The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1885-07-18
ute Vbiboooux Sentinel
SATURDAY, JULY Is, 1885.
Burdette OH Hendricks.
Burdette tells of his Dining with Hen.
drickSin 1876.

with each other. 1t was this way |
l'ad been iec'urlng, after the count"
N 1910, ont III The vast, free, glorious
West. l hasteniny home to Rnrling
ton over III" Chicago, Burlington and
Qnmc"y. On that same day Mr.. H-n
drickS was on his way t. California.
Both day trains on the Quincy road
dlned at WormIry'>. ut Charlton. Iowa.
Mr.. WormIey met me at the door Of
the dining room with even more than
usual c"rdiality. He said to me:
Good. ! have company for you to
day. Cnne right over to this table
followed him and faced a gentle
man 30 much better looking than his
campaign portraits that I did not recng
ME Mr.. Hendricks until we we're intro
ducrd. His face was pretty attractive.
his manner no less charming. l was
pleased that fate had cast me in his way
that Is was at first. He was so
pleasant. liked him. Early in the
coarse Of Brilliant conversation
about the W, ather he said:
You are the young gentleman who
writes the poetry on the Hawkeye. l be
Ileve." And you never saw IL more be
WltchlDg smile on a mans face.
NOW. that was the very thing l didn't
want 10 talk about. had been writing
whole pages of campaign ''poetry.''
they cal: il in the Hawkrye, but. YOU
understand, that excellent family pa
per wasn't exactly il Democratic paper.
Not Just what you'd call IA Democratic
paper. At least. it was no more Demo
cratic than the 0 ,antankrrous. rally
round thef'g. boys, third term, Hayes
and Iowa, could BE- expected to be. 1t
was just about as Democratic as the
Eagle is Republican. And l knew
what kind of ''poetry'I had been wri
ting. idgeted a little, poured a
spoonful OF sugar in my soup. and own
ed up that was the man. Then | ask
ed him how long he expected foreman
in California.
He told me, and then said There
was one little poem"-now, see how
kind he was, he called it II poem.
There was one little poem you wrote,
beginning There was an old Hoosier,
us Tve heard telr-now how did the
rest Of that 60 :"
Go? 1t went for him, tooth. claws
and t%oe-nail. and l knew it, and ] be
lieve he knew it. l feebly said, 81
don't remember emptied the salt into
my coffee. and chopped he would find
sest and returning health in California;,
/ also hoped that l would die in a few
moments. but l didn't say SO. He
thanked me ID his courteous manner
for the wish l expressed, and then went
Oh;
There was another, a good one |
can recollect only the second stanza
how did the first one run 7" i
Aud Herewith he quoted "a few lines
OF q of the Eeane things l ever
wrote about any man. While he quo
ted my prize poem, pretending to for
get the stanza that referred to himself.
l was confused, but l seemed abstrac
ted as spread five very thick layers
OF mashed potato on my folded napkin
under the impression hat l was spread
ing a piece of butter. l said . wasn't
very we'll when l wIote that one, and
had quite forgotten it. Then 1 attemp
ted to wipe the cold, beaded perspira
Ion from my brow with that napkin
md added to my embarrassment:
have appeared embarrassed or &c
centric, l am sure.
Well, the long and short of it is Mr..
Hendricks remembered every mean
ooem | had written about Mr.. Tilden
and himself during that bitter cam
'aign, and he could quote just enough ,
If the innocent. good-natured lines of
zach one to show me that he read it.
never saw a man with such a memory
hope he enjoyed his dinner. l think
did. He ate heartily and smiled !
,ood-naturedly all tho time, and he :
'ade me good-by very pleasantly. l |
m confident I showed off to good ad c
If l did l dissembled: ri
lid't feel that way at all. But I didn't (
sat there and took my punish r
nent like a man. When Mr.. Hen !.
tricks went to his train l arose and e
ought Mr.. Wormey. to tell him =
bout it. He was lying on the floor be d
ind the cigar-cOunter, Wheeling and Il
hoking like a man who ia trying to
augh himself to death. l began to