The Wichita daily eagle., 1891-09-06

LINES 10 MULE
/ also want my boys to learn to love
the farm. So | got them to put into
crop small piece of ground and agreed
to pay them high price for their vege
tables Being busy man, have not
paid much attention to the process oi
their farming, but | have bought from
them SS5 worth of truck which ! could
have gotten Of the neighbors for $31.50
and which my young agriculturists,
am told, did buy at even less than that
hate to see boys do that way to 9
man who has always been regarded as a
first class parent in every way
My farm animals consist, among other
things, of a rather coarse but well mean
ing COW, which we bought here She
was born at the south, and some of the
best blood of this country flows in her
veins. Ideality is small, but her alimen-
tiveness and inhabitiveness are large.
She has vivacious way with her that
wins every one, but she still retains a
feeling of intense hatred toward the peo-
pie of the north. Though had nothing
TO do with the war, and did not favor it
at the time, this COW holds me respon-
sible to a degree for the results of the
war, and l have never been able to get
er rapport with her.
1t is the same with little mouse col
ored ass, or burro, which l bought for
use on the farm and for ornamental rid
ing over the highly inhamed roads of
North Carolina His name is Juanita-
pronounced Whaneeta Whaneeta in
the language of Patrick Henry, ''is dead
sore On the war;" and regards me as
having brought it on, whereas did not
do so, but. on the contrary, did Il l
could honorably to evade it. wrote to
a paper in 1860, being at that time at
Winnipeg, that unless the war was pre-
vented in some way would stay where
was for long time.
But Juanita gets mad about the war
and broods over it, and mourns and
mourns and mourns Juanita is also
childless, and that makes him feel the
war worse, think, than he otherwise
would.
Juanita was owned by neighbor of
ours here named Nettles Mr.. Nettles
did not seem to want to part with Jua-
nita, but did finally, and last week when
l offered to let him have the little pet he
said, "No; the wound is healed over
now. Do not tear it open afresh by COM
pelling me to go all through it again.
have learned to live without Juanita
now. Do not jar my newly healed heart
strings any more. Take him away or
will set the dog on you" So took
Juanita home again.
When we first let the children ride on
him he did not seem to brood so much
over the war, but we noticed that the
children felt uneasy about something.
and pretty soon 1 discovered that little
souvenirs Of the late war were to be
found in great numbers all over him. So
] had to disinfect him and renovate him
before we could use him. But he regards
himself yet as my superior, can see
that. Though poor and measly, with
large bald places on his person where he
has rubbed himself against an upright
farm while trying TO forget the past and
get rid of the results of the war, ! can
see that he regards himself as unfortu-
nate, but refined.
Juanita regards me as a low, coarse
Yankee, whose oats are reluctantly taken
in exchange for his refined social infiu-
ence. He does not have much fun, and
sver and anon he bursts forth into a wall
that shows how keenly he suffers He Is
the worst sample of motheaten respect
ability and unlaundried hdUteur that
ever saw. He has the pride of Lucifer
and the personal habits of Dvies. He is
most unfortunately made up of strange
contradictions and unhappy warning ele-
ments which fill his breast with a wild
tumult
L once wrote some lines to pet mule
of mine, among which occur the follow
ing, which / have addressed to Juanita
during the past week. There is a vein
of melancholy running through the work
which some of my friends ar the Authors
club say reminds them Of Dante. 1t is
in blank verse, which seems to be the
only literary methcd for successfully
treating the mule. The words and music
RTe ss follows;
Oh. lovely. gentle unobtrusive mule.
Thou stanGest idly 'gainst the aZnre SKY
And swsetly. sadly singeSt Ike q hired
man.
Who taught thee thus 10 warble
In the noontide heat and wrestle with
Thy deep. corrOding grief and ioyless woe'
Who taught thy siEple heart
Its pentup wildly warning waste
OF wantou woe TO carrol forth upou the
silent Rirg
Second Verse1
I chide thee not, because thy
Song is fraught with grief-embittered
Monotone ard joyless minor chords
OF wild. imported melody. for thou
Art restless wee begirt. and
Composed round about with gloom.
Thou til1iS. trustinGs orphan nnlel