The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1889-11-29

y ers, for the room was growing cold. Br
e the chill air did not affect me. L wa
u giving birth to poem. The secon
n stanZa came easier. What bothered M
5 most was the rhyme. think, to tin
e best OF my recollection, that the secon
S instalment consumed half hour of in
tense thought. | was better satisfie,
than with the first stauza, because knew
1T was trucr Here 1t Is, just as read j
to Nellie:
His comb is rs rel as ruddy wine.
Ills breast Is q shining sheen:
but his carcass Is safe from me and mine--
we can't pick his wishbone clean
Ire muse was rather Skttish at the
third stanza. Icoaxcd her with a pine
OF tobacco, the fumes of which made Mel.
Tic cough, and | persuaded her to 90 ia
ped. The clock struck II. The wind
ratified the window frame and began to
| think that nnata-~~--- .,-A-------~5----
iT almost fell asleep over this otanza.
While laborioasly constructing it there
came n picture to me of the old farm
house in the Catskills, the table groaning
with its weight of good things. 1t oc-
! CURED TO me just here that | was doing
the groaninS now. When finished, after
many intcrlncations and corrections, it
read as follows:
There was a time long long aso.
When deprived of his feathery vest.
seized his leg in my strong right hand,
And dissected his meaty breast.
By this time had got into the spirit
| of my undertaking. The lines ran of
the end OF my pen as smoothly as water
runs off II ducks back. With IA conf
dent smile l finished the last verse.
The next morning had to fill up the
| hole III tcn-ccnt piece with soap and
ashes i'll order To deceive the toll ll-takcr at
the elevated railroad station. All the
way down town l read and rercad the
alleged poem, trying to perfect it. When
arrived lii New York | hcsitated before
the big newspaper Offices, afraid to 90
in. At last | managed to pluck up
courage enough to go up stairs, where,
contrary to my expectations, was kindly
received and was told that my poem
would b" read, and if it possessed sutii-
cicnt merit it wo"ld he printed Twas
encouraging, to be sure, but what was
going to do in the meantime for the
turkey?
The day was spent in the usual way,
running around looking for Job and
finding none. managed, however, to
earn fifty cclts by carrying some coal
1t hurt my pride TO do it, but the faces
OF the children rose before me, and |
would almost have committed murder
just then.
With a heavy heart I started to walk
over the bridge just after sunset. The
wind blew cold from the northeast, and |
was starht night. The great towers
loomei up above me like entrances to
some gigantic temple. The river rushed
and swirled below, and reflected In ail2>-
gleams the iight from the electric lamps.
foam. It was tn 4 aifftile filgeo,i& i&aYes Gaphed with
felt strangely drawn toward the river.
For time forgot the babies and Nellie.
Behind ne was the great, roaring city,
with It's thousands of men and
women struggling for existence. l
had been tramrlcd under foot in the
crush. Why should | return and renew
the battle? AS broodcG over the river,
chilled to the marrow by the searching
wind. the water seemed to bcckon me.
Its shifting currents whispered Come"
its shadowy, cleaning riffs. its miniature
mnlc3troms seemed to my excited fancy
to .ay: Here's rest for you. Well
bear you away to drcamland, where hun
ger and pain and sorrow are drowned IL
tho ncponthc Of eternal rest.
In this state of partial uncousciousn, IS
/ began to climb up the railing to reach
the roadway below, when n policeman