The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1902-09-19
By JOHN HABBERTON
WO of the Oldest men at Far
way had shouted themselves
hoarse several times ON Me-
v,orio1 lor h11+ xubnn o% c,,p


hoarse several times ON Me-
mortal day, but when at sun
set they met at the drugstore and
drained two glasses of soda water to
the memory of the dead and in honor
Of the living survivors they resolved
Informally that, although the newfan-
Eled patriotic holidays were very good
hnd proper in their way, there was no
sensible reason why the Fourth of July
should be allowed to pass, as it had
fone for some seasons, as unnoticed as
If it We're last years almanac. Nei-
lher of them had fought under Wash
ington or even seen him, but as both
were far past eighty both had known
survivors of the colonial army, even in
their own families. Indeed Farway
itself had been located" and settled
md the dust of these worthless had spe-
cially consecrated the little cemetery
on the eastern slope of Farway hill.
can they're clean done forgot even
by us that ought to know BETTER" COM
planned Jasper Howtree, whose father
had been one of the soldier founders of
the village. "The trouble begun as far
back as when l was yOungster, for
the war of 1912 was just over, an we
heerd so much about Gin'ral Scott at
Lundy's Lane an Gin'ral Jackson at
New Orleans and HulPs vict'ry that we
rome nigh forgittin' about Gin'ral
lWashin'ton an his fights, though we
WAS kinder reminded ev'rY time the
Fourth come round. Then come the
Mexican war, with Scott an Taylor to
hooray for an afterward to vote for,
an we lost our mem'ries some more.
About twenty-five year after that come
| the big war, an then we hadn't no
thought of nothin' but the work on
hand You know l was in it with all
my heart, an all the rest of me would
have been there, too, if the recruitin'
officers-drat their upstart pictur's-
hadn't said / was too old. Old-an'
I've done fifty-two weeks of good, hard
work ev'ry year from that time to this,
although am risin' eighty-seven year!
The fellers out east at Washin'ton
meant well, but they didn't seem to
I know that out here, in Gods own coun-
try, the older man grows the better
the stuff that's in him. But, as l was
sayin', we didn't have no Fourth the
fust year of the war nor in the other
years either. The Revolution an all
the other wars seemed to be elbowed
out of the percession by the fuss
tween the north an the south"
can the other wars never got back
except in books" said Calvin Beantas-
sci, who regarded himself as stepson
of the Revolution, for his mother, wild
owed while still young, had married a
Revolutionary survivor, who, when dy-
ing, bequeathed his musket to Beantas-
sci. "'Tain't fair to the dead; 'tain't
| fair to the livin'; faint fair to the
country; faint fair to the universe.
| Anything that did so much for Ameri-
ca an the hull world as the American
Revolution is wuth all it cost, an 1t
ought to be kept in mind"
"That's so," assented HOwtree, "an'
what ort to be done can be done If
there's any men to do it. Now, why
can't you an me bring about change?
| You an me have got the sperrit an
we've got the understanding of the mat
ter, an likewise we've got some folks
that don't ginerally go ag'in us, an
reckon you an me wouldn't suffer
much if we put up a few dollars to get
up an old fashioned genuine Fourth,
with all the fixin's that we can remem-
Der. Nobody ever knowed either of us,
no matter how big our families or how
bad the crops an the prices of pro-
dooce, to be close listed when a circus
come round. Well, the Fourth's wuth
a million circuses."
"That's the talkv' shouted Beantas-
sci. "Now, s'pose we just app'int our
selves a committee Of two to get up a
Fourth such as there used to be. Wen
have to be spry, for we've got only five
weeks to do it in, but let's put up no.
tice at the postoffice tellin' people what
to expect an sayin' that we assume
full management of the perceedin's an
responsibility for 'em, SOS to freeze out
the upstarts that think they know how
to do ev'rything that's bein' done.
think
Il Howtree waited expectantly for what
Beantassel thought, but suddenly the
thinker seemed strangely embarrassed,
so Howtree said:
!, "Well, did that think of yourn run
up ag'in a stump"
NO" replied Beantassel, almost in a
whisper, ''but here comes that high
strung old Virginian, Jefferson Run.
nels. He'd be good man to have on
! the committee with us, for Virginians
want behind the door when Revolu
, tionary patterotism was dealt out
butt
i 'Well, but what?
"Well, dunno, 'cept p'raps that old
] row tween his grandfather an your son
Sam
"That old row is dead, been dead
nearly ten year." said Howtree, "an
my fam'ly's been tryin' to bury it ever
since. Anyhow, let the dead bury its
dead; the livin' won't prevent-not
them ON my side of the fence. Next tc
us, Runnels is the oldest man in town
Let's rope him into the job"
Good evenin'. gentlemen" said Run
nels. 81 come up to drink to the mem
'ry of all the brave men who fell durin