Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-12-06

let no democrats in for fear they'd disgust
the ladies, or scare the hUtle girls or dirty
the noor. l looked il at the window, and
there was this same fellow Shields noatin
| about IN the air, without heft or earthly
! substance, just like d lock OF cat fur where
cats had been lighting. He was paying
| his money TO this one, and that one, and
| tother one. ana suherin' great loss because
| II wasn't silver instead OF state paper; and
| the sweet distress he seemed to be in-his
very features. in the ecstltIc agony of his
| soul spoke audibly and distinctly, Dear
girls, II is distressing, but L cannot marry
you all. Too well L know how much you
| suffer; but do remember, 1t is not my fault
that / am so handsome ana interesting -
AS this last was expressed by a most eX-
QuiSite contortion of mis- face, he seized hold
| of one OF their hands, and squeezed, and
held on to it about quarter OF an hour.
oh, my good fellow says 1 TO myself, If
| that was one OF our gals in the Lost Town
| ships, the way you'd get a brass pin let
| into you would be about up to the head.
| de democrat! Fiddiesticks! / tell You,
Aunt 'Becca, he's a WING, and no mistake;
nobody but WING could make such a con-
| Getty ounce of himself 'Weii,' says /, may
be he is, but, If he is. I'm mistaken the
worse sort. Maybe so; maybe SO; but, II
am, I'll suffer by it; I'll be democrat IL
IL turns out that Shields is wing, consid-
erin you shall be a wing if he turns out a
democrat "
| The next letter was written by Miss Mary
| Todd, atterward Mrs. Lincoln, and Miss
|
Trumbuil. 1 quote the letter entire as fol-
lows
LOST TOWNSHIPS. September s. 1872.
| Dear Mr.. Printer:
| / was a-standin' at the spring yesterday
a-washin' out butter. when L seed Jim
Shocks a-ridln' up toward the house for
very life when, jlst as l was a-wonderin'
what on airth was the matter with him. he
| stops suddenly. and SEES he. Aunt 'Becca,
here's somethin' for you;" and with that
| he hands out your letter. Well, you see, /
steps out toward him, not thinkin' that /
had both hands full of butter, and seem l
could not take the letter, you know, with
out greasin' II, L SEES, Jim, list you open it
and read il for me-" Well Jim opens it
| and reads 1t, and, would you believe it.
Mr.. Editor, was so completely dumfound-
ed and turned into stone that there stood
in the sun a-workln' the butter. and ii a.
| runnin' on the ground. while he read the
| letter. that l never thunk what l was
about till the huh ont run melted on the
ground and was lost. Now, sir. it's not for
the butter, nor the price of the butter, but.
the Lord have mussy on us, L wouldn't
have SIGH another fright for a whole firkin
Of it. Why. when l found out that it was
the man what Jeff seed down to the fair
that had demanded the author Of my let
tiers, threatenin' to take personal satisfac-
ton of the writer, | was SO skart that /
thot l should quill-wheel right where
was You say that Mr.. s. is offended at
being compared to cats fur, and Is mad
as March hare (that amt fur. because
told about the sQueezin'. Now l want
you to tell Mr.. s. that, rather than fight,
III make any apology, and II he wants
personal satisfaction let him only come here
and he may squeeze my hand hard as
squeezed the butter, and If that amt per-
scnal satisfaction l can only say that he is
the fust man that was not satisfied with
squeeZin my hand. If this should not an
swer. there is one thing more that / would
rather DO than get a lickin'. l nave long
expected to die a widow, but as Mr.. S.
rather good l0OlLtuU of
must say that do not care If we compro-
mise the matter by-really, Mr. Printer, /
| can't help blushin'-but lit must come
out-I-but widowed modesty-well, IL
must ] must wouldn't he maybe he'd
sorter let the old grudge drap if 1 was to
consent to be-be-h-i-s wife? 1 know
he's fghtin' man. and would rather fight
than eat, but isn't marryin' better than
fightin'. though II does sometimes run into
II? And / don't think, upon the whole
that I'd be sich a bad match, neither; I'm
not over sixty, and am jist four feet three
In my bare feet, and not much more around
the girth; and for color, / wouldn't turn
my back on nary gal in the Lost Town
ships. But, after all, maybe I'm countin'
my chicklns before they are Matched, and
dreamin OF matrimonial bliss when the only
alternative reserved for me may be Mckin'
Jef tells me the way these fire eaters do is
to give the challenged party choice of weap-
ons, &C, which, bein' the case, I'll tell YOU
in confidence that 1 never fights with any
thing but broomsticks or hot water or a
shovelful OF Goals or some such thing; the
former Of which. being something like a
him. 1 will give him choice however, In
one thing, and that is, whether, when we
fight. 1 shall wear breeches he petticoats
for l presume that change Is sufficient to
place US on an equality
Yours, etc, Rebecca -
P. s. Jist say to your friend. if he con-
cludes to marry rather than fight, i shall
only enforce one condition. that is, Il he
hon 70 1lor
gals home Of nights from our house, he
must not squeeze their hands.
Not content with this the young ladies
fell into poetry, from which 1 select the fol-
lowing:
eye Jew's-harps awake! The Auditors won
Rebecca, the widow, has gained Ern's son:
The pride of the north from Emerald Isle
Has been wooed and won by a woman's
smile
The combats relinquished. old loves all for
got:
To the widow he's bound Oh. bright be
In the smiles Of the conquest SO lately
achieved.
Shields Challenge.
AS may be readily imagined, this CORES
pondence worked the finder and passions
Of the high-strung Irishman into fearful
blaze He at once demanded Of the editor
Of the Journal. Mr.. Simeon Francis, the
name of the writer OF the letters intimating
tnat the eOltor would tell or hight" Lin
coln learning the situation, at once assumed
the responsibility for the letters. Then came
a correspondence involving the names of
many gentlemen who have since become
historic, such as John ]. Hardin, R. w.
English, John ID. Whiteside VIM. Lee ID.
Ewing, T. NJ. Hope, A. T. Bledsoe, VIM.
Butler and E II. Merryman, besides the
principals-Shields and Lincoln. The first
result was quasi challenge Subject to re-
vision of his friends) by Shields, and a proyi-
sional acceptance by Lincoln. on the follow
ing terms:
LIST. Weapons: Cavalry broadswords of
the largest size, precisely equal in all re-
Spects, and such as now used by the cav
airy company at Jacksonville.
I'd. Position: A plank ten feet long and
from nine to twelve inches broad to be
firmly fixed on the ground as the lines be-
tween us, which neither is to pass his foot
over upon forfeit of his life. Next a line
drawn on the ground on either side of said |
plank and parallel with it, each at the dis
lance OF the whole length of the sword and
three feet additional from the plank: and !
the passing of his own such line by either
party during the fight shall be deemed a |
surrender of the contest
Sd. Time: On Thursday evening at z
o'clock. IL you can get il SO: but in no case |
to be at greater distance OF time than /
Friday evening at 5 o'clock.
4th. Place: Within three miles of Alton |
on the opposite side OF the river, the par |
ticuar spot to be agreed on by you.
Any preliminary details coming within the |
above rules Won are at liberty IN moEa n |