The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1911-03-09
by Richard Henry Little in Chicago
Tribune

Old man Netley sat in the parlor OF
mis- house at Noview, staring into the
glom At times he put his pipe to his
mouth and puffed slowly, but mostly
he sal as statue, looking out
through the night at the faint glow in
the sky far off on the horizon which
warked the location of Chicago Miss
JUNE Netley, who was playing the
phonograph for the entertainment OF
7he casual guest, tired Of THAT Barber
.shop Chord" and put on John How.
ard Payne's Celebrated Song, lone,
sweet Home. as sung by the Nectar
,ne Quartet Especially fer the Looney.
graf"
Netlty clinched his pipe tight in his
lips and puffed hard. He remained
lluiet during the first verse, but when
the words of the chorus. Home, home,
sweet. home floated from the horn
of the canned music machine old man
Netley turned suddenly in his chair"
June he said, will you stop play
ing that song, or shall come out and
choke that fool machine to DEATH"
20, I'll stop IT, / suppose" said
Jnne, but thought maybe you folks
wanted something classical"
Home. Sweet Home" said old
man Nettley, swinging around again
and staring into the darkness. "'Home,
Sweet Home; don't that start you to
thinking an a-dreaming?"
Eyes," | said. Il can see the big
maple trees around the old place yet.
And the great lawn sweeping down to
the little babbling rill at the edge OF
the woods. And the old southern home,
with its great, high pillars, with the
nasturtiums and the columbine cling
ing round the door"
You're liar" said old man Net.
ley. Il used to go to see your folks
when you were a boy, and you lived
in a flat on Division street, upstairs
over the livery stable"
Well" said apologetically, Il sup.
pose that's true to a certain extent,
because we lived over the saloon on
Wells street at first. But it's custom
airy, when Home, Sweet Home, Is
played or sung, to break down and sob
like a child and talk about the old
home with the wide sweeping lawn
and the great old trees and the rob. |
bins hopping from branch to branch.
Just as the people from Cheyenne,
Hesse Darmstadt, Kalamazoo, Mich,
and Kishneff, Russia, all stand up on
their chairs and cheer when the Ital.
ian orchestra plays Dixie"
II suppose that's So" said old man
Netley. Il suppose that's so. Only that
haint the picture get when they play
that old song. But it makes me Just
as homesick as it does them what are
only fourflushing, not knocking any.
body"
What picture do you get?" | ask.
ed. II noticed that you gripped the
arms Of your chair when the old song
was played and you puffed hard on
your pipe, and, perhaps I'm wrong,
but ] thought | saw something wet
come trickling right down your
cheek"
THE picture that comes to me
when / hear Home, Sweet Home,'"
said old man Netley, lis flat-just
a common, everyday flat. None of
your new tangled apartment things
with an admiral in ablue suit and gold
braid to open the door an the land
lord sitting across the street and hik.
ing the rent every time any improve
ments are made on the building, such
as the janitor sweeping out the front
hall.
mo, sir; just flat down in one
of the river wards where used to put
my sock feet in the window at night
and holler across to Jim Connors on
the other side of the street about who
he was going to vote for for mayor.
81 used to hear you say you would
never be happy until you got nice
little home out in the suburbs re
marked, You used to say that you
wanted to live in house and not In
cupboard You said you wanted q
little patch of ground whore you could
have some grass that park police
man wouldn't chase you off OF. You
said you wanted some chickens anC
you wanted little garden where yol
pull up your own onions. Well, haven
YOU got emf
Yes said old man Netley, Il so
'em, al! right, darn my fool soul, Tc
morrow morning you can 90 out an
see my chickens that | used to wan
so much. That is, some of 'em ar