The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1888-03-13


AS the household filed in from the supper
table, Plunkett opened a little book that lay
on the table, and taking therefrom strap of
paper, without a word of comment he
handed it to one of the girls to be read. Here
it is:
We haint aXed marry question.
Since the niger was set free.
But went erlong up to the polls
10 elect the nominee;
But we re getting kinder jubus
And opening up one eye,
For old Blaine has taught the lesson
That er yank is mighty sly
They are sending out their letters
And fore they're aXed decline
And the trick would be or good one
If the people were all blind
We are on to agitation,
But we call no man err lie,
We're too polite TO be 50 harsh
So we say its mighty sly
Let en- write and talk OF tariff
And these complicated things
But the most they want is Office
Or the good that Office brings
The souhs been fed upon the scraps,
Of the nations chicken pie
We want Just division now,
They've learned US TO be shy.
'Well," said Plunkett, "what is to be will
be-"
II 'bleved that doctrine" spoke up Brown,
"till L went to the war. 1 was or Hardshell,
but when the balls begin to fly Ground I'd
forget all erbout my church doctrine and it
took er mighty supple man to get into or hole
quicker than me-.
81 knoWcd or man." said Plunkett, "that
went clear through the war and fit in every
battle from Seven Pines to the surrender, that
never got er scratch, and never was sick worth
toll(inU hat unt lp1 h1ra old nl~a
down mule er kicking him the very next
morning arter he got home"
II heard of one" chimed in Brown, ''that
went through the same way and got killed by
or ram er butting him i'll or few days arter he
got home"
But" continued Plunkett, without SEEM
ing to notice Browns remarks, 81 could tell
you erbout erthing that happened over on tho
river that was eIhout the worst thing that
happened during of the whole war; leastwis
it made me feel the worst, for
knowed en- all, and L knowed what or good
little woman the wife was, if
she did play on one of these here pianos
eyes, seed him the day he volunteered"
spoke Brown, seeming to know what was going
to be said, "and seed his little wife whom she
caught him by both hands and leaned her face
down on tho brass buttons of his coat and
cried, the day they took tho train to start for
Virginia. L haint brave and I'm dadburned
glad of it,"
Them were mighty bad times" resumed
Plunkett, 'when the soldiers would tell their
folks goodbye. There's many er one living
now that can remember the partingS, and the
longer the war went on, the harder it got to be,
but it was just erbout as bad to watch the old
fathers and mothers, and sisters and wives,
and sec 'em cry when the other fellows begin
to come home, and they lInowed their loved
ones were killed, and wouldn't come at all.
But what ! was going to tell you was erbout
Charlie Holland, who wasn't killed, but who
never did get home"
The old man took Whit or two at his pipe,
and then proceeded:
"Charlie Holland went off to the war and
left his wife and two little children, little
boy and er little girl, and they lived ON the
river and done the best they could till they
heard that the war was over and then the
whole talk was erbout papa coming home
and every morning they'd get up bright and
early and the little wife would fix up the
children as clean as err pin and they'd go out
and set on the fence and watch up the road
and when they'ds er fellow or coming they'd
holler to their mama and here she'd come
with her sewing throwed over her head for or
bonnet and would watch till the fellow would
get closer and closer, till at last she'd say
that's not him. and she'd turn and walk
back in the house and the children
would watch, and directly they'd holler to her
ergin: Wonder comes papa and they'd clap
their little hands and run and catch tho
mother by the dress, and pull her erlong faster
and she'd put her hands up to her eyes to
might, but directly it would be the same old
saying: That's not papa and turn and walk
back to her chair on the porch
ut went on this way day after day, till it
got so she begun TO cry and she quit sitting in
the porch but stayed out at the gate with the
children, and there was no soldier that passed
erlong that road but whG. telt like crying
when they seed her and them children watch
ing there, and how the tears would come
when she'd ask 'em if they knew where
AT aSf mi
ing by They were all at homo and
Charlie hadn't come yet. The little
wife kept up tho watch and kept
the children dressed to run an meet papa, till
one day tho little boy run in to her and said
that he heard some men say that they expect
cd that Charlie had found er wife out in tho
war that he liked tho best and he was going TO
stay. She broke down right then and she took
to bed and the doctors couldn't do nothing for
her and she died in few days, and the last
words she said, was
"'Watch at the gate for papa
81 helped to dig her grave" spoke up
Brown, "and never will forget how the folks
talked erbout Charlie"
yes" resumed Plunllett "they did talk
erbout him, but they were sorry of it after they
found out how it was"
The old man stopped to change the position
of his chair, but soon went on:
"The railroads were all tore up and Charlie
had struck out through the country, taking all
the near cuts in order TO get home to his little
wife and children He got to the river bank on
the other side from his house and he could
sec the light through the window, but the
night was dark and the storm was raging and
he couldn't make nobody hear his holler so he
got er hold of er log and decided to cross on 1t.
The river was up and it got him in er whrl
and dashed him ergin the rocks and his dead
body was found in the driftwood at the bend
Of the river on the very evening that his poor
little wife was buried from q broken heart, be-
cause he did not come. Them were bad bad
times" SARGE.
Consumption Cured.
An old physician, retired from practice, hay