The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1881-07-07
Nasby's Betting Young MN.

Nasby's Betting Young MN.
From the London Let er to the Toledo Blade
Among the passengers was young man
from near Oshkosh, Wis, named Tibbitts.
He vas an excellent young man of his kind,
and he very soon acquired the reputation,
which he deserved, of being the very best
poker player on the ship. He was uneasy
till game was organized in: the morning,
and growled ferociously when the lights
were turned down at twelve at night. He
was impatient with slow players because, as
much loss to him. He could drink more
Scotch whiskey than any one on the ship,
and he was the pet of the entire crew, for
his hand is always in his pocket. He ruin
ed the rest of the passengers by his reck-
less iberality. His father was rich Wis.,
consin farmer, and this is his first expert.
ence in travelling.
What time he could spare from poker
and his meals was devoted to writing a
letter to his mother, for whom the yonng
scapegrace did seem to have a great deal of
respect and a very considerable amount of
love. His letter was finished the day before
We made Queenstown. so that he could
mail it from there. He read it to me. The
sentences in parenthesis were his COM
| ments;
!
NEAR QUEENSTOWN, May %, 1881. !
DEAR MOTHER: While there is every
thing to interest one from the interior in a
sea voyage, I confess that have not e.joy-
ed the passage at all. have no heart for
it, for my mind is perpetually on you and
my home in the far west. (You STE it will
please tho old lady to know that I am
thinking of her all the time. Didn't scoop
that jack pot nicely last evening? Hadn't
| thing in my hand, and Filkins actually
opened it v 18th three deuces.) The ship is one
of the strongest and best on the ocean, and
is commanded and manned by the best
sailors on the SEA. The passengers are all
good, serious people, with perhaps one ex
New York of dissolute habits, who has a
bottle of whiskey in his room and who &C.
tualy tried to tempt me to play cards with
him. But he is known and avoided by the
entire company.
We hare regular services in the grand
saloon every morning, and occasional meet
ings for vocal exercises and conversation
at other hours. l have just come from one
at which,
"You are not going to send this internal
aggregation of lies to your mother, are your"
asked.
why not? She don't know any better,
audit will make her feel good. have my
opinion of a man who won't give his old
mother pleasure when he can just rs well
as not. I will, you bet.
"But such atrocious lies"
''Ill chance that. can stand lies of that
love my mother, I do. Let's see, where
was I? Oh, yes"
have just come from one at which the
discussion was mostly on the progress of
missions in the far west. (The cid lady is
treasurer of society for the conversion of
the Apaches, or some other tnbe.) Just
now the sailors are heaving a log, which
they do to ascertain the speed the ship is
making. Mr.. Inman, the owner of this ship,
is very wealthy man, and he has every
thing of the best. He furnishes his vessels
with nothing but black walnut logs to heave
while the others use pine or poplar. Capt.
Leitch is very humane man, and never
uses profane language to his crew. On
other ships the men who 60 aloft are com
PEELED to climb tsrred rope ladders, but
Capt. Leitch has passenger elevators rig
ged to the masts, such as you saw in the
Palmer house in Chicago, in which they
sit comfortably and are hoisted up by
steam engine.
Great heavens. You are not surely 60
ing to send that?"
"Why not? What is an old lady in silver
spectacles on farm thi1ty miles from any
water more than we'll going to know about
a steamer? I must write her something
for she persuaded the old gentleman to let
me take the trip. amt ungrateful, amt.
I'll give her one good letter. anyhow. Why,
by the way you talk, I should suppose you
never had mother, and if you had that
you didn't know how to treat her. hate a
man who don't love his mother and isn't
willing to sacrifice himself for her. All
can do fer her now is to write to her and
| write such letters as will interest her, and
the dear old girl is going to get them if the
paper and ink holds out, and they are 60
ing to be good ones, too"
have got to be good deal of a sailor
and if it were not for leaving you, which /
couldn't do, y believe should take one of
these ships myself. know all about star
board, and I can tell the stern from the
bow. On ship you don't say I will go
down stairs" but you say II will go below"
| One would think that had been born on
the sea, and was true child Of the ocean.
Owing to my strictly temperate habits at
| home. and my absolute abstemiousness on
the ship, I have escaped the terrors Of sea-
sickness. AS you taught me, true happi-
ness can only be found in virtue. The
wicked young man from New York has been
sick half the time, as a young man who keeps
bottle in his room should be.
| The nice wooden stockings you knit for
me have been great comfort, and all I re-
greet is. am afraid have not enough of
them to last me till get home.
! The young villain had purchasedin New
York an assortment of the most picturesque
hosiery procurable, which he was wearing
with low cut shoes. The wooden stockings
he gave to his room steward.
| The tracts you put in my valise I have
read over and over again, and have lent
them since to tho passengers who prefer
serious reading to trashy novels and litera-
ture of that kind. What time I have had
to spare for other reading have devoted to
books of travel so that I may see Europe in
to. diligently.
''By the way" he stopped to say. fare
the Argyle rooms in London actually
closed. and is the Mabille in Paris as lively
as it used to be? Great Caesar! Won't I
make it lively for them"
In another day we shall land in Liver
pool. and then I shall be only five hours
from London. I long to reach London,
for I do SO delight to hear Spurgeon, and
attend the Exeter hall meetings, as you de-
sired me. But as we shall reach London
on Tuesday, shall be compelled to wait
till the following Sunday, five long days.
Please, ma, have pa send me q draft at
my address at London at ence. lind the
| expense of travel much greater than SIM.