The National tribune., 1888-12-13

| They always put me in mind of old hen. /
am not IN the habit Of lynn. If had been
| think wood have told Mrs. Smith few; but
| as it wuZ, always looked her rite in the eyes
| and told her the truth. Tom wuz in Madison
enjoying hisself as well as be Good, livin' on salt
pork and soap bread; and, wood you believe ii,
/ instead OF tea, as / expected, it was coffee But
/ Tom appeared tew enjoy it, and most every
! letter / got frum him thar wuz somethin' in
it about the silver linin' I began tew think
thar wuzent any silver about it; jist all paper
| money, worth at one time so cents on the dol
lar in gold. That wuz the way grateful Ma
/ ton paid her soiers. One day got letter
frum Tom and he Tit for me TO git myself reddy
/ and como few Madison tew see the sites. Thar
WIZ the Capitol, and the museum and lots of
! other sites tew be seen. ! WIZ goin' tew see
sumthing Of the world, and so ] got reddy jist
as quick as I Good and the cars took me clear
tew Madison. thot it the incest ride I'd ever
had. Tom was thar teW meet me- ] was pow
! erful glad tew see him. He took me over tew
a hotel and got US sumthing tew cat and he sed
1 It wuz the first square meal he had ct since he
/ left home.
/ Wall, the sight SEEM commenced. went
/ tew to the Capitol and drawed my monthly
4 allowance, and then we went few the museum.
/ Thar wuz lots of pcters thar; but the one
( that fasinated me the most WIZ a picter of
POcahontas saving the life of Capt. Smith. ]
/ Good hardly git my eyes off that picter long
! thar wuz lots OF PocahOntases. L SEE, Tom, II
/ you ever git Whar thar is danger Of your bein'
/ shot at hope thar will be Pocahontas near
by tew hug you like that" Wall, l went down
tew the other end of the room whar they had
a showcase, and what do you think? The first
thing seen wuz a picked hand they sed cum
frum Egypt Oh my 1t made me sick, for 1
thought that they never picked anything, out
side Of cucumbers, but pigs feet. l looked
agin, and thar wuZ a picked snake with two
heads and then / looked round and thar set
breast-plate that had been taken frum sum ded
rebel, with hole in it big enuf for me tew
stick my fist thro'. SEE, "Ah hah mister,
your breast-plate didn't save your life, for you
didn't have no Pocahontasn / wuz down teW
Madison nigh onto two weeks, and l seen sites
till my he'd aked, and / begun tew think about
goin' home. Tom sed / must go into camp
afore l went and so one day l started for camp.
/ / EuZ all alone but / was not afraid and be it
sed in honor TO all who wore the blue, / never
yet see one that wood stand by and see a lady
insulted Thar wuz lots of the boys knew,
and when they found out that Peggy Fletcher
Wuz in camp, they cum crowdin round tew
shake hands an ask about their folks, an par
uculaTly about their wives an babies an when
I'd tell them of sumthing cute their baby he'd
sed or dun, the tears wood cum intew their
eyes an they wood wonder how much longer
this cruel war wood keep them frum home.
started teW 90 out seen a man standin' in
bar'l. He wuz so sbamed be Good not look up,
an thot he Wuz cTyin'. ! heard noise am
looked round, and thar cum Corpral with a
man huggin' CRATE ball, with chain fastened
teW his leg A LOotenant stood with folded
arms lookin' at him; an he with the ball-an'-
chain very politely told the Looteuant tew list
look at his jeweiry. / said Tom for mercy
sake, what does 1t all mean 2" for l thot that
wuz funny way tew dew dOoty for ones ken
try. Tom lated, an told me they had disobey-
ed, an wuz gettin' punished for it; an l seq:
Tom Fletcher, if / ever heer of your cuttin
up an hayin tew stand in bar'l, or lug round
a ball-an' chain, I'll disown you. You enlisted
of your o%n free viii, an told you at the time
tew dew your hull dOoty or none at all" At
that Tom lated, and sed " Don't be skeery,
Peggy; ] wood not be cot with that ball-an-
chain on for all the money Uncle Sam is worth -
and ] knew Tom meant it. an I Yuz content I
went out Of camp an went tew my boardin-
place, an commenced gettin' ready teW go
home. Mornin' come at last, an Tom went
with me tew take the cars, an when | bid him
good-by little thot of the hart axes that wuz
ahed Of me afore / shood see him agin. But
thar always is sum bitter among the sweet, an
tho the cloud wood git black an had tew
look several times afore Good see the silver, if
looked long enugh the silver wood cum in
site after a while.
rest. an rite glad l wuz to git back tony own
little home, whar Good rest, for l wuz awful
tired seem so many sites an goin' round so
much. hadn't been home but a little while
when snmOne nocked. / went to the door an
thar stood Mrs. Smith. If thar wuz one per-
son more than another dreded to see Just at
that time il wuz Mrs. Smith, She wuz all
smiles, aR' so, of coOrse, had tew treet her
well. new the minnit seen her that she had
cum tew question and quiz about Tom. told
her about all the sites l had seen, an l got
faTely eloquent over POcahontas | told her it
%uz jist few nice for anything, an only hoped
an prayed that ifmy Tom ever got intew danger
thar wood be POcahontas close by to help him.
Oh, my you had ortew seen her elevate her
nose. She sed she WIZ glad her old man didn't
need anybody to help him. She had confidence
enuf in him if be ever got into battle that he
wood stand up tew the racket. / flew all tew
pieces, and sez: % We will see, Mrs Smith. I
believe my Tom is about as brave as any of
them, but ] no he will be skeered if he ever
gifts into battle, and wood not say had con-
1dence IN him for his legs to stand and let his
body be misused." She sed she new Smith
wood never run. ! told her / hoped he wood
not, but time wood tell: and it did tell, and it
WIZ only short time, tew. When the battle
OF Shiloh WIZ fit Smith wuz that skeered that
/ be turned and run as if Satan wuz after him.
That wuz the news that went the rounds
i AA4ot ~ NdS u bufI lew Gail on MIS-. smith
few see how she took il. l got over tew her
house, and she wuz crying to beat ALL knowed
IN mint what wuz the matter, and of corse
melted. She SEE, 81 never once thot Smith
WIZ SIGH a coward" / told her. Never mind.
Mrs. Smith / suppose he thot it wuz better
TO be a live coward than ded hero aud maybe
he wood have more nerve next time" But
she Good not git over il. She sed her hart wuz
wounded and the wound wood never heel, and
told her perhaps it wood seer over after
while, and 1t did. She got as clipper as ever
IN the cOrse of & few weeks. l used few laf and
call her the heros wife, but WIZ sorry for it.
little new what wuz ahed of me, and / often
] think OF the him Mr.. Bliss rote before he dide
" We no not what awaits US, God kindly wales
! our sites" Yes, God kindly wales our sites, and
! for one am truly thankful; for it does seem
( teW me If / had known the anguish of mind
and the hartakes ahed Of me that l never Good
have stood it. Gen. Grant said, Let US have
+ peace" But thar wuz no peace. One day you
thot you had it, and the next day news wood
/ cum Of sum loved one either ded or dying,
wounded or sck-sumthin' TO keep your hart
! thumpin' all the time; and so it wuz with me-
/ Things went on that way for quite a while
! One day went tew the offs and got letter
I fTum deer old Tom Even tew this day, %
/ years after, my hart almost stands still when
/ think of It, Deer Peggy" the letter began. {" I
! am goin' into battle tomorrow. o God, the