The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-10-20
THE SPELLING BEE AT ANGEL -.
REPORTED BY TRUTHFUL JAMES,
bret Harte In Scribner for Novembe

| bret Harte in scribner for November.l
Waltz in. walz in. ye little kids. and gather
| round my knee.
And drop them books and first pot-hooks. and
| hear o yarn from me.
kin not sling fairy tale Of Jinny's fierce and
For hold 1t is unchrlstian to deceive simple
But. as from school yer driftin' by thowt ye'd
OF ''spelin' Bee' at Angels that We organ
| lied last year.
It warn't made up of gentle kids-of pretty kids
But gents ez he'd their regular growth, and some
| enough for two.
And Pistol Bob who wore that day knife by
You start you little kids, you think these are
But each had a man Behind it, and-my name Is
| Truthful James,
Thar was Poker Dick from Whisky Flat. and
| Smith OF Shooters Bend.
| And Brown OF Calaveras-W want no bet
Three fingered Jack-yes. pretty dears-three
| flngers-y0 you have Ave,
Clapp cut off tWo-it's singular, too, that Clapp
amt now alive.
Twas very wrong. indeed. my dear. and Clapp
was much to blame;
| Likewise was Jack. in after years, for shootin
| OF that same.
The night was kinder lengthenin' out, the rain
had just begun,
When al the camp am came up to Pete's to have
their usual little fun;
But we oil sot kinder sad-like around the bar
room stove,
mark BE hove:
"Thar's @ new game down In Frisco. thet ez far
Ell kin see,
Beats euchre, poker and van-toon, they calls
the 'Spellin' Bee.'"
Then Brown of CaIaveras simply hitched his
chair and snake:
Poker is gGSod enough .? for me' and Lanky Jim
And Bob allowed he warn't proud, bat he must
That the man wh9, tackled euchre had his edu-
| This brought up Lenny Fairchild. the school
master, who said,
He knew the game and he would give instruc-
lions on that head.
For instance. take some simple word" seq he.
Now who can spell it?" Dog my skin of thar
was one in eight.
This set the boys all wild at once. The chairs
was put In row,
And ct the head was Lanky Jim. and at the foot
was joe , :.
And high upon the bar itself The school master
And the bar keep put his glasses down, and sat
and silent gazed.
The first word out was parallel, " and seven let
Till joe Waltzed ;, in his double H." betwizt the
For since be drilled them Mexicans in San ia
cinto's fight,
There warn't no prouder man got UP than Pts
tol Joe that night
Till rhythm came! He tried to smile. then
said they had him there
And Lanky jim, with ono long stride, got up
and took his chair.
0, little kids my pretty kids! twas touchin' to
These bearded mon. with weppngs on. like
schoolboys at their play.
Thev'f Iaugn with glee and shout to SOC each
And Bob SGT up as monitor, with q cue for rat
tan.
Till the chair gave out "incinerate." and Brown
said he'd be burned
II any such blamed word as that In school was
ever learned.
When "phthisis" came they all sprang I'D, and
vowed the man who rung
Another blamed Greek word on them be taken
out and hung.
flash,
And Brown, of Calaveras, was a-twisting his
And when at last Brown slipped on ''gneiss"
and Bison took his chair
He dropped some casual words about some
folks who dyed their hair.
And then, the. Chair grew very white, and the
Chair said he'd ADJOURN,
But Poker Dick remarked that he would wait
,n, aud get his turn: ~
with q Mandarin eye,
The CHAIR mex; offered "eider-duck." and Dick
began with L.
And Bison smiled then Bison shrieked Just
how the Fl hit begun
| never knowed, for Bilson dropped and Dick
he moved up one.
Then certain gents arose and said they'd bust
ness down in camp"
And "ez the road was rather dark, and ez the
They d'-here got, up Three, fingered Jack
and locked the door and yelled:
NO. not one mothers son goes out till that
thar word is spelled!'
But while the words were on his lips, he
And sank with Webster on his chest and Wor
cester on his brain.
Below the bar lodged Poker Dick, and tried to
Was buntin up authorities thet no one else
could see;
And Brown got down behind the stove allowin'
| Till 1t upset and down his legs the cinders
And several gents called "Orderl" till in his
Poor Smith began with 20" "R"-"or"-and he
was dragged away.
O. little kids, my pretty kids. down on your
You've got your eddication in peaceful sort of
way;
And bear in mind thar may be sharps ez sings
their speliin, square ,o ,.a.uoa u;.,o,,.
a thought or care
You wants to know the rest. my dears? Thets
The only gent that lived to tell about that Spell
He ceased and passed, that truthful man; the
children went their way
With doWncast heads and doWncast hearts-but
not to sport or play.
For when at eve the lamps were lit, and supper
less to bed
Each child was sent with tasks undone and los
sons all unsaid,
No man might know the awful woe that thrilled
their youthful frames,
As they dreamed of Angels Spelling Bee and
thought of Truthful James.
gWH.zsg~Ez@msuNa
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