El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-11-16
A Butternut Victory.
Bv JOHN NELSON TRUMP.

''vsllsndigham is just the man
And rughs his right hand bower"
sang Tommy Murphy as Abijah passed
the Murphy gates.
"Shet ep"' snapped Abijah.
"Hain't a-guin to-" said Tommy and
went Oh with the song:
'.To meet the abolition clan
We're ready every hour
Abijah would have been glad to have
stopped and shut Tommy up, but he
| didn't dare. He was on his way to pay
| q call on Melissa Bray and was too
dressed up to take any violent exercise.
Abijah Hopkins was the beau of
Goshen and a rank abolitionist- He
went tn Cincinnati almost every month
and hence was an authority on fashion,
as his costume of that afternoon show
eel. He wore loNe tailed blue coat,
made with full skirts. fitting closely i'm
the back. Under the coat was flow
cred velvet waistcoat, fastened with
bulletlike pearl buttons. His dove col
Ored trousers We're skin tight, with n
black stripe up the side seam and held
down by a strap passing under the
foot. His shirt was store bought,
and he wore a high paper collar and
tie made of small colored beads woven
into n ribbon with Infinite pains, the
work of Melissa, rs was also the snaky
looking watch guard. manufactured
from her own hair. Abijah was proud
OF the tie and the guard.
Personally he was not handsome. II
might be said that his hands We're too
large and too red and too freckled and
hung. like Ichabod Cranes. IA mile be-
low his coat sleeves" His face was
| red, too. n shade brighter than his hair.
which was parted far TO the left in front
and reached" toward the right in
high. sweeping billow. In the back 1t
was parted in the middle and brushed
away from the medal line to either
side. where il met the front hair In
little duck tails just behind his ears.
And his whole head was redolent with
hair oil
Abijah was n stay at home ranger"
He hadn't enlisted and had escaped
the draft. Though lie was the only
young man left in Goshen. he was not
in demand by the girls. as might be
supposed. Few people had any re-
spect for stay at home rangers" and
when Melissa began to go to singing
| school and spelling bees with Abijah
people began TO lose respect for her
too. But Melissa knew what she was
about. She was one of those girls who
can't exist without some one to fiirt
with.
Abijah passed the Murphy gate with
anger in his heart Nothing made him
mad rs to hear the Butternut
song He hated Vallandigham and all
his adherents. though Molly Murphy
was n nice girl. To tell the truth, he
was not sure which he liked best-Me-
LISA, the abolitionist, or Molly. the
Butternut- lie would have felt better
could lie have thrashed Tommy, but he
knew better, both on account of his
new clothes and on account of Molly.
He wasn't going TO give up his chances
with the only other girl who would go
out with him.
Melissa expected him; he was expect
ed every Sunday afternoon, and she
was dressed in her best to receive him.
But it wouldn't do to let him know.
There was a peculiar code of etiquette
existent in Goshen; SO when he came
up the front steps she pretended to be
surprised.
"Why. Bijah," she said. I'm jest
that glad to see youi Won't you set
DOWN."
He sat down and put his hat on the
floor. He was awkwardly bashful.
1t would be useless to reproduce their
conversation. 1t was about the wealth
er and crops and politics. Abijah
avoided the subject of the war as he
had avoided the draft officers. AS he
was about to leave Melissa said:
Are you goin to the speakin to Mount
Repose next Tuesday,"
~ lowed TO CO." said he. want to
go 'longT'
IF it don't put you out none" she
answered.
You'd jest as well 90 as not. I'm
goin TO take my buggy"
"Ali right. Bijah." she said; ''I'll be
ready"
He put on his hat and started down
the walk.
You'll have TO fetch a LUNCH" said
he as he reached the gate. Mas sick.
and
"An right" she called after him;
'In fix il up
Mount Eepose was six miles from
Goshen. on the Columbus pike. and on
Tuesday Trough. the abolition candi-
date for governor. was 10 speak. Ev-
erybody was going, and Abijah felt
proud 10 think that he would have q
girl along even if he hadn't been to
the war and got wounded. He walked
with his head up till he reached the
Murphy gate. He looked for Tommy,
but Tommy had disappeared. Molly
was leaning over the gate. and Abijah
stopped to speak to her. She was con-