The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1898-07-19
WHY HE ENLISTED.

| O1lC C1o VI O1O OO1OACA VI OAo
regiment. After the salutations had
been exchanged before the tent of the
commanding officer the volunteer adj
dressed the colonel, saying, "Cap'n, if
you need any more of Hancock county
boys I'll get'm for you.
eff they're all as fine looking physical
specimens as yourself, 2" the colonel an
swered jovially, "I'd like to have
whole army of them. Our regiment will
be filled up in day or SO, but I'll let
you know in time"
After they had left the quarters Of
the colonel and were stretched upon the
grass in the shade the newspaper man
took occasion to put his favorite ques-
ton, "Why do you enlist?' Sometimes
this question ELECTS an outburst of pa
triotic ardor which fills the air with
stars and stripes and eagles, sometimes
| (most frequently it calls forth a hard
luck story, which paints in glowing
colors the virtues of the victim, but on
this occasion the answer was merely,
"Well, have nothin to lose. - "But, "
| protested the newspaper man, "there's
no telling how long you'll have to be
from home and there's no man that will
take the same interest in running your
plantation that you do, for presume
you are farmer :"
'That's true, sir; that's true, was
his deliberate response, "but you see
things amt just as they was Before
Mary left took interest in everything,
but now-I jes turnt the farm over to
couple of fellows an thought /
nights well to come to the front an
fight for my country. I'm "a years old,
an l amt never done nothin but farm,
an thought I'd take a little fghtin
in mine jes' at this stage"
Here forced smile played over his
rugged, careworn features. The CORE
spondent wished to follow the clew
just thrown out about the desertion of
Mary, but didn't know just how to pro-
coed. "Well, don't want to discourage
your patriotism, " he said, "but you re
giving up the peaceful leisure of rural
life for the dangers and excitement Of a
campaign in which disease is as much
to be feared as Spanish bullets.
stranger, said the volunteer,
"that's jes' it. From the way you talk
bout peaceful leisure l see you ain
never lived in the country. Farmin' S a
good thing if man S got money or don't
mind worlzin, an I don't, but that
was jes' the whole trouble. l b'l'eve
now when think of it that if l had a
had more time to make her happy she'd
been contented to stay, but it seemed
to me we was married at the busiest
time of the year, an then afterward it
looked like l had jes' as much to do at
all times. l always had to look after
the milkin at daybreak, an then be-
sides the regular work there's enough
chores and the like to keep fellow
hustlin all the time. Even on rainy
days there's harness to mend an such.
But, friend, and here his face bright
ened up until it was radiant with the
recollection, 'if you could have seen
that little wife of mine in the dairy
you'd a seen the prettiest sight you ever
saw. In little speckled calico, skim
min the milk an washin the crooks,
singin the whole time, jes' as happy as
a lark. She looked like little pink
rosebud Sometimes it seemed to me
she was more like angel than wom-
an. But l beg your pardon, sir, " he
concluded, retilling his pipe lyon said
you wanted to meet all the Hancock
boys here, an guess I'd better go make
you 'quainted with 'em stead of tellin
you all my personal affairs, which isn't
the right things to tell to strangers. +"
This sudden halt in the narrative an
noyed the journalist, who had inter-
viewed woman suffragists, heard the
confessions of criminals, synopsized the
prayers of ministers and even invaded
the sanctity of the home for the purpose
of publishing to the world the secrets of
private life. The story had somehow
placed him in that supersympathetic
condition from which tact takes fight;
but, summoning the little skill which
remained, he determined to make the
man lay bare his heart.
"No, he said, "don't apologize for
anything you say to me. I'm interested
in it all. When man is manly and pa
triotio, his life is always interesting to
me- We all have our sorrows and it's
a relief to tell them occasionally. Did
you say your wife is no longer with
your
laundering as this speech may seem
to mind which seeks and finds hidden
motives, it was sufficient to satisfy the
simple son of Hancock county, so he
continued;
Eyes, sir, it S over three months since
1 saw her. Understan, now, l amt
blamin her at all She was young an
pretty an full of life, an so I'd jes' rath-
er to think of it all as a big mistake.
For little time after we was married
she seemed to be happy, but then no.
ticed that she didn't pear to take the
same interes' in things 1t was jes' aft
er she had spent the day at Sulphur
Springs with a lot of young folks. /
drove her over there to picnic one
mornin an then come for her in the
evenin. There were dozen or more
girls there an several young men from
the cities, but there warn't none of 'em
could touch her when it comes to looks.
She seemed to enjoy bein with 'em so
much that couldn t help kinder standin
round an lookin ON for awhile, but then
! hurried on back, for 1 had lot OF
hoei1 to look after.
"Well, sir, l was the proudest man
in the world when l went back there
for her that night. Everybody crowded
round, even the old ladies, an told
me what pretty dancer Mary was
All the young folks in the country was
there, but Mary was the populares'
of 'em ALL They wouldn't hear to our
drivin back then, but made us both
come right in to supper. 1 didn't exact
ly calculate on doin this, but Mary
looked like she wanted to, so l did.
They tried to make me dance, but
don t know how. 1t was the openin of
new summer hotel, you know. A
young fellow that set next to me at the
table an was mighty polite in handin
me everything said he was gonter be
there at the hotel for some time, an
that we mus come round often OF
course asked him to come see us too.
He was pretty glib talker. When we
was leavin an tellin everybody goodby
and promisin to come again soon, /
heard a lady from New York say to an
other one Wouldn't she be a queen
with the right trainin?' We got in the
spring wagon an drove home, an she
was jes' all excitement tellin me what
a time they had that day an how /
ought to learn to dance.
1.-TWO days after some ladies drove
round in their carriages an asked her
to go to the Springs with 'em again. She
said No but when she seen was anx-
ious to have her go she went with them.
They drove back after supper, her and
the two ladies an a young man, an