The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-09-29

NdS a. not one. We mad
neld days Astounding. Beer flowed pro-
lusely down parched throats. Merrick,
"hle adJuring me feelingly TO stick to
teetotal'' himself relapsed. At first he
weakly denied the fact, and. when pressed.
turned what he called nasty" which. he
had previously warned me. would, in such
a case, occur.
Shut your cad, young I'm. I'd knock it
OH Tor tuppence. I amt a Infant, TO be
dry-nursed by your
POSSIBLY an uneasy conscience made him
trying as a lover. He came in. moody.
That little gurl o mine do beat ALL" he
remarked, with a vexed chuckle, wi 'er
airs an graces! Nobody amt nnnikin
enough to suit err
Later, one night. he swaggered gayIy
up with a face jocund as the sun, bursting
into a great laugh:
Cured 'er! Have so; you never see such
a lark in your life, Poor little birdi Now,
young un. 1 know you amt like the rest.
so III tell you, for I'm fair Dustin wi it,"
So he told me, as follows:
Shes been on at me about the beer
weeks, she has! Not sinsible like. but nag,
nag. nag. That little bit O. goods as 1
could pick up betwixt my finger an thumb,
lecturin' as if she was my granny T'other
gurls at 'er place ave crammed 'er about
my bein' sweet on i barmaid; mashin' 'em
two at once. Soldiers way they SAYS.
l telPd 'er it wasn't my figure. but no good.
See 'er carryin' on, cryin' 'er pretty eyes
out. soin' TO sic me up if I wouldn't gle
tother up. Why, there amt no other! But
l says to 'er straight I wasn't goin' to be
prosecuted into bein' teetotal." He
stretched out his legs and resumed, with
considerable enjoyment:
We'll, we was sittin' on a bench in the
park, over again the canal. Stars out, like
fifty thousand little winders Wi the lights
comm through. Nice bit o breeze ticklin'
my cheek. Made one feel just jolly, after
messin' about that p'rade ground. Seemed
unkind. when the poor little thing was
sobbin' 'ereart out. Still, 1 couldn't let 'er
git over me like that!
Mans the 'ead o. the woman 1 says
to 'er, which is in Scriptur'. an must be
right, an l got to master you accordin'.'
Then she says I was crool, an it was
true what some fool book she'd been readin'
said, life wasn't worth Twin, what wi
lunchin' parties O. Sundays, an the plate
basket never off 'er mind night nor day;
an if I didn't care for 'er enough to give
up that 'orrid drink-et cetyra-the on'y
thing she 'ad left to do would be TO
drownd 'erself.
Il felt fair tired, what wi all the guards
I done this week - on'y two nights in
bed an skirmishin' about this mornin'.
Couldn't stand no more. So 1 says:
Mean that?'
Yes she says, cryin' big tears. AS
soon as get time. 1 should like to leave
all my plate clean. And-TH leave you a
letter, Dicky. though you are so unkind.'
No matter about that I says. Sure
you mean it? The drownin'?'
"Oh, yes; my lady was sure, turnin' 'er
eyes UP to the sky.
And certain?' 1 says. Amt frightened
o the water?'
Certain she says. quite majestic-like.
'Too-m!s 'rablet'
well L says, since you've made up
your mind complete. an it's along O. me,
the least can do as a man is to clip you.
So come on! The pleeceman's out o.
EARN. It's a nice night, an there's a ole
in the canal just in front ere as nobody
knows the bottom of; an I'll save you all
trouble by chuckin' you in myself
"'WF that, 1 makes no more ado, but
ketches 'er round the waist-she's as light
as a fairy-an' runs 'er down the bank,
0OA L ~ OhNf Il says IL Az 5CAAACNA oil
respectable. Besides, there's nobody near.
so it amt no good
Then she says it was 'n-n-nothin' but
murder, done like that
well, you are unreasonable I says;
when I'm givin' you your very own way
Then she slips through my arm to the
ground like a little eel, an ketches old o.
my knees. Said it was very wicked of 'er.
an she didn't really mean it; or, If she
did, it was all my fault. Just slike 'emi
Always bringing it round to you. An
would 1 forgi'e 'er, if she'd forgi'e me, an
she'd promise never to be so silly again:
So 1 give 'er a good talkin' to, and we made
it up. an I walked 'er right 'ome, she
tremblin' like the bit of a flower she is,
bless 'er little cart But a stubborn little
piece, all the same"
1 almost wished that Melia, rather than
Merrick, had won the day as to teetotalism-
Whether his display of ante-marital Prov
ess had intoxicated him or not, / cannot
say, or whether a lovers reverie over
took him; but shortly afterwards, he COM
mitted one of a soldiers most serious
crimes; he fell asleep whilst on sentry.
The usual routine Of guardroom and
followed; a sentence Of
eighty-four days imprisonment was i'm
posed on poor Merrick. He was a good COM
rade, and the whole room was really sorry
for him. a little maneuver on my part,
which included the sweetening of the cor
poral Of the guard, enabled me TO see my
chum for a few minutes in the regimental
cells the night before his deportation.
A soldier TO the backbone, he was NOR
tally ashamed of his slip. and looked
piteously d~isorganized as he sat in a heap
on the plank bed. All the cheerful color
was washed out of his face, while his eyes
were sunk in woeful red circles, which he
/ accounted for hastily. on a phenomenally
hot August day, by "a bit of a chill"
He shook me several times by the hand,
declaring me to be something like a pal,
and old wilkins, the corporal of the guard,
a man for letting me in. and virtuously
warned me in flowing periods to eschew ex-
cess. When I asked if there were anything
I could do TO cheer him he whispered
huskily:
write TO mother as I'm goin' furrin for
my 'ealth"-a melancholy grimace. And,
young un. would you mind'-turning the
grimace into an insinuating s~mile-"goin'
to see my little girl. an break it to 'er
as I'm put away? You can explain it as
nothin' 10 make a song about; not a mans
crime, but a soldiers" He was uncon-
scic1s of sarcasm. I'm course" here he