And sich an expression of anguish ez distorted the face uv the Deekin’s wife I hope never to see agin. Droppin the shovel, she stood ez one petrified, with her foot elevated in mid air, ez in the act uv stompin, and uttering a shreek wich methinks I hear ringing in my ears yet, she fell precisely ez she stood, with her leg crooked ez ef ’twuz froze there. Tom released the gal he wuz subdooin, and mountin his horse rode off to the Corners without saying a word; and unable to witness the distress uv that stricken family, I made haste to mount my mule and go to; while the niggers, feelin that they were wunst more their own men and women, scattered in every direction.
“Sich is the froots uv Radikelism,” murmured I. “Sich is the bitter cup fanaticism hez put to our lips;” and castin one lingring look at the prostrate forms uv the Deekin, his wife (with her foot insensibly raised), and their two gushin daughters, I spurred the mule, and departed.
Wood that every Ablishnist in the North hed seen that site, and wuz possessed uv a sole to appreshate it! Then would they vote differently.
Petroleum V. Nasby, P.M.
(wich is Postmaster).
XXXVII.
The October Elections.—Mr. Nasby’s Opinion on the Cause of the Defeat of the President.
Confedrit × Roads
(wich is in the Stait uv Kentucky),
October 14, 1866.
I wuz called in haste to Washington to be present at a Cabinet meetin called to consider the causes uv the onparalleled loosenin uv the Nashnel Union Johnson Dimekratic party in the various States wich held elections on the 9th uv October last. There wuz Seward, Wells, McCulloch, and Randall present; but we missed Raymond and Beecher, they hevin, I understand, played off onto us.
The President wuz gloomy. He hedn’t anticipated the defeat. He spected that, hevin showd hisself through all the Northern States, ther ought to hev ben enthoosiasm enough evolved to hev carried em without trouble. The fault, he remarked, coodent be with his policy. Ther wuz suthin so grand, so sublimely simple in it, that it wuz incomprehensible to him why the people hedn’t at once adopted it. “Why, look at it,” sed he. “I offer the people uv the North peace, on the simple condishn uv sayin nothin more about the war, or the mutual trouble which they found theirselves into, and rushin into the arms uv their Southern brethren, and takin uv em back jist ez they went out. How, O! how cood they be so blind ez to refoose these olive branches?”