, 1885-07-04
PETER PEPPERToN,s 9TH o. JULY
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS..

NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS..
Such n Fourth had never before been cello
bnted In the valley. aud probably never
viii be agcsn.
Unfortunately. within a week OF the great
occasion, the eloquent orator OF the day,
Andrew jackson Fossett, was taken down
with a violent attack Of the quinsy. Ho
could not speak above a whisper, and could
not swallow at all. OF course, he had to be
eliminated from the proceedings. 1t was too
late to engage another. No one OF us, on
such short notice. would undertake the duty.
Now a Fourth without an orator was Ham
let without Hamlet, King, Quesn, Ophelia
or even Yorick's skull.
To the Amusement OF every one, suddenly
Peter Pepperton volunteered. 1t was Hob
sons choice, and Pete was accepted.
"Do you want me to help your | asked
the volunteer the day he was accepted.
mo. Donk. Got a better layout than
that. Keep you're oil eye ON me. I'm goin'
to git her this time or break a trace. Stay
in the high grass till ye hear me veil, then
tumble out an see big Ingin."
The Fourth came, big with the fate OF
Peter and his love. Assembled In Whopple's
grove, the farmers and farmers wives and
children, gotten up in their store clothes,
perspired in profusion while listening TO the
six pieces OF a brass band, that made up In
blowing all they lacked In music. lCaptain
Choptank, with his gun squad and old
smooth-bore, at intervals startled the jays
and our assembly with a mounting roar that
told in thunder OF the glorious struggle Of
our fathers for Independence. The veneer
able choptank was very drunk, even at that
early hour, but he seemed quite as efficient
drunk as sober.
The Rev. Doolittle Stubs opened the
ceremonies with an eloquent address to the
Throne Of Grace Then followed the read
ing Of that elegant composition from the
pom OF the immortal jefferson, called the
Declaration of Independence, and then
Peter came TO the front. in gorgeous APP
parsl and a high state of perspiration. As
suming a bold, pugilistic position, peculiar
to Fourth OF July orators, he paused before
giving the British lion one In the counte-
nance TO take us into his confidence, by say
ing: "Feller-citizsns, ladies and gentle
men," His opening sentence was lost in
old ChoJtank's roar from the smooth bore.
When the noise had subsidized, | discovered
that Pete had launched the ship of state.
The s.. Of S. is always launched in a Fourth
OF July Grafton. 1t has rough weather, OF
course. The clouds darken, the thunder
rolls, the mountain waves mount to the
skies But there is a hnnd at the helm, and
he steers the bark, laden with the hopes Of
humanity, safely to its harbor. This intro
duces Washington, and Washington is a
Moses, a star, a mountain peak and a god.
Washington, of course, lets fly the Amer
can eagle. Pete few the eagle for all it
was worth. He had one wing on the Allie
ghanies, the other on the Rockies; while the
tail o'ershadowed the Canadas-and while
screaming and soaring in the most terrible
manner the British lion was seen in full
retreat across the stormy seas, quite sick,
and fearfully demoralized.
Pete was acquitting himself with rare ex-
cellenca He had suddenly broken out ike
an Indian war in full bloom as a great
orator. never had heard such a volume
OF sounds, never such a collection OF many
syllabled words. The audience applauded
every sentence, and Choptank's cannon
roared in response.
In the midst Of this the sick Andrew J.
Fossett appeared. and was helped kindly to a
scat. Hisneck was done up in a huge poultice,
and his face was pale as death. Suddenly
the sick man staggered to his feet. His face
reddensi to the tint of a boiled lobster and
his eyes glared with the CLEAN of a maniac.
He could only utter shrieks, while he ges-
ticulated like a windmill struck bya cyclone.
He WAS delirious, all thought, and kind,
l.t atro,u .r,.a ro~~f.I liz. 49,. utsI.
Pete in his perorntion had Columbia soar
ing and tyranny sinking in the dark vortex
Of coming time. Upward and onwardr'
cried Pete, "the star Of liberty gleamin'
with dazzlin' refulgence, in her crown of
glory, casting its lightning ray, Rdown
the coming centuries of untold time, re-
faring, rejecting, ad inyinituml, onward
and upward forever. e piuribus unumr'
Pete slosed. The audience shouted. The
women waved handkerchiefs, the men cot
ton umbrellas Choptank fired his last
charge, and the band struck up-blame me
II i kuow what it struck up, but it was a
noise, to which the assembly scattered, and
] saw Pete, with Polly upon his arm, march
of 10 the collation., with her sweet face
beaming in love and triumph.
Two weeks thereafter they were mar
ried.
Andrew Jackson Fossett was very III for a
month thereafter. When convalescent he
sank into a profound gloom, as If his life
were blighted. He proved this by throwing
up his profession and becoming that elegant
enemy Of man known as a hotel clerk with
a diamond breast-pin, in a fashionable hotel
at a distant city.
Years after Pete confided to me a startling
fact that solved the mystery OF this strange
affair. He had stolen his rivals Grafton.
DOM PIATT.
MAcK-o-cHKEK, O., July 1.
Abraham Iincoln's poxertx.