The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-12-04
CLEVELAND WAR CHAMPION.
More and Hotter Eggs Than Any
other Chap.


chubbif'css, when first ! saw him." vet
eran said the other day. 1T was up Onon- |
daga way, in the little village of Fayette-
VILE His father DR.. Cleveland, had retired |
from the ministry, and was living there |
with his family. He had little else-in fact |
he was even poorer than the average re-
tired minister. But that was nothing |
against the Cleveland standing. I think |
the whole village Iejoced when Mary the |
eldest daughter, real mothers girl, and
most lovely young woman, married one of
the Hoyts, who were at the very head of
the village aristocracy.
GAS to Grover, nobody called him Gro
yer then. TO everybody he was Stephen,
or more Familiarity, Steve. He was by no
means SO bright as his elder brothers,
Neal ard Cecil. Neal whose full name was
William Neal, was as tall and spare as
| Stephen was thick and squat Cecil, who
died young, was my particular chum. Our
homes were but a little way apart Almost
every morning on my way to school I ran
by the Cleveland house in order to go with
the boys there. One morning l missed them
either L was late or they early. Some
how, 1 had crossed a particularly stiff
fence on my way; result, big rent in the
side of my roundabout. Mrs. Cleveland,
good soul, spied it. Come in here, Char
| ley I cannot let you go to school that
way she called. So l went in the sitting
room and watched her while she mended
! my coat her foot the while rocking the
cradle in which ley a young person des-
| tined to be the lady of the White House,
Miss Rose Elizabeth Cleveland. In those
| days she was Lib or 'Libbie'-in fact I
think her brother still calls her by that
familiar name.
stephen was perhaps the last boy in
school for whom anybody would have pre-
dicted a career our of the common. Yet
looking back at 1t now, 1 can recall certain
traits in the boy that have made for the
mans advancement. He was selfsh-not IN
the loose amateur fashion of ordinary lads,
but with a massive, logged selfishness
that has, l fancy, In later days often serv-
ed as a fulcrum for the leve1 OF his politi-
cal advancement. He knew what he want
ed, took astounding chances to get 1t, and
once he got it did not know how to let so.
but there was one person to whom
Steve was always tenderly and obedient-
ly devoted. That was his mother A bet
ter son never lived. and 1 am satisfied
that one of the greatest pleasures ad-
vancement gave him was that 1t enabled
him to make her last days her best. Once
when had gone to him
in the White House upon
matter of business, after 1t had
been dispatched our talk fell accidentally
upon old times. I recalled some incidents
that brought his mother prominently for
ward CHANGING at him, L was amazed
to see him, the man who was called an
iceberg, jelly fish, with tears rolling over
his cheeks-tears evoked solely by that
dear memory.
In my first winter, when Stephen was
rising 9, his brothers. myself and several
others of the bigger lads had a sled that
was the delight of our hearts. Perhaps
we didn't give Stephen a fair share in the
rides, though 1 think we had gone down
only three times without saying a word to
him. l recall his look-the set of his
mouth, the square brace of the shoulders,
. as we made ready to go down again, and
still there was no place for him. He did
not say a word, only ran a little lower
than the starting point, and as we set the
sled in motion, jumped, caught it regard
less of who he bruised, and went down
with it in triumph. or course we could
have tumbled him off, but we were not
Observation-Disclosures l really think his
pluck impressed US.
I'm his books Steve was neither better
nor worse than the average. So much
know-because none of us were any thing
. out of the common. He. did not stay at
them very long, any more than myself /
, think he cannot have been much beyond ID
! when he was clerk in one of the village S
general stores that sold pretty well every
thing from silks to hardware l myself
was clerk in another, and in way. had a
hand in admitting Stephen 10 the ranks OF
the real big boys.
Somehow there grew up a great stir in
! the village founded on fear Of burglars
Several stores in neighboring towns had
been robbed, so my employer decided that
[ l and his bookkeper had better sleep in
the store every night. We did not mind
not at all. The fear of burglars was
something dim and remote-not to be
named against having the counting room
all to ourselves when the days work was
? done. The counting room boasted bis
! stove, and we were free to keep up the
! fire as late as we chose-also TO receive
visits from whoever we pleased.
THAT of course led 10 egg suppers. ]
don't know II the egg supper has gone out
of fashion-in those days it was pretty
Jolly affair We contributed the stove
some crackers, cheese maybe some canned
oysters. The boys outside bro1ght the
eggs. How they acquired them we never
asked. There was q SORT OF supeIstieiOi
though that a lad lost caste If he was
suspected Of buying them. To cook them
we made the stove Kissing hot, then spread
smooth brown paper upon top, and broke
eggs thickly upon II. OF course the pa
per in between caught fire, and burned VI
equally of course the eggs themselves of
! ten scorched. But that made them all the
! better Every boy keeps somewhere
about him a tang OF barbarism-thougf
| ca. Il irnWalDGg
, we felt like big bold savages at a hunting
feast. He who ate most eggs, and ate
: them hottest. was sort of champion. Il
> / rocollect Alright stephen Cleveland wor
? that distinction at the first time OF try
a | ing.
p 81 know he came bulging all over viii
, eggs-we counted up to FIVE dozen, anc
! there were many more. How he cam'
by them nobody asked. II was not th'
thing 10 do, you understand. But mex
day there were various and sundry com
plants ahoat-complaints Of rlfied hen