Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1914-07-15

anu the SOOu WIFE, AOuay AcSl
lonely. / am sitting at the north
window of the old homestead, an old
man, all alone, watching other
peoples children enjoy themselves.
In the evening Clint Edwards, Erskine
Mccoy and Fred Wenzel got more
fireworks and then they had another
splendid time. l must say that l
have got bunch of royal neighbors !;
there are none better to this old
man; there are no better anywhere,
but yet there are lot of other Royal
Nelghbors of whom l think a great
deal.
My fir, t Fourth of July l celebrat-
ed in this country in the year 1852.
/ was not yet fourteen years DID,
/ lived at that time in Rector street,
in New York City. had been en-
ployed several months at five dollars
per month, and had saved some dol
lars. For the occasion l mad bought
linen coat and pants. They were
the first that | had purchased with
my own earnings, and 1 was proud of
them. l had day off and as sauter-
ing along the street, one bunch of
firecrackers in my hand and another
in my coat pocket, when all of a
sudden my coat pocket had celebra-
ton; the crackers got afre and kept
popping out. was so surprised that
/ did not know what to do till some
one came along and pulled off the
coat. The result was that l had an
extra hole in my ecoat pocket; felt
much aggrieved at that and threw
the other bunch of firecrackers into
the street.
At the foot of Rector street was
pier No. 8; it was built perhaps a
thousand feet into the North River
as the Hudson River is called op-
posite New York City. Great sail
ing ships were moored along its sides.
In celebration of the day, flags were
fiuttering from masts and gaffs.
They represented many nations.
Among them was only one that float
ed the stars and stripes and must
note that there is no other flag in the
world that presents a more fitting
blend of colors there is just enough
of each to make it gracefully decor
Gus.
This ship drew my attention, and
l read on the top that it was the
ship Republic, from New York. On
the wharf near the ship were great
many barrels and hogsheads; they
were all turned down except one,
which was cantered up on its end.
On and around these barrels were a
great many sailors, lettering about,
smoking their clay pipes. To boy
living in seaport town a sailor is a
great man. l approached them and
got in conversation with them. l
felt proud that they took notice of
me. They were dressed in blue and
some in red flannel shirts, their
bosoms barred and their sleeves rolled
up; they wore canvas pants, which
were held up by belt, to which was
attached in a sheath a large knife.
What most interested me were the
tattoo marks on their arm and breasts.
Bye and bye man came strolling
along. He was dressed in a suit of
Marking clothes. Marking is
yellowish cotton cloth, at that time
fashionable for a mans wear dur
ing the summer. He was of small
stature and had a sallow face; his
broad brimmed Panama hat was
drawn we'll down over his ears.
can yet wildly recall this shriveled-
up man in comparison with the rugged
strong features of the sailors.
He stepped up to the men and en-
gagged them in conversation and
lectured them about their evil ways
and habits, in earnest tones. More
sailors came from the other ships,
and that seemed to him great OPP
portunity for him to give lecture.
So he mounted the barrel that had
been ended up and went all over the
same talk, waving his shriveled arms
to emphasize points that he wanted
to drive home. 1t was a very hot
day, so he took off his long coat had
his collar and white necktie, thus
giving him a better chance to gestic-
ulate. The sailors listened at
tentively and respectfully, and had
rgotten to refill their pipes. The
lesson came to close. Per-
spiration had matted the speaker s
brown hair and was flowing down his
cheeks. Then the climax came.
Closing the lecture, he bent down
and said my friends, unless you
quit your evil ways, drinking and
carousing and taking the Lords name
in vain" (then he drew himself to
his full height, raised his arms i'm