The National tribune., 1902-12-18
The Boys Read Their Letters-one From the
Deacon Shorty Reads Those From Maria. |

'.Serg't Klegg, here's still another let
ter for you, called the Orderly Sergeant
delving into the heap of papers and maga
zines. He handed 81 stout yellow en-
lvelope inscribed In firm, round, uncom
lpromisingly black letters. 1t was not ele
CANT writing by any means, but unmisfak
ably clear. Every letter was there. ane
given its fuH value. Evidently the writel
was one who never sighted anything. Ht
always knew precisely what he intended
doing, and then did it with all his might
ignoring nothing and paying rigorous at
tentiOn to every detail.
Hello, that's from Pap" said 81, look
ing at it with affectionate reverence
/ Writes to tell me how he got home. All
right, l hope. 'Spect he was awful sea
sick again, though"
/ Somehow a letter from his father still
took precedence in Sis mind over one
from his wife. He was so recently hus
band that he had not gotten into the way
of considering his wife before his father
Besides Annabel came in the nature OF
pleasure, while his father was in the light
of duty, and duty before pleasure was al
ways in Sis mind. Therefore he stopped
where he was, showed Anhabers letters in
his pocket, and broke open the enyelopt
containing his fathers. 1t occupied q
whole sheet-four pages-of fooiscaI
closely written. and read:
Deer 81: got home all right; through
the favor of the Lord helping my own bull
luck. Which kept me from being sea-sick
can't tell. l wasn't mite. Mebbe il
was because them new lambs-wool socks
your mother knit for me kept my feet SO
warm; mebbe it was because my mind
was SO busy that l had not time to give
/ to the antics of my giZZard. In spite OF
what you said l did not have the heart to
refuse little Pete and some of the rest OF
| the boys to take home some keepsakes
| they wanted to send to their folks. Par
ticularly that alligator about as big as a
fence post, which Pete and Sandy wanted
their mothers to have as reminder OF
them. Should think he would be in the
way of cussedness and appetite. In my
time I've had considerable experience with
most all kinds of live stock, but that
green-eyed, sleepy varmint, crawling on its
belly OIL account of original sin, could
wake up to more devilish multitudinous-
ness than pet catamount. But when he
started for that drunken Engiishman,
opening about yard of jaw that looked
| like cross-cut saw. rather approved OF
liz and thought I'd done better than l
knowed in bringing him aboard. 1t was
clearly Providential judgment on a rum
swilling foreigner, who was also rebel.
The yell which that whisky-soak gave
when he saw an immense pair Of sheep
shears with green eyes crawling toward
his legs would have been good thing to
hear at the ',inburner's bench, and the
snakes wriggling. out, and the green birds,
with bills ike btier-hooks, hopping about
put the cap-sfeaf on the stampede Of his
nerves. He went of into fabby faint,
and didn't really come to his senses again
during the Whole trip. They tried to
h,;n1 hin, o-o,,,,d 9TH brandy and coda
but as soon as he'd hea- the clink ov the
glasses, and keteh the smell Of the liquor,
he'd yell as Il them Dig white teeth was
grinding him to mince-meat and them
green birds With the big hook bills was
tearing his inhards. He diddent drink an
other drop until he was took off at Fort
Monroe. begun to take liking to Mr..
Alligator, who they named 'Jim-Jams, or
The Drunkargs Repentance. | lassoed
him with one Of the hoop.skirts, and the
engineer fixed up the box for me so that
he could not get out again. / decided 1
wanted to get him home more than ever,
for thought that likely the Rev. Bezaleel
Brophy, the Rum Rastler Of the Wabash.
could use him and the green birds and the
snakes to advantage in Temperance tab
los. You know how great Mr.. Brophy is
in getting up them things, and he al
ways looking out for new and striking
feachures to introduce. l got the
whole menagerie home, after some tronble
every time we changed cars. The horses
didn't appear TO like the smell, and after
two or three runaways, | got hand-carts
to take the unrivaled collection, as Mr..
Barnum would say, from one depot to the
other. The railroad men got to calling Inc
Artemus Ward, and asking if l was TAX
ing the things home to Baldwinsville, In
jianny for my moral waxworks show.
They had CRATE deei Of fun with me- but
/ stood it all because they was so good in
helping. Pete and Sandy's mothers was
awful glad to get the alligator They'd
of the nabors had. IL he. was petted and
tanned he might be more useful about the
house than dog or a cat Did l think
he could be learned to ketch rats, and
bring the cows home? He might be use
ful in keeping hogs out of the garden. But
just now. as l had more room on my
place, and knowed more about alligators,
wouldn't 1 take him with me, at least for
the present. Some Of the other folks
either, so I have them and the alligator
in the apple cellar, where they'll get along
comfortably till warm weather comes.
Probably wen have more apples, too, as
Abe Lincoln and Sam, who used to eat
peck apiece reggler:y every day, now
don't seem to like to go down into the
cellar.
"Your mother is quite well, except now
and then a tetch-jest tetch-of rooma-
tiz. The girls are all peart as four-year-
olds, and up to their eyes In work for the
soldiers. They're having a bad run Of
measles over on the Branch. and had to
let out school. There was case Of small
pox down at the station. but nobody else
has yet ketched it. Wheat is looking
poorly, ON account Of the open Winter.
but l think well have fair crop. Hogs
and cattle are coming through the Winter
all right, and I'll have heap more corn
to SELL
We've worried little about you and
Sherman's army, and the rebel papers
have been telling awful stories about their
having you shut up in the swamps and
starving you to heath-what they wasn't
hanging for foraging. But I've said right
along that burning Columbia and Charles
ton showed that you was still in tollerable
health and able to go round some.
Robert Tags0n, whose son was killed
at Cticamauga, b candidate for the
post-ofIice, andlths nabcrs think he ought
to have it, as he is sickfy, specially since
he lost his boyi and they are pushing me
to 10 to W3shingfon to see about It. II
think I'll 90, I'M hopes that you'll come out
somewhere soon, where l can run down
and see you.
"Tve got my Spring work pretty well
forward, SO that can spair q week or SO,
until the ground'sJready to plow.
"A1ectionateiy, your FATHER"