Letters of Major Jack Downing, of the Downingville Militia — John Shaqi
Letters of Major Jack Downing, of the Downingville MilitiaSmith, Seba
History
Letters of Major Jack Downing, of the Downingville Militia
Smith, Seba
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 -- Caricatures and cartoons; United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Humor
The other day I telled him he must giv the orders to the new Seckretary
of War, but he kinder held back, and sed he didn't like tu take too
much on his shoulders at onct. Besides, he didn't feel it was right for
a Kernel tu dictate in that way. Then I telled him that the place was
only a complimentery one, but that he was raley a Ginneral and a
Commydore all in one. Wal, he sed "he couldn't see intu that." Them I
telled him how that the Constetushin sed that he was "Commander-in-Cheef
of the Army and Navy," and that that made him a Ginneral and a
Commydore. Wen I sed that, he jumped out of his cheer and ses he,
"Majer, you are jest about the keenest commentater on the Constetushin
I ever heerd talk. Why, Majer, ef I had only thought of that, I would
hev put it into my Inaugerole. Wouldn't it hev made a sensashin?"
Wal, ever since the Kernel has tuk the ribbins into his hands, he has
been puttin' things rite thru, and victeries hev cum along jest as fast
as possibul. Linkin is a terribul feller to work wen he has a mind to.
He run Secketary Stantin into a fit of the vertegris the very furst
week he went into the harniss, and as for the other members of the
Cabbynet, there ain't one that kin hold a kandil to him.
Ther's bin a terribul time about the financies since I hev bin here;
but the victeries in Kentuckee and Rowingoak hev made a good many long
faces look as good-natured as ef the Union was all rite agin. I telled
Ginneral Wilsin, from Massa-chew-sits, the other day, that he orter
vote a gold meddle to the President in honer of the good noose, but
Somnure wanted to insart the Wilmut Proviso in the bill, and so I
wouldn't hev nothin to du with it. I don' expec' that, after all,
they'll be willin' to giv' Linkin the credit he desarves, for ther'
ain't a man here, from a Senatur in Congriss down to a sargant of the
hoss mareens, who don't expec' tu be next President.
Wall, I hev run on so about politicks and so forth, that I eenamost
forgot to tell you about Mrs. Linkin's party. I've seen a good many big
things in that way sence I was a boy, but this was a leetle ahead of
all. The sojers, and the wimmen, and the cabbynet, and the forren
Ministers Pennitenshery, with their Seckateries of Litegashin, were all
ther. The tables were all kivered over with sugar frost, eenamost as
white as a Maine snow bank, and Mrs. Linkin luked like a young gal jest
out of schule. The way she did intertane the kumpany was a caushin to
peepul who don't know the ropes. Insine Stebbins, of the Downingville
Insensibles, was ther, and ef ther is a smart feller in the army, the
Insine is one. He kin rite poetry almost equil to Longfeller, and as
for singin', the Italian band-ditty can't begin with him. Wen the
kumpany were sot down to the table, Deacon Jenkins was kalled on to say
grace, and wen they got thru, the hull kumpany kalled on Insine
Stebbins to sing a paradox which he had kumposed specially for the
occashin, as follers:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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