The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1878-11-14
THE sPELLING BEE AT ANeEL,s.

THE SPELLING BEE AT ANGELS.
Waltz in, waltz in ye little kids and gather round
And drop them books and first pot-hooks, and hear
yarn from me.
/ kin not sling fairy tale of Jinny's fierce and
rOr hold it is uuchristian Is deceive simple
child;
But as from school yer driftin by thowt yed like
OF spellin' Bee I" at Angels that we organized
last year.
1t warn't made up of gentle kids-of pretty kids
But gents ez he'd their reg'lar growth, and some
enough for two.
There woz Lanky Jim of Suffers Fork and Bilson
And +" Pistol Bob" who wore that day knife by
way of change.
You start you little kids you think these are not
But each had man behind it, and-my name is
Truthful james.
Of Shooters Bend,
and Brownof Calaveras-which want no better
friend.
ees;anssred JsSck-yes, Sa pretty dears three
Clapp cut off two-its Sing,lar too that Capp aint
now alive.
Twas very wrong, indeed, my dears, and Ciapp was
Likewise was Jack, in after years. for shootin' of
that same.
The night was kinder lengthenin' out, the rains
had just begun;
When all the camp came up to Pete's to have their
But we all sot kinder sad-like around the bar-room
stove
Till Smith got up. permiskiss-Ilke and this remark
be hove;
"Thar's new game down in Frisco, tibet ez far ez
kin see,
Beats euchre. poker and van-toon, they calls the
'Spelln' Bse.'"
Then Brown of CalAyeras simply hitched his chair
and spake:
Poker is good enough for me-" and Lanky Jim
And Bob allowed he want proud, but he " must
say right thar
That the man who tackled euehre he'd his educa-
tion squRr."
This brought up Lenny Fairchild, the school
master, who said,
He knew the game and he would give instructions
on that head.
For instance, take some simple word" sez be-
"like 'separlte,'
Now who can spell it?" Dog my skin, eff thar was
This set the boys all wild at once. The chairs was
put in row,
And at the head was Lanky Jim, and at the foot
was Joe,
And high upon the bar itself the school-master was
raised
And the barkeep put his glasses down, and sat and
e&4oAh 6eNOa'
The first word out was "paraleI," !" and seven let it
be,
TinJoe waltzed in his double al" betwi1t the ga"
For, since he drilled them Mexieans in San
Jacintos fight,
Thar warmth pTouder man got up than Pistol Joe
TIL "rhythm" camel He tried to smile, then said,
''they had him there"
And Lanky Jim, with one long stride up and
fOOE rbair
olittle kdsI my pretty kids twas touchin' to sur
vey
These bearded men, with weppings on, like school
boys at their play,
They'd laugh with glee, and shout to each other
lead the van,
Till the chair gave out ''incinerate," and Brown
said he'd be durned
II any such blamed word as that in school was ever
learned.
When "phthisis" came they all sprang up and
vowed the man who rung
Another blamed Greek word on them be taken out
and hung.
As they sat down again / saw in Bilsen's eve
fash,
And Brown of Celaveras Vas a-twistin' his mus
tache,
And when at last Brown slipped on "gneiss" and
Bison took the chair,
He dropped some casual werds about some folks
who dyed their hair.
And then the Chair grew very white, and the Chair
said he'd adjourn,
Then with tremblin' voice and hand, and with a
wanderin' eye,
The Chair next offered eider-duck % and Dick be-
gan with )"
And Bilson smiled-then Bilson shriekedl Just how
the fight begun
never knowed, for Bilson dropped and Dick he
moved up one.
ThencsrtainNsnts arose and said " they'd business
down in camp"
They'd" d"---here got up Three-hngered Jack and
locked the door and yelled
No, not ene mothers son goes out till that thar
word is spelledl''
But while the words were on his lips, he groaned
and sank in pain,
And sank with Webster on his chest and Worcester
on his brain.
Below the bar lodged roker Dick and tried to look
ez he
Was huntin' up authorities thet no one else could
And Brown got down behind the stove allowin' he
"was cold"
Till it upset and down his legs the cinders freely
And several gents called "orderl' till in his sim
Poor Smith began with O." "R"-aor"-and h,
was dragged away.
o, little kids, my pretty kids, down on your knee!
and prayl
You've got your eddicatiOn in peaceful sort Of
way;
And bear in mind thar may be sharps ez sling
their spellln' square;
But likewise slings their bowie-knives without
thought or care
You wants to know the rest, my dears? Thet's all
In me you see
The only gent that lived to tell about thet spellin
Beel
He ceased and passed, that truthful man; the chill
dren went their way
With downcast heads and downcast hearts-but no
to sport or play.
For when at evethe lamps were lit and Supperles
to bed
Each child wassent, with tasks undone and lesson
all unsaid,
No man might know the awful woe that thrilled
their youthful frames,
As they dreamed of Angels Spelling Bee ant
thought of Trathful James.
Bret HarIe, In November ScTi6ner.