The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1885-06-03

sanction of the authorities of IA great city
IKE Lewiston. 1t seemed tn me more
foolish than wicked. liz Augusta The May
or stood this foolishness for a loug time
until at last 1t became intocrable and be
Issued very gentlemanly order furbiddinp
further parad 8, which by the way, are
FORBIDDEN by the ordinance Of most OF our
cities. The next night after the oIder was
issued the army came out as before, al
though perhaps a little more noisy and In
sultins. As II result the police gathered in
the leaders and they passed the night liz
jail. The next morning they appealed
from thel sentence of five dollars tne and
| In the evening pafaded again and were
again arrested. The Mayor is determined
That the streets shall be kept orderly. In
| Portland however the case is different, the
| arrested warriors have got their case con-
tlnued and the police judge says he shall
not hold parties arrested now till these
cases are disposed of. 1t would seem from
| THIS that at tue present time the Salvation
| lists are oheaa up to date In the ''cty by
| The sea- Now Is an ,Xceeul time for the
| Mayors oil our cities 10 commence II much
| needed reform. II II Is wrong for Saliva
ton armies tn parade win lrums aud GYM
balls its equally wickc 'm the average
minstrel show 10 distorl the air with its
alleged music, frightening horses and
alarming music loving citizens. Use all
alike and stop such tomfooliDg. Because |
do not approve of these street purades |
would not denouDce the work of the Saliva
tionists as whole. In Bruins wick last
week heard rough profane man say that
while be did not "take no stock iu them
critters they we've doing a powerful sight
OF good" "Why," said he, 'there is Jim
cd a
for years has now left off rum drinking,
tobacco and swearing and is a different
man all round. The ministers might have
preached to him till - froze over and
they never would have fetched him, but
these folks got right down where he was
aud fetched him up. | don't want none of
it in mine but its been the making OF JIM"
Someone suggested to this expressive t
not elegant speaker, that "Jim" wouldn't
stick. "Stick," he almost yelled, "he's
stuck already more'n month and no one
s'posed he'd hold out three days. Ii he
should go back now even, people know
that he can go to bed one night sober at
any rate. But | tell you, boys, jim is all
done. | met him t'other night and kind o
sort of began to plague him bout the wife
of Singing Harry, but | soon found that
was on the wrong track. He turned To me
and looking me square in the eye-not
with that drunken leer that you have seen
50 often-he says, says he, Joe, if | was
fit for To be in the company OF that bless d
woman, | would be the happiest man in
Brunswick, and as he said that the tears
stood in his eyes and hadn't the heart 10
ieel him, but | said, Jim, am glad you
are SO happy, and if you never drink a
drop of liquor till ask You to, you will
die sober man. Why, boys this mau's
family have taken more real pleasure in
life since jim Joined them critters than
they ever did before in all their lives. Why,
his mother, who lives up to Lewiston,
made her first visit to him for five years
tother day. She told my woman that
when jim was drinking so, s.r couldn't
bear 10 come to see him, but now she was
going to he better acquainted" And so
this rough man went on testfyn. to he
good work that "taem critters as he was
pleased to call the Salvationists, were do
ing in simply one little home, in one small
town, in one State. There are, do lbtless,
hundreds of "Jims" all over the State who
feel grateful to them. If now they will
only reform their methods they will doubt
less do much more good work.
Truth is much stranger than fiction. 1t
from Boston recently, | fell in with one of
my customers from Skowhegan, who has
been selling dry goods in that vicinity, for
nearly fifty years. | was talking about the
town, and its people, when he spoke up
and said that it had furnished not few
noted people. zone of its citizens to day
said he sis the author Of one of the finest
poems ever written in the English Ian
guage." This was such eXtravagant Ian.
guage, that | naturally asked who the au-
thor was, and the title of his production.
| was told IT, my great surprise the charm
ing poem, Come this way father; ST. er
straight for me, was written by Skowhe.
gan gentleman, none other than Col. A. w.
Wildes, who is known all over the state
and beyond. For twenty years this has
been cradle song, lar and wide, but its
author has always been, to me at least, a
mystery. "Well" said Uncle Sam, "as you
are so much interested in the poem. let me
tell you little incident in which it ig
ufed." Getting good easy position
where he could eXpectorate freely and con-
veniently, he talked about as follows The
incident that called forth this poem oc
Cured at Mouse Island more than twenty
years ago. The Colonel was stopping
there with his family, and one afternoon
son of the Colonies was left on shore to
play, as they did not intend to go far
away. To the surprise and CONSERVATION
of all, however, they had but just got well
under way when all glimpses of the land
was lost. In the excitement the skipper OF
the boat lost his bearings, and just where
the island was, they did not know. They
called for help, AMI the little fellow left
alone on the lonely shore replied. Come
this way father; steer straight for me y
They obeyed the voice of their youthful
guide, and sure enough reached land safely.
Soon after the little fellow died and the
Colonel wrote the poem. Years after the
poem had been written, | was At Mouse
island and Col. Wldes was also there. |
sauntered out one evening, and soon drew
near some campers out. As | neared
home, heard one of them, a gentleman
with fine bass voice singing with much
feeling, the song of which had just spok-
en-. This was enough for me, and | entcrt d
the tent and asked him what he knew about
that song. "Well'' he replied, 81 think
know as much as any one, but should
like to know who wrote it," Then he
went on and told me that his wife, who had
lust died, had been an invalid for many
years, and that song sung by him, had
been her chief solace- Then told him I
he would come to the hotel | would intro
duce him to the author. We met at the ho-
tel soon after, and he had the great pleas
ure of meeting face to face, the author of
this beautiful song. The gentleman was
from Worcester and strange to say reia-
tive to Col Wildes. He met the author
and the scene that inspired the poem all
at once.
Some of the newspapers In the state have
been discussing the question as to which is
preferable, good-natured, housewife who
ia slack about her work, or housewife
who cares more to have her pots and KIT.
ties shine brightly, than to be ever serene
and sweet tempered. l have oeen not Il
little amused to hear the great aud good
newsnaper men of the state discourse up.