Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1894-12-22

The dumb beasts kneel to worship, and
see the Christmas light
This fancy makes men kinder to crea-
lures needing care;
They give them Christmas greeting and
dainty Christmas fare;
The cat and dog sup gaily, and sheaf
of golden corn
| Is raised above the roof tree for the birds
on Christmas nom.
| MARY FIELD WILLIAMS.
A VISIT TO THE BOOSTERS.
Lachrymal Narration of Gallinaceous
Woebegoneness.
Special to the Herald.
CHARLES Town. Dec. I7.-There is
time for all things. This is Scrip
ture. There is time to laugh. and
time to weep. and a time to inter
view campaign ROSTERS. We found
true to do this latter, as these presents
witness
Complacently contemplating the fact
that the holidays are at hand when
all grudges will be forgotten and old
friendships revived; when the asperi-
ties of editorial opposition and the
bitterness of political antagonlsm will
be drowned in the eggnog bowl, and
buried under mountains of roast trr-
key and oceans ofoyster stew, we felt
that the deed might be done; that the
time was propitious; that we might
now indeed safely interview our
beloved brethren of the pen in thi
stronghold of Democracy We did not
say so-prudence forbade--but our ul-
terror motive was to investigate the
condition as to 'health and spurts" Of
the campaign ROSTERS. We had heard
that three of these noble gentlemen
chickens were held in durance vile by
the editors of the three Democratic
! papers published here Our visit was,
in part, a visit of sympathy and con
dolence paid as duty consequent up
on certain recent melancholy events
duty due both to the editorial gentle
men and the gentlemen hens
Our first call was made to the quar-
tiers of the venerable Shanghai kept by
the Free Press. faith a foiner burd
niver scratched durt. He has been a
famous fighter in his time, and being
old and tough according, he stood the
brunt of the last scrimmage remarka-
bly, we'll. But he is very sick male
chicken now, and it is a hundred
chances to one that he will never en-
tirely recover his once clarion voiced
cocka doodle-do. We found him,
poor chicky, in back garnet securely
Gagged in an old hen-coop, it being
feared he would commit suicide if he
were suffered to go at large. The day
before we saw him he had voraciously
swallowed half a pint of printing ink
and a pound, more or less, of Non
pariel type, which the editor himself
thought he could not digest; that
is he thought the rooster could not di-
gest it; the editors digestion is, we
believe, as good as that of any man
on earth except as regards Democratic
reverses, these he cannot digest, es-
pecially when he has to swallow them
whole
But that rooster-ah, that rooster
What miserable plight he was in
Dilapidated as to his feathers; denuded
as to much of his skin zone of his eyes
entirely out and the other torn and
bloody; the spur of his right leg gone,
that of his lett leg hanging only by
an attenuated strip Of flesh To our
CHEEKY "How dye do, old feliow?' he
merely cooked his remaining eye and
regarded us askance, as much as to
say, "Oh, let inc alone, do, I'm til ed "
AS we turned to leave him we got a
backside view of the poor fellow in his
narrow prison house, and beheld with
pain that in addition to his other
woes he had one of Alcock' S strength
ening plasters on the small of his
back, and that his tail was tied uI
with piece Of tattered fools-cap paper
which looked suspiciously like the
remnant of a confederate brigade ros
ter mot rooster. We remarked. II:
there a balm in Gilead still p But
the editor didn't catch on. He seem
ed to be wholly absorbed in sorrowfu
contemplation of the wretched GALL
naceous wreck before us. He sighed
deeply. Perchauce he was recalling
the gay popcorn days o. his you'll
the gallinaceous wreck S YOUTH wher
his shrill notes of challenge walked thu
morn and his radiant piumage wa
the pride of the world.
Sic transit gloria munati.
And yet the irrepressible editor 0
| the Free Press. hoping against hope
. expects his veteran Shanghai to com,
i round all right again Perhaps h
/ may. We hope he will He is ga,
old cock, and we rather like him, an,
, wish he may get back his crow though
] hedoes crow too often out of the wron,
E side of his mouth. Our advice to Y
editor at parting was, to have one c
that ancient ROSTERS lost spurs graf
ed into the top of his head (the roos
: ter s head) and to have his tail-feathef
: set up and stifened by daily appii
!. cation of mucilage and saw-dust
: Our next call was at The office
e the Spirit of Jefferson. The roosts
l. belonging to this establishment wa
some time ago christened Stonewa
. Jackson, because he was never know
to run--for an Office. We were tol
that he uaS true b1,,a har ol,;ot-a,