And so with many a spectral leap, And o'er the moonlit clearing passed, And reached the widow's door- 'twas fast- The guests were startled by a sound 66 The widow stared! Gasped he, "M'my d'dear!". "And where's your teeth and fair expression? And figure fine, And every sign Of your most dignified profession? You surely ar'nt the man that courted!” The village squire decided there The widow said She'd never wed The fragments left her by the bear. HEZEKIAH BUTTERWORTH. THE POLICEMAN'S STORY. I AM a policeman, 12,004; well, Been on the force for years a score. Weeping, her hands in air she tossed, And told of her beautiful mamma, her joys, Stopped when they stopped, and crossed when they crossed, Grew tired, cried for home, and then found she was lost. 66 The door of the station-house opened just then, "My papa! dear papa!" They kissed and caressed, And passed through the door in the care of his child. THE VETERANS. As you all know, comrades especially, I was but one of those leaders who fought in the war. We are veterans, and our white hairs tell us that, our feelings tell us that, and as we look over the crowds here to-day, we old soldiers realize the fact, without being told, that our days of fighting are past; that our days of rest and peace from the gun are here, and that we should, every one of us, come together on all suitable occasions to press each other's hands and look back and around us; to look back and see if that for which we fought honestly and truly, that for which we left our dead comrades upon the bare pine-fields of the South-whether it remains secure to us and whether we may now sleep in rest and peace. Every man, be he American, English, French, or German, was as much interested that America should be a free land to-day free from Maine to Texas and from Florida to Oregon as you who are living here in your homes in New Hampshire. We fought for mankind. We fought for all the earth and for all civilization, and now stand pre-eminent among the nations of the earth, with a glorious past, a magnificent present and future, at which we may all rejoice. Anybody can fight with a stranger; anybody can shoot an Indian down, and it is not a very hard thing to pull the trigger on a foreigner, but when we came to shoot each other, when we had to go to fight these Southern friends of ours, and sometimes fight in our own streets, that called for nerve, and the highest kind of nerve; and that is what I want the citizen to bear in mind when he looks at soldiers in this country. They went out, fought and conquered, and when it was done they stopped and went home. The war has passed and a new generation has grown up, young men capable of doing as much as those who fought. From the simple mechanic and farmer we can secure as capable men for putting on the blue and buckling on the cartridge-belt and taking a rifle, and if their hearts be in the right place and their heads ordinarily clear, they can go on the field and be as good men as Sheridan, Sherman, and Grant ever were. We have yet 50,000,000 such people in America, and the work is not done yet. I do not think there are any more civil wars before us, but we must be prepared for what God brings us and be true to ourselves, our country, and our God. GENERAL SHERMAN. HOW HE MADE IT. ONE sweltering day in hot July And finding that he was not seen, And to rebuke the drinking men He ordered, as he knew he'd ought-ter, He set it down. "Ah, ha!" said he, And so, to make it cold and nice, Healthful and good, sliced very thin, And then he said, "Sweets to the sweet!" To kind of brace the mixture up "Water, cold water, pure and free - He raised his head; loud, loud he laughed, "This is the New Amendment plan," Then set his course, and held that day SIGNING THE PLEDGE. How are ye, boys? No, thank ye, Bill, nothing to drink to-day; You look surprised to hear me say no drink; well, have your way, And fill it up, but let it set, for I've got a yarn to tell; You know when I've been drinking, boys, I can't talk nigh so well. |