Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1873-09-25
WHOLE NO. 1926
A Danburian in a Terrible Fix.

Mr.. Coville while on the roof count
ing the shingles, he has been obliged
to keep pretty close to the house.
Last Wednesday he went out in the
yard for the first time, and on Friday
Mrs. Coyille got him an easy chair,
which proved great comfort to him.
1t IS one of those chairs that can be
moved by the occupant, to form al
most any position by means of rat
chests Mr.. Coville was very much
pleased with this new contrivance,
and the first afternoon did nothing
but sit in it and work it in all ways.
He said such chair as that did more
good in this worl than a hundred ser
mons. lie had it in his room, the
front bedroom up stairs, and there
he would sit and look out of the Win
dow, and enjoy himself as much as a
man can whose legs have been venti-
lated with shot. Monday afternoon
he got in the chair as usual. Mrs.
Covile was out in the back yard
hanging up clothes, and the son was
across the street, drawing lath along
a picket fence. Sitting down, he
grasped the sides Of the chair with
both hands to settle it back, when the
whole thing gave way, and Mr.. Co
vile came violently to the floor. For
an instant the unfortunate gentleman
was benumbed by the suddenness of
the shock, but the next he was arous-
ed by an acute pain in each arm, and
great drops Of sweat oozed from his
forehead when he found that the little
finger of each hand had caught in the
ratchets and were as firmly held as if
in a wise. There he lay on his back,
with the end of a round sticking in
his side, and both hands perfectly
powerlesS. The least move Of his
body aggravated the pain which was
chasing up his arms. He screamed
for help, but Mrs. Coville was in the
back yard telling Mrs Coney, next
door, that she didn't know what &C.
vile would do without that chair, and
so she didn't hear him. He pounded
the floor with his stockinged feet, but
the younger Coville was still drawing
emotion from that fence across the
way, and all other sounds were rapid
ly sinking into insignifcance, Be
sides, Mr.. Covilles legs were not
sufficiently recovered from the late
accident to permit their being profit
ably used as malets. How he did
despise that offspring, and how fer
-vently he did wish the owner Of that
fence would light on that boy and re
duce him to powder! Then he scream
ed again,and howled, and shouted
"Mana.' But there was no response.
What if he should die there alone, and
in that awful shape The perspira-
ton started afresh, and the pain in
his arm assumed an awful magnitude.
AGAIN he shrieked ''AIariaw but the
matinee across the way only grew in
volume and the unconscious wife had
gone into Mrs. Coneys, and was try
ing on that lady's redingote. Then
he prayed, and howled, and coughed,
and swore, and then apologized for it,
and prayed and howled again, and
screamed at the top of his voice the
awfulest things he would do to that
boy if heaven would only spare him
and show him an Ak. Then he open
ed his mouth for one final shrek,
when the door opened, and Mrs. Co
vile appeared with a smile upon her
face and Mrs. Coneys rcdingote on
her back. In one glance she saw that
something awful had happened to
Joseph, and, with wonderful presence
of mind, she screamed Tor help and
then tainted away, and plowed head
long into his stomach. Fortunately,
the blow deprived him of speech, else
he might have said something that he
would ever regret and before he
could regain his senses Mrs. Coney
dashed in and removed the griet-
stricken wife. But it required a
blacksmith to cut Coville loose. He
is again back in bed, with his mutilat
ed fingers resting on pillows, and
there he lies all day concocting new
forms of death for the inventor Of
that chair, and hoping that nothing
will happen to his son until he can get
well enough to administer it himself
Danbauy Ne'cs.
Applying verbena water to the
skin is said to be protection against
mosquitoes.