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
will." So I bid good bye to the Kernel and his wife that nite, reddy to
start in the early train in the mornin.
I intend to give you a full ackount of the celebrashin of the Fourth at
Downingville. Insine Stebbins, of the Downingville Insensibles, who
writ the piece of poetry on Mrs. Linkin's ball, and who was wounded at
Chickenhominy and cum hum with a furlong, is to be orater of the
occashin. Jerusha Matilda Jenkins, the darter of Deacon Jenkins, and
who went down to Port Roile to teech the contrarybands their primers,
will also be there. The Insine is a very smart chap, ef he is a
niggerite, and I expect he'll do himself creditable.
Excuse this long letter, and beleeve me
Yours till deth,
MAJER JACK DOWNING.
LETTER XII.
_The Major Disappointed--Meets the President at West Point--Sees Gen.
Scott--They Talk over Strategy--Returns to Philadelphia with the
President--Makes a Speech at Jersey City--Mr. Lincoln also Speaks--
Meets Seward at the Astor House--A Wheel within a Wheel--Mr. Seward
Caught._
DOWNINGVILLE, July 5, 1862.
_To the Editers of The Cawcashin:_
I don't beleeve ther is enything that so sorter gets all my runnin-gear
out of order as onsartinty. Wen I writ you last, I was jest leavin
Washington, and wen you come to hear how I've scooted round the country
sence, you will be astonished. You see I hurried on hum as fast as I
could go, because I wanted to get to Downingville in time to see that
the arrangements for the 4th were got up in the rite stile. But wen I
got to Boston, I was struck all up in a heep by gettin a telliegraff
from Linkin, tellin me not to go eny further till I heerd from him.
That puzzled me terribully, and I was in an awful state of onsartinty.
Thinks I to myself, now there's sumthin up. What on arth can it be? Has
that feller Stantin been cuttin up eny more of his capers? But I was so
puzzled that I couldn't imagin wat was to pay. But I waited a few days,
and then I got a letter from the Kernel, in which he sed he wanted me
to meet him at West Pint with Ginneral Scott, as ther was sum grate
struttygy goin on which he wanted to advise about. Then I knowed ther
was sum trubbel sumwher, so I jest packed up my trunks and tuk the
ralerode for Allbanee, so as to cum down the North River to West Pint.
I got ther in the nite, jest afore Linkin cum, arly in the mornin.
I didn't sleep a wink, but jest went rite over the river in the one
hoss ferry-bote they've got there, and waited at the depow for the
Kernel. He was eenamost as glad to see me as he was wen I fust went to
Washington. He tuk me by the hand, and ses he, "Majer, I feel a good
deal safer wen you're around, for I know you won't deceeve me." Ses I,
"Kernel, that's what I never do to eny man. Ef he don't like my plane
talk, then he needn't heer it, but ef I talk at all, I must talk out
the blunt truth." "Wal," ses he, "Majer, we will go over and see the
old Ginneral, and then I will lay all my trubbel before you."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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