The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1894-04-12
Mrs. j. n. Brunner.

older brother, our mother having died |
when we were but three years old.
Examination day was near at hand,
and our father saw the necessity for
thorough preparation on our part to
meet the emergencies of that day, the
day when we were to have our orator
ical powers put to severe test. He
accordingly made it incumbent upon
us to engage in nightly rehearsalS OF
our speech at the fireside in the pres
ence of himself and family, showing
us where to warm up and cool off as
we proceeded with the speech. He
kept us at this until he was satisfied
that we were prepared to distinguish
ourself as a speaker, eloquently pound
gladness into the heart OF fond father
and triumphantly carry off the laurels.
The day arrived; the old school-house
as full our sisters and brother were
there SO was our father, who possessed
not alone the confidence and love OF
his children, but likewise the conf
dence of the people, who kept him IN
the office of sheriff of Leon county,
Florida, of which Tallahassee is the
county seat and capital, for fourteen
consecutive years, when death came
and robbed him of both his official and
private life. Yes, he was at the exam
ination that day to hear and behold
us take our first step toward the pre-
servation of the family name. AS he
sat- in the audience his face depicted
his happy expectations and fairly
beamed with the pleasure he felt in
being there, and with the firm conf
dence he also felt in the capacity of
his son 70 make himself famous on that
day. the recollection of which still lin-
gers about us as if it were but yester-
day that it came to pass. We were
about the third one called upon. We
marched proudly to the stand and
made magnificent bow. We looked
to the right and then to thel Right
then and there we reached the climax
of our forgetfulness, to which wemade
complete surrender, heart, soul and
body. Then VIC looked straight ahead
of us and tried to find our thinker, but
it wasn't in sight. Like these Demo
craie reuegades and blatherskites in
the Lite election, it deserted us and left
us in y terrible fix. We didn't even
t know that the boy we had learned in
imagination TO love so well ever lived
t or "stood on the burning deck" and
got burned up in "the flames that lii
, the battles wreck" After vainly try
t ing to swallow huge lump of nothing
t and making three or four more bows
| simultaneously, the teacher was quick
= to observe that we had at last reached
4 q successful failure, and kindly direct
] ed us to where our seat was ant
j showed us how to take it. Our failure
q was Overwhelming, and we feltit, no
|. so much on our own account as OF
: that of our father, who sat there th'
victim of chagrin and shame, all ou
fault, and not his. So it was in th
|. election. It was (the result, we mean
!. the fault OF recreant and apostat
II Democrats, and not that OF the Demo
v cratic party proper. After the scho
! ars had gotten through with their rec
% tations, had said their little says, an
\ spoken their little speeches, the teache
r arose and informed the audience tha
70 be desired to give the writer anothe
Il chance. At this our fathers face b.
20 gan to brighten up and showed thf
,e dead hopes were coming to life agar
70 The teacher announced that we woul
n. this time speak Hannibal to the Ga
IN thagenian Army" 1t was a task v