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i^®^«^€©«3see^5ses©s*s
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
I^H, |iifVMX/v(/i/T.'
THE GREAT
CO-PARTNERSHIP
AND OTHER PAPERS.
BY OBE^D.,
. I'
iS Tn G O KT ID IE X> I T I O KT .
" lie sKi-e you're rir/M, then go aheafV—TTou. David Crocket.
When sure yov're wrong, then change your course.
CLEVELAND:
Ingham, Clarke & Co.
1879.
T^ Uv
,C'
COPYRIGHT :
IT. U. JOHNSON,
1879.
liUKFAlX), N. Y:
A. C. VANDrZKK, EXCiUyWER.
KRIE, PA.:
JXO. M. C,LA7AFAl, Printer.
1879.
'OU.
PKEP^ACE.
Surrounded by his three friends, Job sat in the
ashes and exclaimed, " My desire is, that my ad-
versary had written a book." Just what prompted
tlic good man of Uz to advance such an idea, may,
after the lapse of so, many ages, be a question more
easily asked than answered. Perhaps he felt con-
fident that nothing evil could be said of him, for he
proposed to bear the volume upon his shoulders;
or, perhaps lie wished to subject his adversary to
tlie ordeal of a critic's review, as the most excrucia-
ting torture to which he could be subjected.
If the former was the cause, he would not have
expressed the wish had he lived in this day of re-
turning boards, cipher dispatches, and congres-
sional investigations, for before proceeding with his
task that enemy would have had a committee ap-
pointed with power to summon witnesses, and Job
would have been implicated in inciting the Sabeans
to the destruction of his property, and in raising the
wind that demolished the building in which his
sons and daughters were having their gay frolic,
that the courts might not be troubled with any con-
tested will cases, wTiile Satan would have " walked
to and fro in the earth," without suspicion. If the
latter. Job was a heartless man, which the record
will not for a moment justify us in believing.
C)becl is of the opinion that just at this juncture
his liunior got the hctter of his pain and the arj^u-
mcnls of his frieiuls, and that he was imagining
how one of Mrs. Job's curtain lectures would look
on jiarchnient, for from all (hat we can learn of
that estimable lady she was an a-la-Caudk', and
probably the proverbial patience of Job was largely
owing to the self restraint he had learned to prac-
tice through a long series of domestic unpleasant-
nesses, in many of which he no doubt acknowledged
himself, as every considerate man does, lai'gely to
blame.
Be these opinions right or wrong, Obed has not
written a book because he is an adversary of any-
one, and as to the critics, whj', every man should
thrive by bis profession. Thp private, as well as
the more public, lectures of Mrs. Obed, have been
very salutary to him ; and in very gladness he
has learned to love the comicalities, as well as the
stern duties of life. Some of these he has en-
deavored to poi'tray in these papers, hoping thereby
to waken pleasant memories in the hearts of the
old ; to incite the young to a study of usages fast
passing away, and to give them a faint conception
of what awaits them in the pathway of life. Such
is the desire of Obkd.
''KNOW ALL MEN,"
Tliat to Mrs. Obed, lier Friend, and all others who
have, or who have not, entered into the labyrinths
of the Great Co-partnership, or who endured the
dust, the fatigues, the crowds and the sweats, inci-
dent to a
CENTENNIAL EXCURSION,
or who appreciate the foibles and fun, as well as
the more sensible realities of life, Obed, with a deep
fellow feeling, dedicates these papers. Thus Obed
dedicates them.
N. B.
They that soiv in tears shall reap in joy. — Ps. 120 : 5.
Few of these enjoy the seed-time, whilst most are dissatisfied
with the harvest yield.
A soft ansirer turneth atvay m-ath ; but grievous tcords stir up anger. —
Piov. 15: 1.
Solomon does not raeau seutimeutally soft. Wheu Mrs. Solo-
mon said to him, " My deah, g,et up and build the fiah," the
words were grievous.
Better is a dinner of herbs cohere love is, than a stalled ox and hatred
tficreunth. — Pro. lo: 17.
Most people prefer their herbs sea.soued with .some of the
ox, though they do have to mingle a little of the lastuamed in-
credieut.
^HV.A>- ^^-^^i<TNjct,^
" Do you believe that matches are made in
heaven ?" said Mrs. Obed blandly to her husband
as she came in from the Woman's Monthly Mission-
ary meeting.
"Do I believe what?" asked Obed, looking
up from some experiments with which he was
busily engaged.
" That matches are made in heaven ?"
" Well, the only match I have any personal
recollection of was made in front of an old-fash-
— 10—
ioiied fire-i)ltice whilst the head of the rainily inul liis
better-half were lustily snoring behind the curtains
in the opposite end of the room, and the younger
members, save one, were fast asleep in the loft," re-
plied Obed. " But now that you speak of it, I look
back through a long succession of hrcczea and do re-
member it as a heavenly sort of place."
" Pshaw! if you go to talking in that kind of
style you'll look at it — "
" Through a regular thunder storm. Well, let
it come ; I've somewhere read, ' There is no flood in
woman's passion but hath an ebb.' "
" Now, Obed, I'd like to know what satisfaction
there is in that quotation ?"
—11—
" 0! none to you, I presume. But tell me what
match-making has to do with foreign missions?
That's what I'd like to know."
" Well, a good deal. Mrs. H brought in an
Indiana paper this afternoon and read an account
of a single court in that State granting twenty-four
divorces in one day."
" Were they granted to men or women ?"
" To men, every one of them."
" And so your society is going to take an ap-
peal ?"
"Take a what?"
" Why, carry the matter up to the court where
you think those matches were made."
" No sir, wo shall do no such thing, but we
shall "
" Divert your funds from Hindoostan, and ap-
ply them to the con,version of those Hoosier courts."
There was a sudden closing of his office door,
and Obed was once more alone. The chemical
combinations he was investigating were all gone up
in gas, and an entirely new train of thought had
taken possession of his mind. He remembered that
Adam began business alone. This, as is gathered
from the narrative, soon 'becoming irksome to him
he took in a partner who came highly recommended
—12—
Tliis junior member of tlie firm seems to have
been of a very communicative as well as venture-
some turn of mind, and before the senior had time
to give her full instructions, was readily induced
by the first dnuiimer of whom we have any account, to
divulge the full extent of the business, and add to
. the stock an interdicted article. The result was a
sudden reduction to bankruptc}^, and the issuing by
the Supreme Court of the Universe of a peremptory
writ of ejectment from the premises heretofore oc-
cupied.
These were facts that Obed liad early learned
without being able fully to comprehend their im-
port ; but he understands them now, for he no
longer thinks as a child. Many a time, in his im-
agination, has lie looked in on that stranded firm
in their new abode, that first night when brambles
and briers began to grow up about them, and list-
ened to the dulcet tones of Mrs. Adam as she gave
vent to the first curtain lecture of earth. Stricken
as he was at the dire calamity which had befallen
him and his, how it must have grated upon the ear
of Adam to hear himsalf called a " pimj)," " a cow-
ard," and ''an ungrateful wretch," by tlie very
being whom he had so recently considered his chief
joy. 15ut then the "old Ad;im" was tliere, and in
-13-
her brief Ccatchings for breatl), there fell upon the
delicate ear of the first woman those ungallaiit ex-
pressions, "a tongue hung in the middle," "if it
had'nt been for you," "you did it." T'was only the
beginning of a literature which has defied all
etymological changes coming down to us in its
original spirit, through all the mutations of lan-
guage.
" But then," said Obed, half apologetically,
" that primitive couple had no time to study each
other through a pleasing courtship, and no wonder
they started off a little wrong. Get the devil out of
the way, and give a little time for studying charac-
ter, then we shall find how smoothly things will
work."
Thus saying, his imagination floated down the
stream of time an^l he beheld a hale old couple who
had been com[)anions for a hundred years, first as
brother and sister, but mostly as husl>and and wife.
In the joy and childdike gladness of their hearts,
they were indulging in a great feast in honor of
" A CJay Young 'framj) " who had come unex-
pectedly into their nomadic home; l)ut because
the good old lady saw Ishmacl cutting some antics
behind a lent pole, whilst jrobably wishing himself
the son of his aunt, that he, too, might have a birth-
—14—
(lay party, she made things terribly blue ; and the
old patriarch, who had stood "unawed before
Kings," was glad to purchase becoming quiet by
sending Hagar away with a loaf of bread, a bottle
of water, the patriarchal blessing, and, perhaps, a
kiss of remembrance, if he only got a chance to ad-
minister it.
There was a woman in the upsetting of Abra-
ham's domestic happiness, and, considering the
events of the day, it was with ill grace that he
could say to the young wives about him,
" Let not your angry passions rise."
In the experience of Solomon, Obed found lit-
tle to brighten the picture. With three hundred
wives to comb his head, the great King found mar-
ried life very unsatisfactory, and in his vexation of
spirit, he WTote many proverbs not at all flattering
to the gentler sex. It was fashion, lust, and ex-
travagance, not wisdom, that took all the bliss out
of the wise man's domestic civch.
'■ But what is the use of going so far back,"
reasoned Obed. " The world but little cares about the
happiness or misery of departed prophet, priest or
patriarch. "They twain shall be one flesh," is still
the doctrine, except, perhaps, among Frcdorcrs, and
still the matrimonial skies are clouded. The devil,
—15—
alcohol, a man or a, woman, pride, vanity, petu-
lance or some other distracting factor, is continually
worjning itself into the earthly j:»aradisc,(?) bring-
ing in its train, if not the evils of the first fall, a
multitude of others, well calculated to destroy
domestic hajipiness.
The springs of wooing gush, and murmur, and
boil in youthful sunlight, throwing their spray
bright as ever, and gallant 3'ouths and blushing
maidens come and sip, thinking they are i)artaking
of Ihe "Elixir of Life;" but
" Their shallow draughts iatoxicate llie brain,"
and they plunge into the connubial waters without
any calculation as to their depth, or even having
first ascertained that they are brackish and bitter,
infortnation which any maiden aunt would have
im])arted to them gratuitously. Then, after a very
brief honeymoon, when tribulations arise, they be-
gin
" To fret, and worry, and torment each other "
in processes only to cease when the grim gentleman
who rides the pale horse enters with a subpoena for
one of them, unless, perchance, he has been antici-
pated by an ap})eal to an Indianaor Chicago Judge."
Thus generalizing, Obed turned to a memoran-
dum in which for thirty years he has kept a care-
— 16—
fill record of iiiaiiy of the cases of domeslic iiii-
})licily wbicb, both at home and abroad, have come
under bis personal observation, and read :
" Boarding at Williams' this week. Loose
board partition l)et\vcen 'family' and 'spare bed.'
Last niaht beard a t>rutf voice sav, 'take vour cold
bucks away from my legs.'
A gentle voice replied, 'you did'nt use to call
them so.'
'Well, now, whine, wont you ? Did you sup-
pose I was always going to be a fool and say 'foot-
sies-tootsies T ^
'Hush, hush,' said the same gentle voice, 'the
master will hear you.'
'What do you sup])Ose I care for tlie master ; I
want to sleep, so keep your feet away.'
Long after Williams was snoring, subdued
sighs told of a mental agony in the breast of the
wife, struggling to control itself.
" Last week," said Obed to himself, " I called
upon that couple.
"Out of tlie old home, they've moved up into
the new," but are prematurel}' old, wrinkled, and
gray. The hard lines upon ^Villiams' face speak as
plainly as ever, "What do you suppose I care?"
• —17—
whilst the saddened brow and wan cheeks of his
companion prochiim thirty years of domestic sub-
jugation and servitude.
The little ones whom I taught in the district
school are grown and gone, having no pleasant
memories of home except' those that cluster around
a tender mother's care."
A few pages farther on Obed read, " I met my
old chum John this morning. The poor fellow is
in hot water. He's been married five weeks. Three
days ago his wife said to him, 'My dear, will you
take me home to-day ?' John replied that his em-
ployer's arrangements made it impossible for him
to leave.
'John, you must take me,' was the rejoinder.
'But I tell you Mr. B. cannot possibly spare me
to day,' persisted John.
'Well, sir, Mr. B., or no Mr. B., I shall go
home.'
'Well, then, go ; but you'll go on foot and alone.
I shall attend to business.'
This was the first pass. In five minutes the
young wife was in spasms, whilst John, stood over
her shocked at what had happened, and the, to him?
inexplicable results. Three days of hysterics and
-18-
foriy-eiglit hours of inotlier-iu-lavv, liavc cut more
wisdom teeth for him than he supposed he had.
Alas, poor John !"
A subsequent note showed that after fifteen
years of very spasmodic life, there came a decree of
divorce which left but a single chance for second
marriage, and John declared that he would never
avail himself of that, but he broke his vow inside
of twelve months. As he read, Obed exclaimed,
" Such is life."
Again, " The price of farm products has fallen
off one-third whilst the advancing age and devel-
opment of Mr. K.'s daughters have advanced their
wants fully fifty per cent., two facts not at all in
unison with his financial tastes.
Yesterday, as he was about starting for town,
Mrs. K. said, 'Father the girls need some things:
Mary wants a pair of kid shoes; Susie must have
cloth gaiters and a pair of rubbers ; Lucy requires
some slippers and a poplin dress; Louise, some hand-
kerchiefs and a pair of gloves ; Nettie, a parasol and
Kit, some yarn for tidies ; then they will all have to
have some underclothing, summer hats, and "
'What in thunder won't they have to have?'
'Mr. K.,' said the wife in a very decided voice.
-19-
'Well, madam, what is it?'
'I have told you these things are needed '
'Yes, I never go to town lately, but the girls
need half a dry goods store, and a small millinery
shop.'
'Well, sir, if you didn't expect to get things for
your girls, you shouldn't have had so many, that's
all I've got to say.'
'Well, if it is, I'm glad, for you never know
when to stop.'
'You old fool, you're too mean to be the hus-
band of a decent woman, and too stingy to .'
Now Mr. and Mrs. K. are really good people
to everybody outside of themselves, but full of
tinder. When everything is balmy, they can say
'Father,' 'Mother,' on 'low do' so sweetly; but let the
least thing go awry and they will run through the
domestic gamut to 'You old fool,' in the eighth
octave, with surprising rapidity. Thus it always
has been with them ; thus it always will be, for
neither will learn the maxim, 'Know thyself.'
" Mrs. Tate is a very pious woman and a good
singer, excellencies which do not always go together.
Her husband is a very honest, good sort of a fellow.
— 20-
seldom saying anything cither at home or ahroad.
Thougli not religiously inclined, he always accom-
panies her to church, where she never forgets to
make mention of him in her devotions.
In the prayer meeting last night, tlic unction
of the spirit rested upon her with peculiar power.
She was unusually gifted in prayer, and sang
" Shall we know each other there ?"
as we had never known her to sing it before ; many
-were melted to tears.
On the way home, being a short distance ahead
of me, with a quisical tremor in his voice, Tate
asked, 'Wouldn't it be nice, Mary, if there were a
hymn
" Shall we know each other here. ?"
'It might suit you, sir.'
'Yes, 'I think I should often enjoy it far more
than the song8 I am daily called upon to hear, and
particularly the one of this morning.'
'Well, sir, I shall sing you a sliarper song than
that before you are much older, if you do not at-
tend to your own business and mind what I say.'
'No doubt of that, m.ij dear; but tlicn wouldn't
it be better if you would learn to spread your
religion out evenly, rather than keep it bottled for
public display ?'
—21—
'My religion is my own.'
'Yes, so I've thought for a long time.'
'Now, sir, its time for yoii to '
. I had reached my gate. The tribulations of
poor Tate under a species of petty aggravations at
home, cloaked under a great show of religious zeal
abroad, have long been known to me. He bears up
under it manfully, but if ever a change of heart
comes to him, it will be when Mrs. T. has experi-
enced a new birth."
'I'd like to know what you're going to do with
that horse, Mr. Hayes,' said his wife this morning,
as he came leading a fine five-year old toward the
street.
'I'm going to get him shod,' replied Hayes.
'We'll see about that.'
'I've seen about it already ; I guess I'm com-
petent to see to the horse shoeing. You'd better go
into the house and 'tend to your own aff'airs.'
'I think I'll 'tend to them right here. That
horse is not going to be shod. You needn't think
you'll slip him over to Jones', as you promised yes-
terday.'
—22—
'As I promised yesterday V
'Yes, sir, as you promised yesterday. You
can't lie to me. Ben told me all about it.'
Til thrash Ben.'
'You'd better try it, and I'll smash your head.
I'll let you know who owns this property, and who'll
thi^ash the children !'
'You've let me know a good many times
already. I wish I had never seen you nor the
property either.'
'So do I. And now, sir, do you put that horse
in the pasture where you found him.'
There was no alternative, and he obeyed.
Three years ago an unsophisticated bachelor,
Hayes married Mrs. Snodgrass, and with the widow,
took as encumbrances four children and a well
stocked farm. The widow alone would have been
a match for him ; with the encumbrances she is far
more. Almost every day he is reminded that her
money bought such and such property, and he is
not slow to let her know that it also bought him.
Alas, they are both badly sold."
A letter carefully pinned to one of the leaves
and furnishing its own comment, read as follows :
-23—
, May lOih, 1877.
'My Dear Friend :
'Again I appeal to you for advice ; matters are
not improving with us. Henry is becoming more
and more abandoned and dissolute. Last evening,
for the first time, he subjected me to personal vio-
lence. 'Tis the old story. He has used up his
means, and squandered his wages, until privation
and hunger are the |jortion of myself and the
children.
'Last night when he came home the children
were crying for supper, whilst I had nothing to give
them. He had been drinking, and was unusually
cross. He began to upbraid me because the chil-
dren were not quiet and in bed. I may have done
wrong, God forgive me if I did, but I told him it
was for bread they were crying, and had he but
acted a father's part he would not be thus annoyed.
I will not recount the words that followed. Suffice
it to say he dealt me a severe blow across the face,
which felled me to the floor. When I had recov-
ered myself he was gone. Fearing further violence,
I sought shelter for myself and children with a
neighbor.
'As I write under another's roof, 1 think of the
many happy girlhood days I spent beneath yours,
—24—
and recall the ever kind advice and counsel of your
wife and ^^ourself. Then little did I think it would
ever come to this ; and yet I know my cu}) is not
full. When you told me of Henry's proclivities I
could not believe it, but I may not shrink from the
terrible realization of it now.
'Tell me, dear friend, shall I still cling to the
man of my choice — the man against whom friends
and parents protested, or shall I be justifiable in
fleeing from certain destitution and perhaps from
still fiercer outburst, of passion and violence ?
Yours, in affliction,
Nell.' "
Thus page after page, covered with bickerings,
heart-burnings, angry altercations, and cruel
blows was turned, until, heart-sick, Obed closed the
book. As he did so the words of the good parson
who metamorphosed him from the 07ie of hvo to the
half of one came across his mind. He was a bland
old gentleman, then living with his fifth wife.
Taking his young friend one side when the cere-
mony was over, says he, " Obed, my boy, you've a
great deal to learn about this matter of married
life, and the principal thing is this, — 'Learn to keep
your teeth tight shut when there are indications of
—25—
a breeze,' for such occasions will come." Observa-
tion had already given Obed au inkling of this
matter, and experience has convinced him that
Socrates, under the severest goadings of Xantippe,
never uttered a truth, if followed, more condusive
to human happiness than that of his reverend
friend.
Then said Obed to himself, "This matter of
matrimony is indeed a great Co-partnership, con-
ceived in the councils of heaven and instituted on
earth in the very morning of the race, and multi-
plied until the copies have become innumerable.
The oldest institution of earth, it is practically the
least understood. Designed and calculated to serve
the purest purposes of life, and to secure the
greatest possible amount of happiness, it is prosti-
tuted to the basest purposes, and in numberless
instances becomes a pandemonium to those who
enter its sacred pale.
In entering upon other partnerships, which, at
most, are expected to continue but a few years, fre-
quently but as many months, and involving little
that cannot be solved by mathematical calcula-
tions, men hedge themselves about with strongly
written contracts in which are specified the
minutest particulars to be fulfilled, and these papers
duly witnessed, are frequently referred to, in order
that no misunderstanding may arise ; but into tlie
great co-partnership of marriage wiiicli it is lio[)ed
will continue for at least fifty years and then lap
over onto tlie 'evergreen shore ;' a eo-i)artnership
which is to give birth and training to rosy cheeked
candidates for future firms ; to In'ing its members
daily and hourly into the closest possible intimacy
where the veriest weaknesses will be revealed.; to
foster and develop those truths and principles
which are the foundation stones of social and civil
institutions; co-partnerships in which better than
an3'-where else the essential doctrines of moral and
religious truth can be developed and strengthened ;
in which the parties contracting should remember
they will grow old, wrinkled, decrepit and person-
ally less attractive, and which should be broken up
only by the hand of death — into such a co-partner-
ship as this myriads of men and women are con-
stantly entering, seemingly without any thought as
to what the responsibilities and self-denials of the
future are to be.
Most marriage contracts if, exhibited to the eye,
would present a strange medley of sheei)S-eyes,
'My dears,' 'I'll tell mas,' and cool, mossy seats,
withered flowers, swinging gales, midnight views
—27—
of the moon, peanut shucks, candy mottoes, care-
fully kept l)illct (loux, small talks about the last
concert, the masquerade, and the new novel, gifts
of woolen scarfs and plated rings, the merest
sprinkling of real business, fantastically ari'anged
about
"• ^Id. 37-0-0. e-v-er ?■ "V7"ell, ii.a.xa.137- e^rer."
an 'Exquisite Alexander Adolph us' and his
'adorable Maria Louise Deborah Ann,' engaged
in a tete-a-tete as central figures.
-28-
Crola-aa. I'ei-iipletoa:!. Tma-s a, m.a.rL cf irrii/ht ai.-r^5. 3.±sT^i.^z
— 29—
An inspection of the co-partners would never
lead to the conclusion that the apostolic doctrine,
'Be ye not unecjually yoked together,' had ever
been promulgated. Here is a gay rollicking hus-
l>and, with a wife sedate and circumspect ; there one
with stern business airs and economical ideas, with
a helpmate of butterfly proclivities, who has never
^''et learned the number of cents it takes to make a
dollar. Husbands rough, uncouth, and profane,
with wives cultivated, refined, and zealous in all
malters of religion, growing up into 'Mothers
in Israel ;' husbands who are pillars in the church,
having wives who are very termigants; husbands
by the score, built for nothing else than to hold down
1)0X('S and benches about places of public resort,
with wives at liomo taking in washing and sewing
to sujiport their families; husbands of taste and
high aspirations, with wives slatternly and unambi-
tious; husbands brutish and sensual, with wives
who vainly long for a higher existence, into whose
hearts often come those saddest of all sad words,
'It might have been ;'
husbands of three score years, with wives of 'sweet
sixteen ;' men not old enough to go on the bachelor
list who have broken into the homes of widows of
-30-
T / , / I
forty; men of weiglit and dignity with wives light
and trifling.
—31—
But all pairs aro not tliiis incongruously mated.
As there is more of sunshine than shadow in the
natural world, so there are more bright ha})j)y
T-wreaa-ty laiaae aiiLd. fortjr after tlie Honesr ^^ooam..
homes than the contrary. God has not forsaken
his original design, and though marriage is treated
too much as a great lottery, the prizes drawn are far
more numerous than the blanks, and although
there is so much of uncongeniality, there is far more
-32—
of titness, and with the culture and gro\vin<5
amenities of modern civilization, domestic hapj)iness
is greatly on the increase, and partnershi})S that
began in weakness are being built U}) in the strength
of growing conjugal affection.
Looking back on the old homestead when all
were there,
'Father, mother,
Brother, sister.
All who hold each other dear,'
mail}' a young father and mother remember that
clouds did sometimes come over that old-time sky,
and sharp words pass between the now 'departed,'
yet there was so much of home born, heart-felt joy,
that they learned to sing,
'Home, sweet home.
There is no place like home,'
and the lessons of 'bear and forbear' come vividly
back through the vista of years to guide them as
voyagers over an old sea old, yet ever new
and untried.
Little by little the world is gathering up, and,
let croakers say what they will, home shall yet
fill the original design, becoming the fittest earthly
type of heaven, where the graces and endearments
of life are assiduously studied.
—33—
Of all that lias ever been said or written on the
vexed question of matrimonial relations, nothing
is better than the advice of a shrewd old bachelor
whc»,. after abundant opportunity for observing
among his own j)eople and particularly in foreign
lands, wrote to some friends of his who appear to
have been peculiarly mixed up on the subject,
'Husbands, love your wives; wives, reverence your
husbands.' There's the key note of happiness to
both parties, for if there is anything in the world,
after a new hat with a five dollar feather, a nice
dress in the latest style, and an undisturbed oppor-
tunity to lead the conversation, that will please a
woman more than another, it is the assiduous
attention of her husband, saying to all observers
that in his estimation at least, she is a 'Pearl among
rubies ;' and as for the other side of the house, pro-
visions made for his cigars, a good dinner, and an
undisputed right to stay out at night as late as he
chooses, there is nothing so gratifying to his manly
pride as to know that his wife regards him as a
kind of demi-god, and that the proudest term in
her vocabulary is ^My husband! There is no self-
ishness in him in this matter. No, no. It is purely
the working of the apostolic sentiment in his manly
nature ; that is all.
—34—
Yet when all this love and reverence are brought
into practice, human nature will sometimes out, and
we must remember
'Each other's ills to bear. '
As 'eternal vigilance is the price of liberty,' so self-
denial and forbearance are the cost of 'wedded love,'
and he who expects a smooth domestic sea must be
sure there is no vestige of a beam of strife in his
own eye, for if there is, he will find any amount of
sand in the orb of his companion."
Thus musing Obed opened the door. There
sat Mrs. 0. over a young Obed's unmentionables,
"Stitch, stitch, stitcli,"
as a woman always must. There was no more flash
in her eye, but a shade of sadness rested on her
brow. As she looked up, Obed said, "Well, I've
thought that question all over, and I find that the
first match was of divine origin, and 1 think it
probable they are still made in heaven ; but in
transplanting, the earthly soil is so uncongenial ; so
little care is taken in fostering the tender rootlets,
and in after-pruning, that the 'matrimony-vine'
grows thorns, becomes knotty, and brings compara-
tively little fruit to perfection, and divorces are
resorted to as an end of trouble."
-35—
There was a smile on the cheek of the wife, a
tear glistened in her eye, and, well, no
matter ; youthful usages will sometimes repent
themselves in maturer years — she said, " When you
vex me I sometiriies wish I never had had you, hut
if I hadn't, I know I should always have wished
I had." This Obed believes to be the embodiment
of a universal sentiment among women, relative to
their husbands.
There were no more bantering words in the
home of Obed that evening, but all was peaceful
and serene.
r^^>S\^|^.^f^^2>#^
OBED VISITS WATEKFOKD.
" There's to be a grand gatliering of my braves
and bravesses at Water ford for inspection and drill ;
come over and help ns." Thus wrote the Grand
Sacliem of the Pedagogues of Erie county to Obed,
and that individual responded, " I go, sir," and at
the time appointed he went.
lie had heard much of the classic beauty of
the place, and hence was not slow in gathering up
his satchel and umbrella when the brakeman sang
out " Water-ford !" Once upon the platform, his
bright visions were mercilessly dispelled, for there
Obed stood in the midst of a little clump of build-
ings "stuck in the mud," and his heart was fast
sinkins: within him when from the midst of a lux-
—38—
uriaiit growth of red wliiskers there came floating
in silvery tones, " Only ten cents to go up town in
this 'ere conveyance." Placing two bright nickels
in the warm hand of the fiery headed Jehu, Obed
mounted to a pleasant seat in what was evidently
a pic-nic vehicle, and with him a jovial, partially
bald, very talkative gentleman, running over full
of health suggestions. Jehu mounted the box, drew
his reins, gave his crackerless whip an old fashioned
stage-coach flourish, and was off in advance of the
regular buss.
" Stop at a hotel gentlemen ?" said Jehu, as his
team went splashing througli the mud.
" Don't wish to stop here," said Obed.
"Good hotels?" said the gentleman with the
shiny crown.
" The EiKjh is a grand house," replied Jehu.
" Take us to the Eagle then," responded the
man of health, I always prefer Eagle to Crow. Get
good bread, good butter, good water and good air,
driver?"
" All good, sir," came down from the box.
" What's remarkable about this town ?" said
Obed.
"What's remarkable? why, George Washing-
ton."
-39-
"Well, what of him?"
" Wliy, he came here and put up for several
days."
" At the Eagle ?"
" To be sure."
" Do any of your people remember him 7"
" The landlord remembers him well ; whoa !"
Obed and his new-made friend alighted and
liastened to the capacious bar-room, where a great
wood fire, resting upon old-fashioned andirons,
roared up the chimney just as Obed had seen fires
in his boyhood. Behind the bar stood a fine look-
ing old gentleman whose whitened locks bespoke
the Days Lavr/ 8i/ne, He was evidently one of the
first inhabitants.
"So you'r the landlord," said Obed.
" So they say."
" And you remember George Washington ?"
" None better."
" And he put up at the Eagle when he was out
for Mr. Dinwiddle?"
" He stopped here."
" Well, landlord, give us the room that George
occupied, will you ?"
" Here, Joe, take these gentlemen to No. 24,"
and Obed and his friend were soon enjoying them-
— 40—
selves in the occui)ancy of the strong hold desig-
nated.
The Grand Sachem greeted Obed with much
cordiality, and they went in and out together before
the great assembly, enjoying, in the meantime, the
hospitalities of the Eagle. The council was a
pleasant one to look upon. There were line looking
young men, and pleasant young maidens, and
maidens not so young, and Obed said to himself,
" These are the teachers of the county. Into their
hands are committed great destinies, and it is well
they are thus gathered together for instruction and
improvement."
There was one thing however, that struck Obed
as peculiar — the great excess in number of ladies.
" Little," said Obed, " did the great Horace think
when he said, 'Go West, young man,' that he was
doing so much towards hastening that Scripture
period when 'Seven women shall la}^ hold on one
man,' but if it must come in my day, let me fall
into the hands of the allotted number of Erie
county school marms." Thus Obed said.
Being something of a newspaper man, Obed
went up to the Astonisher office, but as Mrs. Aston-
isher was out, and the little Astonishers were
nowhere to be seen, he was forced to leave with his
—41-
curiosity unsatisfied,
affliction.
This to Obed was a great
lAJJl^h
-— ^.^!| - rrf fn|"rfrrr!.r||| f
~ i!!:"'lli!iln'l|li'
^cxt XjelBoe-o-f as ret-a.ilt, ITOS ; 'b-vjLr^n.eoL, Ivlarcla. 21st,
iaes.
There are places of historic interest whieli
Obed must needs visit, so on a pleasant afternoon
he sallied out and wandered around the site of the
old Fort. Here was the cellar with its walls in a
good state of preservation. In it the French stored
their ammunition as well as other necessaries.
From this ran the subterranean passage down to
the spring by the creek's side from which they pro-
cured their water. Little else remains of Fort
-42-
LeBoeuf in which St. Pierre courteously received
the youthful Washington and gave his decided
refusal to relinquish the Ohio country, and from
whose enclosure started the expedition which
demolished the English fortifications at the con-
fluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela, and
on its site erected Fort du Quesne. Satisfied with
his survey of the Fort, Obed walked down to the
point whence the fleet of birch canoes put off* on
this expedition down the Allegheny. Thence he
wandered over to the hill where the future father
of his country made his rude camp, and wrote a
part of that journal whose occasion introduced him
and Waterford to immortality, and which needs no
excuse for being inserted here.
" December 7th. At twelve o'clock we set out
(from Venango) for the Fort, (LeBoeuf ) but were
prevented arriving there until the 11th, by exces-
sive rains, snows and bad traveling through many
mires and swamps, these we were obliged to pass
to avoid crossing, which was impossible, either by
fording or rafting, the water was so high and rapid.
" We passed over much good land since we left
Venango, and through several very extensive and
rich meadows, one of which, I believe, was nearly
-43-
fbur miles in length and considerably wide in some
places.
" December 12th. I prepared early to wait upon
the commander, and was received and conducted to
him by the second officer in command. I ac-
quainted him with my business and offered my
commission and letter, both of which he requested
me to keep until the arrival of Monsieur Reparte,
captain at the next fort, who was sent for and ex-
pected every hour.
" The commander is a knight of the military
order of St. Louis, and named Legardeur de St.
Pierre. He is an elderly gentleman, and has much
the air of a soldier. He was sent over to take the
command immediately upon the death of the late
General, and arrived here about seven days before
me.
"At two o'clock the gentleman who was sent
for arrived, when I offered the letter &c., again,
which they received, and adjourned into a private
apartment for the captain to translate, who under-
stood a little English. After he had done it, the
commander desired I would walk in and bring my
interpreter to peruse and correct it, which I did.
" December 13th. The chief officers retired to
hold a council of war, which gave me an oppor-
—44—
tunity of taking the dimensions of the fort, and
making what observations I could.
" It is situated on the south or west fork of
French creek, near the water, and is ahnost sur-
rounded by the creek, and a small branch of it,
which forms a kind of island. Four houses com-
posed the .sides. The bastions are made of piles
driven into the ground, standing more than twelve
feet above it, and sharp at the top, with port holes
cut for cannon, and loop holes for the small arms
to fire through. There are eight six-pound pieces
mounted in each bastion, and one piece of four
pounds before the gate. In the bastions are a guard-
house, chapel, doctor's lodging, and the command-
er's private store, round which are laid platforms
for the cannon and men to stand on. There are
several barracks without the fort, for the soldiers'
dwellings, covered wdth bark and some with boards,
made chiefly of logs. There are also several other
houses, such as stables, smith's shop, etc.
" I could get no certain account of the men
here, but according to the best judgment I could
form, there are a hundred, exclusive of officers, of
whom there are many. I also gave orders to the
people who were with me to take an exact account
of the canoes which were hauled up to convey their
-45-
forces down in the Spring. This they did, and told
fifty of birch bark and a hundred and seventy of
pine, besides many others which were blocked out
in readiness for being made.
" December 14th. As the snow increased very
fast, and our horses daily became weaker, I sent
them off unloaded under the care of Barnaby
Curran and two others, to make all convenient dis-
patch to Venango, and there to await our arrival, if
there was a prospect of the river's freezing, if not,
then to continue down to Shanapin's Town, at the
forks of Ohio, and there wait until we came to cross
the Allegheny, intending myself to go down by
water, as I had the offer of a canoe or two.
" As I found many plots concerted to retai'd the
Indians' business, and prevent their returning with
me, I endeavored all that lay in my power to frus-
trate their schemes, and hurried them on to exe-
cute their intended design. They accordingly
pressed for admittance this evening, which at length
was granted them, privately, to the commander and
one or two other officers. The Half King told me
that he offered the wampum to the commander,
who evaded taking it, and made many fair promises
of love and friendship ; said he wanted to live in
peace and trade amicably with them, as a proof of
-46-
which, he would send some goods immediately
down to Log's Town for them. But I rather think
the design of that is to bring away all our strag-
gling traders they meet with, as I privately under-
stood, they intended to carry an officer, &c., with
them. And what rather confirms this opinion, I
was inquiring of the commander by what author-
ity he had made prisoners of several of our Eng-
lish subjects. He told me that the country be-
longed to them; that no Englishman had a right to
trade upon those waters, and that he had orders to
make every person prisoner who attempted it on the
Ohio, or the waters of it.
" I inquired of Captain Reparte about the boy
that Was carried by this place, as it was done while
the command devolved upon him, between the
death of the late General and the arrival of the
present. He acknowledged that a boy had been
carried past, and that the Indians had two or three
whitemen's scalps, (I was told by some of the
Indians at Venango, eight,) but pretended to have
forgotten the name of the place the boy came from,
and all the particular facts, though he had ques-
tioned him for some hours as they were carrying
past. I likewise inquired what they had done with
John Trotter and James McClocklan (McLaughlin),
—47—
two Pennsylvania traders whom they had takeH
with all their goods. They told me they had been
sent to Canada, but were now returned home.
" This evening I received an answer to his
honor, the Governor's letter, from the commandant."
Omitting the letter, the Journal continues :
" December 15th. The commandant ordered
a plentiful store of liquor, provisions, &c , to be put
on board our canoes and appeared to be extremely
complaisant, though he was exerting every artifice
which he could invent to set our Indians at variance
with us, to prevent them going until after our
departure ; presents, rewards, and everything which
could be suggested by him or his officers. I cannot
say that ever in my life I suffered so much anxiety
as I did in this affair. I saw that every stratagem
which the most fruitful brain could invent was
practiced to win the Half King to their interest,
and that leaving him there was giving them the
opportunity they aimed at. I went to the Half
King and pressed him in the strongest terms to go ;
he told me that the command would not discharge
him until the morning. I then went to the com-
mandant and desired him to do their business, and
complained of ill-treatment ; for keeping them, as
they were part of my company, was detaining me.
—48—
This he promised not to do, but to forward my
journey as much as he coukl. He protested he did
not keep them, but was ignorant of the cause of
their stay, though I soon found it out. He had
promised them a present of guns, &c., if they would
wait until morning. As I was very murh pressed
by the Indians to wait this day for them. I con-
sented, on a promise that nothing should hinder
them in the morning."
The following from the journal of the IGth,
written after leaving, shows up the strategy of bolii
parties on the morning of final departure.
"The French were not slack in their inventions
to keep the Indians this day also, but as they were
obliged, according to promise, to give the present,
they then endeavored to try the powers of liquor,
which I doubt not would have prevailed at any
other time than this, but I urged and insisted with
the King so closely upon his word, that he refrained
and set off with us as he had engaged."
Now, far as the eye can reach are to be seen
field, farm house and evidence of culture; then all
was wild, sombre, and savage. A solitary muskrat,
swimming along at the base of the hill, was the
only lineal descendant of that long ago. Musing
of the wonderful man who, one hundred and
-49—
twent^'-five years before, drew his blanket around
him and lay down lo sleep beneath the tall pines
that capped the little eminence. Obed retraced his
steps and took a drink from the spring, from which
Indian and Frenchman alike slacked his thirst.
The fountain is measurably secluded, and filled
with beautiful trout. Having no piscatorial procliv-
ities, he cast in no hook. Obed did not.
A country churchyard has a charm for Obed
as he expects to go out some day feet first, and tiike
possession of a retired lot in one. " Tliere's a quiet
old yard down west of town," said mine host of
the Eagle, and to it Obed bent his steps. The little
city showed marks of age, and the rude brown
stones covered with moss, s[)oke of the affections of
fifty, sixty and seventy years ago when husband,
wife or child was laid away in a plain board coffin
for the " sleep that knows no waking." They rest
amid brambles, thorn and general dilapidation, for
the new city, with carriage-ways, monuments, cask-
ets and sleeping rooms, is more inviting to a resi-
dence in its pretentious abodes. " In a few more
years," mused Obed, " wheat and corn will be wav-
ing over these silent homes. Then there will be
canibalism in Waterford, for somebody will be eat-
ing his grandfather."
-so-
" Waterford Academy, MDCCCXXII," caught
the eye of Obed, on an old stone front, and the door
being opened he entered and passed through the
halls where for more than fifty years have echoed
the footsteps of the seekers after knowledge. There
upon the walls were the names of those rendered
immortal by a single stroke of the pencil, and un-
mistakable evidence of the fact that
" Th". Yank'^e boy, before he's sent to school,
"Well knows the mystery of that inigic tool,
The pocket knife."
As Obcd stood and mused he thought of the then
and now of pedagogics ; of the changes that have
wrought in methods, instruction and discipline since
those old walls were built ; then he remembered to
have heard it said that Waterford has furnished
more prominent men than any other township in
the county, and he mentally exclaimed, " This old
building explains it all ; blessed be the memory of
those who builded it, and those who have carried it
on ;" and echo answered, " Blessed."
But the time set by Mrs. Obed for his return
had arrived, and there was nothing for him to do
but to return to the hotel. Suiting his actions to
his necessities, he returned, and, taking an affec-
tionate leave of the Grand Sachem and the gay old
liost of the Eagle, and consigning himself to the
tender mercies of the fiery headed Jehu, he was soon
homeward bound, mentall}^ vowing if ever invited
to Waterford again, he would certainly go. Thus
Obed vowed.
OBED AT THE HEAD.
It was summer, warm and genial, and Strong
Vincent Post of the " Boys in Blue " advertised an
encampment, with hard tack and beans, at the
Head. Having had some experience in blue
clothes, hard tack and s b , Obed resolved
to play " comrade." Suiting the act to the resolu-
tion, having first obtained the consent of Mrs. Obed,
who has a great aversion to everything that looks
in the remotest degree like war, he took the
cars on the morning appointed and was soon in
the city and making his way, in a headlong manner,
down State street towards the dock.
—52—
Once on board the Hunter, his ticket for the
beans safely secured next his — stomach, and pass-
ing out from the dilapidated docks, Obed. fell to
musing, a practice to which he is much given,
sometimes to the great discomfort of even his near-
est friends — Mrs. and the young Obeds, for instance.
In his imagination he saw the Bay as it was a
hundred years ago, visited only by an occasional
sail, for the steamboat man had not then been
invented. Instead of the spires of a busy city, a
rude fortress occupied the lonely shore from which
scarce a wily Indian came down to ripple the quiet
waters with his birchen canoe. These things Obed
saw, and more. Settlers came; a hut village sprang
up ; soldiers went and came ; one morning the
post band played the funeral diige, and brave boys
laid "Mad Anthony," at the "foot of the flag
staff" to wait the reveille of the judgment morn-
ing ; he saw the youthful Perry, as under his
master hand there sprang up, as by magic, that
renowned fleet that, once " lightered " over the bar,
sallied out, " met the enemy and they are ours ;"
he saw the thriving village become a naval station,
and then a lake city at whose expanding wharves
a busy commerce plied ; he heard a shrill neigh,
and the " iron horse " was on the Lake Shore, and
—53—
for a time there was " war in Erie," and when
peace was restored the wharves began to rot as the
city extended herself inland, and Obed wondered if
ever serial navigation would " Ticket, sir,"
said a "blue" labeled "67," and the rectangular form
of his pasteboard was soon destroyed, and Obed's
revery was at an end. It was ended.
The Hunter was now far out on the Bay, and
Obed felt at liberty to take a survey of the crowd of
strangers around him. It possessed all the charac-
teristics of an excursion. There were men, women
and children ; young men and maidens — not so
young ; elegant perfumes, and fumes not so elegant
— " But then, it is only twenty-five cents, and who
can't afford a little extra touch," said Obed, half
aloud. " What's that, sir ?" said a demure-looking
individual — " Show your tickets to the guard,"
sang out a military voice, and looking up, Obed
})orceived that one-half of the company was already
upon the dock, and he also made haste to go ashore.
Once on terra firma, Obed hastened to carry into
execution the resolution he had formed to scrape
many acquaintances, and he succeeded admirably,
for beneath the badge of the " Grand Army "
there's a warm heart for all comrades. Here he
—54—
met one with an unpleasant limp. "How was it,
old boy ?" " A bullet through the knee at Gaines'
Mill." There he accosted a man with a bad scar on
his face, supplemented by another on the back of
the neck. '"Twas a warm reception at Cold Har-
bor." Two canes told the story of cold lead through
the spine at Antietam. A crutch and a cane re-
counted the story of Fredericksburg, and an empty
sleeve revived the " Battle above the clouds." Sit-
ting down by a pleasant fellow with two staffs, Obed
laid his hand familiarly upon his femur — 'twas a
regular " patent thing." " The flesh and blood,"
said his new made friend, " are resting at Five
Forks." "Gone on the retired list," said Obed.
At the Head, Obed met the army of the
Potomac, the siegers of Vicksburg ; those who
" marched with Sherman to the sea," and heroes of
Gettysburg. He "took rations" again from the
" Commissary Department," dipped his coffee
from a "black sally," and cracked jokes at the
" mess board ;" he sat again on the drum head and
laughed at the mock review, and as he noted the
rapture of Young America, closely resembling that
exhibited on "General Training Day " forty years
ago, the days of his boyhood came across his mind,
and he repeated, —
— 5S-
" O were yoii ne'er a school boy ?
And did you never train,
And feel that swelling of the heart,
You ne'er can feel again ?'
The sun was far out over the lake, the "light
fantastic toe " was tripping it to the sound of the
merry music, and Obed, as he looked over the rest-
less throng said, '" The crow foot is marking the
brave men of sixteen years ago, and the 'boys' of
that day are becoming tinged with a loyal gray.
We light our camp fires, but there come fewer and
fewer to enjoy their genial warmth;
'Our numbers dwindle year by year.
Our comrades seek the other shore.' "
Just then the whistle sounded, and as he
caught the bright reflection of the sum from the
bosom of old Erie, Obed remembered 'tis written,
"In tlije evening time it shall be light," and he
took his departure homeward with this petition in
his heart for all his " comrades :"
" So live that when command is given :
'Break ranks', we leave the drill below,
To bivouac in the camp of Heaven."
OBED ON STRIKES.
" You are too late, sir; the strike has reached
us at last," said the gentlemanly agent at North
East, as Obed, a stranger to all about, carne up for
the purpose of making a shipment. Thus it was,
click, click, click had gone the telegraph unceasing-
ly for two, three, four days, announcing that first one
road then anothei" had succumbed to ignoble, if not
unreasonable demands, until finally the Lake Shore
was no exception. All travel was suspended ; the
business interests of the country stood paralyzed,
and riot was laying vandal hands on much that
was fair and valuable.
Obed looked at the agent, then up and down
the track, and then at the perishable fruit he
wished to send to some distant friends, and his
thoughts were not of the pleasantest nature. But
th«n there was no use breaking the third com-
mandment, and as he turned him about and pre-
pared to go into the canning business, his memory
— S7-
was busy, for he has observed that strikes are pecu-
liar inslitutions, and that most people have at some
time indulged in them. In fact, Obed himself has
been a striker. His experience runs in this wise : —
When quite a little child he wished to go visit-
ing with his parents, so he put on his happiest face
and his kindest manner. He was most bewitching
on tliat occasion, but it was of no use; he could
not go. Then he struck — threw himself U]>on the
floor, distorted his face and uttered hideous screams.
Here the majesty of the law in the person of the
elder Obed came in, and soon an urchin, artistically
turned up, was heard exclaiming, " Oh ! don't,
don't, father; I won't do so any more." The strike
was suppressed, and Obed was a wiser child.
Again, in his school days, when the teacher
was calling to afternoon lessons by beating lustily
on the sash with a Daboll's arithmetic, Obed and
three of his companions struck — for the skating
pond. An hour later there was music in the old
sohoolhouse. A concert of human voices led by
the sharp thuds of a well seasoned gad. One more
strike was suppressed. When he returned home
that night Obed had nothing but words of praise
for that teacher — he was so kind and attentive.
Those were the days when children never made
—58-
mention of discipline at school. Obed was a wiser
boy.
It was long years after the above, and Obed was
O-ra.ia.d.fa.tlierO'bea.'sm.etli.oa. cf s-u.ppressixi.g' a. Stride.
With a slight variation from Patrick Henry, the old gentle-
man was wont to say, " I have but one lamp b}^ which my hand
is guided, and that is the lamn of experience."
in the midst of a delightful morning dream, in
which wealth, and honor, and fame were all gather-
ing around him, that a sharp voice exclaimed in
his ear, " Obed, Obed, get up and start a fire!" He
raised himself gently upon his elbow, but soon sank
gracefully back upon his pillow. It was but for a
moment. A sharp thrust in the ribs, and, " Obed !
Obed ! I tell you get up ; it's house-cleaning day,
and Nancy Jones will be here before we're out of
bed," brought him to a realization of the situation.
He arose and went mechanically about the duties
of the hour, continually revolving in his mind the
glories of that wonderful dream. Breakfast over,
Mrs. Obed directed him to remove the parlor stove
to the sitting room and readjust it. Now if there
is anything in the wide world that Obed hates to
meddle with, it is a stove and pipe. He has heard
good men utter fearful words whilst attempting to
fit dissimilar joints ; and he knows that really pious
men indulge in wicked thoughts on such occasions ;
so lest he should be betrayed into one of these
follies, he watclied his opportunity when Mrs. Obed
was busy, and struck — down town. Thus Obed
struck.
Down town he stayed until near noon. Then
he put in an appearance at home. There stood the
—66—
stove, and near it stood Mrs. O., broom in hand.
" Now, sir," said a pair of thin lips, " tend to that
stove !" Obed surveyed the situation for a moment.
There stood the commander-in-chief of the house-
hold with the implement of her authority well
poised. In the background stood Nancy as a kind
of " reserved force." There was determination in
two pair of eyes. With Obed discretion had long
been the better part of valor. That stove was soon
adjusted without a swear. The clouds broke, and
domestic sunshine blessed a hearty dinner. Obed
was a wiser man.
Various are the causes for which men strike.
Obed remembers that the first one on record was
made for an increase of knowledge — a very worthy
object, 'tis true. There came of it "fig-leaf aprons"
and death. Then Cain struck for the elevation of
his craft, and as a result Adam turned sexton and
the striker received a slit in the ear and a home in
the " land of Nod," since which time it has been
habitual for deacons to sleep in church. Many
people pattern after the deacons.
All Israel went on a big strike down in Egypt,
and did the greatest job of borrowing that ever was
known ; and yet, as is generally the case with strik-
ers, they got an elephant on their hands. It took
—61—
them forty years to learn to manage him, and he
proved breachy ever afterwards.
The Barons put up a good job of striking on
John at Runny Mede, which has only been eclipsed
by that of Jonathan on his old mother in '76.
These, much as we delight in them, were fraught
with much of evil and suffering, and have been the
prolific parents of a host of similar strikes, lacking
the principle, but having all the nerve and spirit.
The sacrifice of property and life under such cir-
cumstances has been fearful.
Reflecting on these things, Obed has concluded
that when men
" Strike for their altars and their fires ;
Strike for the green graves of their sires,
God and their native land,"
it is all right, and they should succeed. But when,
on the contrary, they
Strike, evil passions to inspire ;
Strike for the things that none require,
For anarchy and "sand,"
there should be miserable failure. Personal and
public happiness depend upon law and order. By
these let all the people stand. Let parents impress
ihem upon the sensibilities of childhood. Let
teachers instill them into the mind of youth, and
—62—
wives insist that their liege lords shall carry them
out in their daily lives. Above all, let not great
municipalities encourage riot, theft and arson, against
even a soulless corporation ; for at best the act is
dangerous, and may become an expensive luxury,
tarnishing even legislative reputation.
OBED'S DAY AT FAIR POINT.
Obed had heard of the beauties, the privileges,
and the piety of Fair Point, and for a long time
had desired to visit it. At length a leisure day pre-
sented itself, and, that he might enjoy it in full, he
took time by the forelock and started the evening
previous.
Once aboard the train and moving, he gazed
with delight upon the beautiful scenery constantly
presenting itself. The faces about him were all
strange, so Obed had nothing to do but gaze in
-63-
silence. This he did until a change of cars for the
" Cross Cut" brought new scenes and new com-
panions. Here was a stripling from the east, hav-
ing a worm medicine of rare virtue, the fruits of
which, carefully bottled, he was triumphantly ex-
hibiting ; there was a man from Indiana with" an
opera glass at his eye, a tongue loaded with " I
declare," and a soul full of Sunday school enthu-
siasm ; yonder were several ladies with a full assort-
ment of band-boxes and babies, chattering like so
many magpies. " Fair Point" was on the tongues
of all these, and they were happy in their antici-
pations. The medicine man iu the misery he
should relieve, and the harvest he should reap ; the
Hoosier in beholding those on whom the mantle of
the immortal Raikes has fallen, and the ladies in
the delightful passtimcs and the sweet rest they
were to have. As for Obed, he was happy in ob-
serving the earnestness and comicalities of his com-
panions, and the delightful scenery through which
he was passing, and as he looked out upon the
signs of advancing civilization he mentally ex-
claimed, " Lo, the poor Indian," and he presumes
in a minute more he would have dived right into
the hole that the " wild fox dug, unscared," had not
the conductor just then sung out " Mayville !"
-64-
Then came the bustle and excitement incident to a
change from car to steamboat, and Obed was soon
afloat on the beautiful lake, now glittering in the
evening twilight, and whose shores are rich in
legendary tales.
As the steamer glided away, and he looked
upon the pleasure-boats on every hand, the occu-
pants merrily enjoying the cool of the evening, his
exclamation was, " The red man bathed his limbs
in this sedgy lake in the long ago, and its waters
were broken by his birchen canoe j^ears before the
race of Fulton's began." To what flights of fancy
his imagination might have risen, on other people's
language, Obed knows not, had not a display of
lights resembling the glitter of gas jets in front of
a theatre, just then attracted his attention. " What's
that?" inquired our hero. "Fair Point," replied
the Captain. Feeling that behind such lights there
must be a happy place and some fun, Obed seated
himself upon the bow of the boat, and gave himself
up to pleasing meditations until the craft touched
the dock, where he descended, and for two pieces of
silver purchased pass-ports to the " Elysian Fields"
of his expedition.
Once within the gate, he inquired of a man,
selling peanuts and candy, the way to the sanctum
—65—
of the scribes who write up the doings of the Fair
Pointers. "0 just you go up to the Auditorium
and the pump, and you'll see it— who'll have
another glass V" said the dealer. Remarking that
he knew nothing about their Horium, which caused
a smile among the bystanders, Obed passed on and
soon came to a vast multitude of people who were
listening to some men, seated in a great box con-
siderably elevated above the rest, as they arose and
told, one after another, of the wonderful deeds of
some good men who had recently died. Some, it
appeared, had been great preachers, and another
had been a man of song. As he listened to the
words of praise, interspersed as they were with ex-
cellent music, Obed wondered if ever there was a
memorial service for the great "Preacher of
righteousness," or if any u-aterlng place ever set aside
a day in commemoration of the " Sweet singer of
Israel."
The exercises drawing to a close, Obed sought
out the place of the scribes, a kind of ten by four-
teen foot arrangement, very plain in its appliances,
but all a-Flood with Moor6-of-Dobbs than anybody
else except an unclerical-looking chap, who pos-
sessed the rare faculty of deciphering quail tracks
—66—
without flinching, even in presence of ministerial
dignity.
After a pleasant chat, Obed was informed that
the time when all Pointers must retire was at hand,
and if he didn't want to be "policed" he must find
a place to burrow, and was kindly directed to the
General Office for further information. This, after
some wandering, he succeeded in finding and was
sent thence to the keeper of the keys of the '' Land
of Nod " for all wayfarers on the Point. Here,
after paying two pieces of silver he was put in tow
of a small honest faced bo}', in whose wake he fol-
lowed for half an hour through mazy streets and
tangled wild wood, and then returned to the " place
whence he came " for repairs, a new number and a
new start. Some minutes brisk walk brought him
to No. 42 Avenue, where he was consigned to
the tender mercies of a benevolent-looking gentle-
man who led him up a narrow stair into a hall of
indefinite length, but four feet wide, and split in
in the middle by a row of sheets suspended from
the joists above. Behind these, as nearly as he
could judge, were several ladies suspended from
pins in the studding. One of these, that is, one of
the ladies cried out in a squeakX! voice, " Laws a
massy ! don't bring a man in here !" and a gruff
-67-
fellow, whom Obed thought to be leaned up in an
adjoining corner, growled out something about
thieves, when the host remarked that the gentleman
with him had an honest countenance, and all sub-
sided into silence, and the work of bed making pro-
ceeded. This consisted in spreading out an unusu-
ally long saw horse, to the ribs of which was firmly
attached a piece of canvass eighteen inches wide
and five feet long ; across one end was laid a bundle
of straw, and over all was spread an "army blanket"
which had evidently seen service, the whole re-
minding Obed of the days of his military experience.
When all was ready, his host bade him a kind good-
night, and slowly and sadly Obed turned in. As
he did so, he remembered the couch of his boyhood,
prepared by a mother's careful hand, and he re-
peated, with slight variation, as her sainted lips
had taught him,
" Now I lay me ttp to sleep."
The words had a soothing eff'ect on the mind of
Obed, and he wassoon in the land of dreams, in
which Sunday school exercises, memorial services,
summer resorts, and various pursuits of pleasure
were continually rising before him.
At early dawn Obed was on his feet. His
ablutions performed and prayers, few and short,
—68—
said, he set out for the " Holy Land." A single
Arab of the tribe of Abou Van-Lennep had pre-
ceeded him. As he appeared perfectly civil, not
even demanding " buchesh," Obed felt perfectly at
OToed. laid, "vj-p to sleep.
ease. After wandering through the " hill country
of Judea," he " went down to Samaria," and thence
ascended to Mount Carniel, and took a view of the
Plain of Sharon and the " Great Sea." Leaving
this, he came down across " Esdradon," passed
through " Nazareth," and soon stood by " deep
Galilee," upon which the first rays of the morning
sun were now resting. Having satisfied himself
that no " fisherman " would cast in his net that
morning, he departed " to " Mount Tabor," and
then " came down " and " crossed over Jordan,"
only to traverse " Bashan " and the "Land of
Moab." This done he came round the " Dead Sea,"
and stood at the eatrance of " Machpelah " in
" Hebron." As he did so, thoughts of that first
dealing in real estate of the long ago, and the many
" six feet by two " transfers since, and as he went
up to " Jerusalem " the myriad of hallowed scenes
connected with the '■ Land of Promise," where the
" Holy and Just with the people sat down,"
went flitting through his mind, and he was glad that
God had put it into the heart of the great " Mow-
ing macliine" man to transfer the "Land" in
miniature, to the banks of beautiful Chautauqua,
where untold thousands may come, and in pleasant
pastimes, learn so much of the ivord.
When he had gazed his fill, Obed went up to
view the city. She was just beginning to put on
her morning activity, and as he threaded her
avenues, bearing the names of the immortal dead,
and the honored living of the church, and listened
to the songs of thanksgiving and words of prayer
-70-
as they rose from cottage and tent he said, "Truly
the groves were God's first temples."
Like other men, Obed is subjected to sensations
of hunger. These the rambles of the morning had
called into vigorous activity, and he turned
aside to a hotel and for two pieces of silver gained
admittance. After a protracted waiting, th^re were
set before him " ham and eggs, mutton chops, pota-
toes, tea, and bread, butter and molasses," on which
he fed with joy and gladness. Thus refreshed he
went up and viewed the " pyramid," and then
walked down to the " Oriental House," which he
carefuU}' inspected, seeing better than ever be-
fore how " They tore up the roof and let him down
in the midst ;" how they " walked upon the house
top in the evening-time and gathered themselves
into the court in seasons of danger."
This was a " Day of song " in which great
multitudes took delight, but Obed delighted rather
in studying the multitude itself In it he saw great
bodies of divinity, some of whom had been "Doc-
tored," whilst others were patiently waiting for the
same pleasing process. He saw men seeking — some
for wisdom, others for money, and not a few for
sport. His eyes rested upon a few real Marys,
Marthas and Dorcases were by no means unrepre-
—71—
sented. But Obed saw more of the frollicking, fun-
loving, good-natured sisters of our frail humanity
than of any other. Even " Pansy " as she strolled
around, looking anxiously after her " Four Girles,"
was not insensible to feelings of mirthfulness.
The day was wearing away, and the burden of
Obed's musing was, " Fair Point is a miniature
world in itself, presenting all the hopes and fears,
joys and sorrows of the great one, in which we are
all called to move and act." Thus impressed, he
hastened to the dock, gave up his pasle-board, and
passed without the gate, only to behold the " 3Iay-
ville" and the '' Crriffith" " neck and neck," each
trying to make the wharf. There was high pressure
in the boilers, and a full head of steam on in all
the humans that thronged the deck of the respective
crafts. Calvary, the cross, and the Sunday school
interests generally were lost sight of in the intense
excitement " for our side " to beat. Tired women
waved their handkerchiefs and invalid men, and
grave shepherds, energetically gesticulating, lifted up
their voices in wild hurrahs. Quietly but firmly
the "Mowing machine" man lifted up his voice in
behalf of order and safety. After much delay a
landing from both boats was made without accident,
and stepping aboard the Griffith, Obed made May-
—72—
ville just in time to see his train glide out of sight.
Then a lively team " With its loved presence
brought balm " for sixteen pieces of silver, and he
and several new made friends remembering that
" every cloud has a silver lining," enjoyed a most
delightful ride across the country to Westfield,
under the guidance of a merry Jehu, and there
made a western bound train. A good supper and
a soft bed soothed every disquietude in the mind of
Obed, and he arose to the light of a new day, glad
that he had learned by another experience the force
ofmultum in parvo.
CENTENNIAL KEMINISCENCES.
The Start.
There were sounds of labor and " notes of
preparation" in the home of the Obeds. And where-
fore? Obed feared he would not live to see 1976, and
so hfc had concluded to do the next best thing, visit
the Centennial Exposition. His companions were
lo be his wife and a lady friend. Obed bought, and
Mrs. Obed and her friend cut and sewed, and
arranged as only ladies will when they are going
abroad and will appear presentable. As for Obed,
he contented himself with a twenty-five cent palm-
leaf for one extremity, a pair of brogans for the
other, and suitable hot weather garments for the
five -feet-eight between. Such was Obed's outfit,
arranged for business rather than pleasure. All
things ready and the day appointed for departure
reached, good-byes were said, and three happy
mortals stepped aboard the train which was to bear
—74-
them from their rustic home to see the wonders
which " Brother Jonathan " had invited his old
mother and her many sisters to bring to his dwelling
place, that he might compare notes of a hundred
3'ears with them. Obed had heard of momentous
occasions. As nearly as he could judge from his
knowledge of the dictionary and the state of his
feelings, this to him was such a one.
The whistle sounded ; the train moved ; the
fields glided by ; the village and the home in which
were the young Obeds faded from sight ; trees, fields
and forests took up a "merry whirl," and when Obed
looked into the faces of his companions as the train
dashed along, every lineament seemed to say
" Bless me, this is pleasant,
Riding on a rail."
Soon the white farm houses and green pastures
of Cheesedora began to give place to dust and
smoke, general grindiness and the clink of iron,
and he perceived that he was leaving the land of
kine for the realm of coal. Directly the road came
upon that great work of the fathers, the Pennsyl-
vania and Ohio Canal which, completed, was the
glory of the projectors — for a day. Obed re-
membered that he had plied the barrow and the
spade on that same old ditch in the days when the
—73—
captain took in sails by knocking down the driver
and the " cook " protected her eyes by taking a
reef in the stovepipe. Now the tow-path is broken
down, the " locks" are removed, the old barges are
rotting all along the valley, and the " car " is the
glory of those who once adored the " packet."
Obed had tried both, and he was satisfied with his
seat.
Across the beautiful Mahoning, amid ever-
greens and forest trees, appeared for a moment the
marbled mementoes of the loved and lost, and Obed
remembered that in the silent city on the hill above
the noisy one in the valley beneath, sleeps a sister
who had shared the sports of his boyhood in the
long ago. Memories of the old home, of father and
mother, brothers and sisters, who will greet him no
more, thronged his memory, and he wiped his
moistened eyes, saying, "By and by."
An hour more and the Buckeye State was be-
hind him, and Obed was breathing the air and
drinking in the scenery of the Keystone, noble old
State, land of Penn, and home of liberty and equal
rights. Obed and his companions admired the
beautiful and varied scenery through which they
passed. He noted the many changes that had taken
place along the Ohio since the days of his boyhood,
—76—
and said, " What w'ould the noble red man of '76
say, could he look upon all these evidences of the
Great Spirit's care for the white man ?"
A temporary stop in the Smoky City, and Obed
was sent out by the ladies to procure some delicacies.
On every door save one, as he passed down the
street, was " Lager," " Lager," " Lager." The "save
one " was " XXX Ale." At last he came to a door
marked, " Coffin Rooms," and he said, " A fitting
end to this row." As he thought of the bloated ,
blear-eyed, besotted beings he had just passed, this
ejaculation escaped him, " Wine is a mocker ;
strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived
thereby is not wise."
Saddened by the sights he had seen, and dis-
gusted with the fumes of inebriation he had in-
haled, Obed retraced his steps, seeking no further
for delicacies.
Onward.
"Ca's fo' Philade'h'a, New Yo'k, Bos'n— a' places
Eas'," called the train crier. "All aboard," shouted
the conductor, and Obed and his company were soon
leaving the city of smoke and soot, of rattle and
bang, of invincible industry, behind them. A huu-
—11—
dred years ago Pittsburg was a mere military trad-
ing post, far beyond the borders of civilization ; to-
day she is the Manchester of a Continent. "A single
pulsation in our Titan growth," mused Obed,and the
train reached "Braddock's Field."
Here it was that the proud Briton shocked the
sensibilities of the youthful, but circumspect George,
by that historic expression, more forcible than ele-
gant, "High times, high times, by G — d, when a
young buckskin can teach a British General how to
fight." Alas, poor Braddock ! He has been sold by
the acre many times since then, and no one longer
holds grudge against him for his treatment of him
who soon became, "First in war ; first in peace, and
first in the hearts of his countrymen." Obed, even,
is not envious of the price he brings. Obed is not.
There's a dashing along over mountain and
down valley, iind, as darkness gathers around, the
whistle sends its shrill notes through the train, the
brakeman opens the door and calls out "Altoona."
There is no chance to see, but Obed remembers that
here in the darkest days of the Rebellion came the
Loyal Governors and took counsel how best to stay
up the hands of the noble President, and the no less
worthy thousands, struggling on the field for nation-
al existence. The world knows how well they did
—78-
their work, but they will meet in council no more.
Tod — Honest Dave, sleeps in the valley he loved so
well, and which he did so much to develop. Mor-
ton, no longer lithe of limb as then, now lifts his
clear voice in the chief council of the nation. Over
the erring course of another, not over his patriot-
ism, let us draw the mantle of forgetful ness, except
for the lesson it teaches. Let us cherish their mem-
ories for their sterling worth.
Daylight revealed to Obed the beautiful scenery
of the Susquehanna. He looked in the faces of the
ladies. They were lengthened from yesterday ; their
ruehes were sadly demoralized, and they eyed with
besmoked vision, and no pleasant smile the dust and
cinder that covered their garb. As for Obed his
countenance was "clear as mud," and he found him-
self in very much the same condition that Gilpin
did after he had taken several turns in that famous
ride of his But then, Obed and his companions
were going to the Centennial ; they had made up
their minds to "endure hardness," so raising a merry
laugh, they whiled away the time in counting the
minutes it took to pass by Tom Scott's line, under
the streets of Baltimore; in watching the market
women, with their baskets, and in wondering what
the country about Washington, with its evergreen
—79-
shrubs and dwarfed muUens was made for. As yet,
"no man knoweth."
A sudden curve in the road, and the dome of
the Capitol was in view. There was no more time for
languor. Obed and his companions were on the —
were on the — were on the, yes, now he has it — on the
qui vive, which means in plain English, "on the
lookout." Obed and his companions were on the
lookout for objects of interest. As the train made
its circuitous way into the city, Obed noted many
changes since the days of the Rebellion. Once
within the depot, a pleasant looking man cried out,
" This way ; tree buss for the Tremont House."
As Obed is fond of " free busses, " he accepted the
invitation, and soon he and his companions found
themselves in very pleasant rooms, with water,
towels and everything essential to thorough ablu-
tions. These performed, clean apparel donned, a
savory meal disposed of, in the midst of the most
assiduous attention from intelligent waiters, and the
Obeds were ready for " business."
At the Capitol.
Up they went to the Capitol, the sun pouring
at the ratfe of 105° to the minute, and Obed, as he
-80-
wiped the perspiration from his streaming face, was
soon convinced that this was the pursuit of pleasure
bj'' water. The building once reached, the visitors
were delighted in wandering about the Rotunda, the
various passages, Halls and Galleries ; in examin-
ing the statuary and inspecting the paintings. Here
Obed met face to face, George, and John, and Tho-
mas, James I and James II, and John whose second
name was "Q." and Andrew who was familiarly cal-
led "Hickory," and Martin who delighted in the
poetic appellation of "Matty Van," and a host of
other worthies. He remembered that most of these
had been unexceptionable boys, sons of one mother.
To Obed it is a great thing to be an unexceptional
boy. Such never enter the Benevolent Institutions
of the land to pursue a course of instruction on the
one study system. It is said to them, "Come up
higher." Here Obed and his companions gazed up-
on the "Landing of the Pilgrims" till, hot as it was,
they heard
"The dashing waves beat high
On a stern and rock-bound coast."
Here they saw that amiable daughter of Old
Mrs. Powhatan as she rushed forward and saved the
race of Smiths to the New World — an act deserving
undying gratitude, but from which the* ruthless
-81—
hands of historians are trying to strip every vestige
of artistic attitude, and rob it of all its poetic fancy.
They contemplated with wonder and delight, the
crowning piece of the Capitol, the "Emigration,"
whose cumbrous wagons and noble steeds ; whoso
stalwart men and cheery women ; whose lowing herds
and bleating flocks ; whose barking dogs and shouting
babies, winding along valleys and scaling moun-
tain crests, show how well the painter understood
how the great West has been peopled.
But the Obeds could not spend all their time
on statuary and paintings, however worthy. They
must see the life of the Capitol, so they made their
way to the gallery of the "House" and looked
down into the pit. There Obed saw a seething,
shouting, disorderly, turbulent mass of humanity,
and he said, "These are the sons of aunh. No one
mother ever fciihered so much recklessness. It is
not a good thing to be the son of one's aunt." Obed
had been told of an " Old Boy," but has heard his
existence questioned. Obed questioned it no longer.
Let whosoever does, look in upon the American
House of Representatives and he shall see not one,
but a ''legion'' — a legion of old boys in the House of
Representatives. v
—82—
Calm and quiet was the Senate Chamber. One
gentleman blandl}' discussed the Currency Ques-
tion, whilst about thirty others quietly chatted, po-
lite/i/ napped, or undisturbedly poured over the
daily news. The Senate was decorus ; but, well,
but —
The Departments are objects of interest in
Washington. To these the Obeds went, but brie fly.
Lastly, they wended their way to the "White
House," which the iadies were particularly anxious
to visit. Obed has many times observed that ladies
readily gravitate towards a good house. It was so
in this instance. The hall was entered with bated
breath ; tlie " East Room " was threaded with noise-
less step and wondering eye. Thus much was all
the Obeds expected, but they were to be more than
gratified. The races were over, and " His Ex-
cellency " had returned the previous evening from
Long Branch, and they were apprised by a
polite attendant that they would be permitted to
make him a call as soon as he had completed some
business with a colored representative, wdiich led
Obed to reflect that Soloman made a mistake when
he said, " There is no new thing under the sun."
Once ushered into the Cabinet Room, the leader
of the party said, "Obed, from Ohio, Mr. President."
—83—
And "His Excellency" responded, "Mr. Obed,
Mrs. Obed, and Mrs. Obed's friend," as he grasped
them severally by the hand. Obed cooled himself
with his " palmleal," the ladies made a vigorous
use of their fans, and His Excellency wiped the
sweat from his brow with his coat sleeve.
-A. Tvarrrci. tiixie Idtl tlie Ca-Tsinet.
The Obeds looked up, and His ExL-ellciicy
looked down." Tlicy all said '•Good day," and
that "Cabinet Meeting" stood adjourned.
Again on the cars, the Obed.s were hurried out
of the city of Magnificent Distances, with her
—84—
broad streets and beautiful parks ; her pleasant
homes and hospitable inhabitants ; her moral tur-
pitude and political chicanery, through the Region
of Agricultural Despair, and under the Monumental
City, with barely time to reflect that here, sixty-two
years before, a prisoner on a British Man-of-War
then hurling shot and shell at the first " American
Flag" ever raised. Key indicted "The Star
Spangled Banner." And Obed said,
" Long may it wave
O'er the Land of the Free
And the Home of the Brave."
Philadelphia Reached.
Onward sped the train through ever improving
lands ; amid homes and scenery each hour liecom-
ing more and more attractive, until just us the sun
rested his broad disc upon the Alleghcnies, Phila-
delphia was called. Weary and hungry, Obed
alighted and looked about for the man who sold
the youthful Benjamin the " rolls." He was not .to
be seen ; his place of business was closed — closed
in Philadelphia, so Obed and his companions
sought a hotel, and after a hearty supper, with the
atmospliere at " ninety five,"
" They rajjt
The drapery of I hdr couches round them, and lay down "
— 8S—
to hot Centennial dreams, in the midst of which the
rapacious buy made haste to levy and collect his first
bloody contribution.
Beginning Work.
The tlicrmometer at 05°, a close room, and
those awful bugs, made the shrill cry of "cat fish," as
it came up from the pavement in the early morn,
music sweeter than any lullaby, and Obed quickly
arose and performed his ablutions, and tried to com-
pose his mind to a devotional frame, but he had a
scratching time of it.
—86-
A good breakfast brought balm, and the excur-
siouists soon sallied forth to enter vigorously upon
the work in hand, and as there was no more fitting
place to begin than
Independence Hall,
to this they wended their way. The "Spirit of '76,"
in the person of divers old men, dressed in the cos-
tume of the "Continentals," had preceded them, and
was driving a brisk business in playing news boy
with fac similes of the journalism of a hundred
years ago. Pushing their way ]>ast these and a
host of otlier curiosity venders, all blessed with gen-
uine "Bedouin" grit, though chid in Yankee habili-
ments, they soon stood within the Hall hallowed by
a thousand sacred memories, for here one hundred
years before did true men "Proclaim Liberty
throughout the land, to all the iidialiitants thereof;"
here, during the dark days of the Revolution had
echoed the foot steps of Washington, the Adamses,
Hancock, Fraiiklin, Jefferson and Morris, — all the
fathers of the Republic, — as they came and took
counsel together ; because their counsels were wise
and their determinations unswerving, Philadelphia
stretches out over miles of territory and her nearly
a million of people gave entertainment to the world ;
-87—
and because they fouglit, suffered and endured, a
great people is free, prosperous and happy, offering
an asylum to the oppressed of every clime, but
firmly asking that they bring not the demoralizing
institutions of their old homes to engraft upon the
fresher, purer ones of the land of their adoption.
Turning to the left they entered
Independence Chamber,
which they were informed by a picture vender, pre-
sented much the same appearance that it did a luui-
dred years ago. The only important change is the
old wood floor has given placo to one of marble.
Here they found the chair and table occupied by
John Hancock, whilst President of the Congress of
1776. The chairs of many of the other members
still remain. These are of wooil, strongly made,
with seat and arms covered with leather.
Here, in a case prepared for the purpose, is the
original Declaration of Independence. It has b.en
so many times copied that the names are 'nearly
obliterated. In the same case is the silver inkstand
used in signing both the Declaration and the Con-
stitution.
On the walls they saw many portraits of dis-
tinguished patriots of the Revolution; among them
-88-
that of Washington is most conspicuous, as it ever
must be. The chandelier which lighted the fathers
in their nightly sittings, with its little " sticks " for
the "tallow dip," hanging from the old ceiling, was
in strong contrast with the gorgeous ones they were
soon to see in the Main Building. Several of the
old banners with the devise of the serpent, and the
motto, " Don't tread on me," are here carefully pre-
served.
Across the vestibule from the Chamber the
Obeds entered the
National Museum,
into which are being collected the relicts of our
early and more modern history. They found pic-
tures of historic interest, portraits of the Georges,
and of American and French worthies, on the
walls.
Obed looked long upon old Independence Bell
and it5 unic^ue hangings of heavy timber, remember-
ing that, though it rings no longer, its tones are by
no means dead. He looked with reverence upon
the " First Prayer in Congress," as the quaint old
manuscript appeared before him, and w4th deepest
interest on the original Charter of Philadelphia,
—89—
written by Penn himself. Seated \a an old church
pew, often occupied by the worihies of long ago,
Obed reverently laid his hands upon a piece of the
lightening rod put by Franklin upon the " West
Mansion" in 17(57. Ashe did so, he thought of
the great number of " Cable " and other patents
which have appeared as offspring of that simple
contrivance, and of the vast amount oi negative truth
to whicli their sale has given rise, and he was glad
that the iniquities of the children are not visited
upon the parents to the fourth generation, for if so,
where would "Poor Richard" be?
Leaving the ladies to examine the quilts, dolls
and laces of the motliers of the Ptevohition, and feel-
ing sorry that he could not note a hundred things
of interest, Obed proceeded to copy the following :
"This building commenced 1732 A. U. C. 50
Andrew Hamilton Architect and Snperintendent
Was occupied by tlie Legislative Assembly of Penn-
sylvania 17;:U>to 1709 TheSuprc^me Court 1743 to
1775 The Congress of the Union 1775 to 17S1
Peasle's Museum 1802 to 182S The Councils of
Philadelphia from consolidation of the liberties
1854."
The brick of which the Hall was built, were
brought from England, and the original cost of the
edifice was 5,000 pounds sterling.
—90-
At one of the lanJin,i>-s was found the following
inscription, speaking volumes for tlic patriotism of
the past and the generous emulation oflhe present:
''The State House of Pennsylvania, consecrated
h}'- the memories of Events that occurred within and
under Shadow of its Walls, is dedicated by the Citi-
zens of Philadelphia to their Fellow Countrymen of
the United States a Perpetual Monument to the
Founders of American Independence on the Nation-
al Centennial Anniversary, July 4th, 1870."
The inspection ended, the little company passed
through the beautiful park in the rear of the build-
ing, and made haste to reach the "Centennial
Grounds."
In the Main Building.
That universal yankee expletive "wal," so ex-
pressive of satisfaction, and of every thing else that
is grand and glorious, burst involuntarily from the
lips of Obed as he entered the magnificent structure,
designed as the place ot principal exhibit. He had
seen its mammoth proportions in the distance. He
had looked upon its manner of construction from
without, and admired the beauty and design of its
workmanship. Upon all these Obed looked, but
once upon its twenty-one and a half acres of floors,
—91—
with the choicest gifts of the nations spread out be-
fore him, and the mellowed and variegated light
from the thousands of stained panes falling over all,
the scene battled description. Obed remembered
that in the days of his boyhood he had read the
"Arabian Nights," and there came floating back
through his memory visions of genii and fairies; of
gorgeous palaces with all their rich furnishings of
choicest woods, and silver, and gold, and upholstery
of damask and crimson; of their inhabitants clad in
the rich satins and delicate laces of the Orient.
Again he beheld that marvelous lamp which, in the
hands of Allaain, wrought such wonders; again he
heard the " Open sesame" which yielded up untold
treasures at its utterance. Obed had been taught
that all these wen only .stor/cs to please his boyish
fancy, but never in any way to be realized. But
were they not uiore than realized in what he saw
around him ?
The Vision.
Overcome with the varied sensations of the
scene, Obed seated himself musingly, when there
was before him a venerable form having the impre-s
of genius upon his brow and an irresittable energy
—92 —
marking his every motion. He stretched out the
wand of science over the surging deep, and a new
world, clad in primeval grandeur and of vast ex-
tent, rose slowl}^ from the world of waters. Its
people were a wild and simple race, unlike the in-
habitants of the land of the great magician who
had called them into view. And Obed noticed that
when the great seer made known to his people what,
he had done, and their souls and the souls of their
neighbors were stirred within them, that in great
numbers, some impelled by love of adventure, some
by thirst for gain, and some that they might pro-
vide a resting place for tliemselves and their loved
ones, sought the shores of this strange land. And
he observed further, that, as they began to plant
homes along her borders, to dig for treasures be-
neath her soil, to traverse her interminnble forests
and to navigate her noble rivers in search of new
scenes, there hovered over her fairest portions the
form of a beautiful female. On her countenance
there beamed a smile of conscious purity of pur-
pose; about her brow was a crown of choicest fruits
and grains, interwoven with the green of the "palm
and the pine;" her garments falling in graceful
folds about her, revealed the handiwork of every
craft; in her left hand she held the volume of truth,
-93-
whilst, with her right, she extended to the nations
the olive branch of peace. And as the people who
had known nothing but war, and bloodshed, and
oppression, and ignorance, saw the tokens, Obed be-
held that men left the home and graves of their
fathers by hundreds and by thousands, and siie ap-
pointed them dwellings by broad bays, along wind-
ing rivers and in fertile valleys. Wherever she
breathed, there was the spirit of liberty. And Obed
noted that the people constructed for themselves
highways, and beautiful homes and churches and
temples in which their children were taught the
ways of knowledge ; that the dusky natives of the
soil relultantly gave way before them ; that the
forests, felled by the woodman, gave place to tields
of waving grain, and in tlieir happiness the people
called their guiding spirit the " Genius of the
West." As Obed gazed in wonder and delight on
all this, toward the rising sun a cloud rose dark and
muttering, and the spirit of the East, maddened
that liis peii[)le grew restless at the prosperity of
their kinsfolks in their new land, came forth, all clad
in the panoply of war, and would throttle their
effort-^ and chain them as bondsmen to his chariot
wheels. Then it was that Obe<l saw the matchless
power of of the beautiful figure upon which he had
—94—
heretofore been gazing. Gathering her beloved
children about her, she breathed upon them the
spirit of her own invincible will, and bade them
prepare for the struggle, without once doubting as
to the result. On came the spirit of the East, lead-
ing his minions of tyranny. Long and fierce was
the struggle; the land was drenched in blood ; the
hearts of the stoutest trembled for the fate of their
cause. But Justice had unfurled her banner over
the new land, and in her own good time the Genius
of the West placed the sword of victory in the
hands of one of her own braVe sons who had fol-
lowed her with unswerving step through all her
years of strife, and who now was enshined as first
in the affections of all his fellows. And Obed saw
that the spirit of the East relinquished his hold up-
on all the ftiir land over which the spirit of liberty
had hovered, and as he returned to his island home
beyond the great deep, the people of the land
gathered themselves together and said our guiding
spirit shall no more be called the Genius of the
West. Henceforth her name shall be Columbia, and
the land shall be known as hers. And Columbia
taught her people how to make laws equitable and
just; how to rid them.selves of old vices: how to
protect themselves against their enemies and against
-95-
tlicmsclves, even at the expense of blood. Under
her guidance they quickly spread themselves over
all the land the spirit of the East had left them, and
much which they afterward secured, so that they
reached even unto a great sea beyond them ; their
cities became like the stars for number; their
children learned wisdom in her tens of thousands
of temples, and the people worshiped in innumer-
able courts which themselves had builded ; th( y
listened to the hum of spindles, the clank of looms,
and the clink of hammers arising from their untold
manufactories; they traveled in gorgeous palaces
upon their rivers and lakes; they constructed
curious roads of iron and journeyed over them in
gilded coaches, fast as the eye could follow, their
steel clad steeds shrieking in their headlong course ;
they talk with each other though thousands of miles
apart, with tongues of lightening; the earth yielded
them her increase and the mountains opened up to
them rich treasures of silver and gold; their ships
rode on every sea; their fame extended to the ends
of the earth, so that all people wondered because of
them.
Then Obed heard Columbia say to her people,
" Come lot us build us a great house in the city of
Brotherly Love that we may bring of all our mer-
—96—
chandises and riches into it, and invite all peoples
to do the same, that they may come and visit and
make merry with us on ni}^ birth day." And Obed
saw that " They had a mind to the work." And
they builded a great palace of iron and of glass,
garnished with rich colors, and they brought into
it all the glories and excellencies of the land, and
the peo]de of every clime and tongue came with
their offerings. Even the spirit of the East, forget-
ting the da} of his vanquishing, came with his rich-
est stores and treasures. And all were hap[)y as
they looked upon the rich cloths, the gorgeous robes,
the elaborately wrought furnitures, the aromatic
fruits and spices, and curious compounds; the
chandaliers glittering in silver and gold ; myriads
of implements of every kind flashing in the sun-
light, or listened to the strains of music as they
came floating from instruments of rarest tone. As
Obed gazed about him on the bewildering scene, he
said, "Surely, I am in some enchanted land, and
this structure of Columbia's is but a fairy palace
which needs but the touch of her magic wand to
dissolve it into nothingness. " Just then a friend
from the Buckeye State tapped him on the shoulder
and said, "What, Obed asleep at the Oentennial !"
And he arose, rubbed his eyes, looked around and
—1 OS-
thousand dollars. Obed bad tbe ability to do tbe
asking,
" Only this and nothing more."
The Concert.
It is probable that nothing produces so much
harmony in a household as the " wherewithal 6'Aa// loe
be clothed," and as if in periect keeping witii this
sentiment, just here there broke in rich strains of
music, and Ohed looked up, thinking it was " in the
air." Then it was that he first saw great organs,
placed on high above the heads of the people, whose
tones filled the domes and arches and then floated
down to greet the accompaniments from 8teinway,
and Chickering, and Bradbury, and Hamlin, and
scores of other American pianos and organs, and the
many brands from beyond the sea.
Mrs. Obed and her friend went off in *' ecstatic
raptures" over the "grand concert " but Obed was
calm and collected, for though his soul is full of
music, he has had but a slight introduction into the
mysteries of tune, just enough to catch faint glimpses
of " Yankee Doodle," " Hail Columbia," " Old Hun-
dred," and "Rock ot x\ges " — airs full of patriotism
and of heaven. And Obed said, there is progress in
—106—
all this for Columbia; not "merely material pro-
g^ress," as some contemptuously say, but progress for
the finer sensibilities of the soul. And Obed re-
membered how the fathers toiled all the weary six
days and then, resting on the seventh, in a log school
house or rustic church, raised
"Praise God from whom all blessings flow."
And Obed saw those blessings as they came in
pleasanter homes, less of begriuiming labor, tidier
school liouses, more commodious churches and
"forks" with which to pitch "Windham," and
"China," and "Coronation "
" From Greenland's icy mountains
^o India's coi'al strand."
Obed rejoices in the memory of that old time
music, and congregational singing, and the institu-
tions of the fathers, and the lullabies of the mothers,
but he is not so "old fogyish " as. to deny that we
are even more blessed than they, — no he is not.
And when he remembers that " David's hands made
the organ, and his lingers joined the psaltry " and
that he afterwards became a great king, ruling with
energy, Obed has no fears but our daughters will
make wives and mothers good as those our fathers
had, though Columbia has euabled us to fill our
homes, our schools and our churches with "string-
ed instruments and organs " on which they play
"One more day's ■work for Jesus."
Obed has honored the music of the "spindle"
and the " shuttle " — glories in their day, but God
has said "Man shall not live by bread alone," and
as he thought how much he is enabling us to do for
our children by way of refinement and culture, an
exclamation of satisfaction escaped his lips, and a
policeman said, " What, sirY" and Obed replied,
" This is grand ! " Thus Obed replied.
Arms.
The concert ended, Obed found himself stand-
ing beside a "Gatling Gun," a gun " fearfully and
wonderfully made," carrying its 4| ounce balls two
miles, at the rate of 300 per minute. It was Obed's
to look admiringly on, this time, while Mrs. 0. and
her friend, obeying their feminine impressions, kept
at a respectful distance. The old lady's opinion of
a gun was uppermost in their minds. Not so with
Obed. He had handled " arms," and so having
pronounced this "Gatlihg" none of your ordinary
" shooters," he was off among the offerings of " Mars,"
that he might see what the bloody god is construct-
ing as implements of his craft.
— 108-
And Obed saw guns; guns long, and guns sliort;
guns richly mounted, and guns mounted to kill ;
guns wrought by Columbian hands, and guns from
" Celestial " climes ; guns of the most approved
European models, and guns of South American de-
vice ; guns from every land, each speaking some
peculiarity of its people, and silently telling its
deadi}^ purpose. Obed saw pistols ; pistols from
Worcester and Springfield ; pistols from Berlin and
Paris; pistols from a hundred marts in all the world
beside; pistols robed in silver and burnished with
gold; pistols grouped in the most fantastic manner
as festoons, as bedsteads, as gaily dresssd dolls with
their little butts resting on downy pillows ; but
Obed knew there was death in the breeches of them
all.
There were swords in abundance ; swords from
Chicopee and Birmingham ; "Toledo Blades," that
spoke of Morish cavaliers, and scymitars from Da-
mascus, that carried him back in imagination until
he almost saw Abraham arm his servants from her
traders; David sending down^ his agents to bargain
for new supplies at her manufactories ; Peter adroitly
shaving the side of Malchus' head, and the stalwart
crusaders, parrying with their heavy broad swords,
— 109—
the well aimed thrusts of the wiley Moslems' steel ;
swords
" Whose diamonds lischt the passage of their blades,"
And Obed beheld battleaxes that had done
valiant service in the hands of Northman and
Hun; spears that had let hi light into many an
African countenance; bows that had sent forth ar-
rows of death, and knives well calculated to peel a
pale-face's crou'H. And Obed said "These are im-
plements of war for which there will be no use when
the lion lies down with the lamb, and the bear eats
straw like an ox." Then as he looked out across
the " Avenue of the Republic" and saw the mam-
moth cannons, mortars, turrets and other enginry
of battle, he thought what a falling off there will be
in the manufacture of crude metalic ores when all
these are beaten into '' plow shares and pruning-
hooks." As lie thought of that " good time coming,"
had he been a singer, Obed would have struck up
" O, that will be joyful, joyful,
When men learn war no more."
As it is, Obed leaves it witli Him who has promised
it, not doubting but in "the fullness of time" He
will fuimi.
—110—
Pipes.
Passing from among these implements of carn-
age, Obed sought the " arts of peace," and stood be-
fore the German dis|jlay of pipes. Remembering,
as he looked upon the "Meerschaums," "ambers"
and "ivories," with their rich mountings and artis-
tic "stems" that his r//-mf ancestor was a Teuton, he
almost broke forth, "O mine herf", mine frau, mine
Got — mine — mine — mineshmokebipe. Run, Shon!
pring me mine dobacca pox, gwick ! " But Obed
i-estrained himself; he never "dissipates." Obed
never dissipated but once. He was a "small boy."
It was a small cigar. It was a little smoke, but was
soon followed by as earnest an " Lord, Lord,
what shall I do ? " as mortal boy ever ])ut up to his
Maker. He wanted none to see him — no mother to
hold his head, nor has he had a hankering for the
weed, since.
The Pulpit.
But a little way from the marvelous display of
pipes, was an object very different in design, and
of much greater ii.tcrest to Obed and his compan-
ions.
-tll-
"The pulpit, anrl I name it fllled with solemn awe,
Must stand acknowledged, while the world shall stand,
The most important and efficient guard
Support, and ornament of virtue's cause,"
wrote Cowper his soul all aglow, and believing with
him in the truth of these sentiments, did Obed ap-
proach the " Berlin Pulpit." f
There it stood a thing of most perfect work-
manship, its five faces richly carved '" with scrip-
ture stories from the life of Christ," telling of that
long ago betrothal of the virgin to the jmt carpen-
ter ; of the "annunciation;" of the visit of Eliza-
beth ; of the manger " cradle " and the angel
throng, and of that lone flight to Egypt. As Obed
looked up, he saw surmounting the whole, delicate-
ly formed angels, their tiny wings outspread as if
to bear " good news " from earth to heaven, as in
that olden time real ones brought "glad tidings"
down to men. He admired the beautiful piece of
mechanism, in its great height, its exact propor-
tions, its ingenious devices. Obed admired, and as
he did so, he thought of the plain ci)anLry church
in which he was accustomed to worship, with its
old-fashioned pulpit, its plain seats, and the throng
of friends and neighbors who gathered there on the
return of each peaceful Sabbath ; and then he tried
to conceive the magnitude of the church that
—US-
should be fitted for such a pulpit ; of the richness
of its furnishings, and the wealth of those who
should Quter within its " pale." And then he re-
raembeped that the object before him was for Kinoj-
1} land^, and his mind runaway to another part of
the '' Buihlino; "' where he had seen the plain
" Board " behind which Whitefield stood more than
a hundred years ago, and />r/brc which, in response
to his impassioned appeals, multitudes prostrated
themselves, weef)ing. and inquired, as in a second
Pentecost, " Men and brethren what shall we do to
be saved." Obed recognized anew that "God is no
respector of persons " and calls all,
" To worship Him, who designs in humbles*; fame,
On wildest shore, to meet the upright in hearts ;"
he was renewedly thankful that the poor, as well as
the rich, "have the gospel preached to them."
Obe<l was thankful.
Scenes of the Crucifixion.
If the "Pulpit" with its rich designs was well
calculated to waken the devotional element in
Obed's nature, much more was a view wl'ich soon
after greeted him in a neighboring court — a court of
the "Father Land." Turning a sharp angle into
this court, amid the rich altar furnishings of some
—113-
stately cathedrnl, " He of whom Moses and tlie
Prophets did write," was before him. The hand of
the artist had, indeed, made tlie inanimate earth
speak. There, life size, was Jesus: Jesus upon the
cross, the death agony on his brow, the lips almost
quivering into " Father forgive them," the blood,
staining hands, and side, and feet ; Jesus, liis " beg-
ged " body delivered to his friends, his head resting
uf)OU his mother's knee, that knee that long ago had
supported him, a babe in Bethlehem, every linea-
ment of that.pallid countenance seeming to say, " It
is finished ; " Jesus in the tomb of the Arimathean,
those wounds dripping blood, but a face radiant with
the promise, " I am the resurrection and the life ; "
" Let not your hearts be troubled." Here Obed stood
and wondered, wept, and worshipped in the presence
of a mere human conception of the "Divine Trag-
edy." Many a time has he conned the words, whilst
others have given them the gush of song,
" There is a fountain filled wiLli blood
Drawn from Inimanael's veins ;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood,
Lo;e all their guilty stains,"
but never before had they come to him with such
" spirit and understanding " as-now.
Ere he turned away from this touching delinea-
tion of that greatest of sacrifices which was to come
-114-
in the ''fullness of timb," all those touching minis-
trations which marked the iji/jrimage of the Master;
that perjured court ; the ascent of Calvary ; the reiid-
ing of the veil ; the walking forth of the risen dead,
and the teslimon}' of that unearthly darkness, had
passed before his mental vision, and he wondered
whether there is not a hidden power to the "Mother
Church " in her multiform representations of angels,
divinities, saints and scenes, presented to her vo-
taries from rosy childhood to hoary age. Many a
man has read a piece of statuary or a painting who
could not peruse a printed page. "See tliou make
all things according to the pattern shewed thee in
tlie Mount," is an old injunction, but its spirit is not
yet dead.
Educational Interost.
Turnlno; from the figures which had so interest-
cd him, Obed bethought him of the special request
of a friend, who had already witnessed it, that he
should be sure and visit the Japanese Educational
exhibit. Now said friend looks at everything with
an eye to the "recompense of reward," and his visit
to the above named Educational Department had
"dried up the fountains " of liis benevolence so far
—115—
as missionar}^ subscriptions are concerned ; — he will
give no more to carry the gcspel to the crown-
shaved, Uifted Japs, or to cc^nvert the " pig-tailed
Celestials." "A new phase to an old idea," mused
Obed ; "twenty-five cents saved to the credit side of
your profit and loss account in the second century
of the republic, old boy, and a dead loss of a quarter
to the "American Board."
Reaching the court where the Japan school ap-
pliances were outspread. Obed did not so much won-
der at his friend's anti-mi'^sionary spirit. There
were numeral frames, writing charts, drawing cards,
cubes, cones, and quadrilaterals ; botanical speci-
mens, birds, insects, quadrupeds, and le.'ssons from
stones and minerals; air-pumps, electrical machines,
mechanical powers, and optical instruments; mor-
tars, retorts, crucibles, gasometers and other requis-
ites for the laboratory ; in short every appliance i'rom
" kindergarten " incentives up to university demon-
strations. On all these Obed looked, — looked with
interest, for although they were truly educational,
they were pre-eminently Oriental; very unlike the
manufactures of Wight man and Chamberlain.
Musing on the schools of the land of 8iogun
and the Mikado; of their juvenile classes ; of their
girls pressing the newly gathered flowers, the boys
—116-
classifying the results of their geological surveys,
and all uniting in the rhetorical exercises of (Jon:i-
position Day, Obed wondered if they still indulge
in the "heathenish practice of having the teachers
board 'round," and presuming from the merry
twinkling of the oblique eyes about him they do, he
said, "I will not follow the example of my friend,
and cut off my missionary support."
A- move of a few paces and Obed was at home —
was in the Educational Department of the Buckeye
State. The fathers had not failed to labor that Ohio
might be well represented, and if figures and
facts would do it, it was done. But the world did
not go to the Centennial to study figures and facts
on paper. The world went to see, and so did Obed.
Feeling thus he passed quickly into "Indiana," and
his state pride was humbled in presence of what the
Hoosiers had done. Facts and figures they had not
omitted, but beyond these they had brought school
methods, implements, and models. Therj in miniar
ture were some of their finest school buildings of to-
day, and over against them one of the long ago — a
" School House of 1827." On this Obed looked, and
his boyhood rose up before him. Again he thread-
ed his weary way through the woods to the old log
school house at the " four corners " and sat upon a
—1 17—
slab scat on the old puncheon floor; again, his back
to tlie teacher, he laid his "Elementary" on the
desk, a slab supported on pins driven into the wall,
and ate pop corn with a relish known only to boys
intent .on study; again he" toed the mark" and
ppelled "baker," and read, those vivid thoughts,
" Wood and coal will make a hot fire," and " I had
some green corn in July on a plate;" and those
thrilling tales of the " Old man who found the rude
boy stealing apples and desired him to come down,"
but boy-like, the 3'oungster " would not; " the maid
who counted her chickens so prehiaturely, and the
lawyer's bull which gored the farmer's ox; again,
he saw the Obed ox-team bringing up the family
portion of wood which he must needs chop for re-
cess and nooning pastimes; again he ate his dinner
of slapjacks and sausages and slid down hill on a
board until that part of his jeans most liable to
" wear and tear" became sadly demoralized, only to
appear to him next morning under a change of
colors; again he was in at the "barring out" and
enjoyed alike the master's discomfort, and the ap-
ples and cider furnished as a holida}^ consideration
foropeningthedoor ; all theseand many other remem-
brances of school boy life in the back woods flitted
through his mind, as he stood there in presence of
—118—
that life-like picture of the pnst. He saw himself
the owner of a "Kirkham" and the inheritor of a
"DaboU" and slate which had done service with
the older members of the family; he ciphered to the
Rule of Three; he was admitted to practice before the
Board of Examiners, and then went boarding round;''
he slept in the loft; slept in the "spare bed;" slept
with the head of the family; slopt with the child-
ren ; he heard the children say, " Master, mother
wants you to come next week," and " Mother dt)n't
want you to come 'til after butchering."
Thus in the presence of those model buildings
did Obed review much of his school life, and as he
thought of the then and the noiv of it, he said, " Pro-
gress in education, — progress in Japan, Ohio and
Indiana, progress everywhere,"
Turning to leave the Indiana display, Obed's
eye caught an object of interest before unobserved.
This was a fine photographic grouping of a '^ IJoosier
Family " — a father, motiier, and ten bright eyed lads
and lasses, all school goers ; the father and mother
as visitors, the children as pupils in various stages
of advancement. Upon inquiry of the attendant,
Obed learned that Samuel Jones is an honest
mechanic of the city of Indianapolis; an efficient
member of the School Board, and an earnest advo-
-119-
cate of the Public School S^'stern of the State. So
conspicuous indeed, have he and his family become,
that the proprietors of the educational exhibit con-
ceived the happy thought of presenting him and
his as a part of the same, that not only the State
but the World might see one of its benefactors ;
and Obed passed on, hoping that the Jones family
may increase and multiply until it shall become
more numerous than the family of SmitJi even, and
that there may never be found one among its mem-
bers advocating the single heir doctrine now becom-
ing so destructive of real American influence, but
that they may continue to fulfill the great law of
labor and love in all things. Obed trusts they
may.
Medicines.
Down upon the first floor again, Obed gave his
attention to the department of medicines and
chemicals for a time. This was glorious. To Obed
this was glorious. The man who cares most for his
kind — the man who in the language of the immor-
tal "ike "has "ascended into the deep arcana of
nature " — the man who has expended Ibrtunes in
traveling researches, has exposed life and health
— 120-
beneath tropic suns and amid polar frosts, that he
might bring comfort to the afflicted and "with his
loved presence," healing to all the ailmenls of
humanit}^ — yes, the patent medicine man was there,
and Obed gazed long and wistfully on his wares.
How could he do otherwise? He could not with-
out the basest ingratitude. There* were "elixirs,"
and " tonics," and " vermifuges," " pectorals," and
" expect-youraioit.s,^' warranted to cure "a thousand
and one" diseases each. Many of them have al-
ready relieved nine hundred and ninety-nine cases
of simple dcbilitij in its most chronic forms. There
were "restoratives" for bald crowiis; "dyes" for
locks prematurely gray ; "dentrifices" for the teeth ;
"balms" for the breath; "extracts" for pestering
freckles, and rogues (rouges) for maiden cheeks.
On all these Obed looked, and as he did so his
memory was busy. He thought of all the fading
grandmothers, nervous wives, and shattered hus-
bands, and frail Itumans of other classes that ever he
had seen ; he thought of his own cup-bonrd and
of the bushel or two of empty bottles that might
there be gathered up, and of the streams of Cod
Liver Oil and 'appetizers " he had swallowed, and
as his eye rested on gilted and glittering " Ayers,"
"Janes," "Halls," " Hooflands," and "Humbugs,"
—121—
bis wish was that all their patrons might live to
stand in presence of their show cases at the next
Centennial. This only could Obed wish.
Chemicals.
Satisfied with gazing at "bitters" aiid "pills,"
Obed began an inspection of other products of the
laboratory. Plere on the one hand was a mass of
alum, cubical in form, clear as crystal, and weigh-
ing only three tons. Alum enough, thought Obed,
to pucker the mouths of the boys of all Yankee
Land for the next hundred years. A little way from
this was a fine cylindrical mass clear as the other,
and weighing five tons. Another one of still dif-
ferent form, beautiful in its crystline arrangement,
weighed seven tons, whilst a fourth in the form of a
large parallelopiped, and weighing nine tons, was
traversed throughout its whole length by a " Mam-
moth Cave " artistically decorated with stalactites
and stalagmites, revealing crystals of most perfect
form. In presence of these an astirgent sensation
was fast stealing over the mind of Obed, and it was
with difficulty that he tried to imagine himself a
boy again ; sucking alum, nibbling his mother's
—122—
bees-wax and eating "choke-cherries" — choice de-
lights of juvenile years — of Obed's juvenile years.
Whether he would have shriveled entirely up,
Obed will not pretend to say, for just then a friend
said, "0 see there!" And he looked and beheld a
great pyramid of indigo — indigo sufficient to furnish
"rainbow tint" for a tliousand years. Obed never
looks upon indigo but it wakens fragrant memories,
and how could it be otherwise there in presence of
so muc'li Uhief I could not. To Obed it could not.
Again he saw the old time home with its broad
cheerful "fire-place;" again the rolls, white, fleecy
rolls, were spun; again the skeins were "knotted;"
again the great earthen jar was brought out and set
"in its ace istomed place;' again there sounded
through the house " notes of preparation," and for
long weeks, manipulated by the mother's hand, the
" savory odors " of the " dye tub " rose fresher than
the " balm of a thousand flowers," precursors they
of sky-blue mits for misses hands, and '"clouded"
socks for boyish feet. No mothers now with coloreil
hands. D\ing, they lived ; living, the^^ dyed, but
science has despoiled their daughters of those annual
rounds our mothers so well knew. "My lads, now
mind your p's," no longer enters the list of house-
hold words, though many a stalwart naan remem-
—123—
bers them, as delicate " requisitions " from matron-
ly lips. And Obed said, "How wonderful the
change since I was a boy."
Sundries,
Many and curious were the " ides " and " ites,"
the "ates" and "phates" and other compounds,
some liquids, others solids, upon which Obed look-
ed. Had one-half the list been presented to his
grandmother, the good old lady would have shaken
her head and quoted Solomon on " many inventions."
She carried the progenitor of Obed, with his eleven
brothers and sisters, safely through the whooping
cough, the "canker-rash," the measles, the itch and
the other diseases incident to Connecticut childhood
with a few simple remedies, as blue mass, lobelia,
catnip, sulphur and molasses, " nanny tea," and " oil-
of-spank." These would now avail little in the
" ager " district of the West. But Obed does not stop
to particularize. A great mass of "Extract of Ijog-
wood"*over against a fine display (>f "Arnold';;
Writing Fluid," wakened memories of " lang snmic,"
of the times he took basket aud axe and gathered
oak bark and alder from the forest to mi.K with lug-
wood chips, that the homespun might assume a
—124—
cinnamon tinge or a sable hue, as a good mother
willed. Then, the dying done, Obed prepared liis
school-boy's supply of ink. It was not proof against
-the attacks of Jack Frost, 'tis true, but then it was
the best he had, the best he could get, and — Obed
had wandered to the front of a magnificent display
of Aikin, Lambert & Go's Gold Pens, and as he gazed
upon the broad "commercial" the stately "Con-
gress " the pliable " corresponding" and the delicate
"Lady's," in his imagination, he again dipped the
honored "goose-quili" of long ago in the vial of
domestic manufacture, hanging on the wall; with
boyish care he made his " pot hooks " and " tram-
mels," little dreaming what ihey had to do. with
forming letters, and many times caring less ; again
he saw the " Jolly old Pedagogue," and the peda-
gogue that was not so jolly, his hair and ears loaded
with un wrought quills and half-used pens; again he
heard those oft repeated cries " Teacher, mend my
pen ;" " Master, this pen splatters;" " School ma'ain,
this pen makes too broad a mark." These were
pleasant reflections. To 01)ed they were peasant,
and might have continued long had not some one
just then said " My gracious," and looking up he
saw on the one hand a rich display of "Joseph's"
" Best Steel Pens," and on the other agoi'geous case
—125-
of " A. W. Faber's celebrated pencils." " Not much
like the 'plummet' of the long ago" said Obed to
himself, as he remembered the long strip of lead
that served alike for ruling his paper, or sinking his
line in the fishing time. As Obed turned to leave
those standard pens and pencils, he wondered if
Gillott and Faber would be at the next Centennial,
or if the manufacture of their wares is as conducive
to health as the spinning of thread to the "Coates "
family or the compounding of cologne to the tribe
of " Johannes Johannessen," of whom several hun-
dred genuine "originals" still reside in the city of
" many smells." Obed wondered, and wandered on.
Knives and Forks.
A pencil is worth little without a knife, and
this was to be bad at the Centennial. Obed saw
knives — knives from the tiny " single blade " with
which a lady may clean her nails, to the murderous
" Bow II'," with which " chivalry " was wontloavenge
itself, and the reeking '■ scal[»or," used by the noble
red m:'.n in adorning the walls of his lodge with
ornaments chipped irom the crowns of our fathers,
a fine art not entirely uncultivaled on our western
frontiers to this day. Obed §aw knives from the
—126—
shops of America and England, from Germany and
Brazil, from Mexico and all the Orient ; knives
with pearl handles, and handles of ebony and ivory,
all inlaid and beautified with silver, and gold, and
precious stones ; with blades, saws, files, forceps,
forks, spoons, gimlets, cork-screws, screw-drivers,
wrenches, hammers, chisels and boot-jacks, and a
tacit assurance that by the next Centennial there
will be added a chamber set, a dining room and
kitchen, a cook stove, a horse and buggy, one cow,
a small vegetable garden, and a chbck for groceries,
with coupons attached. On all these Obed looked,
and as he did so, he wondered if the Yankee ele-
ment is not to be found in the soul of all boys,
whether amid the bogs of Ireland, the higher
culture of the Fatherland, or developing the infantile
cue of a Ching-Chang, or reverently bowing, a ten-
year-old follower of the Prophet. Obed wondered,
and as he did so, he remembered the long ago, when
he became the sole owner of a six-and a-fourth-cent
"dog knife," a genuine animal, with "pot metal"
body, legs set for running, a well-formed head, the
sj)ring protruding as a stump tail, and blade for
tongue. That knife was a treasure over which Obed
gloated with pride, and which gained him the
enmity of many a boy less fortunate. Then came
—127—
the glory that the ownership of a real " Barlow,"
brought with it, and Gbed said " Alas, poor Bar-
low ! he lives only in the memory of men growing
gray ; no one has brought Jiis knife to the exposition."
Thus Obed said and passed to the inspection of
knives and forks. Of these he found not a few,
coming from many lands. And Obed said, "Most
people now use knives and forks, but it was not al-
ways so ; and still, Ah Sin and his Orient cousins
adhere to the usageof their fathers; Ah Sin and his
cousins do."
There were knives and forks with bone and
wooden handles, with handles of horn and ivory ;
knives and forks with blades and tines of burnished
steel, and tripple plated with silver ; there were
"teas," and "dinners," and "carvers." On all
these the world had done her best, but as he stood
in the presence of the "Beaver Falls" exhibit, Obed
said "Columbia leads the van in these." Es-
pecially did he admire that giant carving knife of
seven foot blade, and ivory handle, and rich letter-
ing, and perfect polish, and gorgeous mountings,
and its companion fork ; and he pictured to him-
self the man who could handle such implements.
Then there arose before his imagination a gobbler
"worthy of its steel," and a great thanksgiving
—128—
table was spread ; the knives were like broad
swords, the plates four feet across, the soup tu-
reens held half a barrel, the coffee cups, two gallons
each; they brouglit in potatoes and turnips by the
bushel; the slices of bread were six feet long ; the
apple pies ten inches deep; pumpkin pies and
everything else were in proportion ; and when all
was ready a race of giants came in and sat down.
A couimensurate grace was said, when the master
of ceremonies arose to carve, and Obed looked
up, and up, and — "What are you thinking about
now?" said a sharp voice — the massive walls
and lofty columns vanished, — all was gone, — and
Obed demurely followed Mrs. Obcd and her friend,
revolving in his mind how Solomon and the favorite
Mrs. S. managed when they gave the first dinner
party in the new palace royal, their table 'spread
with dishes of gold, and not a fork to -use; how
Cffisar and his friends must have looked at the im-
perial table, dipping their soj> and tearing their
meat with their fingers, and how Miles Standish
supported, at the table on the Mayflower,
"The laudable use of foi'ks,
Brought into custom there as they were in Italy,
To the sparing of napkins."
Thus musing, Obed realized that there are few
things that more betoken progress than a simple
—129—
fork ; at first a stick, two uncouth iron prongs, two
— three — four well-phxted tines, and one of these
a blade, with wliich a peasant girl a grace displays
that queens might once have envied. And he was
glad, glad he had interviewed Birmingham and
Beaver Falls. Obed was glad.
Pottery.
Nothing more natural than that knives and
forks sliould suggest di-hes to the Obeds, and so it
was. In a German court they surveyed the " Royal
Pottery" of Berlin, in all its polish and beauty.
There were plates, and vase^, and flagons, and beak-
ers, and coolers all of the choicest wares and richest
patterns, embellished from the paintings of Raphael,
Afurillo and others of the masters, and spreading
out before the beholder many a royal palace, feudal
castle and rich landscape of the Fatherland. On all
these Obcd might freely gaze, but nothing more, for
they were for palace tables and imperial halls. Obed
perceived they were for sale — for sale at prices
ranging all the way from S500 to -fj/J'lO per set, or
single articles. And Obed said, " it was not always
thus in the land of Germania. Once Anglo Saxon,
fiery llun, and warlike tribes long since extinct,
—ISO-
ranged her interminable forests; and kings, and
dames of noble birth, and their retainers all, ate their
meat from wooden trenchers or from iron pots, and
drank their wine from flagons rude." All this Obed
said and there rose up before him visions of pewter
platters, blue edged plates, and sets of figured blue;
and with dishes such as these he knew many a
cheery housewife had been. happy as a queen, and
had sighed for nothing better. Stepping just around
a screen he stood in presence of gray stone beer
mugs and pitchers, imitating in their forms and
their blue trimmings old German wares. Their
forms were quaint and figures curious, and here are
specimens of the homely rhymes rudely inscribed
on some of them :
" From sour beer and a scolding wife
May heavea protect thee all thy life."
to which Obed fully subscribes. Again
"To none will fate true pleasure bring,'
Who does not love, and drink, and sing."
With the orthodoxy of this latter he is not satisfied.
But Germany was not alone in specimens of the
ceramic art. China and Japan were there in orien-
tal display. Semi-barbaric as they are, Christendom
has produced no such porcelain as our oblique-eyed
—131—
cousins of the house of Shem brought to compare
with that of the enlightened sons of Japheth and the
sable descendants of Ham. There were dishes
superlatively fine, with designs and colorings
characteristic of the East; and vases — vases urn
shaped, and shaped every way ; vases standing on
their own bottoms and vases standing on bottoms of
birds and beasts ; vases covered with Eastern scenery
and Mongolian devices; vases high and vases low,
— as low as $5,000 ; vases whose capacity would he
measured by the barrel. On all these Obed looked
in wonder and astonishment, but most on the vases.
He looked on these, and as' he did so, remembering
the ' Portlands " that stand on his own mantle, and
Mrs. Obed's dahlias and roses, pinks and posiVs,
wondered of the flowers of the Orient ; of sepals and
petals, broad and out-spreading ; of their pistils like
walking sticks ; of the size of a boquet proportioned
to one of the vases, and of the amount of aroma tliat
would float out from it ; of the dimensions of a parlor
suited for such a display, and wiiat a nice thing a
brace of them, placed upon a piiljjit, would bo fir an
embarrassed minister to hide bdiind. On all tlieso
things and many more, Obed was musing, wlieu
" Chin-chan-chang-che-whang-likee " fell upon liis
ear. Mrs. Obed and her friend laughed. "John"
—132—
looked at Obed ; Obed looked at " John," then they
bowed, and the Obeds passed on.
Then came a survey of pottery from England,
bearing unmistakable evidence of John Bull ; pot- ■
tery bearing the impress of the Russian bear; pot-
tery from Spain, tasty and cheap — a nice water
cooler for 25 cts ; pottery from Turkey and Egypt,
including nice bottles of goats skin of just the pat-
tern the Miss Jethros were carrying when Moses,
old bachelor as he was, played the gallant, thirty-
four hundred years ago; — the same thcitllagar car- '
ried out into the desert long years before, when
Abraham kindly dismissed her on account of the
" late unpleasantness " between herself and Mrs.
Abraham. As Obed looked he said, " How many
things the Father has left to connect the present
with the j)ast, and to substantiate the truth of His
word!" Thus musing Obed passed into a Peruvian
court, where he saw pottery which, if not so rich,
was rarer than all. Three thousand years ago the
potter placed his clay upon the wiieel, and here in
the Centennial was the result; vessels shaped like
three legged men with tlie dropsy ; like stuttering
boy with new cap, sh')rt shirt, and barefooted; like
limbless ladies with their jaws bound up ; like
quadrupeds that walk, and reptiles that crawl ; like
—133-
iiihabitants of air and sea ; vessels all covered with
curious symbols which when read will reveal the
history of the strange people who formed them, and
builded the great mounds in which they have been
preserved for hoary centuries. Not only upon this
potter}^ did Obed feast his eyes, but upon the potters
themselves. Yes, old Mr. and Mrs. Incus and a
number of the Junior Incases were at the Centen-
nial. For three thousand years had they patiently
waited for an opportunity to visit Yankee Land.
Marvelous patience beside which that of the man of
Uz fades away ! But now their desire was gratified.
Though they were a little dry and somewhat bony in
appearance, the people came and paid their respects
to them, but Darwin failed to draw out the secret of
their origin. To Mrs. Obed and her friend, these
distant relatives were obj^^cts of special interest and
the}^ often speak of them, and Obed remembers them
in his dreams
Dolls.
A woman of sense always takes to anything in
the form of child! lood as natural !}'• as a duck does
to watei". hence Obed was not at all surprised when
he found Mrs. 0. and her friend standine; in front
—134—
of the exhibit oi artifciul innocency, and enthusias-
tically discussing the rare beauty of both form and
finish. By way of interlude, just to give them
breath, Obed was remarking that so far at least as
docility is concerned, art had made an improvement
on nature, when a fine old. lady who stood by, ob-
serving the rolling of the eyes of one in the hands
of an exldbitor exclaimed, " La me, sir, they are
almost as natural as if they were home-made," to
which Obed could but reply, " Very natural, indeed,
mam," and hurried off to inspect a " Chinese Bed-
stead," marked "$4,500." It was said to have been
carved out with a knife, and bore representations of
everything hideous in heaven, earth, and sea, and
as he gazed upon it Obed remarked to himself, " If
there is anything better calculated than a mince
pie and a quart of hard cider, to give a man the
night mare, it would be to sleep upon that bedstead.
It was fit only for " Celestial " climes.
Norwegian Figures.
" Life is real, life is earnest,"
sang Longfellow years before Centennial Exposi-
tions were thought of, and his words came flitting
through the mind of Obed as he entered the " Nor-
wegian Court ; " for there he saw what no other
— 13S—
nation thought to put on exhibition — the varied
phases, of real life among the great mass of the
people.
Here in a little corner, upon mimic snow, was
placed a sledge with reindeer attached, and pater
fami/ias, well wrapped in woolens and furs, seated
for the long drive,
" Over frosty Lapland dreary,"
whilst his better half stood by handing his lighted
pipe, the pedal extremities of a "Baby mine " pro-
truding from beneath the left arm. She looked the
ver}'- picture of womaidy meekness, and wife-like
obedience. To Obed the ])icture was one of rare
interest, and his feelings took to themselves wings
of pros}', and audibly arose in these words,
"Happy the man whose fortunes share
A woman of such tender care. "
Turning to see wdiat the impression w.is upon the
ladies, Mrs. Obed curtly replied, " I'd like to see
myself lighting a [)ipe or carrying a young one for
any man living." To this her friend nodded assent,
and Obed responded, '" So would I."
Just acro:s the aisle was another group. It was
the old, old story — an empty cradle; a filled coffin,
plain and simple; a young mother bowing under
this her first great affliction, whilst the holy man of
—136-
God, book in hand, stood by administering words
of consolation. As Obed looked, tears of grati-
tude welled up in his eyes, that the great Father
had left his own band of loved ones all unbroken.
Just over the railing, at a little cross legged
table, sat an old father and mother, crowned with
the glory of years, he reading the " Book," outsj)read
before him; she busily plying the needles that knit-
ted socks for little feet of other homes, as in the long
ago they had for the heads of those homes, then
prattlers upon the hearthstone wliero now but two
again sat down.
It were almost needless to refer to the old
"Tinker" intently working over a worm eaten time
piece, whilst his " hale old wife " pours some quest-
ion of interest into his ear, closely observed by the
damsel in plain homespun, aud by the bashful
swain, looking as though life or death, to him, de-
pended upon the coloquy going on at the table. It
was only a repetition of what has transpired thous-
ands of times in well i*egulated families — the refer-
ence of a " popped question " from the hanger on
at the gate to the " powers that be " — a mere matter
of form, good for nothing unless |ja'pa comes down
with a pleasant affirmation and a commcnsura'opilf^
of dust.
-137-
Pltimes.
Away down in the south-western corner of tho
buihlino; was a small court of South African ex-
liibits attracting- but little attention, and yet it con-
tained bugs and beetles and birds of rare beauty, as
well as grains, and animals that had passed through
the hands of the taxidermist; but the most pleasing
tiling to Obed was a nest of ostrich eggs, from the
center of which waved a pbtmc of several feathers of
gigantic proportions. As he stood contemplating
these and the natural history of their parentage, re-
membering that Uncle Sam pays only $10,000,000
annually for this single product to please the fancy
of his fair daughters, he exclaimed, "Cheap enough '
for the transfer of so much beauty from tho tail of
one bird to the head of another."
Machinery Hall.
Five hundred feet away from the Main Build-
ing stood Machinery Hall. Of its wonders none
can tell. Its wealth of devices in wood and stone, in
iron and brass, in copper and bronze; in science and
art, in literature and aesthetics; for peace and war,
for air and earth, and under the earth ; for making
toys and constructing locomotives, was an over-
—138—
wbelmingly eloquent sermon on, " But man has
so "ig-lit out many inventions." To but one of its
lessons can Obed refer, the most impressive of them
all, the climax of the Exposition, the
" Corliss Engine."
Before this be stood in wonder and astonish-
ment; around it again and a,<;ain be walked ad-
miringf the symmetry of its proportions, tlie com-
pleteness of its workmanship, and the perfect
unifurmity of its motion, sustaining and vivifying
the mechanical irorhl around. Then bis mind ran
back to the opening day of the Exposition. The
oration had been pronounced, the venerable Whit-
tier had read his sim})le "Song of a Hundred
Years," the Orchestra had thundered forth its grand
Anthem, General Grant had delivered his character-
istic speech, "I now declare the Exposition open,"
when tbe grand procession, headed by the President
nnd the Empress of Brazil, followed immediately by
Dom Pedro and Mrs. Grant, and made up of the
wealth, refinement and enterpris^^ of many lands,
began its triumphal march amid the gorgeous dis-
play of the Main Building. The Hall reached, all
was silent and motionless as the 2;rave. The saw-
—139 —
3'er stood at his buzz ; the weaver stood by liis loom
and the spinner at her " Jenny ; " the " Editor sat
in his sanctum ; " the pressman stood at his form,
and the devil, ink pot in hand; — ail over the vast
building every artisan was, statue-like, in his place.
On the procession moved amid the universal quie-
tudp until the Engine was reached. Then a plain
unpretending man, stepping down, as'sisted the Em-
i^^ress and Mrs. Grant to a place on the platform and
stationed their husbands at the re-^pective valves of
the Engine. When all was ready, turning to tlie
Emperor, he said, " Your highness will please turn
that crank," and immediately the ponderous beam
above began to move, then turning to the President,
"Your Excellency will please turn tiiat crank," and
no sooner had he who had commanded from Don-
aldson to Appomatto.x:, obeyed, than thirteen miles
of shafting was in harmonious motion, and fourteen
ar;re.s of operatives were busy at their respective avo-
cations. Never was there a grander sight, or a more
impressive lesson than wlien, in presence of the
educated, the honored, the elite of two hemispheres,
dignity, heroism and royally, did the liidding of a
simple American mechanic. Never since the
Master said, " My Father worketh hilher'to, and I
work," has labor been so dignified as wlien Emperor
— 140—
and President did tlie bidding of Geo. H. Corliss
npon the platform of the Titan of the Exhibition.
State Buildings.
If there is any advantage in advertising, Kan-
sas has had it from the days of the " Omnibus
Bill," down to the time of the "Exodus," in her
"bleeding," her " Ossawattomie," whose
"Soul Roes marching on,"'
in her grasshoppers, her tornadoes, her land
sciiemes; but nowhere better than in her Centen-
nial exhibit, a very exposition in itself.
Joining with her sister of " bug " notoriety,
they placed upon the grounds a building suited to
a display of their air, soil, water, and mines ; and
this display they made to the satisfaction of every-
body, particularly themselves. Entering the build-
ing, the first thing that attracted attention was "In-
dependence Bell," constructed irom Kansas grain
by Kansas fingers, its gourd clapper of such dimen-
sions as would have made Jonah's eyes water could
he have seen it when his own vine withered away;
then came corn stalks well calculated for "Liberty
poles," and these were loaded with " ears " any one
of which would have afforded an amj)le meal of
" succotash " for an old time family. The wheats,
_141 —
oats, barleys, grapes, fruits, and timbers, were simp-
ly enormous, and as the Commissioner expatiated
on the rapidity of their growth, Obed thought how
useless a time-piece in such a land, where the flight
of the hours might be marked b}' the inches of
vegetable growth.
At the left of the main entrance was the Color-
ado display. Here were ores of the precious metals,
and metals not so precious; coals, and building
stones, but most imposing of all, the motar/crie of
Mrs. Maxwell, " Huntress of the West," the most
artistically arranged collection of animals, birds
and reptiles upon the grounds; so life-Wke, indeed,
as almost to make one imagine himself amou": the
living realities in the fastness of their mountain
homes.
Passing along " State Avenue," Obed could but
bestow a passing glance upon the buildings of the
different States. l-[ere was the unique house built
by the "Canucks," speaking volumes for Canada's
I'ich resources in luinl)er and timber. A little far-
ther along wns the more imposing building of Cali-
fornia, displaying her beautiful myrtles and other
lumber and rich products, to fine advantage ; and
then came the mystic " Mis-^issippi Home," with the
long niosscs suspended from its eaves.
—142—
The Connecticut building wns the home of
Obed's cousins. Ashe passed across the yard lie
refreshed himself with a draught from
"The old oaken bucket, the iron iDouud bucket,
Tlie moss covered bucket that hnng in the well."
Euteiing he was permitted to regale himself upon
the savory odors of a wooden ham seasoned willi
nutmeg made from a bough of the " Charter Oak,"
slowly cooking over a tire ignited from a spark
struck from a horn Mint.
Some state buildin'js were more im{)osing, oth-
ers more unique, but none were so gratifying to the.
eye of Ohed*is that of Ohio. Passing through the
office and general.lounge roont, he fi:ially drew up
in the "Parlor." Here he saw the veritable apron
which the great Father of his country used to wear
after he was permitted to see " more light," and to go
in and out with the "craft" from "labor"' to "re-
freshment." The great (juestion wassett'ed. Truth-
ful (ieorge did ste}) within the " Mystic Brother-
hood," and however it may be with tiiose who " ride
the goat" in these degenerate days, certain it is that
AVashington always met upon the " level," and
parted upon the "square."
Without any dispara;::ment to either " Empire"
or "Keystone" there was an honest nride in the
-143-
heart of Obed as he contemplated the " Buckeye "
buildhig, showino^ a=! it did the varied building re-
sources of his native state ; and remembering her
rich agricultural and other products he penciled in
his memorandum,
" From her lake that bears bold Indian name
Away to the " Beautiful " river,
There is naught of the earth, and naught of the air,
But praises the Bountiful Giver.
In her forests are choicest ribbings of oak.
Her streams furnish glorious fishing ;
Then her highlands yield wheat, her lowlands give corn,
By our only properly wishing.
She has iron in store, and coal even more.
And the lime that's used in the " pigging ; "'
Not a man in all her borders need want.
If he's only the "grit" to "keep digging."
As her fathers are men of a right worthy sorb,
So their wives are with gooriness a-brimming ;
And her boys, full of true American blood,
Have fair sisters not given to " trimming."
Of our dear Uncle Sam she's beconiing the pet,
And of " Presidents," bids to be "Mother : "
Yet she bears her rich laurels in manner so meek.
As not e'en to offend any other."
United. States Department.
The General Government did not forget to put
itself on record in a special buiMing where Uncle
—144—
Sam might exliibit himself. This he did, in part
by marching out his sohliers and marines of every
period of the Republic, and Obed went on a tour
of '"inspection." lie found Jark Tar and his lineal
descendants, from the days of Paul Jones to tbe
noble boys who made up the Castor-Oil Fleet, ready
to tip the tarpaulin or strike for
" A home on the rolling deep,"
as duty might require. Troopers and infantry,
sharp shooters and artillery men, had alike reported
for duty ; old Revolutionary, patriot of 1812, hero
of Mexico, and boy in blue, artificially done, all
were there. Old musket, flint-lock riHe, and
"Springfield;" horse pistol" and seven shooter;
twelve pounder, mortar, " Paxhan " and " Needle
Gun," all said " Here we are ; take us."
The war [)ower of the country, past and pres-
ent, was only a tythe of the features of interest.
Many things brought from the Departments at
Washington were on exhibition. Many relics of
the Revolution were to be seen; among them sev-
eral brass and other cannons presented to the coun-
try l)y La Fayette. These pounders of the olden
time contrasted strangely with the modern field
pieces around them, and when he remembered the
service they did the country, as did also the gallant
—145—
young Frenchman, at whose command they uttered
their voice of thunder in favor of American liberty,
the feelings of Obed became almost reverential, and
he pities the man who did not give wa}^ to his feel-
ings in presence of these, of the old " First Flag,"
the chair of " Old Hickory " and the " camp chest "
of Washington.
The Woman's Pavilion.
This building was the conception and property
of ladies. Here the women of the country made a
fine display of their genius, and daily exhibited their
mechanical and manufacturing skill. Sewing ma-
chines, knitters, looms for laces and other fine
fabrics, were to be seen in great abundance, many
of them in active operation. Here were many
articles of goods such as ladies are specially interest-
ed in, and with most bewitching smiles, the fair
venders importuned Obed to buy, and how could he
resist, for the ladies had already liberally patronized
"Ah Sin" and "Abdel Sheik f"
When they had gazed their fill on veils, laces,
shawls, ribbons, embroideries, bonnets, dolls, robes,
and other products of female handicraft, and had
patronized a red hot candy stand, Obed called a po-
—146—
liceman to show them tbe"Whist]e." Thislittleobject,
a marvel in its line, was the work of a New England
lass, who cruelly withheld her person/and even her
name from the interview'mq world, and Obed, so far
as he knows, was the only one so fortunate as to
obtain a photograph of the fair artist. This lady
had taken all the poetry out of a time-honored ad-
age, by actually wringing n pig's tail without des-
troying the curl, and giving, as the result of her
—147—
ingonait}^ a veritable whistle, to which was append-
ed this Byronic verse :
" There's a proverb wide known,
As Scotland's famed tliistle,
That out of a pigs's tail, you
Can't make a whistle ;
We believe we've accomplished
That wonderful thing.
And those who do wish to
May make this tail sing,"
and Obcd tried it to
"The girl I left behind me,"
with admirable success.
In the New England Kitchen.
Obed had heard of the " New England Kitch-
en," and as raa}^ very well be supposed, was desir-
ous of seeing for himself how his ancestors formerly,
and his, lo him, unseen cousins, still live, so in his
early rambles about the grounds he took in the
"Kitchen," of course. It was just ns he had
expected. The double log-frame house with its
chimneys set without and the broad open iire place
within; the little yard in front with its posies such
as our mothers loved before the days of hot houses
—148-
and importations of flowers, the morning glory, the
'stertion, the touch-me-not, and the holly hock, with
here and there a plant of more useful kind, as a beet
or a cabbage. To Obed, with his old time notions,
these things were pleasant, and as he saw placed in
great letters above the doorway " Welcome to all,"
he entered, and as he had done a thousand times
in the days of his boyhood in his Western home,
seated himself on the rustic seat under the " stoop "
for grateful rest.
For a time the mind of Obed was busy with the
memories of other days — of days long gone when he
gathered in the cool of the summer evening with
father and m.other, brothers and sisters with whom
he will gather about the doorway no more in the
evening time, but with whom he hopes to meet about
*'the great wliite throne," and listen to stories of
New England times and customs, and of a six week's
journey through an almost pathless wilderness to
" New Connecticut." Of such things Obed mused
until his revcry was broken, and the " latch string"
being out he arose and entered. Obed entered the
" Kitchen."
There, just as he had expect ^d, was the great
"family room" with its broad, grateful fire place,
over which hung the apples and the pumpkins to
dry; the big wheel stood by the front window, with
Aunt Phebe by its side trying to untangle the yarn
which Jedediah had unwittingly tangled ; the old
rifle and powder horn hung from their hooks on tlie
wall; the " pewter platters " were in their appro-
priate places on the shelf; the old family Bible with
long s's lay upon the stand, and by its side the well
thummed hymn book which many a time at the
family altar, at church, and when loved ones have
been laid away, has famished words for " Mear,"
"Coronation," and "Old Hundred;" pennyroj'al,
cat-nip, and boneset, hung drying from the rafters;
corn was braided and hungup for the next year's
use, and the twins were asleep in tlie cradle, whilst
"Jowler" and "Tabby" were quietly dozing in
the shade. As Obed looked around on all these
things, and the many others that were about him,
he thought of the time when, snugly " tucked up "
in the bed in the cornei', he would quietly raise his
head to see how "sparking" was done, as his sist-
ers, older than himself, sat with their beaux by the
dimly burning fire. It was naughty for him to do
so, but Obed was a 6o,y. Then he remembered how
he disliked to a])ply himself at the old "dasher
churn," and how he enjoyed the ' app e bees" — for
just a few minutes, and then longed for the games
— ISO—
of "hide-and-seek," "button," and "snap-and-catch-
them." Obed remembered all these.
But a police-man said, " Move on," and Obed
moved — moved to the bed room, where was the old
bed wliose clothes did service six generations ago,
and whose testers stood as of old, while the ancient
curtains fell gracefully abo it them. Aunt Doritha
was here, mild as a matron born, and pointed out to
Obed the looking glass before which her great-grand-
mother's aunt's great-grand-father's wife's husband
used to shave himself, and a little wheel on which
was spun two hundred years ago any yarn but
" street j'-arn." Here, too, Obed met Tabitha Sprig-
gins, of Sprigginsville, relict of Obediah Spriggins,
she that was a Bumpus. As she had done for the
last sixty years, widow Spriggins was diligently
plying her needle, never forgetting to sto|> at frequent
intervals, tap her snuff box and mention some good
quality or deed of the long departed Obediah. Obed
would gladly have dropped some words of consola-
tion in her ear, but circumstances forbade, and he
passed on. Obed passed on with a feeling of sad-
ness for the once fair Bumpus.
Experiencing a feeling of "goneness;^' Obed v.'ent
to the wicket where Dolly sat as a receiver of custom,
and bargained for a quarter for a " New England
—151—
lunch." And he ate his bread, butter, and berries,
drank his tea, and was satisfied. Not so with some
finely dressed ladies who sat at the table with him.
They ate, grumbled, and slily filled their pockets
with doughnuts. And Obed said to himself, " You
cannot always tell the character of a person by the
clothes he wears." This from long experience is
Obed's belief.
And Obed watched Patience, and Huldah, and
Prudence, dressed in their simple attire, with tidy
caps and graceful ruffles, and he thought of the
time when Jonathan, and Hezekiah, and 'Zekiel
should bashfully come and take these to themselves,
leaving Diana, and Ke^ia in "single blessedness,"
still to grace the "old New England home," for
Obed has heard it said that it is not complete with-
out a maiden auntie or two —and he said 'tis good
to have maiden aunts ; many shall arise and call
them blessed.
And Obed left the " Kitchen," glad that he had
been there — glad that it had been put on the ground,
thus connecting the old with the new. Obed
believes in holding on to the old land marks that
connect us with our fathers. If we forsake New
England institutions, where shall we be found ?
— 1S2—
In Agricultural Hall.
Refreshed with sleep and invigorated by a
hearty breakfast, Obed was ready for a day of real
Centennial work. Having been reared on a farm
he naturally gravitated to Agricultural Hall. His
first impression was that he was at a trial of mow-
ing machines, for on entering he was greeted with
a view of Klrbi/, Backcije, Champion, Excelsior, and a
host of others, some with, others without reaper at-
tachments, but all in vigorous motion, doing their
best — doing their best in Agricultural Hall without
a thing to cut. As he gazed about on these highly
finished products of American ingenuit}', Obed
thought of tlie time when " Armstrony-'s " was the
only available machine, and then in his im-
agination he saw the long rows of them that used
to gather in the early morning, of the days " lang
syne," in the great meadows and after a brisk
tune f/rou'fr^ out of " Qaennebogs," commence that
stately swing than which none was ever more grace-
ful. Again Obed heard the voice of the father as
he said, " Keep down your /iff/ boys, and tend to your
pointing out;'' agaiu ho beheld the double swath;
again he engaged in the run ; again he heard the
shout that' at'osg when th§ leader's scythe was
— 1S3—
" grassed." And Obed sighed for the good old days,
for he always loved the hang of a scythe — the hang
of a scythe in an apple tree and a seat in the shade
with the ten o'clock lunch spread before him.
Obed passed among the Thrashers and remem-
bered the solemn music the sturdy farmer was wont
to make, as flail in hand, he brought down the
swingel on the golden grain, and the ga}'' times the
boys enjoyed as they rode Bud- and Berry around
the great barn floor to get the c/rist tramped out for
to-morrow's milling.
Among the bright steel plows and well wrought
sub-soilers, Obed met a genuine specimen of '"76,"
an old time plow, with wooden mould board which
some one had thought to bring in to contrast with
the implements of "these degenerate days." As
he surveyed it he said, " 'Tis well ; the age of iron
is better than the age of wood, at least in the age of
plows." Thus Obed said, and passed rapidly on
from one class of agricultural implements to anoth-
er, ever finding some strong points of contrast be-
tween the old and the new, furnishing rich fields
for reflection.
Obed could not content himself with a view of
agricultural implements only, found in the great
Hall devoted to their display. There were a thous-
— 1S4—
and objects demanding attention, to many of these
he paid his respects. He stood' among ice-cream
freezers and heard their respective merits discussed
until his temperature fell below the sweating point;
then he went up to view the old wind-mill with its
ponderous wings, speaking their volumes of other
times, and other men. Here was a display of canned
fruit, put up by a patent process, making Obed's
mouth water, at the very sight, but then between
the snowy white pears and him there was strong
glass, and Obed tasted not. A little way off he
espied a very fine ox, and having an eye for the
bovine, he hastened to a close inspection. It was of
a dark red color, and weighed 3,200 pounds. It
was a very quiet ox, and Obed was pleased at its ex-
treme docility. Though the flies buzzed about, it
switched not its tail ; and as the ladies waved their
parasols in front of it to point out the singular intel-
ligence protrayed in the high forehead, it never
winked. Then Obed observed it had a glass eye,
and he said, '"Tis only stuffed — stuffed for the Cen-
tennial." After this he observed many exhibits
of stuffing — stuffing incidents not to this country
only, but to foreign lands. He visited the depart-
ment of fishes. A few swam in aquariums, but most
were stuffed, fishes, turtles, seals and whales. "Old
—188—
Abe" was there proud as when in the hour of bat-
tle, he perched above the brave Wisconsin boys.
No other bird fluttered. All were stuffed. In the
distance Obed &aw some fine "Chester Whites"
looking as though just ready to grunt with hoggish
satisfaction. On close inspection he found the> too
had glass eyes and weighed 500 pounds, stuffed.
And he said, " This is an age of stuffing."
As he walked on he saw many fine specimens
of the lands that did not admit of anything artificial.
He gazed with delight on the great " cotton pavil-
ion " of Brazil, and the rich grains and fruits of
the "Empire" in grand display beneath it ; on the
woods and dyes, and gums of all South America;
upon all varied mineral and animal resources.
Mexico was there with all her mahogany, her indi-
go, and cactuses in abundance. There were pines
and furs from British Columbia and Labrador, and
the works of Indian artificers from the frozen North.
And Obed musing said these lands are but the sub-
urbs of "Uncle S.im " — suburbs of Uncle Sam.
In the great day of Reform when we get turtle soup
from Cuba, they will be our turtles; when we have
killed all the Blackfeet and Sioux, and war with the
Dog-ribs, they will be our Indians; when our col-
leges l\old their regattas of the " Horn," it will be
—156—
our Horn. And Obed saw that all the nations had
worked with a will to fill Agricultural Hall with
the things that go to show national wealth and pow-
er, and he was glad, for it speaks of the approach of
that day when swords shall be beaten into plow-
shares, and spears into pruning hooks,; and when
nations shall learn war no more. To Obed it speaks
of these things.
In Brewers' Hall.
Obed had heard of Brewers' Hall, had read
somewhat of the protestations uttered against hav-
ing the alcholic brand of Columbian industry rep-
resented at the Centennial. In fact, he was in full
accord with the proliibition sentiment on that point,
hence he approached the hall with anything but
feelings of enthusiasm. The exterior was very plain,
and there was little about it to attract attention. A
few nicely trained hop vines, and " Brewers'- Hall,"
in bold letters, indicated its purpose. As he was
there to have a peep at everything about the Cen-
tennial, he hesitated not to enter.
Great was his surprise, for instead of the dirty
appearance, sour atmosphere, bloated faces and blear
eyes he expected -to encounter, everything was tidy
—187—
in the extreme. The air was full of pleasant odors,
and a more agreeable set of men, with frank, open
countenances, one could not find on the grounds.
So pre-eminently true was this, that order reigned
without policeman's aid. A. 1 were very communi-
cative with regard to their exhibit, its arrangement
and design.
The first thing that attracted Obed's attention
was the "steeping cisterns" filled with steaming
barley going through the first step preparatory to
the foaming mug. When he had gazed his fill
on these he passed to the "couching floor," dusted
and clean as a lady's parlor, and beheld the great
piles of steeped grain giving out their fruity aroma ;
then came the "drying" and "sifting" depart-
ments, and everywhere his questions were answered
with so much courtesy and candor that (3bed's
prejudices against the building began to give way,
and he viewed the "grinding" and "mashing,"
tlie "drawing off'," "boiling" and "straining" of
the "wort," the processes of the "gyle tuns," and
finally the placing of the "yeasted liquid " in casks
"to work itself cl.ear," with enthusiastic satisfaction.
Nor was his visit to the "storage rooms" less en-
joyable than his passage through the manufacturing
department.
—138—
In his onward course Obed was presented with
a copy of " Essays on the Malt Liquor Question,"
from a cursory glance at which he learned that
many excellent men endorse the use of aleH and
heers, and that the manufacture of these in the home
of Columbia alone gives employment to more than
35,000 men, at an annual expense of $14,000,000,
and that it pays to the government an annual tax of
$9,000,000. As he looked, and talked, and read, his
faith in extreme temperance was shaken. Obed's
faith was shaken.
Having become separated from his companions
before his survey of the hall began, and the day
being now well spent, Obed thought to seek his
hotel by the nearest way, so bidding his new-made
friends good day, he hastened, to the eastern door-
way, intending to take a winding pathway through
the beautiful grove between the grounds and the
Schuylkill. On reaching the threshold, instead of
the beautiful scenery he had anticipated there
greeted him a broad, open highway, stretching away
from the very base of the building, far as the eye
could reach. As Obed stood gazing at this unex-
pected sight, four richly caparisoned steeds, draw-
ing a stately pi imed hearse, issued from a door-
way beneath him. In the hearse was placed an
—159—
elaborately carved casket, decked with flowers, in-
tertwined in the national colors, and the mourners,
as they came in their carriages, appeared of the
highest respectability. Following this came a
hearse less richly adorned, yet speaking well for the
position of its occupant. Then there was a plain
country wagon with its white pine coffin, and in
close proximity there followed a mule cart, bearing
a still ruder box, marked —
" Rattle his bones over the stones,
He's only a pauper whom nobody owns."
As O.bed gazed in astonishment, team after
team, ever varying in appearance, emerged from
beneath the Hall, each bearing its encoffiaed freight,
until the head of the procession was lost in the
distance, notwithstanding the number that had
turned aside at city cemetery, village church yard,
or at the potters' field.
As he stood wondering, what all this could
mean, suddenly there stood beside him a pleasant
looking female who, pointing to the procession said,
" Wonder not ; these are the forms of some of those
who 'seek mixed wine.' The first hearse you saw,
bore away the form of a man who had been tlie
Governor of a State, and had occupied a position in
the highest council of the nation. Multitudes,
— leo-
deliglited, have listened to his utterances of patri-
otic eloquence. But stronger than his love of
reputation, country, home, was his passion for strong
drink, though he acknowledged it not. You have
seen the result.
" Another bore the remains of a merchant who
had handled sums untold, and whose business ca-
pacity was measured only by his power of endur-
ance. Those who were borne off in the humbler
manner have many of them left families in abject
poverty.
" There was one casket upon which you look-
ed with peculiar interest. Its garlands of flowefs
and elaborate decorations covered the form of a once
beautiful and gifted mother. Unfortunately she
learned to love wine at her father's table, and the
appetite strengthened with her years. , Yesterday,
to the world, she died of cjeneral nervous profit ration ,
but to those who had seen her in her besotted con-
dition in her own parlor, the true cause was appar-
ent. Everybody knows that the poor hod carrier
died drunk. All these that you see are the victims
of intemperance, mostly begun in the use of mild
beverages."
As the procession moved on, Obed ventured to
inquire how long this thoroughfare had existed.
—161—
" These many years," replied the genius ; " it began
in the days of Noah. Day and night it has been
thus thronged, so many are they who ' look upon
the wine,' and regale themselves on sparkling ales."
"Here he is," exclaimed a familiar voice — the
vision wns gone, and Obed was joined by Mrs. Obed
and her friend. As they hurried down the winding
footpath, the groves were rich in diamonds glean-
ed from a recent shower, and every fruit and flower
around them was redolent of praise. But despite
all these and the gay chatting of the ladies, the
thoughts of Obed were of Breioers' Hall, and the
fruits of the great industry it lepresents. Thus he
mused : "Thirty-five thousand men furnished with
employment, and four hundred thousand thereby
rendered homeless; $14,000,000 paid in wages, and
$100,000,000 expended in ale houses, that should go
for home comforts, where now is squalid poverty ;
$9,000,000 paid in revenue, against $45,000,000
spent in criminal prosecutions growing out of the use
of ardent spirits, to say nothing of the millions more
required to support reformatory and other institu-
tions, which, but for this one cause, would be all
unneeded."
The "Opinions and Facts from Eminent Physi-
cians, Chemists and others in favor of Ale and Beer
—162—
as light wholesome beverages," and the order and
tidiness of Brewers' Hall became as mockery to
Obed, in view of the 00,000 who go down annually
to drunkards' graves and the 000,000 regular re-
cruits who rush on to fill up the depleted ranks, to
say nothing of the unmeasured wretchedness of body
and soul continually enshrouding them.
When Obed laid his head upon iiis pillow that
night, it was with a renewed consecration of himself
to the ever safe principles of total abstinence. In
these he sees the only safe course.
/ Memorial Hall.
Having read of that far of! wedding at which
they ran out of grajie juice and were so miraculous-
ly supplied, that they had* the " Best of the wine at
the last of the feast," and remembering that in all
well regulated families they present the choicest
viands at the close of the meal, the Obeds reserved
Memorial Hall for their last survey, and a glorious
one it was. Passing up the flight of steps from the
Avenue of the Republic to the main entrance, they
stopped a moment to gaze upon the monster figures
of Pegassus, stationed on either hand, which, with
Bellerophon ready for the mounting, possessed enough
of tlie mythological to carry the mind back to the
time when tlie gods sported with the daughters of
men, and the marvellous was much less impotent
than now. Looking up as if to catch a glimpse of
" flying horses " in the air, Obed saw Columbia
winking at him from the dome of the Hall as much
as to say, " No time for those old sportings in my
land," and he passed on, bestowing a passing glance
upon the " Dying lioness " in her majestic agon3^
Once within the Hall, all the world beside was
shut out, — shut out as comi)letely as it is of a Sab-
bath morning when the pastor asks the pra3'ers of
the people, whilst he draws the gospel bow at a
venture, letting the arrows mostly fl}^ in directions
where there is no game. Here was the group,
" America leading the Nations," just then and there
very suggestive, though not remarkable for artistic
beaut3^ Then there was Washington magnificently
chiselled by an Italian artist. As he gazed upon
that benign countenance, Obed thought of the many
representations of the great man, he had seen in
different Courts, f^onc by the artists of every land,
some on canvas, others in terra cotta or tlie more
beautiful and enduring marble. A German had
given him all the buoyancy of lager beer ins[)ira-
tion, Andalusian swarthiness spoke the Spanish
—164-
pencil, whilst an enthusiastic genius of the Emerald
Isle had curled his lip as if just ready to say, " Be-
gorrah, sir." "Well, they are not much to be
blamed for their covetousness, after all," mused Obed,
"for no nation but ours has looked u^jon his like."
Over against Washington, in strange contrast, was
the great Prussian Premier— all German, — all
Bismark.
Leaving the vestibule, the courts and passage
ways were f'jund literally filled with works of art,
— works of pen and pencil, brush and chisel. Here
were several figures chiseled from the cold marble
with rich drapery falling about them, and such
beautiful veils — veils of marble lace — covering the
face. Everything was so natural that the Obeds, in
common with the multitude, stopped and gave vent
to their satisfaction in many a " How curious?" "
dear," and "My stars." Just a little way along there
was a fine colltction mostly exhumed from buried
cities and castles of sunny Italy. Busts of warriors,
poets, statesmen and emperors stood boldly forth,
some uncrowned othjrs crowned with myrtle or royal
diadems. There were busts of women, — Roman
mothers of days long departed, whose noble daring
in instances not a few, saved the Imperial ('ity from
anarchy and destruction. Tiiere was one with
— 16B—
which Obed was particularly struck. It was of a
matron of noble brow and sparkling eye; but alas,
that without which there is no beauty was gone —
some vandal hand had broken her nose. As he re-
membered his many lady acquaintances whom he
has seen in the like painful condition, the query
naturally arose, " Was it the denial of a new dress;
refusal of attendance upon the theater, or had she
failed to receive the last Bazaar P^ But there was
none to answer, and Obed passed on and stood be-
fore the bronze figure of a hegro, bearing aloft in
one hand the Proclamation which brouglit freedom
to four millions of his race, whilst from the wrist of
the other dropped the shackles that had so long
shut them out from every endearment of citizenship.
Every lineament was radiant w-ith gladness, such
as only an African can express, and as he thought
of the myriads of "Lor 'bless Massa Linkum," that
have gone up from sable lips, Obed mused, "If we
can not say of the martyred President as we do of
the great leader of the Revolution, ' First in war,
first in peace, and (irstin the heart of his country-
men,' we ma) justly claim for him the title of
'She})herd of his People,' and perpetually intertwine
his name and his fame with that of the ' Father of
his Countrv.'"
—166—
A short distance from the " Battle of Gettys-
burg," so historic in its corapleteness, appeared
what, to patriotic tliousands, was the paint-
ing of tlie Exhibition — Willard's " Yanivee Doodle."
Not that it was so perfect a piece of art, perhaps,
as some, as many others, but then the memories of
a hundred years were centered on a few square feet
of canvas. As lie gazed on the dismounted cannon,
the old man " Yankee," with sleeves rolled up, col-
lar thrown back, waist coat and heavy hair alike
streaming in the wind ; at his deserted team and
plow, standing in the furrow; upon musicians —
man and bc'y — catching the inspiration of his man-
ner, as, with the instrument of the fallen fifer, he
led the little band of heroes fearle.ssly to the charge,
Obed exclaimed, " 'Those were the days that tried
men's souls,' and there were men and women, too,
with souls to be tried," he rejoiced that among them
was a Captain Goodin, that he was the owner of a
pony and a cap, and that he procured that wonder-
ful feather which is known and honored the world
over.
Americans were not the only ones who looked
with satisfaction upon that picture. As Obed stood
gazing, " Chee-wheu " suddenly broke upon' his ear,
and a regular pigtail was swinging in his face, as
—167—
the disciple of Confucius enthusiastically exclaimed,
" Amencanee, blowee goodee." " Mine Gott," said
a rotund German ; but Obed could catch no more,
for just then he was thrust irresistably aside by an
impetuous son of the Land of St. Patrick, whose
sentiments welled over in the following strain,
" Arab, bedad ! bad luck, bad luck to the Bull who
meddles with that Doodle."
Passing by " Playing Possum," a game which
many bipeds in all lands play as successfully as our
American marsupial, and other subjects that would
extend these Reminiscences over many pages, asingle
mention more must i)ring tliem to a close. Early
in their visit a friend had informed the Obeds of
a painting he was particularly, anxious they should
see, but for the finding, of which, as the sequel
showed, he had given improper directions. It was
that of an artist past middle life, whose wife had
long been dead. After her decease his whole soul
centered in two charming daughters, who grew up
beneath his watchful care. Tiien the father painted
her as paying him and the remaining one an
angelic visit. This little story particularly excited
the interest of Mrs. Obed and her friend who are at
times especially impressible by anything that par-
takes, even remotely, of the supernatural. Day
—168—
after day, whilst in Memorial Hall, dilligent search
was made for this gem of affection, but all in vain.
But a half liour remained. Obed set out on one
more desperate hunt, which was soon crowned with
success. There was the benign artist, simply clad
maiden with arms folded about him, andthe sister
spirit floating in the air. He hastened back and
soon the ladies stood before the canvas so much
sought. No sooner did his wife cast her eye upon
it than she exclaimed, " Why Obed, you great
goose, that is Abraham preparing to offer Isaac."
Obed looked up, and sure enough, like the Father
of the Faithful he had failed to see the ram in the
thicket until the very last moment. There was a
rush for the train, a gathering of satchels, and soon
the " Centennial," to the Obeds, was among the
things which were.
Ob3d, as Youngest Son.
Obed had the honor of being the youngest son
of his mother. This fact he learned from the family
record, and from many varied experiences. To be
the youngest son in a family, when there are several
brothers and sisterfe older and sisters younger, is to
occupy at once a position of honor, trust, and re-
—169-
sponsibility. Tliis position was Obed's; hence his
name, for Obed was a servant of all. He was, and
many a youngest son who reads this history will
know how to sympathize with him. It was not
only his, as soon aa he could toddle, to do, all the lit-
tle errandings for papa and mama, to bring them
slippers and water, cane and spectacles, and all oth-
er things with the bearing of which they " delight-
ed to honor him," but to perform the work that had
formerly been parceled out among older hands'.
" Let Obed pick up the chips ; " " Let Obed bring in
the wood;" Let Obed churn;" "Let Obed feed the
chickens," soon became household expressions.
And he did all these. Those were the days when
laws were loose, fences poor, and tlie highways long
pasturcfi, and Obed chased the pigs from the garden,
the cows from the corn, tlie horses from the meadow,
■whilst the big boys hallooed, "Run, Obed, run."
He carried water to the field, and lunch to the
harvest, whilst those sturdy fellows rested. Obed
" Hoed the boy's row." Had that been all he would
not complain. But then in the absence of the
" powers that be" in ftimily government, those elder
boys assumed special rights, and applied the birch ;
and the grown up sisters exercised dictatorial powers,
and enforced them with a broom upon poor Obed.
u
— 170—
But why recount.
" 'Tis the old, old story," not of the "blessed
cross," but of the cross that all youngest sons have
borne since long before Joseph was thrown into the
pit, and Benjamin was accused of stealing silver.
Those early experiences have always caused Obed
to have great sjnnpathy for Abel, poor fellow! He
never sees the youngest son suffering from the taunts
of older brothers and sisters, but he thinks there is
still something of Cainishness left as indicative of
the fall. Still, for all this, he would not have it in-
ferred that all youngest sons are " righteous Abels."
Obed would not.
The youngest son occupies a glorious position
for vexing the older members of the family and
teasing the younger, and if there is any gimp in him
he is sure to exercise a retaliating hand. But Obed
forbears to divulge, for the halcyon days of long
families among Yankees has passed, never to return.
None shall hereafter have to regret that he is the
third or fourth son, much less the srventh. Such in-
stitutions are now very unfashionable. What use
for a whole troop of rollicking brothers and sisters
tumbling over hay mows, nest hunting, making mud
pies, or engaging in the thousand and oae other
pastimes formerly in vogue among children, Obed
—171— .
has observed that such things, by the best families,
are now considered very vulgar. Better, far better,
to have the affection that was formerly spread out
over a dozen, concentrated in one frail and fur-
belowed little dear with kid slippers, done up in
band-box style. Then the youngest son has no
tribulations. He gets his share of the patrimony.
But Obed remembers his tribulations as things
of the past. The wrongs, whether real or fancied,
which he experienced from those older than him-
self were long since forgiven, and his own acts of an-
noyance are no doubt forgotten. Some of them cer-
tainly are, for those on whom they were practiced
are sleeping, silently sleeping, and Obed will vex
them no more. Thirty and nine years ago the
family of which Obed is a member, all gathered
around the "old family hearth " ior the last time.
The oldest sister was given away, as many another
oldest sister has been, amid tears and jests, sighs and
gladness, of which Obed th»:;n had but little con-
ception, but Aow he couiprehends them. Five of
that happy throng are not, and of the live remain-
ing, Obed is still the youngest son, with no sister to
look up and call him " Brother.' When, after years
of separation, the}^ occasionally meet in their far
sundered homes in sets of twos, or at most threes,
. —172—
each shows marks of time and labor, and none thinks
to bid Obed do this or do that; but he is fondly
cherished as the youngest left of that home of other
days. Then it is that he says, " Who would not be
the youngest son, that a father and a mother may
lean on him last of all, and that brothers and sisters
as they pass into the evening time, may look back
and bestow on him their benedictions ! " Then it
is that the sensations that prevade the breast of
Obed are blessed. To him they are blessed.
m-. lU'
A GREENBACK MEETING.
A Greenback meeting to be addressed by the
Hon. Patrick O'Leary, was advertised to come off at
Tunket's Corners, and as Obed had never attended
anything of the kind, he decided to go. A pleas-
ant drive of an hour with a "fiat" friend, and the
Corners were reached. The school house was full
and who should be called to the chair but Sara
Jones, whom Obed knew in 1840 as a staunch young
Jackson Democrat, present, with a clear voice,
wherever a hickory pole was to be raised, or an ash
one to be cut down. Through all the intervening
years Obed knows he has adhered to the better
phases of the party, but recently a mortgage on his
farm has caused him to see "light" in the pure
green of the new party. On the front seat sat Dea-
con Williams, who drove a " log cabin team " in
the great " hard cider campaign," and cast his first
ballot for " Tippecanoe and Tyler too," really be-
—175—
lievingthat it was a sure g^uaranty that he should
ever after eat "roast beef" and receive "two dol-
lars a day" for his labor. Good, clever soul! he
has been tossed about by every new political doc-
trine, and Obed was not surprised to sfee him re-
ceiving this last as the laboring man's real " New
Testament." A hasty glance over the audience con-
vinced Obed that the Joneses and Williamses pres-
ent were not a few.
The EON. PATRICK 0' LEAHY,
in his great speech at TunkeVs Corners, prrpaving to read from th£ Fi-
nancial Policy of John Law, hut of which he forgot to give the con^e-"
qucnccs.
—176—
The meeting organized, the Hon. Patrick pro-
ceeded to depict the woes of the laboring classes,
tlie indignities heaped upon them and the wrongs
that are weighing them down. As a workingman,
Obed began to feel deeply interested ; he perceived
that a great mistake was made when it was said,
"In the sweat of thy face thou shalt eat bread."
Obed felt it wasagreat mistake. The bloated bond-
holder was mercilessly excorciated, then spitted
and held writhing over " his own place " until
O'Leary was satisfied; and Obed felt that the punish-
ment was but just for one who had so little regard
for the rights of his fellow men. He was really as-
tonished that he had lived so many years uncon-
cious of the amount of suffering and wrong there
is in the world. Obed was astonished. But he had
little time for reflection, for the speaker fully warm-
ed to his theme, and amid the wildest enthusiasm,
went on to show the rights, the duties, and the pow-
ers of the government in the premises. Money was
made plenty, all men became instinctively indus-
trious; every available acre of the public domain
was converted into a garden ; tramps were only
known in the few fossils exhumed in the prosecu-
tion of public works : monopolies became evane-
scent; capitalists, conscience smitten at their long
—177—
course of tyranny, hid themselves from the public
gaze, and Congress became a body of apostolic pu-
rity — all this would be if the people only proved
true to themselves and the new party.
The speaker closed ; the .meeting adjourned,
and Jones and Williams seized Obed by the hands
and asked if he was not now persuaded. His repl}''
was, "Almost persuaded." Thus Obed replied.
Tlie ride home was a thoughtful one. Obed
was not quite sure that the Greenbackers are not
more than half right, and he vowed to investigate
the subject carefully. Throwing himself upon his
couch, he was soon in that land into which Cain en-
tered six thousand years ago, and its revelations
were wonderful. The sky was arched with 18 8-0 ;
the people were all alive with excitement; the great
political parties massed themselves for the contest ;
the working men flang to the breeze "Butler and
Victory," and everywhere inscribed on their ban-
ners might be seen, " Give us Greenbacks," " Down
with the Bondholder" "Equal Chances for All,"
and such like devices. Against these " Honest
Money " and " Plighted Faith " could make but
little headway, and at the appointed time the party
in power stepped gracefully down, and honest men,
men of the people, ascended to their places.
—US-
All this Obed saw, and much more. In his
hour of triumph Benjamin remembered his friends,
the friends of the people. Samuel received the
Portfolio; to Walter was corifided the keys of the
Treasury, whilst Dennis was made master of the In-
terior, and La Matyr was commissioned " Adjuster
of Moral Ballast."
The venerable Cooper looked on and wept for
joy whilst the new government was organized, and
when the great "Fiat Mills" began their work he
clapped his hands in very gladness, as did the mil-
lions who had waited for this auspicious moment.
Congress was true to the platform of the party.
That the people might have labor, untold internal
improvements were voted; that corporate enterprise
might be stimulated, charters were granted for the
carrying out of many important enterprises, as the
organization of a hose company for utilizing Niagara
Falls in irrigating Utah and Nevada; another for
constructing ice cream grottos in the National Park,
and one for applying the northern lights to general
illuminating purposes; that individual enterprise
and genius might not go unrewarded, boot blacks
were paid five cents extra for a " shine ; " inventors
received heavy premiums on their patents, and all
—179—
writers of poetry and novels were granted annuities
for life; that the government might be known as
liberal in its moral relations, marble fountains were
set up in all beer gardens; church debts were every-
where cancelled, and ten millions of dollars were
invested in searching for the "lost link" in the
Development Theory; that human suffering might
be alleviated, all step-children were granted excur-
sion tickets on the fourth of July, and to attend all
animal shows, and every man having a mother in-
law residing within twenty-five miles, was granted
an annual pension of $1,000. Thus the people were
blessed, and Obed saw they were happ3^
The popular will had triumphed ; the true
secret of government, hidden for six thousand years,
had been discovered ; capitalists stood abashed ;
hard money advocates were few and in the back-
ground ; business was brisk; speculation nought new
opportunities; day laborers bought corner lots;
school boys left their books and dealt in stocks ;
Bridget's back presentod a rare display of miliinery
goods; Paris was lost sight of in the brilliancy of
our national capital : the country was sup[)lic(l witli
every luxury; matrimonial alliances were made
only near home; and when the mortal coil was
shuffled off, glass caskets with gold mountings, only,
-ISO—
Tli.e DDeacoaa. 2.:a. Xj-u-cIs:.
—181—
were in demand. And why not? The great func-
tion of the government is to create money ; and this
the government was doing.
Jones paid off his mortgage and invested a
million dollars in the "' Hose Company." The Dea-
con was in luck. In a state of ecstatic rapture he
seized Obed's hand exclaiming, " Didn't I tell you
so, oidboy?" And how could Obed demur? He
couldn't.
There were somethings, however, that appeared
a little strange. Obed observed that many more
men than ever before frequented the capilol, and
lobbying was pushed with shameful effrontery.
Benjamin quietly changed a million dollars of gov-
ernment bonds into gold before the law converting-
hard money into bullion took effect. This was
privately stowed away in his Massachusetts cellar.
Strange hgurings were going on in high places, but
what did the people care ? They had enough and to
spare, so that the groat army of tramps, even though
quadrupled in ils })roportions, was allowed to pro-
ceed on its foraging march all undisturbed.
Obed wondered that any should run in debt,
and yet the " Fiat Mills" were insufficient to sup-
ply the " growing wants " of the people, and un-
—182—
limited credit was asked and given, until one morn-
ing the telegraph announced the failure of J. Scroggs
& Co , managers of the " Niagara Hose Enterprise,"
which had just laid its pipes as far as the Mississippi,
for $20,000,000,000. There was wild dismay in all
the land. Not a husiness interest but was affected.
Firm after firm succumbed with the rapidity of
lightning. " Hisexcellency " left the executive man-
sion at noon for New England, with a package of
gold spoons and plate marked " N. O." Samuel was
suddenl}' called to Cincinnati to look after " private
interests;" Dennis took an early train for the
"Golden Gale," and the political parson to a west-
ern conference for a first-class city appointment,
salary not less than $2,500, parsonage furnished.
Jones was ruined; the good Deacon's voice blended
pitiously in the universal wail of despair as the
words "No Redemption," "Repudiation," in lurid
letters, extending from zenith to horizon, lighted up
the evening sky, and.Obed — "I do wish you'd keep
still so I can sleep," rang out the voice of Mrs. Obed.
The sleeper awoke to the consciousness that it was
but a dream. Obed was glad, for, vision though it
was, he was convinced that there is no really safe
way to national prosperity, as there is not to indi-
vidual, only by industry and economy.
-183—
Obed, O'Learytothe contrary notwithstandiii!
now fully endorses the doctrine,
" 'Tis better to endiu-e the ills we have,
Than fly to others we know not of."
THE STATIONERY ACCOUNT.
His friend Henry was elected to the legislature,
a thing gratifying to Obed, and particularly so to
his aspiring friend who acknowledged himself un-
der many obligations for campaign assistance.
His letters during the first session which he attend-
ed were full of glowing descriptions of Capital life,
and breathed hopefully of political preferment, as
heclaimedtobe " learning the ropes " rapidly.
Soon after the close of the session Obed paid
him a visit, and was most cordially welcomed by
friend and family. The little ones must needs show
—184—
him the tilings papa brought tliem from the 'laiet',
and the older ones, together with Mrs. H., were not
slow in exhibiting the presents the honorable head
of the family had brought them from the seat of
government.
The hours flew by all too rapidly, as Henry re-
counted his legislative experiences, detailing the
pleasant acquaintances he had made, the rece^jtions
he had attended, and, above all the bright anticipa-
tions he had in store for the future; for his speeches
had been most favorably received by his compeers
and the people. Before the time for leaving arrived
a promise had been extorted from Obed that he
would visit his friend at the capital the next winter.
Agreeably to the arrangement the winter of
187- found Obed threading legislative halls, arm in
arm with his friend. After the galleries, the ro-
tunda, the committee rooms, the Governor's apart-
ment and all other places of general interest' had
been visited, Henry said :
" Obed, I must show you the crypf
" The crypt," said Obed; " What is that? "
"0, you'll see; it's an apartment we don't show
everybody. Of course we know our men."
" Of course you do," said Obed.
—185—
Down a flight of stairs tripped the friends, and
the lawmaker quietly opened the door of a spacious
apartment which had all the appearances of a gen-
eral store room.
" And is this the crypt?" queried Obed.
"Nothing else," said his friend.
" 0, I supposed I was coming into the abode of
some mummified legislator to whose shrine you are
accustomed to retire, Mohamedan like, to reassure
fainting political faith."
" Not exactly so ; but then it is the dead room,
and when entered has a comforting effect," said
Henry with a smile.
" Yes, yes, so I begin to perceive, said Obed ; it
looks like a branch of the Paper Company."
"Well, yes, this is the Stationery Department
of the " Mill " up stairs. You remember the
package of fine " Congress " I gave you last spring ?
Well that was a sample of our work."
"Yes, but you didn't sample me with one oJ'
these knives," said Obed, as he laid his hand on a
package of packet cutlery marked $36 per dozen.
"No," laughed Henry, "I had to remember all
my friends, and Jones being better on a shingle than
you, received the knife. There's a fitness in all
things, you know."
—186—
" Yes, and so it was fitting that Mrs. M. should
receive that beautiful croquette set, as being better
at electioneering than her husband."
" Exactly."
" But tell me, Henry, what did these cost, and
who are to get the balance of them, for I see you
have still enough left to stock at least two grounds
in every county in the State."
" O, they only cost $ t a set by the hundred, and
next summer will be campaign season again ; there'll
bo no trouble in clisjtosinr/ of them."
" But what about so many gold pens, paper
holders and erasers? You've enough to stock a
wholesale establishment."
" My dear fellow, didi,i't I tell you this is our
Stationer}' Department? Each member is supposed
to require at least five or six in a term; the}'- wear
out rapidly, get lost, or we forget and leave them at
home."
" Yes, your minds are so occupied, it is not to
be wondered at that you lay them on your parlor
tables and forget to take them again ; but then there's
this satisfaction, they are not lost in growing fami-
lies. But these metalic boot-jacks, do they come
uuder the head of stationery ? "
—187—
" If a boot-jack isn't stationary I'd like to know
what is."
" Fact ; I hadn't thoaght of it before in that
light" said Obed ; "But how fibout these patent
tops? They are certainly very movable.'"
"One of them kept my Jimmy quiet for full
two hours. This is essentially the experience of
many members with whom I have talked, and we
are fully agreed that anything calculated to serve
our purposes, or to soothe our minds, comes legiti-
mately within the definition of stationery, and we
provide it."
"Ah, yes, and that accounts for these cham-
pagne bottles. AVell, well, I don't so much wonder
at the way Stationery Accounts foot up. I suppose
they've an enormous crypt -di Washingt )n, and that
there are suialler ones for counties and municipal-
ities, in which are stowed a thousand little con-
veniencies, put there at the public expense. But
tell me how do you Republicans anil Democrat-^ get
along without exposing one another over these
matters ? "
"Pshaw, man, that's tlie^ easiest thing in the
world. No matter how much we disagree on the
curreiicy question, or struggle over, the "bloody
—188-
shirt," we are all agreed in this, that ' He that pro-
videth not for his own household has denied the
faith,' hence we are all orthodox. All tliese little
matters we consider as perquisites and share them
with the attachees about the Capitol, iind they learn
to keep qui "'
" I do wish you'd get up to Ijreakfast," said a
familiar voice, and Obed, who had attended a po-
litical meeting the evening before, awoke to the
consciousness that this interview with his friend
Henry was all a dream, and he was glad ; glad be-
cause he knows something of the self sacrificing
spirit of American politicians, and of the rigid
economy of their views ; glad because they are wil-
ling to spend session after session of our legislative
bodies in electioneering schemes, and the vacation
season on investigating committees, traveling from
one end of the country to tlie other in a most self-
denying way; glad that lobbying is totally
ignored ; glad that all men in high j)iaces are
so tenacious for the purity of the ballot box ; glad
that no American official has ever l)een guilty of
even the appearance of peculation ; glad that, as
a nation, we have no need to apply to ourselves the
doctrine, " When the wicked bear rule, the people
mourn." Of these things and many more going to
—ISO-
show that the pure purposes of the fathers still
have a dwelling place in the hearts of the sons,
Obed is glad.
OBED VISITS A ''HOME."
" An hour till train time," said Obed to him-
self, in one of oar beautiful lake cities, " and I can-
not better improve it than by calling at the 'Home
for the Friendless.' " No sooner thought than ex-
ecuted, for he laid his hand vigorously upon the
bell knob, and was soon comfortably seated in the
plain, substantial reception room. ■ Directly the
Matron appeared. ''Obed," said our visitor, and
the lady greeted him cordially.
It took not long to learn of the origin of this
noble institution, nor of the kindly, benevolent
soirit that has ever fostered it. More than seven
— 190—
liundred " little neglected ones'' have come with-
in its walls and found " Home, food, clothing and
schooling," and, with scarce an exception, have
gone out to lives of respectability and usefulness.
" Treasurer in heaven for many a donor," said
Obed, and he perceived how " Charity covereth a
multitude of sins."
He was shown through the building. Every-
where there were neatness and order, everywhere a
learning to work on the part of those who were old
enough to be employed in labor.
The tour of inspection made, there came upon
the lawn beneath the window a troup of children
with bright eyes and happy faces. Most of them
were viother less ; some fatherless also "No matter
if many of them had been forsaken, the Lord has
taken them up, and a christian public has assumed
their parentage," mused Obed, as he hid his hands
amid the curls of a little creature vcho came confid-
ingly near. Ashe marked the confidence the}' re-
posed in the Matron, more than ever Obed realized
what that Scripture raeaneth, "Of such is the king-
dom of heaven." From homes of poverty, drunk-
eness and abuse these, in m"iny instances, had come,
but there was the childlike spirit still, which Siull-
—191—
ful hands and willing hearts shall train for the
"Life that now is, and for that which is to come."
As Obed walked awa}' there was in "his heart a
mingled feeling of sorrow and gladness. Sorrow,
that there is so much of misery in the world ; glad-
ness, because there are so many who can truly sa^%
as the}^ toil amid objects of charity,
■'Ours is the grateful service whence
Comes day by day the recompense ;
Better the toils of fields like these
Than waking dream and slothful ease.
" Who calls this glorious service hard '.
Who deems it not its own reward :'
Who, for its trinls, calls it ]es=!
A e luse of praise and thankfulness :■ "
OBED S THANKSGIVING.
The year ISTO came — the year of all others of
most interest in Yankee Land, because it brought
with it the Hundreth birlliday of our dear old Uncle
Sam, Obed's Uncle Sam, the hale old Uncle of more
than forty million children. Now Uncle Sam has
always cherished his birthdays, (particularly the
last one) and ushered them in with a great deal of
noise and hurrah, regaling himself in abundant laud-
atory speeches, toasts and toddies. Though the old
gentleman has sometimes been accused of being a
little vain, he has never quite forgotten the humil-
ity of his cradle, the trials of his boyhood days, nor
the bountiful Giver of his broad acres and rich
stores of intellectual and social enjoyment. Uncle
Sam has never forgotten these, but through all his
years, has annually appointed that his children
shall gather them.selves together in their respective
places of worship and in their many homes, and
then and there pray and sing psalms, and eat tur-
—97—
exclaimed, "Industry is the lamp, and intelligence
the sesame which converts the fairy castles of Ara-
bian tales into Yankee realities, over which the
American eagle flaps her wings with more of satis-
faction than was ever enjoyed by the mythic bird
which gave Sinbad his aerial ride." And as he took
the arm of his friend, and iiis eye rested upon the
'"U. S." everywhere conspicuous, Obed rejoiced that
his is a Columbian home. Yankee Doodle welled
up to overflowing in the heart of Obed.
Cottons.
His vision fully ended and his mind restored
to its wonted equilibrium, Obed was ready to in-
spect tbe wares and wonders of the luitions spread
out in profusion around him. Having an eye for
c((lico he at once took up tbe display of cottons, ad-
miring the '"raw material," of wliieli he had never
seen any before ; tbe nankeens of China and tlie
flannels of Canton; tbe handiworks of the looms of
Hindostan and Africa and the mills of Brazil. But
most was Obed delighted with tbe shirtinr/s and
prints of New England, for by them could he best
measure progress in this departn.ent. Obed gloried
—98—
in the Merrimacs, Cochecoes, the Middlesexes, and
the score more brands put up in rich display to
show what the streams of the hilly North can do
for the products of the sunny South. Obed claimed
them as American all. He rejoiced that they made
him the possessor of a fine Lonsdale shirt, a thing
his father never owned ; that they had enabled Mrs.
Obed and her friend to go to the Centennial, each
in a twenty-yard-fivecent " Oriental Fancy." As
Obed remembered that his mother, one of the belles
of New Connecticut, used to rejoice in a six-yard-
seventy five cent "French Calico," a feeling of
gratitude came over him, that he lives in an age
when the costs of prints will allow even the adorn-
ing of the human form divine; an age when " cut-
and-try " and "scrimp" form no part of the dress-
maker's vocabulary — an age in which "a dollar or
tM'o" will bring so much of sunshine to the domes-
tic sky. Obed was grateful, and as he looked
around he regretted only that the great pyramids of
"Coats' Best Six Cord" and " Clark's 'O. N. T.' "
had to be brought across the deep ; but Obed con-
tented himself with saying, " Cotton was king ; cot-
ton is king no longer, and ere the next Centennial
year, American genius will provide American
thread — American genius will."
Though the thermometer stood at 95'' Obed
realized that summer does not last always, and he
passed from the realm of cotton, to the domain of
Wools.
Wools native, wools manufactured ; w^ools
Merino, Southdown, Saxon and Cotswold ; wools
American, Australian, African, Spanish, and Thibi-
tan ; wools from every land where there are bleat-
ing flocks ; wools fine and coarse, long and short •
wools wrought into every conceivable fabric, by
needle, spindle, knitter and loom ; wools in yarns,
cloths, carpets, and blankets. Gazing on the tweeds,
cassimeres, and broad-cloths; on the merinos, cassi-
meres, and serges, Obed could but think of the days
oi the home spufis — days when our mothers made
the kerseys, the sheeps greys and the full-cloths;
made linse3'-woolseys, the home dyed plaids, and
the " Nigerawf/ivai/ " flannels, which the boys and
girls were glad to get, even as second-haiid-cut-
downs. Obed at least was glad. As he looked upon
the delicate flannels and felt their downy smooth-
ness, remembrances of the soft woolens his mother
used to bring out when the " cold November rains "
came on, and placed upon his tender back, rose up
— lOO-
in the mind of Obed. Again he passed, in imagin-
ation through a week of itchings, scratchings,
burnings, naughty thoughts, and bitter execrations
on the man who first invented woolen underclothes.
To Obed those were the days of the bloody shirt, but
he will shake it no longer, for lie remembers that
mother of other days with tenderest affection. He
knows she did the best possible for those God had
given her, for she was of that great army of pioneer
mothers, now asleep or waiting in the sunset of life.
We count them as women whose price is above
rubies. They sought wool and flax and worked
willingly with their hands. They rose whilst it was
yet night and gave meat to their households. They
laid their hands to the spindles; their hands
held the distaffs. They oj)ened their mouths with
motherly wisdom, and their chi.dren arise and call
them blessed. Even forty millions of their sons
and daughters call those mothers blessed. Obed
blesses his above all other women.
Finally Obed stood in presence of the Califor-
nia display, and as he perceived the velvety softness
of her blankets, he felt inclined to clasp his hands
and exclaim, " Now I lay me down to sleep," but it
was noon day, and he passed on saying, " I have
seen an end of all perfections in woolens. Solomon
— lOl—
in all his glory was not arrayed in goods like these,
and as for the Mrs. Solomons, they knew nothing of
rag carpets, three-plies, or Brussels, such as adorn
this Jubilee of Columbia for the nations." And
Obed saw herein only signs of progress ; he saw only
these.
Silks.
Obed saw silks as he pursued his onward way.
Silks in the green mulberry leaf; silks in the
mouth of the worm ; silks in the cocoon; silks in
the raw thread ; silks on pyramids of spools ; silks
in tiny scarfs ; silks in gorgeous robes for priestly
wear; silks in the hands of its native spinner ; silks
of every hue on the backs of gaily dressed ladies —
all these he saw. It was simply the warp of one
worm become the woof of another. And Obed ad-
mired the butterflies — l)utterflies from the hand of
nature; l>uLterflies from the hand of fashion. Obed
jiiliuired them all.
Linens.
There were delicate white linens, ond linens of
darker hues aiid coarser thread to claim the atten-
tion of Obed. Linens that once waved a bright
green, or danced in fields of delicate blue in many
a land. As he gazed on these, he thought what
"flax pullings" they must have in the "father
land " among our Teuton relatives, and in "Svvate
Ireland " among our cousins of the " real auld
stock." But Obed's reflections on flax were not con-
fined to " lands beyond the sea." Again he went
back to the old Buckeye farm where he first learned
the duties of American citizenship. Again he
went to the field with father and mother, brothers
and sisters, and bowed his back over the flaxen
bowls of his prescribed " tltroiu/h" until on straight-
ening up he found there was a bone in it sure.
Once more he brought the swingle down on devoted
heads and then spread the beaten stalks upon the
even sward only to hear it said every few da^s,
" Obed, my boy, go and turn that flax." And he
turned and rg-turned it, until he exclaimed, in his
vexation, " Bat the flax," and the flax rotted. Then
Obed bound that rotted flax, and laid it away, only
to bear it in early spring time to the top of the
" old log house " and lay it across the stick chimney
to dry. This was Obed's part of the work, whilst
his father put it vigorously through the "jaws " of
the old " brake " as it was dropped, dried, to him
by his "youngest son," and the older ones, "knives
—103-
in hand, did valorous work at the " skutching
board," beating out the " shives." Those were
halc3^on days to Obed, and from his lofty site he
" viewed the landscape o'er." Sometimes, in his
fits of mental abstraction, he allowed his drying
charge to " go up " in smoke. Then, as he was a
boy, he received a boy's reward. Many a boy has
suffered for the want of such reward ; Obed has
not.
There were other links between the growing
fib;'e and the copperas pants and tow shirts of other
days in Yankee Land, that rose up in the mind of
Obed, despite all the grandeur around him. He
descended from his perch on the roof onl}^ to find
that mother of other days, her head bound round
with a bright " bandanna," all covered with dust
and lint, busily drawing the loosened bark through
the " hatchel " to separate the " flax " from the
" tow." Then there were the " big wheel," the " lit-
tle wheel," with its tiny gourd water box, the "reel"
with its hickory snapper to count the " knots ;" the
"swifts" and the "loom," upon all of which the
"maidens" of the household could play tunes that
brought clothing and comfort. Upon all these Obed
looked again through tlie lapse of years, and was
just about to ejaculate, "Let the man who can
—104—
deprecate these appliances of the olclen time, 'stretch
hemp,'" when exclamations of delight from Mrs.
Obed and her friend, drew his attention, and he
hastened to the show case before which they stood
gazing on the prettiest, tiniest baby dress imagin-
able; so delicate in its material, its style, its make
up, its jirive — only $600. Had there been no cheaper
baby clotlies than that, in years gone by, the young
Obeds would have worn " aprons of fig leaves" to
this day. The young Obeds would.
Robes.
Baby dresses of extravagant prices were not the
only articles of wearing apparel, and items of per-
sonal conveniences on which the Obeds feasted their
eyes as they stood before those glittering cases. As
before stated, there were rich robes interwoven with
threads of geld and silver for priestly wear; and
there were dresses of delicate laces and rich satin,
with and without trails, for ladies whose husbands
have never yet touched bottom financially ; there
were shaAvls from Cashmere; scarfs of crimson from
Damascus, and handkerchiefs almost etherial from
France, and all to be had — had merely for the ask-
ing and a few hundred, or at most, but a few
— 19S—
key and pumpkin pies, in thanksgiving for the
bounties tliat crown the year.
Uncle Sam failed not, after the rich enjoyment
of his centenary birthday, to appoint a Thanksgiv-
ing, that should befittingly mark his "new depar-
ture." And it came, not like the first one, to a few
hundred thousand homes where "anxious hopes,
and doubts, and fears," were the principal things the
inmates had to be thankful for, but to many mil-
lions of them, where "Peace and plenty crowned the
board."
Among others, it came to Obed's home with
peaceful plenty, and plentiful peace. For the twen-
ty-fourth time Thanksgiving came to the household
of Obcd and found him thankful — thankful for the
bounties of Providence so freely showered upon his
friends and country, as well as upon himself. As
he sat with the few friends he had gathered around
him, Obed was not only thankful, but his mind was
filled with busy memories. He thought of that first
Thanksgiving when he and his, numbering only
two, sought his old home to eat mother's Thanks-
giving dinner. And Obed ate with a relish such as
a man never has for any cookery but mother's; No
Turkey, no bread and butter, no coffee, no apple
pie, iiQ nothing like the viands we get from a moth-
—194—
er's hands in boyhood. Because Abram could get
them no longer, he was the more willing to go to
"A land flowing with milk and lioney." With a
mind filled with the tenderest memories of a good
old mother's larder, Jessee posted the youthful
David off to camp with home delicacies for those
older brothers who were with Saul, down by the
brook E!ah. So. too, during our "late unpleasant-
ness," was the heart of many a hoy in blue, touched
with yearning memories of "home" and "mother,"
as he regaled himself, after long dieting on "hog
and hardtack," over the well-filled box that "she
who loved him best," had carefally forwarded.
There were present at that Thanksgiving, fath-
er and mother and sisters two. Obed saw them in
memory as they were on that da}-. Thanksgiving
came again. There had been substraction in the
home ci Obed, and one from two left three, and
again the old homestead was sought. As it has
been times without number, so was it on that occa-
sion ; that little subtrahend, in the eyes of grand-
father and grandmother, was "Just the nicest baby
boy that ever was." Thus the mind of Obed ran
over the years. The time came when three from
two left five ; the cradle gave place for the school
room; he passed through scenes of watching and
—193—
anxiety; a^ain he witnessed scenes of childish
anger and fisti-cuffing of thb kind in which he had
often "taken a hand" in the long ago ; wisps of do-
mestic cloud followed by broad bands of sunshine,
:2ra.nn.ple of IDcnncisstic S-a.-btra.ctioii..
chased each other across his mental vision ; Thanks-
giving followed Thanksgiving and the five were al-
—196-
ways together, and — "Dinner is reacl3%" said Mrs.
Obed. Then Obed and his guests rei)aired to the
table. There upon the right and upon the left of
him, each 'in its place, was a plate turned down
"with tender womanly care." A glance at Mrs.
Obed revealed instead of the raven tresses he had
once admired, a mixture of glorious grey; there
were wrinkles stealing over the cheeks where orst
all was freshness ; a glimpse of his own countenance
in an adjacent mirror showed unmistakable signs
of "evening time," and as Obed looked at
"The little faithful copy of his sire
In face aad gesture."
sitting opposite, and thought of the ones whose
places were vacant beside him he experienced a
sensation unknown before.
"Only three of us to-day," mused Obed. "Though
children still, they are chihhvn no longer," and he
thought that a few weeks before, as the train rolled
up, he had taken by the hand a manly form, just
going forth in the world to try ife for himself.
Tiiere was a quiver on the lip of the son, such as
had never been there before; a tremor in the heart
of the father ; a tear, may be. in the eyes of each ; a
"good bye ;" a "God bless you"— "All aboard,"— and
—197—
"What shall the harvest be ?" Shall it be "garnered
sheaves?" God only knows.
As he thought of the loved ones absent, and
wondered whether strangers would provide them a
Thanksgiving dinner, and if they would think of
home, Obed became so oblivious to what was about
him that he began to carve the turnip instead of
the turkey, and set his teacup on the table cloth,
until Mrs. Obed said, as she only can say, "Obed,"
and his leverie was gone. His reverie was ended.
That night,, as he laid his head upon his pillow,
Obed could realize better than ever before what
parental solicitude and responsibility are, and re-
membering that his sensations for the d-iy were only
a continuation of those begun in the h(^art of Adam,
and vibrating ceaselessly in the hearts of every gen-
eration since, he fell asleep. ref>eating
''Precious promise God has givea
To the weaiy pass^■r-by,
On the way from earth to heaven, —
'I v^ ill guide thi e with luiiie eye.' "
CONTENTS.
Arms, ... ... ... ... ... ... 107
As Youngest Son, ... ... ... ... 168
At The Capitol, ... ... ... ... ... 79
At a Greenback Mketing, ... ... ... 174
At The Head, ... ... ... ... ... 51
At Fair Point, ... ... ... ... 62
Beginning Work, ... ... ... ... ... . 85
Centennial Eeminiscences, ... ... ... 73
Chemicals, ... ... ... ... ... 121
CoRLis Engine, ... ... ... ... 138
Cottons, ... ... ... ... ... ... 97
Dolls, ... ... ... ... ... 133
Edjcvtional Interests, ... ... ... ... 114
Indepevdexce Chamber, ... ... ... 87
Indkpendence Hall, ... ... ... ... 86
In Agricultural Hall, ... ... ... 152
In Brewers' Hall, ... ... ... ... 1.16
In The Kitchen, ... ... ... ... 147
In Thi-: Main Building, ... ... ... ... '90
Knives And Forks, ... ... ... ... 125
Linens, ... ... ... ... ... ... loi
Machinery Hall, ... ... ... ... 137
Medicines, ... ... ... ... ... 119
Memorial Hall, ... ... ... ... 162
CONTENTS,
National Museum,
Onward, ..
On Strikes,
Pipes,
Philadelphia Keachj:d,
The Home,
The Pulpit,
The Vision,
83
Norwegian Figures, ... ••- ••■ 134
76
56
110
84
Plumes, ... ••■ ••• ••• •• •• ^^^
Pottery,
Robes,
Silks,
104
101
State Buildings, ... ... ••• •■• ••• ^^^^
Sundries,
The Great Co-Partnership, ... ... ■•• -^
Thanksgiving,
The Start,
The Concert, ... ... ■■• ••■ ••• ^"■'
The Crucifixion, ... ... ■•• ••• ••• l^'-^
92
73
189
110
The Stationery Account, ... ... ••• 1*^-^
91
The WoMAN'.s Pavilion, ... .. ••• 1^5
U. S. Department, ... ••• ••• ••• ^^1^
Waterford, ... ... ••• ••■ ••• '^'
Wools, ^^
"SEVENTEEN SEVENTY-SIX 1"
B"^ SI. TJ vJOEcisrsoisr,
CLEVELAND: BROOKS, SHINKLE & CO.
Muslin, Beveled Edges, Nicely Gilted, $1.00
This volume of chaste flowing treats of subjects, patriotic and re-
ligious, sentimental and liumorous.
The followinvr are among the many favorable notices it has re-
ceiveil from the press:
"In the tasty volumr" befoi-e us the gracpful pen of Mr. Johnson, so
well and favoraiily known to our readers, carries us all the w-'y from
■what *''e fatliers suflfered to the sinuT'ing sights that Oh^d saw at the
great Centennial. Everybody should have a copy."— IT. R. Chroniclf.
"The language is sch"larly and chaste, the thoughts flowing on
smootli and pure, as we suspect the life itself <>f th • man has d 'ne.
The work of their old tencher will be hailfd with gladness by a mul'i-
tuile of his former students scattered over the country."— Cmci?tn.a<i
Cumrnfrciai
"The inscript'on to his wife, at once tender, affectionate and hu-
mon^us, is characterist'c of the inaii and tiie work. Several hundred
copies have been sold within the few days since its appearance." —
Ravenna Democrat.
"The unique sentiment,
'Nothing for policy ;
Everything for principle,'
to which we first opened, characterizes tiie man and the book. We
predict for it a ready s&Xe."— Ashtabula JVews.
Copies 55nt by tho Author on Ksceipt of Price.