The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1874-12-19
Written for the FREE Tn
a TALE OF TODAY.

II was city not a thousand miles from
here, nesting cozily in a pleasant valley.
Golden bright the October sunshine fell over
ITS spires, touched its forest-crowned hills I'M
til they blushed in scarlet splendor, and
sparkled upon the silver waves Of the streams,
that at its base, like two loving hearts, ben,
ded into one broad, beautiful river
Nobody would have supposed, passing
through the wide, inviting streets and looking
at the handsome, substantial brick structures
rising upon either side, that the town was
dying
BIT 1t was dying-dying with slow consump
tioa, for the croakers said 50, and being
prophets, they haelc.
To be sure, its large manufactures stretch
ed out their long arms all over the state,
dropping here and there, and everywhere,
the plows that should turn ten thousand fur
rows, the rcapers which should flash through
countless acres of golden harvest the starch
which should glow in millions of shirtbos-
SONS and the glass of unnumbered window
pancs. Certainly, too, its streets were fer from
grass grown, and Its commodious square was
thronged, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, by numerous
vehicles OF various descriptions, and many
pedestrians. Other towns might have been
proud in the possession of street gemmed
with the spires Of many tasteful churches.
This town was not. Other towns would have
pointed with an air of happy ownership to
the square, whose rich green and pretty grow
inc trees gave it the semblancc of IN infant
park, and whose fitting ornament was u shaft
of polished marble bearing upon its base the
names of patriot dead. This one did not
Perhaps il the pulsaton Of life could have
touched the majestic figure wrapped in its
great, blue coat with lis watchiul hand upon
lis muskct, if into the stern, yet mournfully
beautiful eyes could have flashed the old time
fire, and from the thougn,iully heroic lips is
sued words, then upon the listeners ear such
sentences as these might have fallen:
"Oh Shame! The record | guard is your
glory, and while it lives you cannot, must not
de- For your sake We turned away from the
| glowing visions Of the future, the hopes and
endcarmcnts of the present That yourhomes
might be kept invioatc, we resigned Joyous
existence 10 enter the valley of death. To
the 100 soldiers whose names are Your sa
cred legacy, you owe the solemn trust not to
make yourself mummy, but living, eyutant
queen But alas, the words were inaudibie
and the silent rebukc fell unheeded upon the
passcr by. Aud so the town turned a deaf
ear TO the inspiration Of past, present, and
future, TO listen TO the croakers, and this is
what the croakers said
Its right, and We should not be your
frcnds if we did not tell you how sick YOU
are. There is really no hope for you. You
are growing worse every day, and all that the
doctor can do is to soothc the pain of your last
hour. There was a time before you exposed
your health To such risks, building the New
Opera House and TIE big hotel, and before
that terrible cold settled on your lungs, when
YOU was finishing the last new railroad, that
YOU might have been saved, but that time Is
past. Your friends are all leaving because
they cannot bear TO see you die. Judge
Notac has chung TO you faithfully through
these many days, but even he is going to
Chicago soon" And then in mufiled tones,
they sang these diTge-like words: