fearful charge, upon
this hope most for,orn.
A hcroism so sublime and courage so ro-
mantle
We're too much for the sullcn foe, the
doughty sons of Afric;
And stunned, appalled,, they turned about
and fled in CONSERVATION,
our hero master Of the field and
situation,
The allies grounded then their arms, and
. made a full surrender,