The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1891-04-09
IAN rights reserved.l
THE EASTER EGGS.
A STORY OF LOVE, POETRY AND
PROSE.
BEING A CHRONICLE OF The DUTCH FORK
BY DIR. 0. B. MAYER, SR.
JI.-POETRY.


foot caused such perturbation in his
head, David Hartman's ideas of poetry
had been quite vague. The specimens
of versifcation which he had studied
did not extend beyond what was con-
tained in the Lutheran Hymn Book,
and those insidious little scraps of
printed paper found upon sugar Kisses
but he always used the word hyn'es for
the former and Kiss verses for the latter.
Behind the word poetry he thought
something beautiful must be hidden, If
he only could see through it. He was,
however, at last overcoming some OF
the obstacles that withheld him from
wanderings beyond the limits of matter
of fact life. Often did he feel inclined
to shake off the influence of his sister
Christina, or Teener, as he called her,
AN irretrievable old maid, as bitter as
her own weight in aloes. She had for
hidden him to seek. the company OF the
girls, "Who," said she, lies catches a
young feller as boy catches a June
bug, and they ties string to ham for
him to buzz around 'em ontel he can't
buzz emmy longer, and then they lets
him go with the string hangln' TO
him for q everlastin' hobble through
life. Then they catches another one
and sarves him the same way, and so
on. Keep out'n their clutches, Dave.
Eff one of 'em squizzes your hand don't
you seuiz back, or there'll be no help
for YOU" He was beginning to doubt
the soundness of his fathers advice,
who, having been occasionally van
quished by his mother, often whispered
to him: David, my son, beware OF
winning"
Bekky Bright had long been setting
her cap," as the saying is, to catch
David Hartman, not as June bug. but
as bona fde husband. he was hand
some and industrious; and Bekky, who
was worthy member Of the church,
had 10 recollection. of having heard
him use profane language. How far
she had succeeded has already been
made known. 1t only remains to be
mentioned, that in spite of the bitter
ness with which his sister, Teener, rep
rehended the conduct of young people,
and the cautionary whisper Of his
father to ''beware of the winning" a
new order of ideas and sentiments were
being developed in his mind and heart,
fer the generalization Of which the
name, poetry. was growing in favor
with him every hour. What were his
etchings on the colored egg? A poem;
the theme, "Love in a COTTAGE; and
the muse, to whom he appealed for in
spiration, Bekky Bright. He was now
an admirer of beauty; he had his stan
dard established, and that standard was
Bekky Bright. He was going to write
q letter,-it was to he in poetry, too,
and it was to be addressed to Bekky
Bright.
On Friday afternoon before Easter,
David took down the slate that hung
along with the almanac above the
maDtel-piece, and proceeded to his
fathers gin-house, where he laio
himself fiat upon the screw-sweep
after the manner of sailors upon the
bowsprit of ship. He placed the
slate at convenient distance above bis
face on the sweep, and after pondering
some minutes venture6 to write the
following couplet:
David Hartman is my name, and single is
my life,
And happy will the gal be wat gifts to be my
wife.
But moment afterwards, he rubbed
it out-all trace of it; for his conscience
accused him of plagiarism, in much
as he suddenly remembered having
seen the same lines on the fy-leai Of
his friend, Martin Sawyers Hymn
Book,-the only difference being the
substitution of his own name for that
of Martins: besides, it was too boastful
for his unpresuming nature. He ac-
cordingly replaced it by astanza which,
ran thus:
When kin read my titles kleer
To menshins in the skies,
rll bid farewell to every fear,
And wipe my weepiu' eyes.
ivy that's hyme"' he exclaimed,
as he again rubbed out what he had
written. After kicking his feet alter
pately in the air, and scratching his
head violently, he produced another
couplet, which was more successful as
far as it went: here it is;
Ny heads akin, my hearts beatin';
has no wish for sleep nor eatin'.
This was original; and possessed the
additional merit of being true; for his
restlessness and loss Of appetite were
the main facts upon which his sister
had based her suspicious of his meta
morphosis into June bug, and which
had cccasioned his father and mother
so much uneasiness about him. David,
however, could not proceed another
line further. He slapped his forehead,
groaned, kicked and tore his hair, but
he could not advance: the inspired
labors of David Hartman like the
Fayrie Queen and Don Juan was
doomed to remain an unfinished effort
of genius according to the usual meth
ods of composition,-though the plan
he soon afterwards adopted succeeded
admirably.
1t is said that people in love are ex-
cessively irritable. The vast number
of suicides and duels among lovers is