Rapides gazette. (Alexandria, La.) 1869-187?, 1873-05-03
Miscellaneous Selections.
UNCLE SAMMY.


By WILL. NJ. CARLETON.
Some men were born for great things,
Some were born for small;
Some-it is not recorded
Why they were born at all;
But URcle sammy was certain he had legitimate
call.
Some were born with a talent,
Some with scrip and land;
Some with spoon of silver,
And some with a different brand;
But Uncle Sammy came holding an argument in
each hand
Arguments sprouted within him,
And twinked in his little eye;
He lay and calmly debated
When average babies cry,
And seemed to be pondering gravely whether to
live or to die.
But prejudiced on that question
He grew from day to day,
And finally he concluded
Twas better for him to stay;
And so into life's discussion he reasoned and
reasoned his way.
Through childhood, through youth, into
Argued and argued he;
And he married a simple maiden,
Though scarcely in love was she;
But he reasoned the matter so clearly, she hardly
could help but agree.
And though at first she was blooming,
And the new firm started strong,
And though Uncle sammy loved her,
And tried to help her along,
She faded away in silence, and twas evident
something was wrong.
Now Uncle Sammy was faithful,
And various remedies tried;
He gave her the Doctors prescriptions,
And plenty of logic beside;
But logic and medicine failed him, and SO one
day she died.
He laid her away in the church-yard,
30 haggard and crushed and wan;
And reared her a costly tombstone
With all of her virtues on;
And ought to have added, "a victim Of argu-
ments pro and CON-
Fer many year Uncle Sammy
Fired away at his logical forte:
Discussion was his occupation,
And alteration b s sport;
He argued himself out of churches, he argued
himself into court.
But alas for his peace and quiet,
One day when he went it blind,
And followed his singular fancy,
And slighted his logical mind,
And married ponderous widow that wasn't of
the arguing kind!
Her sentiments all were settled,
Her habits were planted and grown,
Her heart was a starved little creature
And she raised high hand with Sammy, and
proceeded to play 1t alone.
Then Sammy he charged down upon her
With all Of his strength and his wit,
And many a dexrous encounter,
And many fair shoulder-hit;
But vain were his blows and his blowing: he
never could bulge her bit.
He laid down his premises round her,
He scraped at her with his saws;
He rained great facts upon her,
And read her the marriage laws;
But the harder he tried to convince her. the harder
and harder she was.
She brought home all her preachers,
AS many as ever she could
With sentime nts terribly settled,
And appetites horribly good
Who sat with him long at his table, and ex-
planned to him where he stood.
And Sammy was not long in learning
TO follow the swing of her gown,
And came to be faithful in watching
The phase of her smile and her frown;
And she, with the best of assertion, soon tramped
all his arguments down.
And so, with his life aspirations
Thus suddenly brought to check
And so, with the foot of his victor
Increasingly pressing his neck
He wrote on his face, 'I'm victim" and
drifted-a logical wreck.
And farmers, whom he had argued
Would wink at each other and chuekle,
And grin at him as he passed,
AS TO say, 'My ambitious old fellow, your whip
pletree's Strengthened at last
Old Uncle Sammy one morning
Lay down on his comfortless bed,
And Death and he had discussion,
And Death came out ahead;
And the fact that SHE failed to start him was only
because he was dead.
The neighbors laid out their old neighbor,
With homely but tenderest art;
And some of the Oldest ones faltered,
And tearfully stood apart;
For the crusty old man had often unguardedly
shown them his heart.
But on his face an expression
OF quizZical study lay,
As il he were sounding the angel
Who travelled with him that day.
And laying the pipes down slyly for an argument
on the way.
And one new-fashioned old lady
Felt called upon TO suggest
That the angel might take Uncle Sammy,
And give him good nights rest,
And then introduce him 10 Solomon, and tell him
to do his best.