An old soldier, whose cherished name was that of two of our presidents,
died here in Washington recently, and his passing reminds me of a story I
once heard him tell. Veteran of '61 as he was, he had listened patiently
to the very long story a youthful veteran of the Spanish War told. The
account of hardships left him unmoved.
"Just after the Johnstown flood, my boy," said he, "there was a man in the
next world who went about telling everybody how that Johnstown affair had
sent him where he was.
"His listeners hung on his words--all of them, that is, except a quiet
looking little man who seemed so little impressed that every time the
Johnstown man got through he merely looked bored and said, 'Oh, shucks!'
"The Johnstown man got tired of it after a while. It got on his nerves to
have anybody act as if what happened at Johnstown wasn't of any
importance. No matter how he told his story, the quiet looking little man
merely said, 'Oh, shucks.'
"At last the Johnstown man spoke to a fellow who had been there a long
time about it.
"'Say,' said he, 'who is that little man who keeps saying "shucks?"'
"'Who?' said the man who had been there a long time. 'Do you mean the
fellow over there? Why his name's Noah.'"--_Washington Post._