Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1900-01-08


he boasts loudly that some day he will
cross the channel and teach the John
MES, at another Waterloo, to give over
their heather lingo. Tommy is
stanch upholder of high-caste conven-
| tionality One reason he wishes to
whip the beers is because Kruger
'asn't a proper at nor dress suit to
S ole bloomin' outfit, and any ragtag
can shake S and" Tommy waited
breathless while Mr.. Chamberlain was
persuading John Bull to go in for war.
| Mr.. Chamberlain growled long at the
beers, while Tommy stood in the back
ground with his chips, murmuring
"Sic EN-" Does he dream of gold and
diamonds? Not her, unless it is to
place them with the Kohinoor to the
glory of Britannia.
He has his sweetheart in England,
whether she be We're de We're or simple
Harriet, and he whites away his time
with her in a happygo-lucky manner;
! but when the order comes to march
he is on his feet before the bugle stops
sounding and loses his identity as
lover in Tommy Atkins, of Company
- of her majesty's service. Though
he speaks of her royal highness as the
old lady, the widow of Windsor, or
her royal mugs, woe betide any
stranger who initiates his example.
That the eyes of the world are upon
him makes not the least difference in
| his department. He would embrace
'Arriet, nickname the queen or fight
the beers with the same energy were
| his spectators one or one million. He
goes through the world with his
| cock billy hat on one side of his
head and does not take time to pose.
General Gordon taught Tommy les
son in Africa that he has never forgot
ten, but there is one thing the dark
continent has taught Cecil Rhodes
that not all the countries of the world
could teach Tommy-a disbelief IN
hell He is orthodox, believing in
both places. He does not wait for the
thud of the death-deaIing bullet be-
fore making his confession of faith.
Bother him and he will not hesitate to
relegate you to one of the localities of
his belief He is not quite sure that
he has qualifications fitting to the
other. GAS fer me-" he says, Il fear
I'm bound for ell; but 'Arriet, God
bless her! she's sure of 'eaven."
Tommy Atkins has been, and is, the
worlds pioneer blazing pathway for
aggressive civilization and her timld
sister, religion. He counts no sacrl-
| flee too great, no hardship too heavy
to be borne, and he plants the widows
veil, tattered by the thorns of his own
wherever honors are thickest. He has
legs like columns, arms like steel and
| the digestive apparatus of an ostrich.
Just now he is, to quote from the Lon
don War News, eating timed hor-
rors that compel Indigestion and
make Chicago millionaires." To
speak Of the aggressiveness of Tommy
Atkins without referring to an often
disregarded companion of his is I'M
fair This is the leading trottter, :"
or, to quote Tommy's pet nickname,
the Jungle boar" of an invading
party. The work devolving upon him
is attended with greatest hazard.
Not long since one of these men. a
British officer, was incarcerated in the
Johannesburg jail for being disorder
ly, and compelled to work out his
term at hard labor. He made good
use. of his eyes, and literally every
stick and stone of that fort is known
to the English military authorities.
Another British officer is at present
working as navy-laborer on railroads
or canals-in a certain locality in the
Transvaa1. Every yard of the road be-
tween Natal, Johannesburg and Pre-
toria is mapped out, every little nat
ural and artificial feature being re-
produced; every farmhouse and the
nationality of it's occupants known;
the location of every drop of water
and every bit of pasture and the ex-
act amount of supplies recorded. This
is true, also, of the western border,
and the work has been accomplished
with hazard and sacrifice almost
beyond comprehension.
The Prince of Wales.
The old lady from America would
have been surprised when watching
Tommy bid farewell to sweetheart,
wife and mother, especially if she had
witnessed some leave-takings of sol
diers in her own country. I have IL
| from an eyewitness of the departure
of troops from Waterloo station that
not an expression of regret was en-
tered, nor a tear shed by the leave
| takers. A few of the women assumed
a gayety so evidently forced as to be
| pathetic. Perhaps the saddest spec
| tator of the war preparations was not
the women, but his royal highness,
Prince Albert Edward The same au-
thority says: II am sorry for him.
He does not get fair show. He can
not go to war; he is prohibited from
taking up any industrial pursuits; he
can do nothing but stick at home and
obey the dictates of parliament" No
wonder he sometimes feels like riding
| L I'll, 81 L, ,aTcy