Orangeburg times. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1872-1875, 1873-06-19
THE OLD BROWN COAT.
BY CAPTAIN MARRYAT.

"I I.reckon you see nothing very par
ticular in this, do you 2" said an Ameri-
caniacquaintance OF mine, bringing out
the cuff Of an old coat, and holding it up
before me, dangling it between his finger
and thumb.
Il can't say that do," replied /; abut
I presume it has some secret merit which
remains to be explained"
EXACTLY" replied my acquaintance.
pronouncing each syllable of the word
apart. "yet the coat of which this is the
remaining cuff, was the occasion of my
being just now pretty considerable we'll
to do in the world. I am right, amt 1 2"
continued he, appealing to his wife, q
very pretty young woman, who stood by
him.
$50 you seem to think" sho replied,
smiling; "but / am not convinced, SO
1ar as am concerned in the business,
that that coat had anything to do with
|.it.'
."Well, then, shall just tell my story.
and leave you to decide" said he, turn
ing to me. "You must know that there
was time when I was rather hard up
and how to go ahead was the business.
L hnd tried mercatilc speculation and
sunk and immcnsity of dollars. / had
turned lawyer, but that would, not an
swer i'll my way. ] took to farming
luck there. Went out supercargo; ship
went on reef, and lost cargo Return
ed to New York, speculated long while
upon nothing didn loose much, that's
certain, but didn't realize; at last L gave
up business, and resolved to amuse N.Y.
self a little, SO l went South and joined
Bolivar. ] fought with him for three
years. and a'good officer he was; but he
had one fault as general, which was,
ftlr,st liis az sses r~;I 1snngs.d
my three years pay, but finding there
was neither pay nor plumber, got tired
of it, and male my way home to the
States, and at last arrived at the capital,
with only one extra shirt and not cent
in my pocket. I happened to meet with
q tailor whose customer / had once been,
when l had money and paid my bills;
and he observed that my coat was rather
shabby, and that / could not appear in
it, l knew that very well, and that all
he wanted was m order for another, but
as | had no chance of paying him,
thought ithdvisable not to take the hint.
"I think, said /, ''that with now
velvet collar and II think" said 1, "that
with new velvet collar and brass but
tons, it might do very well for an even
ing party.
81 see" says he; "that's an old coun-
try custom, wearing an old coat at ball.
l guess you're going to Mr.. +T.'s .to-mor-
row night A regular fare-up, 1 am
told. President there and every and
everybody else. It's hardly worth it,"
continued he, touching the threadbare
cuff.
eyes it is" replied I, "thcrcll be n
regular jam, and new coat would be
spoiled. Ill send it to you tonight. aud
you must let me have it in the morning !;
SO good bye"
"Wcll, the coat came home tho next
day, not carly in the morning, as / ex-
pected, but past meridian, and l walked
up and down my bedroom in my trous-
ers, thinking what l should do AT 3
o'clock | called upon Mrs. T., and left
my card; went back again, and waited
two hours for the invitation. Called
again, and waited two hours fer the in
vitation-no invitation. Called again at
five, and left another card, telling the
niger that | had not received nm invita-
tion, and that there must be some mis-.
take; whereupon an invitation came
about an hour after my return, just as i
was putting my hat on to call again, and
leave another card, in very fierce man
ner, reckon. Well, l lwcnt very early
to the ball, and my coat looked remark
ably gay. You couldDe zee that the velvet
collar was new, and the buttons glittcred
famously; bat you could not see that
the cloth was not a little the worse for