The National tribune., 1885-06-11
A BOGUS SHELL
That Scared the Occupants OF Bar Room Out Of
Their Wits.

Il
| with the theatrical profession were ranged along
| the bar of an uptown saloon, the door opened
and tall, pale-faced young man entered. An
| air of profound melancholy. which started in
the expression upon his countenance and ended
in the sedate suit of black which covered him,
! peryadcd the entire atmosphere Under his
| arm he carried small wooden box. The crowd
| of theatrical people welcomed him with great
| cOIdiality, and he Joined them at the barrier
between the visitors and the bottles against the
wall. The box under his arm appeared to be
| quito heavy, for after holding it a moment he
deposited it with ostentntious care on the bar,
| and then turned to join the conversation with
| friends The talk which ensued was spirited
and apparently entertaining, for everybody in
| the party burst into frequent roars Of laughter
1 as the conversation and the drinks went round.
| The melancholy young man in black. however,
did not appear TO enter into the prevailing spirit
| with that enthusiasm which mark ed his COM
panions There seemed to be something on his
mind. He would stop in the middle of a sem
! tence turn himself about, and move his little
box away from whomsoever happened to be
| nearest it. When the barkeeper set a tumbler
down violently beside the small package the
| melancholy young man made motion as If to
! dePreeate the movement and pass his box lit
| tie further along the bar. Whatever the mys-
terious receptacle contained, it was apparently
| the cause of much annoyance to the white
| faced and sedateiy dressed young gentleman
who had it in charge Finally, after the con-
versation. with these frequent breaks, had
been going on for 20 minutes or so. the attention
| Of the entire party became gradually distracted
| from the affairs of the moment and directed
| itself toward the little wooden box, aud some
member OF the company asked what it con-
| tained. Tho melancholy young man finished
! what he was telling about and then turned and
| lifted the cover which concealed the article of
universal interest. There was brought to view
a large bombshell, cut of which protruded a fuse
of considerable length. When the cover was
| lifted the fuse twisted out of the box and hung
over the edge. One Of the humorists of the
party said:
$50 you have turned dynamiter. have you?"
The melancholy young man seemed injured
| by the attempt to convey any such inference
concerning himself. A look of profound sor-
| row passed over his face.
NO." hesaid. "Ths she'll is connected with
| many painful memories. In the battle of Get
| tysburg it was thrown from a rebel gun into
the Northern lines and fell near my father, who
| occupied a position on the commanding officers
| staff. 1t did not explode, however, and my
father. who was shortly afterwards removed
from the field with bullet in his leg, took the
shell with him as token. The wound proved
| fatal. After he had fingered for months in the
hospital there furtive tear made its appear
ance in the corner of the melancholy young
| mans eyel my father passed peacefully to his
tomb. One of his brother officers who was
| much attached to him sent this shell homo to
us as a memento of that fatal occasion. 1t has
been in the house ever since, and this morning,
in looking over some old things in the garret,
my mother found this missile of death and
destruction. She naturally desires to preserve
it, but she knows that its contents. if they be-
come isnitod, will Of course explode, with what
results 10 one can tell SO she gave me the she'll
and told me to have the powder taken out of it,
| and then to cause an inscription to be engraved
upon it alluding to tho occasion on which it
was found. l have been carrying it about all
day. not having had time to take it to the
proper place. Naturally 1 have to be pretty
careful Of it, because, if drop it, or if spark
of fire should come into contact with the fuse,
| there is no knowing what might happen"
BY this time everybody was thoroughly in
terested in the contents of the box on the bar.
Even tho bartender vwed it with an anxious
solicitude, and some further conversation passed
as to the construction of bomshells. The mel.
ancholy young man shut down the lid of his
box, aud nobody noticed that the long edge of
the fuse was left projecting under the cover.
Gradually the talk drifted back to other SUBJ
jects, and the melancholy young man became
after time quite .vivacious He told stories
and related experiences with degree of humor-
GUS spirit quite unusual, and it was apparent
that he had forgotten all about his family bomb
she'll While he was In the midst of one of his
most stirring anecdotes the door of the saloon
unstcadily opened aud a stranger entered. His
hat was pulled over his eyes, his coat was but
toned with q reckless disregard for the instruc-
tiOns Of the tailor. His hair was disheveled,
and his gait was loose and somewhat uncertain.
From the corner of his mouth there prOtruded
q long cirgar with an exceedingly bright light
on the end of it. Tho stranger was obviously
under the influence of liquor. but he succeeded
in circling the crowd standing at the bar with
out in any way attracting their attention.
Men in a greater or less condition of inebriation
are perhaps of too frequent presence in that
part Of the city to allow the appearance Of one
of them to excite remark. The intoxicated visi-
tor passed around to the other side Of the crowd
at the bar and leaned heavily upon the rail.
An aflable young gentleman in a white apron.
employed in the establishment to dispense such
fluids as may be required, went through the
customary formula of saying "Wattleyave"
the inebriated stranger looked up with an ex-
preston of half helplcssness and seriously re-
sponded, "Gimme sh beer"
The atfabe young man proceeded to produce
tho required article. and tho inebriated stranger
undertook to assume nOnchalant attitude
while he waited. He learned with heayiness
upon his left elbow, curved one foot over the
other, aud removed from his mouth with his
right hand the long cigar with the bright light
at the end. The right hand, containing his
cigar, fell upon the bar. and the bright light
came in monetary contact with the tip of the
fuse projecting from the shell picked up on tho
field of Gettysburg This incident was fol-
lowed by startling series Of incidents. There
was loud whizzing sound, yell from the
melancholy young man. and a wild rash for tho
door on the part of the entire company. The
affable young gentleman in white apron be-
hind the bar hastily drooped his glass of beer
and sprang out into the middle of the floor,
where he Joined in the hurried chase for the
do ath nf
there mnst have been ID Or 20 in the company,
all undertook to get through the narrow exit
simultaneously. and there was lively struggle
in consequence. Meantime, the whizzng sound
continued from the fuse in the box. The in
ebriated stranger was viewing this aud the
other curious phenomena Of the moment with
an expression of the utmost astOnlshment.
The melancholy young man stood in the mid
die of tho floor with look Of subdued amuse-
ment passing over his pale features. The
struggle at the doorway continued until the
last of the frantic crowd had succeeded in
throwing himself out of the building. Then
the whizzing sound in the box died away, and
the melancholy young man and the inebriatcd
stranger joyously shook hands. Half an hour
afterward, when the affable young gentleman
who had been behind the bar ventured caut-
ously to return, the melancholy youth and the
inebriated stranger sat sOherly at table drink
ing their third bottle of champagne ut the
expense Of the establishment. The melancholy
young man was Mr.. Henry E. Dixey. The in
briated stranger was Mr.. John A. Mackay. The
shell from Gettysburg was made from papier