The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1888-02-02


shingles on the roof
with blast on his old mulberry colored bugle
The Lord God amt no respecter O persons;
likewise I, who ain the meanest of his servants
am not. / feel constrained to say that all
who love Him, an to be in His holy house.
should show their love by gittin' here airly
enough not to disturb the openin' services.
Time is more precious to the Lord than it can
be to any mere mortal worm. We viii now
sing IS our opening hymn:
But d0st am ], 0 Lord of Hosts;
A weak an grovelin' worm.
Should aifrOnt with pride an boasts
The monarch Of the storm?
The Winter went by with the old Squire
still on board the Gospel ship ez Elder jag
gers d say, but it didn't take more'n half an
eye to see that her deck Wuz gettn' purity
narrow quarters for him. 1t want so bad while
the protr8cted meetin lasted, for there wuz the
excitement, the comm together every night
an Sundays o all the neghb0rho0d the chance
to do good lot o 'Iec6ioneerin', for he wuz a
candidate for reelection an the opportunity
to swell up an show off afore everybody ez the
biggest fish the Lord d ever ketched in them
waters But when the Spring come, an every
body went TO gettin' III their corn an terbacker,
he had t. fall back agin on the old crowd that
didn't feel well enough to put In craps, but lay
round Masa ThT0ckmOrtOn's store, an pitched
hossshoes, an sucked whisky, an hoped to
to support themselves.
The old Squire hadn't reg'rly jined the
church, for Elder Jaggers alters put his con-
verts on six months probation afore 'loWiu' EN-
to iine. He'd been bound, strictly bound, to
give up all his swearin an lyin an boss TaGin',
an drnkin more whisky than his skin d hold,
an specially card playin'. This wuz Wust of
all, for the Squire d ruther set behind five
keards in little game O. draw than eat his
vittles.
'Meetin' nobody from day to day but the on
merry Wigginses, Hoskinses an sich from the
headwaters O. the Crick, the Squire begin to
drift back toward his ole habits. But he didn't
go clean by the board till they struck him on
his weakest pint--his appetite for gettin'
somebody else's money without giYin' nOthin'
for it.
" There'd been jooiTy pedler roamin' the
Crick for some weeks, sellin' the women folks
pinchbeck breast pins an diamond rings made
o the best Pittsburg glass.
"Often in the AFTERNOON he'd fetch up at 'Masa
Throckmorton's store, an spend the profits on
pair o. plated earrings film the Hosknses
an Wigginses with new whisky. He wuz
awful soft an green like-exceptin' when he
wuz talkin' ioolry, an the boys had a great
time learnin' him TO play poker, which he said
he'd never heard of till he come on the Crick !;
he'd spent all his life in Injy or mi any dig
gin the diamonds he WIZ sellin', an at the
they WuZn't wOrkin but go to church and read
Sunday school tracks. He showed some o. the
tracks, which he had wrapt round his joolry.
Ii wuz hard work for him to tell one card from
nuther but at last got so he could tell the spades
from the clubs, an the hearts from the dia-
muuds, an he'd stop and count the spots until
| the bows wuz Almost wild waitiu' for him to
play. But he didn't mind losin' little money
| to sort o pay his teachers for learnin' him,
an every time they'd git up from round the
/ table IN the back room o Masa's store, Pete
| Virgins, 81 Hoskins, Jim Padgett and the rest'd
/ be iuglin' few dimes an quarters in their
/ pockets, which they'd win from the green
! pedler. Even Masa who WIZ jinerally too close
/ and stingy an afeard to play keards for money,
would iine in, bekase he see it was sich safe
| playin and rise richer by % or 80 cents
The old Squirrel set round with his mouth
| a-Waterin', an watch the others maxim their
money for whisky, terbacker, powder an lead
| often the softly; but his religion wouldn't let
| him take hand.
But one afternoon the pedler seemed to be
playin' foolisher'n ever. He'd been drinkin'
some o 'BIasas new liquor, that went straight
to his head. He'd bet dollar bills where he
| usually bet Dimes an the boys wuz jest a-skin
min him. The Squire could mt stand it no longer
need that ere mopSy powerful bad to pay
my 'lectioneeripl expenses, an it'll do more
good there than to let them Wigginses an
|
DO spent for the public good if it goes to hell
elect me to Office So he says, sezzee:
% Boys deal me a hand Pll play jest thi
once, eff y'll all promise to say nothin' bout
to nobody; specially to Elder Jaggers.'
They all said they wouldn't; an tn
Squire set into the game. He raked in TIN
fust pot, which wuz of tollebe size, an tn
next one which wuz still sitter The pedle
seemed gittin' foolisher every minute. II
pulled package done up in q newspaper outel
his pocket an opened it, shown it wuz banl
bills He didn't bet With no sort o judgment
an planked down a bill where he needn
hey put down but 81. The next pot went t
ST Hoszins, an then the pedler laughed, silly
J like, an says
| 90 It's my deal this time, amt it? Well Il
drop sawbuck for blind an he laid down
red-dog Bank of the State of Injeany $40 bill
The eyes of the others bunged out till y
could've knocked em off with sticks but the
J | skinned their pockets of all they'd wiuned {
him an piled on to his X.
''He fumbled the keards in the elumsies
way when he wuz tryin' to shuttle EN-, ont
ST Hoskins axed him eff he'd not better git hi
a busheI basket to shuttle in.
They all looked at their keards. jim Padg'