The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1876-04-19
/ sighed YEARLY, ans murmered,-

grave, full of concern, apparently
and looked long at me; then be
said,-
MARX, there is something about
this that | cannot understand. Those
are about the same words you said
before; there does not seem to be
anything in them, and yet they near.
ly break my ueart when you say
them. Punch in the-how is it they
go?"
l began at the beginning and re-
peated all the lines. Ny friends
face lighted up with interest. He
said,-
why, what a captivating jingle it
is T! 1t is almost music. 1t flows
along so nicely | have nearly
caught the rhymes myself. Say
them over just once mere, and then
III have them, sure"
| said them over. Then Mr..
said them. He made one little mis-
take, which corrected. The next
time and the next be got them right.
Now great burden seemed to tum-
bic from my shoulders That tortur-
ing jingle departed out of my brain,
and grateful sense of rest and peace
decended upon me. | was light
hearted enough to sing; and | did
sing for half an hour, straight along,
as we logged homeward. Then my
freed tongue found blessed speech
again, and then the pen talk Of many
a wearT hour began to gush aud
| flow 1t flowed on and on, joyously,
jubilantly, until the fountain was
empty and dry. As | wrung my
friends hand at parting, | said
Haven't we bad royal good
time! But now l remember, you
baven's said word for two hours.
Come, come, out with something!
The Rev. Mr., turned a
lack-luster eye upon me. drew a deep
sigh, and said, without animation,
without apparent consciousness
Punch, brothers, punch with care
Punch in the presence of the pEssen-
ljare!"
A pang shot through me as | said
to myself, "Poor fellow, poor fellow !
he has got it, now"
| did not see Mr.. for two
or three days after that Then, on
Tuesday evening. be staggered into
my presence aud sank dejectedly into
c seat lie was pale, worn he was
g wreck. He lifted his faded iaee 70
my face and said
AN, Mark, it was ruinous in
vestment that | made in those heart
less rhymes. They have ridden me
like a night mare, day and night,
hour after hour, to this very moment.
Since | saw you | have suffered the
torments of the lost. Saturday eyen-
ing ! had 0 sudden call, by tele-
graph, and took the night train fer
Boston. The occasion was the death
Of valaed old friend who had rs-
quested that 1 should preach his
funeral sermon | took my seat in
the cars aud set myself TO framing
the discourse. never got beyond
the opening paragraph for then the
train started and the ar-wheels be-
gan their 'clack-clack- -clacs- -clack-
clack- -clack- -clack. clack end right
away those odiors rhymes fitted
themselves to that accompaniment
For an hour l sat there and set a
syllable of those rhymes to every sep
arate and distinct claek the car-whee!s
made. Why was tagged out, then,
as il / had been chopping wood all
day. Ny skull was splitting With
headache. 1t seemed TO me that |
must go mad If | sat there any long
er; so | undressed and went to bed
/ stretched myself in my berth, and
well, you know what the result
was. The thing went right along,
just the same. 'Clack-clack-ciack, Q
blue trip slip, clael- olack -clack, for an
eight-cent fare, clack-clack-claek, a
buff trip slip, clack-claek-claek, for
six-cent fare, and SO on, and so on,
and SO on-punch, in the presence of
the passenjaren Sleep? Not a
single wink l was almost lunatic
when | got to Boston. Don't ask
me about the funeral | did the best
l could, but every solemn individual
sentence was meshed and tangled
and woven in and out with Punch,
brothers, punch with care, punch in
the presence Of the passenjare.' And
the most distressing thing that my
delivery dropped into the undulating
rhythm of those pulsing rhymes, and
| could actually catch absent-minded
people nodding time to the swing Of
it with their stupid heads. And,
Mark, you may believe it or not, but
before | got through. the entire as
semblage were plscidly bohbing
their heads in solemn unison, mourn
ers, undertaken, aud all. The mo-
ment / finished, l fled to the ante
room in a state bordering on frenzy.
Of course it would be my luck to
find sorrowing and aged maiden
aunt of the deceased there, who had
arrived from Springfield too late to
get to the church. She began to sob,
and said
"'Oh, oh, he is gone, he is gone,
and | didn't see him before be died =
az Yes!' / said, he as gone, be is
gone, be is gone-oh. sciH this suffer
ing never cease'
"'You loved him, then! Oh, you
too loved him =
"'Loved him loved ,cho p
"'WAy, my poor Georgel my poor
nepbewp
ooh him! Yes-oh, yes, yes.
CertsiHly-Certainly. Puncb-punch
-oh this misery will kill me p
"'Bless youl Hess you, sir. for
these sweet wordsl too suffer in
this dear loss Were you present
during his last moments?'
"Yes! I-rhose last moments 2'I
"'His. The dear depsrted's.'
"Yes! Oh, yes-yes-yes? l sup
pose 80. l think so. don't knowl Oh.
certainly was there-I was there y
"'Ob, what a privilege! what a
precious privilege. And his last
words-oh, tell me, tell me his last
words. What did be sayf
.xTy \