A Sermon upon the November Elections, from the Text, "No man putteth New
Wine into Old Settles" with a Digression or Two.
CONFEDRIT × ROADS
(wich is in the Stait uv Kentucky),
November 16, 1866.
When the news uv the result of the Illinoy election reached the Corners,
there wuz a feelin uv oneasiness wich was trooly affectin; but when the
crushin intelligence arove that Hoffman wuz beeten in Noo York, there
wuz a prostration wich wuz only ekalled when the intelligence of Lee's
surrender reached us. We expected defeat in Illinoy, and some uv the
other States, but we hed hopes that Noo York wood go Dimocratic, that
His Eggslency mite hev some show uv backin by the people, and
consekently some excoose for continyooin to enforce his policy. But that
hope wuz taken from us, and uv the entire populashen, I wuz the only one
who hed suffishent stamina to preserve the semblance uv cheerfulness,
and that wuz only on akkount uv my hevin the Post Offis. Elections can't
take that from me: it is a rock wich the waves uv popler indignashen
can't wash away, thank the Lord! for ef they cood, how many uv us wood
to-day be holdin our places? Still, I felt overwhelmed, and sorrowfully
I entered Bascom's. There, with their heads bowed in sorrer, and tears
flowin from their venrable eyes, sot Deekin Pogram, Elder Slathers, and
a few others uv the Saints, who, ez I entered, mekanikally rose, and
stood afore the bar; mekanikally Bascom, who wuz likewise bowed down
with greef, sot out the invigorator; mekanikally we dosed ourselves, and
still in a daze, mekanikally I moved out without payin, Bascom bein too
full uv sorrer to notis it.
It wuz deemed proper, in view uv the great calamity, that services shood
be held in the church, and at 2 P.M., wich with us mite be sed to mean
post mortem, we slowly and sadly filed in, the only smilin countenance
in site bein that uv a nigger at the door, who wuz to-wunst beltid over
the head for lookin happy.