The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1878-05-09

} about hisself and his affairs to make it a:
7 easy as fallin' off log. Wen Just CHR
5 in where we left off. Well take his hand
as it is, play out his little game, win Oh
{ lose, and if four sharps ike us cant
make it easy for that child and rake in
, the pot every time, we'll leave the
board. Yes, gentlemen" continued
} Rats, take up the letter, "I'll answer
} this tonight myself. /, Capt Rats, late
} Meriioe, deceased"
Part H.-How the Trust was FulflIed.
When the combined guardians of La
: grange first practised to deceive, they
did not forecast the tangled web whose
pleasant intricacies and sinuosities they
were presently to weave. And when
Capt. Rats calmly announced to his
gentle confederates his intention of writ
ing his first letter-Gn loco parentts Ito
the orphaned girl with his left hand, ex-
planning to her the thereby changed
chirography through the ingenious fic-
ton of an accident that had happened to
his right-it was accepted with accla-
nation. "You see," said the Captain,
sententiOusly, "every man sings ink
with his left hand at about the same
gait. The style amt pretty nor plain,
but she'll never find out it amt the old
mans"
The possibility of detection thus OBJ
viated-and, indeed, it afterward ap-
peared that the simple minded girl
dwelt more anXiously upon the discom-
forts of the accident to her father than
on his changed and almost illegible
hand-various other gentle frauds and
! deceits were introduced in the CORE
/ spOndence. A certain emulation of the
/ Captains skill and importance as cor
respondent grew up among the other
guardians. They began to make sug-
! gestions of their own, until at last
steamer day brought them generally to-
| gether, in conclave, in the back room
of the saloon, where the fortnightly
epistle was dictated finally by all. Capt
RatS's pride, which at first resented this
interference, was finally placated by the
compromise that the composition or
wording" of the letter should be his
own, although the subject matter might
be various contribution.
The result of this unhallowed co -labo-
ration was series of the most extraor-
binary letters ever inflicted on single
correspondent. 1t was not long before
their fame passed beyond the horizon of
the fair recipient. 'Do you know, papa
dear,' wrote the simple girl from the
seclusion of Nine. BTimboTion's acade-
my: "do you know your letters are so
very, Uery interesting, l could not help
showing them to some of the girls here?
Your account the Colonel's of the'fight
with the bear was so real that | almost
saw it. laughed till l cried over that
funny story of the Chinaman mending
your clothes a characteristic contribu-
ton from HOrton], but then l did cry
really, too, papa, over what you Fleet
said about your feelings that Sunday
you saw the sunset from the poor little
forlorn cemetery on the hill. Oh, papa!
it was just lovely-and so sad-so very
sad! Mary Ricketts, said it was just like
Shakespeare, and she knows, oh, so
much, and is considered very, very
smarti They all think | ought to be so
fond of my dear papa, as if l wanted
any thing to make me love himi She,
Mary, asked me if you were very old,
and L said you couldn't be very-are
you? Then that was very good about |
the mines that you 1.-THE Colonel wrote.
Nine. Brimborion asked permission to /
copy that part where you 1.-THE Colonel !
describe the manner of reducing ores;
she said it was so instructive and valua- |
bic. Dear papa, how much you do |
knOwi But think / like you better
when you're liitle-just little sad,
and say such swee. things about the /
landscape and your longings. I'm sure
you're real poet, papa-ain't you?"
1t is scarcely necessary to say that !
when this letter was read Fleet coughed |
slightly, colored perceptibly, muttered |.
something vaguely about Greatly hav-
ing forgotten it ALL" but remembered |
only that he had dictated to Capt, Rats
some suggestions that he ''thought |
might please the young thing" etc.
nor that a slight feeling of jealousy
crept into the breasts of all but the COM |
placent Captain. Indeed, the Colonel is /
said to have afterward remarked aside |
to Horton that he was of the opinion |
that Fleets s'llap doodler and "purp |
stuff" wasn't exactly the thing ''to ladle |
out'' to young girl that was already
"OverdOsed with chewing-gum and
icorice;" and Fleet is reported to have
cautioned Capt. Rats against the free
dom of some of the COlonel's stories.
"Ez fur as the wordin' goes" explain
ed Capt. Rats, 81 plays my own cards;
so don't you get skeert! Only the
other day, tellin' that story about the
coon-hunt, the Kernel allowed the dogs
was = ben on gettin' the coon. Lord
love ye; do We think l set that down for
that little gals eye? Not much! | jist
sat down sorter keerless and quiet like,
and sings her this: Meanwhile, the
noble hounds, just emulating the
feyerish Impotence and ambitious
spirit of their master!' Lord,
it's easy enough to turn the Kernel into
decent English-ef you've got the sG6ei
Why, it's jist wonderful how keerless
men is in their composition. Why ,even
goa, Fleet, l he'd to take you down last
letter. Don't We mind we was lettin' on
about Night walkin' in her scant robes
on the hill? Did We think L was goin'
to hand that over to that child? No, sir.
l stopped it. HowP Why, jest said
suitably appareled' That's all. It's
easy when you know how.''
Another unlooked-for result naturally
followed the baleful excellence of this
correspondence. Miss Fanny grew more
and more anxious to behold again the
author of her being and of these extra
ordinary letters. One or two vague
hints to that effect, thrown out in her
correspondence, were received with
alarm by her guardians, and it was fin
ally resolved that the next letter should
be composed in such manner as to
eflectually check this wanton desire.
For this purpose all the guardians as
sembled. Considerable excitement was
manifested. l grieve to record the fact
that much liquor was drank, and that
Capt. Rats was somewhat exalted and
discursive: But your true gentleman is
never more fastidious and refined than
in his cups; and the gentle Capt. Rats,
during the whole letter (save an occa-
81 c1,nN hold hot Iaf