Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1868-06-19
Row Peebles g Il GA Nan.


q PEBBLES had just asked old Merri
e, Weather's daughter II she would Civ
= him lift out of bachelOrdOu, and sh
z bad said yes. 1t therefore became nee
: essary to get the old manl permission
, so, as PEBBLES saidy that arraue cement
d might be made for hopping the cOnju
Z Peebies said he'd rather pop the in
2 terrogatory to all of old Merriweather'
4 daughters, and sisters, and his feman
cousins, and his aunt Hannah in tn
country, and the whole Of his womeI
J relations, than ask old MerrIWeatheF
I But il had to be done, and so he sa
down and studied out a speech which
he was going to disgorge to old Merri
weather the first chance he got to shy
it at him. So PEBBLES dropped in on
him one Sunday evening when all the
family had meandeFed round to class
meeting, and found him doing a sum
in beer measure, trying to. calculate
the exact number Of quarts his interior
could hold without Blowing the head
off of him.
t'How are you, Peeb ?" said old Mer-
riweather. as PEBBLES, walked in as
white as a chunk Of salt, and trembling
as if he had swallowed a condensed
earthquake. PEBBLES was afraid to an
swer, because he Wasn't sure about that
speech. He knew he had to keep his
grip on it while he had it there, or it
/ would slip away from him quicker than
an oiled eel through an augur hole. So
7 he blurted right out
"Mr. Merriweather, sir: Perhaps it
may not be unknown TO you, sir, that
during an extended period Of some Ave
| years L have been busily engaged in
| the prosecution of a commercial enter
| prise"
ssIs that so, and keepin' it a secret all
I the time, while thought you was tend
/ in store. Well, by George, you're one
! of 'em, now amt you2ia
PEBBLES had to begin all over again to
/ get the run of it.
'sBIr. Merriweath0r, sir: Perhaps it
may not be unknown to you that dur
| ing an extended period Of some five
years, I have been engaged in the pros
! ecution of a commercial enterprise, with
the determination to procure a sufh
cient mRintenance-n
''Sit down, Peeb, and help yourself to
beer. DON'T stand there holding your
hat like You was q blind beggar with
the paralysis. What's the matter with
you, anyway? I never see you behave
yourself SO in all my born days"
PEBBLES was knocked out OF time
again. and had to wander back and
take a fresh start
'Afr MerriWeatheF, sir: It may not
be unknown to you that during an eE-
tended period of some five years have
been engaged in the prosecution of a
commercial enterprise, with the deter
nlination to procure q maintRnance-'
"a whieh-ance ~ asked old Merr1-
weather, but PEBBLES held on to the last
word as if it was his only chanee, and
went on
enter upcn one whom could call my
own. / have been a lonely man, sir,
and have felt that it is not good for man
to be alone, therefore"
fsNeither is it PEBBLES, and I'm all
fired glad you dropped in. How's the
ssNTr. Aferriweather, sir,'' said Pee
bIes, in despairing confusion, raising
his voice to a veil, 'tit may be unknown
to YOU that during an extended period
of lonely man / have been engaged to
enter wedlock, and bestOW all my COM
mercial enterprises upon one whom
could procure to be determination to
be good to good for sufficient posses
siO0s-uO. I uean-tbat is-Mrs Merri-
weather, sir: 1t may not be unknown"
"And then again it may. Look here,
PEBBLES, you'd better lay down and
take something warm. You amt Well.''
f1Peebles, sweating like four-year-
colt, went in again.
tsNIr. MerriWeather, sir: 1t may not
be lonely for you to prosecute me Whom
You call friend, for commercial main
teDanCe but-but-O, dang it-hIrs
Merriweather, sir-it-"
go. PEBBLES. Won talk as wild as a
iackass. ] never see a more drst-class
idiot in the whole course of my life.
What's the matter with you, anyhow ~
sfAIr. MerriWeather, sir" said Peeb-
les, in agony of beWilderment, sit may
not be unknown to you that you prose-
cuted a lonely man who is not good for
a commercial period of wedlOck felt for
some years-but-"
tsSee here, Mr.. PEBBLES, you're drunk,
and if YOU don't do better than that,
you'd better leave. If you don'b III
Chuck YOU out, or Pm a Dutehman."
s.NIr. BIerriWeather, sir,n said Peeb-
les, frantic with despair, sit may not be
unknown to you that my earthly pos
sessions are engaged to enter Wedloclk
five years, with a sufficiently lonely
man who is not good for a commercial
tThe bloody deuce he isn't. Now
YOU 1ust git up and git, old boss, or I'll
knock what little brains out of you
you've got lefG.'
with that old AIerriweather took
PEBBLES by the shirt collar and the part
of his pants that wears out first if he
sits down much, and shot him into the
street. as if he had run against a loco
motive going at forty miles an hour.
Before old MerriWeather had a chance
to shut the front door, PEBBLES collected
his legs and one thing and another that
were lying around on the pavement, ar
ranging himself in vertical position,
and yelled out
sMr. Merriweather, sir, it may not be
unknown to you" which made the
old man so Wretchedly mad that he
went out and set bull-terrier on Peeb-
les, and the bull-terrier dropped on
PEBBLES before he had chance to lift
brOgan, and there was scientific dog
fight until they got to the fence, aud even
then PEBBLES would have carried that
bull-terrier home, gripped like a clamp
into his leg, if it hadn't been that the
meat was too tender, and the dog feel
ing certain that something or other
must eventually give way, held on un-
til he got his chop of of PEBBLES calf,
and PEBBLES went home half a pound
lighter, while Mr.. NJ. asserts to this day
! that they had to draw all the dogs
teeth to get the flesh out of his mouth,
''fOr he had an awful hOlt for such a
small animile."
/ OF course old Merriweathers daughter
| heard about it, and she was so mad
! that she never gave the old man any
peace until he went around the next
/ day to see PEBBLES about it. PEBBLES was
pale as ghost from the loss of blood
/ and beef, and he had a whole piece of
muslin wrapped around his of leg.
/ MerriWeather said: Il
"Peeb, Pm sorry about that muss last
/ night, but if you didn't behave like
| raving maniac, Pm a lOafer. I never
! see such deliberate ass since I was
/ born. What's the meanin' of it, anv-
way?"
81 was only trying to ask you 10 let
me marry your daughter,o groaned
| PEBBLES.
"Great-what ?-you don't mean to
say-well, hope / may be shot. Well,
| if you amt a regular old wooden head
ed idiot thought your mind was
wandering Why didn't you say it
| right out Why, of course, you can
have her, I'm glad to get rid of her,
throw in q lot of .ffrst-class BLESSINGS in
to the bargain"
And PEBBLES looked ruefuIly at his
/ defective leg and wished he hadn't
been such a fool, but he went out and
married the girl, and lived happily with
her for about two months, and 81 tbe
/ end OF that time he told q nnAaartLol