The St. Johns herald., 1889-10-24
DOWN TO HE CAPITAL.

DC, Where Congress meets and passes on the pen
 sions ort to be Allowed to old one-legged chaps, Ike me, 'at
 sence the war Don't wear their pants in pairs at all-and vt Old FIuI1ens, from our deestrick. 1es turned in
 and tuck and made Me stay with him while was therei Rad long,
 CT at staid The more kep a-wantin' ies to kind O git And yit a-feelin' sOciabler with FIukezs ever
 day. You see. I'd got the idy-ani I guess most At men as rich as him, you know. kin do 1es'
 what they please: 4 man worth stacks O money, and Congress-
 man and all, And Twin ID buiIdin' bigger 'aa Masonic
 Hall Now mind, I'm not a-faultin' Fluke-he made
 h-s money square. We Do vas Forty-niners, and both busted
 gltin' there; I weakened and onwindiesscd, and he stuck
 and sti:d and made His millions: don't know what I'm worth
 tel my pensions paio. But was Soin' to tell you-er ruther goin' 10
 try To tell you how he's Twin now; gas burnin'
 mighty nigh h ever room about the house; and all the
 night, about. Some blame reception go.n' On, d money go-
 in out,
 ever kind at lives, Iniuns and all. and Senators, and Ripresenta-
 tiYes; And girls, you know, ies dressed in gauz, and
 roses, declare, And even old men shamblin' round and waltz
 in with 'em there! And bands a-tootin' cIrcus-tunes, way some
 other room, Jes chokin' full O hot-house plants and ? nies
 and perfume; And fountains, squirt'n' stiddy all the time;
 and statutes, made Out O puore marble, 'peared like. sleakin'
 round there In the shade. And Fluke he coaxed and begged and plead
 with me to ta5e nand And sashay in amongst 'em-crutch and all,
 you understand; But when I sa how tired I was, and made fer
 open ar He follered, and tel five o'clock we set a-talkin'
 there. My Godr' says he, FluKe says to me. "rm
 tireder n you: Don't put up yer tobacker tel you gve man a
 chew. Set back leetle furder in the shadder; thatn
 do; I'm tireder m you, old man; I'm tireder n you!" "You see that-air old dome" says he
 ''humped up inst the sky; It's grand, first time you sec it, but it et0Hges,
 by and by, And then it says jes thataway-jss anchored
 high and dry Detwixt the sky up yender and tho achin' of
 yer eye. "NiRht's purty. not so purty, though, as what
 it ust to be When my first wife was Twin. You remember her?" says he. nodded like, and Fluke went on, 'I wonder Knows where I am-and what an-and what lust to ber g That 6andin assrsl-Iust to thlnk at music couldn't wear A feller out tho way 1t dOesi but that ain't That's ies g ia'tation and Ike ever thing swear, linear, CT see, CT tetch, CT taste, CT tackle any
 wherei It's all jes arttacias, this 'ere higE-priced life of ours. The theory, .t's sweet enough tel 1t saps down and sou-s. They's no home Ie:t, ner tiss O homo about it. By the powers, The whole things artifcialer n artificial flowers. And all want, and could lay down and sob fer, is to know Tue homely things of homely life; fer instance jes to g And get down by the kitchen stove Lord! that 'u'd rest me so- Jes set there. like ust to do, and laugh and joke, you know. 'Jes set there like ust to do," says Fluke, startn' in, Feared like, 10 say the whole thing over to hissef ag' n; Then stopped and turned, and k nd O coughed, and stopped and fumblS l er Somepin CT mother in the grass-I guess his handkerchief. We'll, sence Tn back from Washington, where Il left Fluke a-st Il Aleggin' fer me, heart and soul, on 1hat-air Pension bill, I've halfway struck the notion, when think O wealth and sich, There's nothin' much patheticker 'an jes a-bein' rich!
 James Whtcomb R ley, in Century.
 NS