Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1873-09-11
Coville's Misfortunes
tFron the Danbury News,


Since the unfortunate accident Il
Mr.. Coville while on the roof count
ing the shingles, he has been obliged
TO keep pretty close to the house
Last Wednesday be went out into
the yard for the first time, aud or
Friday Mrs. Coville got him into al
easy chair which proved a great
comfort to him. 1t is enc of those
chairs that can be moved by the oc.
cupant, to form almost any position
by means of rachets. Mr.. Coville
was very much pleased with thi:
new contrivance, and the first after.
noon did nothing but sit 10 it aud
work it in all ways. He said such
chair as that did more good in this
world than hundred sermons. He
had it in his room, the front bedroom
up stairs, and there he would sit and
look out of the window, and enjoy
himself as much as man can whose
legs have been ventilated with shot.
Monday afternoon he got into the
chair as usual. Mrs. Coville was out
in the back yard hanging up clothes,
and the son was across the street
drawing lath along picket fence.
Sitting down he grasped the sides of
the chair with both hands to settle it
back, when The whole thing give
away, and Mr.. Coville came violently
to the floor. For an instant the IN,
fortunate gentleman was benumbed
by the suddenness of the shock, but
the next he was aroused by an acute
pain in each arm, and the great drops
of sweat oozed from his forehead
when he found that the little finger
of each hand had caught into the
ratchets, and were as firmly held as
if in vice. There he lay on his
back with the end of q round ssick-
ing in his side, and both hands per.
fectly powerless. The least move of
the body aggravated pain which was
chasing up bis arms. He screamed
for help, but Mrs. CeYille was in the
back yard telling Mrs. Coney, next
door, that she didn't know what
Coville would do without the chair,
and so she didn't hear him. He
pounded the floor with his stocking.
ed feet, but the younger Coville was
still drawing emotion from that fence
across the way, and all other sounds
were rapidly sinking into insignif-
cnce. Besides, Mr.. Coville's legs
were not sufficiently recovered from
the late accident TO permit their be-
ing profitable used as mallets. How
he did despise that offspring, and
how frequently he did wish the own
er Of that fence would light on that
boy and reduce him 20 powder.
Then he screamed again, and howled,
and shouted "Maria |" But there
was no response - Whit NbhJr IN if tbhsff
awful shape2 he perspiration
started afresh, and the pain in his
arms assumed an awful magnitude.
Again he shrieked maria ~ but the
matinee across the way only grew
in volume, and the Unconscious wife
had gone into Mrs. Coney's, and was
trying on that lady's redingote
Then he prayed, and howled, and
coughed, and swore, and then apollo
gized for it, and prayed and howled
again, and screamed at the top of
his voice the awfullest things he
would do to that boy if heaven
would only spare him and show him
an axe. Then he opened his mouth
for one final shrek, when the door
opened, and Mrs. Coville appeared
with a smile on her face and Mrs.
Coney's redingote on her back. In
one glance she saw that something
awful bad happened to Joseph, and
with wonderful presence of mind
she screamed for help and then
tainted away, and ploughed head
long into his stomach. Fortunately
the blow deprived him of speech, else
he might have said something that
he would ever regretted, and before
be could regain his senses Mrs. Co.
ney dashed in and removed the grief
stricked wife. But it required a
blacksmith to cut Covilie loose. He
is again back in bed with his mutilat-
ed fingers resting on pillows, and
there he lays all day concocting new
forms of death for the inventor of
that chair, and hoping nothing will
happen to his son until he can get
we'll enough to administer il himself.