human
A fine-looking man,
gpt
My father, said the young man.
human
God bless his heart!
gpt
Was your father in the war?
human
Was he in the war? My dear sir, you might say that he was the war. But you could scrape this town with a fine-tooth comb without finding anybody of his age that wasn't in the war.
gpt
Who are these veterans? What sort of people are they?
human
The finest fellows in the world, said the young man.
gpt
An occasional dead-beat among them, of course, but it's amazing how high an average of character they strike, considering that they came out of four years of war--war's demoralizing, you know!--with only their shirts to their backs, and often those were only borrowed. You'll find some mighty solid business men in the ranks out there, and then on down to the humblest occupations. Look! See that little one-legged man with the beard that everybody's cheering! That's Corporal Henkel of Petersburg, commended I don't know how many times for bravery, and they would have given him the town for a keepsake when it was all over, if he had wanted it. Well, Henkel's a cobbler--been one since '65--and let me tell you he's a blamed good one, and if you're ever in Petersburg and want any half-soling done, let me tell you--Yea-a-a! See that trim-looking one with the little mustache--saluting now? He tried to save Stonewall Jackson's life on the 2d of May, 1863,--threw himself in front of him and got badly potted. He's a D.D. now. Yea-a-a-a!