The National tribune., 1888-12-13
TOMFLETCBER'S WIFE
What Loyal Woman Endured During
Her Husbands Service in the Army.

I'm Tom Fletcher's wife, and that same Tom
e nv 'tother haf jined together IN the holy
bonds Of m8trimony nigh onto 80 year ago. /
hate most awful % dew i'll mean introducin'
myself tew the publick-but no one else wood,
an so I SCI TO myself Mrs. Fletcher, you dew
It. You can dew il yourself If you only think
So" An ] wood git TO soliloquiZing thusly, an
il wood begin TO make me shaky-like an al
trembly around my hart il / hev SIGH an article,
which i sumtimes don't believe, an the more 1
don't the more / think that a poor mans wife
has no hart III they hev. they've no bizness
tew. Not that Tom Fletcher has ever gwen
me Gauss for thinkin' as / dew, for I'd have
you all no that he is a proper good man. But
more Of this sum other time. Wall, IN t3tkln
about harris, ] got a little of my BARNS. Let
me see. I'd got 10 Whar WIZ all shaky-like
intr0ducin' myself. Wall, everybody that's
ever red q book knows the author has tew be
introduced. hev never Tit book yet-not on
paper But Oh, sakes alive, ] hev rit more IN
my Imagination than you Good shake q stick
at, an ii / only had all the poems aud poetry
j have composed ia my sleep II wood make
sight bigger book then Ella Wheeler's poems OF
+" Passion" If / ever say, q" Tom, let's write
book, ne always looks at me so queeT-like, an
says: We can't write 10 book" But, land-o-
massy, no better. He amt got DO courage.
he nose very well his name wood 60 before
the publick. an be thinks he never Good stand
IL. He is SIGH 8 home body. j am dom this
ritin' an introducin' al on the sly; an when
he finds out its dun, an the world actooaliy
nose thar is a Tom Fletcher, an that same
Tom has wife, why, bless my sole, just no
how he will act! ] amt any ways skeery but
what my rtin's viii be red some time, for 1t
takes quite a while after yew are introduced
70 git acquainted.
In iutroducin Tom an to the publick,
forgot TO menshun the fact that my name is
Peggy. Sumtimes Tom calls me Peg for short
We were lined together in we'd lock list about 3
year afore the breakin out Of our late onpleas-
antness. | have often wondered how it was
that Majors Good git IN sich fite. 1 new Tom
was patriotic, but somehow / never Good kctch
on to sich a spirit / tended lots Of war meet
ms with Tom, an ] Good see his eye flash, an
be wood set his teeth firm together. Wall, 1t
run along so for quite a while, and Tom he got
Oneasylikc an so one day he SEE: Peggy, l
believe I'll enlist"
One Of my nabors, Mrs Smith, was few my
house at the time. She he'd sent her husband
and son 10 the war. Wall, ] looked Tom rite
IN the eys, and tried to be cam, but my voice
wood quaver. ] sez TON, don't do ii. /
can't bare the th0t's Of your goin' 10 be shota
Ny nabor fred up in a mint She sed II was
a glorious thing to die for ones kentTy, and l
told her she better put on trousers and 90 die,
then. i Good 'ent see the pint She and Tom
got to argying the matter, but / coOdent ketch
that spirit Of patriotism. By-and-by Mrs.
Smith went home, and then Tom told me how
this Guyment had promised tew care for him
who bore the battle aud for his wilder and
orfans.' Wall, he talked TO me nigh onto mid
mite, and by-and-by / begun to ketch on jist
little. Tom, be thought bekase the blood of
a patriots sire cOorsed thro' his yaues like a
stream of FIRE, that 1 Orter feel so, but, land
sakes, l never had no relation in war, only my
crate grandpa. He fit At the battle of Brandy
wine, and ] always kinder thot It was the fluid
Of the battle he fiji, or his descendants wood hey
biD more patriotic, and me IN perticular. for l
alias was kinder strong minded. Wall, the
long and short Of i was, that Tom wound up
by tellln' me 10 prepare myself 10 bare It, for
he was g0iu' 10 enlist. ] never sed word. for
new he ment il, and I jist sot myself down
and begun TO reson. / sez, Peggy, why net
give your consent. It viii be lots easier for
TOm,' 50 jist crushed all the bad feelins clear
down 10 the bottom of my hart / made up
my mind, thare and then, next time Tom sed
anything about goin', l wood be ready 10 meet
il.
Lincoln had called FOR 100000 more. Thare
WIZ war meetins till you cOodent rest One
fine mornin', as Tom wuz citing his brakefast,
SEE be, Peggy, thar is a war meetin' over IN
town. Git reddy and 20 with me-" had made
up my mind that Tom had sot that day teT
enlist, and ! new il / seen him walk up TO the
desk that my cheek wood blanch, and ! new
that Mrs. Smith wood be thar watchin' me, and
50 ! SCI, No, Tom, thanks; believe III stay
home" And he SEE, Peggy. I think III enlist
to day; can you give ne GOdspeed 2" Thar
WIZ an awful lump come into my throte. but
chOked il back, and riz up and took Tom By
the hand and babe him go bat lie never
oTeemed that 1t grieyed me So He started OF,
and WIZ most sorry had ent gone few and
then I'D think Of Mrs Smith watchin' me and
new that had not got 70 that pitch of patri-
otism yet that ] Good pass thr0 sich tryin'
ordeal and be Study, and 50 I staidat home and
waited. Reder, there is many a one liyin' to-
day that has waited for jist SIGH tidings as
i waited Tor that day. Wall, long towards
mite Tom walked In and stopped about
midway Of the floor. a nobler specimen OF
man God never made, and / never will forgit
how he looked down when lie ssd, Peggy,
I've enlisted" l looked him rite in the eys
and said, May God bless you. Tom. and hone
you Wi dew your hull doOty or none at all
les, i was done. lie had rit his name on the
rolls OF his kentTy and ! wuz trooly proud Of
my soldier. Mrs. Smith cum ever tew see how
stood it. ] jist straitened myself up tew my
hull FIVE feet and told her, lol cum what wood
calkerlated 10 back Tom, fur he'd begun tew
my vanes.
Yes, Tom had enlisted. He rift his name on
his kentTys atlas with ink that never Will be
OhliteTatec as long as Nations gratitude will
last. But hev he'd occasion sense then teY
think, and feel, too, that thar wasn't much
gratitood IN this Nation or the men that repre-
sent the Government, and declare for it, if 1
bed as small specimen for a man as sum OF
our lawmakers "a jist peerce his ears and put
pair Of lite boots on him for punishment
hails We got OF my barins agin, but have pa
Ehunse with me, please, for / am a CRATE hand
teW think back and ahed. Tom was assigned
tew Co T. ] WIZ powerful glad Of It. for he
always WIZ CRATE hand for tea, and I thot he
wood be apt tew git al the tea, and as strong
tea TOO as his appetite craved. The company
Wuz rased and then they went tew drilling
slch funny performances as they went thro'
never seen before, and used 10 wonder what
II Wuz all for. By-and-by there wuz talk of
marchin' orders. Every time l thot about ii
my mart wood Jist pit-pat as fast as Good be-
1hlngs went on kinder smooth like for nigh
onto four weeks, when thar cum a dav that
almost made my heart stand still. "Marehin'
orders! Prepare TO 60" wuZ the words that
Euz passed from one tew another. / can't de-
scribe the sensation these few words created
but he'd crushed all the bad feeiin's down
teW the bottom Of my hart, and so ] he'd moth
IN TO Ieil bad about. Tom had told me that
the blacklist cloud he'd a silver linin', and
made up my mind that I'd have nv share of
the silver II | Good get il, and I thot ali l he'd
teW do WIZ tew hold my hand out and the sill
yer wood be mine. The soldiers pot reddy tew
90 nd helr 4