The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1884-10-04
LIBERTY AND UNION.


It seems to me that the Fourth ofJulY
is quieter festival than it used to be.
1t may be that we spread it over a
greater part of the year now, or it may
be that | am growing old and q little
foppish, but any how | don't think the
bows mix their colors quite so brilliantly
wien they 90 out to put the high light
on the town as they used to. Still,
they seem to enjoy it. | am ashamed
to tell how many firecrackers and tor
pedoes and Roman candles and pin
wheels bought for the Prince and yet
they were all used up. will also con-
fess that while touching off those fire
works that bought lust to please the
boy" felt very like man of forty-eight
years who takes q baby of four months
old to the circus ''to see the animals. "
l confess to a depraved enjoyment in
the small but earnest firecracker On
this point | am firm friend of the
Chinaman, and as | am not running
for President | don't care q cent who
knows it.
tell you, bird of the broad and
sweeping wing, the last Fourth of July
before the war was one that was written
upon my heart with pen of iron and
on my back with skate strap. She
was a screamer-the Fourth of July,
not the skate strap. We got ready for
that Fourth.
John found piece of inch gas pipe
about foot and a half long, and we
made cannon of it, but secretly, for
fear of the Sanhedrin. We strapped ii
on to n big block. We loaded it.
chucked in the powder. Put in
plenty said John, and poured in
some more. Then | rammed down O
wad of dry paper. Then John rammed
down wad of wet paper "That' L
make her crack" he said. Then
pounded in stone marble. That
make her ring | said. Then Johr
rammed down another wad of wet pa
per.
"That'll make her boom, said tina
enthusiastic artillerist, ''now lets put
her away to dry, and when she goes OF
tomorrow morning,the cellar walls will
fall in
That was July third eleven am. w
set her away 10 dry The rest of tn
powder, Il pound and half or so, w
wrapped in brown paper and carried up
stairs aud put it away in Johns trunk
where it would be safe in case the wood
shed caught fire.
Then we made q flag. That is, W
cut out the stars and one of our sister
made the flag. This we did openly a
within the law The flag of the fire
hearts hope and home was not CON
pleted until late at night, and the
there was motto to be painted on tn
InI Lido 81 hn CHI etN rel
ings of lampblack and turpentine. w
spread the symbol of our chosen Ian
down on the sitting room floor, and b
the dim religious light of q fitful kerC
sene lamp 1 painted in bold capita
Liberty and Union. This work wa
done with muf1led oars, because til
Sanhedrin had gone to bed, and VIZ
known to be ayerse to this kind OF mlt
night revelry. When the motto W;
completed John kicked over the lam
smashing the chimney, narrowly escal
ing an explosion and filling the cam
with CONSERVATION, in the midst
which we sternly ordered our sister
her room, because the more intenseI
sibillant became our whispers, and Il
more we tried to make her hush, an
the more we blstcred our startled fiji
gers on stray pieces of red hot Ian
chimney, ambushed in the dark, ar
the more ominous grew the listenir
silence from the apartment where Il
Sanhcdrin slept, the more she giggle
Anything" said John, ''but a gigglir
girl?''
| was going to add something fl
moro sarcastic and bitter, but just the
my CROPPING fingers closed on a sphel
cal fragment of the chimney that h;
been nearest the wick, and this tritiil
incident turned the drift of n
thought and materially altered &
nature of my subsequent remark
l thought Mollie would perish fro
excessive mirth. And just the
when voice from the Sanhedr
demanded report from the Execute
Committee, we boys were compelled
force of circumstances. to lay viole
hands upon our sister and stiile h
with Jacket and table cover. and L
deep silence that came into that da
room on its tip-toes and walked aroul
in list slippers. was only broken by
occasional smothered giggle that Z
capped from our vigilant clutches.
When all was we'll and one of the be
had made an evasiYe report and ask
for more time, | CROPPED my way
the pantry for another chimney, q
stepped into q steel rat trap viii