Weekly graphic. [volume] (Kirksville, Adair Co., Missouri) 1880-1949, 1884-08-01
THE HAWKEYE MAN.
Burdette Tells How He Dlned With
the Democratic Candidate.

Burdette Tells How He Dlned With
the Democratic Candidate.
Do you know, l have a very, very
pleasant recollection ofMr. Hendricks2
The only Mr.. Hendricks in the world
just now, Of course. l never met him
but once, and then had the honor of
dining with him.
I do not mention this fact IN order
to create the impression that am on
easy, familiar terms with all the cam
didates in this presidential campaign.
l fear am not. If l wanted $500
to-morrow-and / probably will; at
least l want it to-day, and am not
the man to change my convictions on
financial matters in twenty-four hours
| i do not know a single candidate for
President or Vice-President whom /
could, so to speak, strike for that
amount.
Well, Mr.. Hendricks had the honor
of dining with me-that is, we dined
with each other. 1t was this way. /
had been lecturirg after the "count"
of 1876, out in the vast, free. glorious
west. l was fastening home to Bur-
lington over the Chicago, Burlington
and Quincy. On that same day Mr..
Hendricks was on his way to Califor-
MIA. Both day trains on the Quincy
road dined at Wormley's at Charlton,
Iowa. Mr.. Wormley met me at the
door of the dining room with even
more than usual cordiality. He said
to me:
"Good. l have company for you
to-day. Come right over to this
table"
I followed him and faced a gentle
man SO much better looking than his
campaign portraits that did not rec
ognize Mr.. Hendricks until we were
introduced. His lace was pretty at
tractive. His manner no less charm
ing. / was pleased that fate had cast
me in his way. That is, was at first.
He was so pleasant. liked him.
Early in the course of brilliant con-
versatlon about the weather, he said /:
You are the young gentleman who
writes the poetry on the Hawkeye, /
believe" And you never saw more
bewitching smile on mans face.
Now, that was the very thing / did
not want to talk about. had been
writing whole pages of campaign
"poetry," they call 1t in the Hawkeys,
but. yor understand, that excellent
family paper wasn't exactly a demo-
cratic paper. Not just what you'd call
a democratic paper. At least it was
no more democratic than the most
rantankerous, rally round the flag
boys, third term, Hayes and the whole
ticket, Republican paper OF Republl-
can Iowa, could be expected to be.
1t was just about as democratic as the
Eagle is republican. And / knew
what kind OF "poetry" 1 had been
writing. Ifdgeted little. poured a
spoonful of sugar in my soup, and own
ed up that l was the man. Then 1
asked him how long he expected to re-
main in California.
/ He told me and then said: "There
was one little poem"-now, see how
kind he was-he called it a poem.
"There IS one little poem beginning
There was an old hoosier as I've
heard tell'-now, how did the rest Of
that goa"
Go? 1t went for him, tooth, claw
and toe nail, and l knew it, and l be-
lieve he knew 1t. l feebly said: 81
don't remember" emptied the salt into
my coffee, and chopped he would find
rest and returning health in California. -
also hoped I would die in a few mo-
ments, but / didn't say SO. He thank
ed me in his courteous manner for the
wish l expressed, and then went on.
"There was another, a good one ;
can recollect only the second stanza
how did the first one run?''
"And Herewith he quoted few
lines of one of the meanest things /
ever wrote about any man. While he
quoted my prize poem, pretending TO
forget the stanza that referred to hims
self, ! was confused. but / seemed alb
stracted as spread five very thick
layers ofmashed potatoes on my fold.
ed napkin, under the impression that ]
was spreading a piece OF bread and
butter. | said wasn't very well when
wrote that one, and had quite forgot
ten it. Then l attempted to wipe the
cold, beaded perspiration from my
brow with that napkin, and added to
Imy embarrassment / must have ap-
peared embarrassed or eccentric, l am
sure.
Well, the long and short oft is. Mr..
Hendricks remembered every mean
poem l had written about Mr.. Tilden
and himself during that bitter cam.
paign, and he could quote just enough
OF the innocent, good.natured lines OF
leach one to show me that he had read