Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1891-12-18
CHRISTMAS WITH
"OLB SHERMAN"
A True story nbou, Two Little Rebels

a True story about Two Little Rebels.
"The night before Christmas" was at
hand Could that be Santa Claus, with
drums and swords, prancing horses and
booming cannon, coming to fill the little
stockings he overlooked last year
sat up in bed and rubbed my eyes.
There on the floor lay our black Nanny
Venus, wrapped in her patchwork quilt,
and beside me lay little sister it was no
dream, for through the open window, along
with the perfume of the orange blossoms,
came those strange sounds, nearer and
nearer
Mammy's black head advanced fir nm un-
der her quilt like cautious terrapin.
"What is it, nanny 2" [ asked, and |
began to tremble
ooh, my honeys ~ cried nanny, taking
little sister and me both into the shelter
the patchwork counterpart, don't git
skeered nohow; no Yankees, not Marse
Lincoln he-self, kin tex yo' FUN yo mann
my, an yo' nanny FUN yo'"
''The Yankees ~ l gasped "have they
come really and truly - and Immediately
began to wonder if dared tiptoe to the
window to get a peep at the terrible and
interesting creatures.
f'Would that noise kill me if | looked out
of the window, nanny y asked at last.
''To be course it would, " answered little
sister, shuddering
'Well y said nanny, pears to me like
you better not it's right resky foolin' wild
Marse Sherman, and OATS him 70 sure. l
steddy, an l steddy, an pears like can't
mex it out nohow. Talk bout free pears
like DIES Yankees amt know dat muffin is
so no-count as a free bawn niger"
"a band ~ l cried and forgetting our
! fears all three rushed pell-mell to the win
dows As the tramp, tramp, tramp came
nearer, and the front ranks came into sight,
| little sister set up a dismal wall "Dey is
only men, and not real and true Yankees
at all, she said
They are real enough" said poor nam.
ma, who had come hurrying in, and she
made us close all the shutters. and although
she let us peep through the blinds, she would
not look again, even when we entreated
her to point out cole Sherman"
Eyes, shifted nanny, "dey is a playin'
When dis cruel wah is ober, and dey is a
doin' it dey-self all de time -
As we sat around the drawing-room fire
| hot l.. IL
with a flourish, and Cyrus announced
General Sherman, Missus :"
Ny mother went forward to greet her
visitor, with youngsters clinging in mortal
more frightful to us than "Bluebeard," or
"Hop-o' my Thumbs" ogre, or "2ed Rid
ing hoods" wolf, all rolled into one.
Mamma put her hand behind her and
drew me forward, saying General,
here is young person who is very anxious
to see ole Sherman "
81 declare, mamma, | didn't say it,"
began, trembling like an aspen leaf '''twas
nanny or little sister
mo no l cross my heart never did, ~
sobbed little sister miserably
Our dreadful visitor looked from one cul-
prit to the other, from under his bushy eye
brows, and then-he did not cut our heads
off with his great sword, as l fully expect
ed him to do he laughed oh, so long and
loud
He took pretty little sister on his knee,
and said he had letters in his pocket for
mamma, and asked for some sugar for us,
to cheer US up bit. There was no sugar
nor had been any for many months; so
General Sherman told us to come to his
headquarters next day and ne would give
us all we could eat.
We got our sugar Drown by choice, in
nice pasteboard boxes marked Colgate S
Soap" and what else do you think we got
A Christmas box straight from Santa
Claus whom General Sherman must have
met on his March to the Sea- else how
could he have got it for us 2
AS we skipped ioyfully home we said with
conviction
''You see, nanny, you were all wrong.
ole Sherman is not Yankee, after all. u
+ e G. Parker in December Wide A,odke.