The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1900-08-31
A Butternut Victory.
By JOHN NELSON TRUMP.

By JOHN NELSON TRUMP.
copyright. 1900, by John N TRIUMPH
"vallandigham is just the man
And Pugh's his right hand bower,''
sang Tommy Murphy as Abijah passed
the Murphy gates.
"Shet ep!' snapped Abijah.-
Hain't a-goin to-" said Tommy and
went on with the song:
ITO 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
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 to Cincinnati almost every month
and hence was an authority on fashion,
as his costume of that afternoon show
ed He wore long tailed blue coat,
made with full skirts, fitting closely in
the back. Under the coat was a flow
cred velvet waistcoat, fastened with
bulletlike pearl buttons. His dove col
Ored trousers were skin tight, with
black stripe up the side seam and held
down by strap passing under the
foot His shirt was "store bought
and he wore a high paper collar and
8 tie made of small colored beads woven
into ribbon with infinite pains, the
work Of Melissa, as 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. 1t
might be said that his hands were toe
large and too red and too freckled and
hung, like Ichabod Cranes, "a mile be-
low his coat sleeves" His face was
red, too, a shade brighter than his hair,
which was parted far to the left in front
and reached" toward the right in a
high, sweeping billow. In the back it
was parted in the middle and brushed
away from the medal line to either
side, where it met the front hair in
little duck tails just behind his ears.
And his whole head was redolent with
hair oil!
Abijah was "stay at home ranger"
He hadn't enlisted and had escaped
the draft. Though he 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-
e Df frv or poro n nd
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 firt
with.
Abijah passed the Murphy gate with
anger in his heart. Nothing made him
SO mad as to hear the Butternut
song. He hated vallandigham and all
his adherents, though Molly Murphy
was nice girl. To tell the truth, he
was not sure which he liked best-Me-
lissa, the abolitionist, or Molly, the
Butternut. He would have felt better
could he 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 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 you! Won't you set
down 2"
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:
fare you goin to the speakin to Mount
Repose next Tuesday,"
81 lowed to 60" said he. "Want to
60 long
s'If it don't put you out none," she
answered.
you'd jest as well go as not. Pm
goin to take my buggy"
"All right, Bijah," she said; IN 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
'.All right" she called after him;
''I'll fix it up"
Mount Repose was six miles from
Goshen, on the Columbus pike, and on
Tuesday Brough, the abolition candi-
date for governor, was to speak. Ev-
erybody was going, and Abijah felt
proud to think that he would have a
! 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,