The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1872-10-05

A JOKE ON Tom CORwIN.-When the
patent Screw and Augur Line of rail-
| way from POrkOpolis, terminated at
Middleburg-it has since come to be q
great national thOrOughfare-The pas
sengers were carried to all parts of the
civilized world, as we'll as to New Jer-
| sey, by the old fashioned coaches. These
stages ran crowded, and there was gem
| orally q contest for seats. Gov. COrwin
was to leave Middleburg at midnight in
a stage. To secure the best seats, this
hrmorist sat up all night. He was
not alone, for he had bottle of choice
old whiskey to keep him company. He
tried his whisky, he said, plain. He
then had it made into a mint julep, af-
ter which he discussed it in the shape
of smash. About II o'clock he thought
a cocktail would add variety to this
spice of life. This he washed down
with hot punch, and then, atmidnight,
| just as he heard the stage rattle in, he
took all that was left straight
Selling his carpet-sack and overeoat,
he rushed out to find y crowd around
the stage, and without saying a word,
but in o great hurry, bolted in and en-
scOnoed himself in one corner upon the
back seat. He fell asleep congratuIat-
ing himself upon having been SO for
tlnate, and had q dim dreary conscious
ness of the stage rolling away.
When he again wakened the stage
was at standstill; the curtains were
all down, the windows up but enough
daylight got in to satisfy him that that
Institution had, "done broke" some
| time since. He hastily started IN. and
| dropping one Of the windows, was per
fectly amazed to find himself in the
wagon yard OF hotel. Two hogs were
getting their breakfast out of q ma
nure heap, while melancholy COW
| stood chewing her cud, while working
her tail to keep it in practice for fly
time, A lazy hOstler was entertaining
himself with q pitchfork. A further
note of the Surroundings satisfied
Gov. Corwin that he was in the rear of
| the Middleburg Hotel, and that he had
been there from 70 of the night before.
COrWin was a man of genius, and it did
not take him long to discover the cause
OF this extraordinary result He had
got into a stage that had come in instead
OF one going out. The people about
this leather conveyance when he en-
seconded himself, thought, as he
| learned afterwards, that he was q Das-
sengeF in search of an umbrella, or
some other article left behind,
| The Governor opened the door of the
stage very softly. He crept out trying
to feel SO mall that, as he said slibse-
qtlently, his skin hung loose on him.
He could not escape, however, the
eye OF the hOStler, who exclaimed in
some astOnishment, Hello, Governor.
did they forgit and leave yer i'm the
stage ~ There there, my man, an
sweredC CorWin, giving him silver dollar,
''you keep your fytrap shut, or there will
be o sudden death in your family"
! For God" exclaimed the hOstler, as
COrWin walked away, dat's most 'strOn-
airy ; the Governor of Ohio done forgot
in stage coach.n
| Corwin walked into the hotel, demos
tied his carpet-sack and coat behind the
| first door he encountered. and then Sam
tered into the breakfast room, irving to
assume an air of a man who had not
slept I'm d wagon yard all night. While
discussing the oiled sole leather and
muddy coffee, for which the American
people pay hotel prices, o friend on
the other side of the table looking nm
suddenly, exclaimed, why, Governor. 7
thought you left for the capital last
night.n
"Well, exclaimed Corwin, with one of
those whimsical looks with which he was
wont to set the table in a roar, " / was
| under that impression myself
Got left, did You ~
| Yes, believe | was a good deal
left" '''
How was that, Governor ~
See here, my friend exclaimed Cor
win, carefully depositing his knife and
fork ON each side of his plate, asif thew
were articles of value, " if you will
consent not to press a further investi-
CATION upon that subject, win present
your wife with a bonnet more like a
coal scuttle than any now in market.
Ifyou don't consent he continued with
wild energy, seizing his fork: "Tllmur-
der yon."
The story, however, was too good for
Tom to keep to himself, and for years
after he was in the habit Of telling how
he slept in a stable yard, and attributed
| it all TO some very bad whiskey that
Hon. Salmon P. Chase had given him.
[D0n Piatt'