The Tupelo journal. (Tupelo, Miss.) 1876-1924, 1905-09-08

courthouse. where the speeches wuz
to be gin often the front steps. and we
could stay there till the procession Of
old veterans had passed, and then go
to Sister Bosses to dinner (sister in
the meetin house, and stay the rest
of the afternoon and go home by
moonlight So we writ her to that eff
feet. and early in the mornin of the
Both we got up and / got a splendid
good breakfast.
l know some health books are agin
1t, but | never see the time that good
nourishin' breakfast seemed to hurt
Josiah or me. | had some tender lamf
chops, and creamed potatoes, some
light flaky rolls, baked the day before
but dampened and put into hot oven
so they wuz jest as crispy and good as
they wuz the day before, and delicious
coffee with plenty of good cream and
lump sugar into it.
Josiah's face beamed with the pure
light of affection onto me as we sot.
down to the table. guess that the
most Of that CLOWN light wuz caused
by his deathless love for me, but meb-
by some on t wuz brung forth by the
delicious food You can't always tell
'em apart, they look considerable
alike.
Well, we got to the city with no vi
cissitudes to speak on, and Josiah and
/ got good position to see the pro-
cession. | did not want to set down
on the board seats. fearln' a fall, but
preferred a good place on the side
walk, leanin my back up aginst a
thick lamp post that also supported a
Injun figger that / spozed advertised
cigars.
But as the poet SEE, If you are born
in a stable it don't make you boss"
/ didn't approve of tobacco any more
because l temporarily leaned aginst its
advertisement.
We'd jest got into comfortable pc
sition when the band headin' the pro-
cesSion hove into view. Gayly the
drums beat, the bugle pealed, the gay
ly dressed musicians keepin' step with
the music Then the veterans come
marchin along. Oh thinning ranks
oh feeble steps-oh whitening locks
and thin faces shown wan under the
tattered flags, banners torn by the bull
lets of the enemy most half a century
ago.
Thoughts and emotions knocked
aginst my heart so fast and strong
that my eyes run over with tears
thought how these men young and
stalwart had left all they loved and
marched out in the mornin' to save
our beloved land. How they had borne
the heat and burden of the day, suf-
fered pain, peril and Imprisonment
and marched down to deaths door I'M
finchingly that we might be saved.
See l to myself, as l wiped my eyes
with my white linen handkerchief
''They have borne our sorrows, and by
their stripes we wuz healed"
l wuz fearfully rousted up as they
marched by, marched by. And wipin
off the blindin' tears with my snowy
handkerchief anon thrilled with grief
for the fast vanishin' ranks, KNOWN
how soon, how soon the ragged BAN
ners would be held up by other hands,
the tired hands that had held 'em on
the battlefield havin' dropped EN- for
ever; how soon the bugle would sound
out its heart-thrillin' invitation in
vas1, in vain-the last veteran havin'
laid down to sleep in that deep slum-
her that no bugle call. however shrill
xnd searchin', could disturb.
And anon my emotions of pride and
ssory in the triumph of the union they
saved thrillin' me and fairly film my
heart full to Dustin. Oh how many
emotions / did have, probably over 40
q minute right along, and mebby more.
Well, the procession finally all SWEEP
by; the gray heads of the veterans
wuz lost in the distance; the banners,
the music, the open wagon of flowers
to lay on the patriot graves, the last
stragglers went by and finally Josiah
and tore ourselves from the seen and
havin' got our horse and convenience
we wendell our way EDWARDS to Tanner
Bosses
Well, we thought mebby we would
be the first ones there, but we found
the company all assembled all but
Harvey and his children that the party
wuz gin for. Miss Boss wuz to have
dinner at jest two, and we wuz all told to
be there on time sharp. She's a Won
derful cook, Tanner Boss Is, and