Democratic Sentinel, Volume 1, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 October 1877 — LOVE AND LECTIONEERING. [ARTICLE]

LOVE AND LECTIONEERING.

Edward Eirnleston's new story, “Boxy,* which will begin in Scbib* Ek for November, contains the following glimpse of Indiana life duringthe Whig campaign of 1840. Mark Bon n»y, u young fellow from towadrt« is runtime for repJesentaiive, and MaJlFUathers, an olAboy who is running for sheriff, travel together into the country townships oiftan eteetfoneering fourAhappen in (by the ssn jEsses; his origin ah >ursese,excitestae ahtogonism of theWellvs" by hifrattemfon to the host’s daughter, tao belie of Rocky Fork, The following extract MjoWb shat flic Major’s eye was never off the main chance : While Mark stood looking at Nancy, Major Lathers came and touched him on the shoulder. “Mark,” be whispered, “if you don’t take your eyes off that air creature you’re a gone tater, shore as shootin’. Don’t you see that Jim McGowan’s scowlin’ at you now, and If you ent him out he’ll be dead ag’inst you.’ Come, old feller, you’ll git used up as bad is Julius Ceesardid when he went doWh into Egypt and fell in love with Pharaoh’s daughter and the like, and got licked by it. Let an ole friend pull you out of the bulrushes and the like. Don’t you have no more to do with that, girl, do you hear?” “But I’ve promised to dance the next reel with her,” pleaded Mark, feeling the force of Lathers’s remark and feeling his own powerlessness to resist the current upon which he was drifting. "The devil you have!” cried the major. “Then you’re a goner, sure enough. Saltpeter wont save vou. All the young men’ll be ag’lnst you, because you’ve cut ’em out and sich like, and all the girls’ll be down on you, because you run after the purtlest one. Don’t be a fool, Mark.— Think of my interest as well as your’n.” , “Wait till I’ve had one reel,” said Mark, “j’m only in for a little fun, you know. Isn’t she a splendid creature, Major?” “Splendid! the devil’’’muttered La t.hers, turning away and shrewdly meditating how to cut loose frqm Murk. Mark danced his reel with Nancy, and then devoted himself to her.— Having no further use for Jim, she snubbed him, and Jim swore that Bouiuny shouldn’t get a vote on the Fork. Nothing but Bonamy’s excellent muscle prevented McGowan’s taking a more summary revenge. When at midnight the company marched out-of-doors and stationed themselves around a table made of rough boards supported by stakes driven in the ground, they found a rude but substantial supper of bacon and hominy, corn-bread, sweet-cake and appld-pies. For luxury, there was coffee in place of the sassafras tea with which Rocky Fork was accustomed to regale itself, and, for a wonder, the sweetenin’ wag “store sugar”—of the brown New Orleans variety—instead of “country,” or maple molasses, such as was used on ordinary occasions. The cake, however, was made with the country molasses. Mark, whose infatuation seemed to increase, devoted himself at supper to his Hebe, whom he would have liked better had she been entirely silent. It taxed his gallantry to laugh at her awkward and bearish pleasantries.

“I say, Bonamy,” whispered Lathers, “es you don’t Hop round into the channel almighty quick, I shan’t lash flat-boats weth you no longer. I’ll cut mine loose and swing around and leave you high and dry onto the san’bar.” “I’ll be a good boy after supper, Major,” said Mark. Lathers saw that he was hopelessly enchanted by the siren of Rocky Fork, and he proceeded straightway to execute his threat. Ho sought out Jim McGowan, and told the irate fellow how he had done his best to keep Mark from makin’ a fool of hisself. “I’ll pay him back,” said Jim “I know’d you would,” answered Lathers. "He won’t get no votes on Rocky Fork,” said Jim. “I tole him so,” said’the major. “He might know you’d hurt him, severe like, when he comes in and spiles your game an’ the like. I’ll git him away first thing in the mornin’. Then the girl’ll find she’s throw’d away her beau and got nothin’ but a fool an’ the like for one dance. She’ll come back to you meeker’n Moses when the Philistines was after him. He’d orter know you could keep anybody from votin’ fer him here, and git Whigs to trade off somewheres else. Now. for instance, es you should git a lot of Rocky Forkers and the like to trade with Whigt,—to say to some of my friends that es they’d vote ag’inst Mark, you-all’d vote for me or the like, you might hit a enemy and do a good turn fer a friend. Besides Jyou know I’m dead ag’inst the dog law, and dog law is what Rocky Fork don’t want. From Jim the major proceeded to talk with “old man Kirtley,” to whom he said that he didn’t blame Mark fer gittin’ in love with sich a girl. He might do worse’n to marry sich a splendid creatine and the like. Fer his part he’d tell Mark so in the mornin’. He also assured Mr. Kirtley that fer his part he was dead ag’inst the dog law. Dogs an sich like was one of the things a man had a right to in a free country. Poor men hadn’t got many comforts, and dogs was one of ’em. (The chief product of the Rocky Fork region, as the major, knew, was dogs.) Lathers.then talked to the “women folks.” He said he didn’t think o much of a purty face and sich like as he used to. What you wanted in a woman was to be of some account; and girls too good-looking got to be fools, and stuck-up like, and got into trouble, like Cleopaytry,and the like, you know. He also took occasion to tell the ladies of Reeky Fork that he was dead ag’inst the dog law. Poorfolks had as much right to dogs and sich like as rich folks to sheep and sich like. To the young men Tom Lathers said he didn’t believe in a man dancin’ with one girl all the time, pertieuler when he didn’t mean to marry heV and sich like. It was seandalious. When he come to Rocky Fork ag’in he wouldn’t bring no town fellers and the like along. He believed in country folks himself, and besides he was dead ag’inst all your dog laws and the lixe. Es he got to be sheriff he’d show ’em that dog laws couldn’t be crammed down people’s throats in this county. Didn’t the declaration, which our fathers signed on Bunker Hill, declare that all men was born free and equal! Wasn’t a dog just as good as a sheep and sicJi like, he’d like to know; and if taxin’ dogs wasn’t taxation without representation, he’d jist like to knaw what was, now you know, hey? With such blandishments Lathers spent the time unlil the party broke up with a final jig, when at length he succeeded in getting Mark away, but not until after nearly all the guests had departed. It is said that while the president was on his southern tour some man called out for three cheers for Hayes and Wheeler. The president and his traveling companions were so astonished that they looked at each other in astonishment, and burst into laughter as another’ fellow inquired, “Who the h —1 is Wheeler ?”

The leading feature of St. Nicholas ■ : for November, the first number of the ' Fifth Volume, is to be a long and fully illustrated article upon “Home-made 1 Christmas gifts.” More than seventy . presents will be described, and the ; way of making them explained. This is supplementary to “One Hundred ■ | Christmas Presents.and How to Make i Them,” published in the same maga- ! zine two years ago.