The herald., 1896-02-24
co. BIS DAUGHTER.

IA gentleman who doesn't know the
Ciroassian circle ought not to stand up for
it-puttin everybody out" That was
what Mi0 MoKenna said, and the sergeant
who was my vis-a-vis looked tho same
thing. was afraid of Miss Mckenna.
She was feet high, all yellow freckles and
red hair and was simply clad in white satin
shoes, pink muslin dress and apple green
stuff sash and black silk gloves, with yell
low roses in her hair, wherefore 1 fed
froz Miss McKenna and sought my friend,
Private Mulvaney, who was at the can't
refreshment table.
$50 ye've been dancin with little
Jhansi MoKonna, sorr--she that's goin to
marry Corp ril Slane? Whin ye next con-
varsh wid yer lorruds an yer ladies, tell
thin ye've danced wild little Jhansi. 'Tis
thing to lie proud av.
But wasn't proud. I was humble.
saw story In Private Mulvaney's eye,
and, besides, If he staid tu long at the
bar, he would, knew, qualify for more
pack drill. Now, to meet an esteemed friend
doing pack drill outside the guardroom is
embarrassing, especially If you happen to
be walking with his commanding officer
Come on to the parade ground, Null
vaney-it's cooler there-and tell me about
Miss McKenna. What is she, and who is
she, and why is she called 'Jhansi9' -
Dye name to say ye'vo niver heard
av Guild Pummeloe's daughter9 An ye
thinkin ye know things! I'm wild ye
ins mint, whin me poipe's lightcd.''
We came otlt under the stars. Mulvaney
sat down on one of the artillery bridges
and began In the usual way his pipe be-
tween his toeth.
''Whin Mrs. Mulvaney that is was
Miss Shad that was ye were dale
younger than ye are now, an the army
was diff'rint in sev'ril esenshuls. Bhoys
have no call for to marry nowadays, an
that's why the army has so few rale, good,
honust, swearin strapagin, tinder hearted,
heavy futted wives as ut used to hav whin
I was corp'ril. / was rejuced afterward
but no mstther-I was a corp'ril wanst.
In thin times man lived an died wild his
rigimint, an by natur he married whin he
was a man. Whin 1 was corp p'ril-mother
av hivin, how the rigimint has died an
been bosrun since that day my color
sarjint was suld McKenna an married
man tu. An his woife-his first woife for
he married three times did McKenna-was
Bridget McKenna, from Portarlington,
like meself. I've aforementioned fwhat
her first name was but in B compny we
called her 'ould Pummeloe' by reason
av ker figure, which was entirely circum-
ferehshil-like the big dhrum Now, that
won,an--God rock her sowl to rest in glory
was for everlastin havin childher, an
McKenna, whin the fifth or sixth come
squallin on to the musther roll, swore he
wud number thin off in the futur'. But
Dr., ~>11@ H.. Ii -.
ohristen thin afther the names av the sta
tions they was borrun in. So there was
Colaba McKenna an Muttra Mckenna an
whole presidency av other McKennas, an
little Jhansi dancin over yonder Whin
the children wasn't bornin they was dy-
In, for, eff our childher die like sheep in
these days, they died like flies thin. lost
me own little Shad-but no matther. Ills
long ago, an Mrs Mulvaney niver had an
other.
"I'm digresshin. Wan divil's hot sum-
mer there come an order from some mad
ijjit, whose name misremember, for the
rigimint to 90 up country. Maybe they
wanted to know how the new rail carried
throops- They knew. On me sowl, they
knew before they was done! Ould Pum-
meloe had just buried Muttra McKenna,
an the season bein unwholesim only little
Jhansi Mckenna, who was 4 years ould
thin, was left on hand.
Five childher gone in II months.
Twas hard, wasn't ut9
So we wint up to our new station in
that blazin heat. May the curse av ST.
Lawrence conshume the man who gave the
ordher Will I ivir forgit that move? They
gave us two wake thrains to the rigimint,
an we was eight hundher an sivinty
strong. There was A, B, G an d COM
panies in the second thrain, wild twelve wo-
men, no OFFICERS ladies an thirteen chill
dher. We was to go six hundher miles, an
railways was new in thin days. Whin we
had been night in the belly av the thrain,
the min ragin in their shirts an drink
in anything they cud find, an eatin bad
fruit stuff whin they cud, for we cudn't
stop 'em-I was a corp ril thin-the cholera
bruk out wild the dawnin av the day.
Pray to the saints ye may niver see
cholera in throop thrain! 'Tis like the
1udgmint av God hittin down from the
nakid sky. We run into rest camp, as
ut might have been Ludianny, but not by
any means SO comfortable The OFFICER
commandin sent a telegraph up the line,
three hundher mile up, askin for help.
Faith, we wanted ut, for ivry sowl av the
followers ran for the dear life as soon as
the thrain stopped, an by the time that
telegraph was writ there wasn't naygur
in the station exceptin the telegraph clerk,
an he only bekaze he was held down to his
chair by the scruf av his sneakin black
neck. Thin the day began wild the noise
In the carr ges, an the rattle av the min
on the platform fallin over, arms an all,
rs they stud for to answer the comp'ny
muster roll before goin over to the camp
'Tisn't for me to say fwhat like the cholera
was like. Maybe the doctor cud ha' tould
av he hadn't dhropped on to the platform
from the door av carriage where he was
takin out the dead. He died wild the rest.
Some bhoys had died in the night. We TUX
out siven, and twinty more was sickenin
as we TUX thin. The women was huddled
up anyways, soreamin wild fear.
"Sez the oommandin OFFICER, whose
name I misremember: Take the women
over to that tope av trees yonder. Get thin
out av the camp. 'Tis no place for thin
"Ould Pummeloe was sittin on her
beddin rowl, thryin to kape little Jhansi
quiet. go of to that tope' sez the OFFICER.
go out av the min g wayl'
"'Be damned av I dol' sez ould Pun
meloa, an little Jhansi, squattin by her
mother side, squeaks out, Be damned eff
l do tu.' Thin ould Pummeloe turns to
the women, an she sez, Are ye goin to let
the bhoys die while you're picnickin, ye
sluts?' sez she IT'S wather they want.
Come on an help