Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-11-20
MIR. Covilie, of Danbury.

Since the unfortunate accident to Mr..
Coville while ON the roof counting the
shingles he has been obliged to keep
pretty close to the house. Last We'd
nesday he went out in the yard for the
first time, and on Friday Mrs. Coville
got him bis easy chair, which proved
great comfort to him. 1t is one of those
chairs that can be moved by the Cccu-
pant, to form almost any position, by
means of ratchets. Mr.. Coville was
very much pleased with this new con-
trivance, 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 world than hundred
sermons. He had it in his room. the
front bedroom upstairs, 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 in the
chair as usual. Mrs. Coville was out in
the backyard hanging up clothes, and
the son was across the street drawing a
lath along 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.. Coville
came violently to the floor.
For an instant the unfortunate gentle
man 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 in the
ratchets, and was as firmly held as ii IN
a vice. 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 aggravate
the pain which was chasing up his arms.
He screamed for help, but Mrs. Coville
was in the backyard telling Mrs. Coney,
next door, that she didn't know what
Covilie would do without the 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 rapidly sink
inc into significance. Besides, Mr. Co
ville's legs were not sufficiently recoV-
cred from the late accident to permit
their being profitably used as mallets.
How he did despise that offspring, and
how fervently he did wish the owner OF
that fence would light on that boy and
reduce him to powder Then he scream
ed again and howled and shouted MA
ria :" But there was no response. What
! if he should die there alone and in that
awful shape? The perspiration started
afresh, and the pain in his arm assumed
| an awful magnitude. Again he Shrek
| ed, 'sMaria ~ but the matinee across the
| way increased in volume, and the un-
conscious wife had gone into Mrs. Co
ney's, and was trying on that lady's red
! ingote. Then he prayed, and howled,
and coughed, and swore, and then apol-
! ogized 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 axe.
/ Then he opened his mouth for one n
/ nal shrek, when the door opened and
! Mrs Coville appeared with smile on
! her face and Mrs. Coney's redingote on
her back. In one glance she saw that
something awful had happened to 10
seph, and with wonderful presence OF
mind she screamed for help, and then
+ tainted away and plowed headlong into
| his stomach. Fortunately the blow de
/ prived him of speech, else he might
have said something that he would ever
have. regretted, and before he could re-
i gain his senses, Mrs. Coney dashed in
+ and removed the grief-stfieken wife.
| But it required blacksmith to cat Co.
I vile loose. BE is. again back in bed
with his nutilated fingers resting on pill
i lows, and there he lies all day eencoet
i ing new forms of death for the inventor
of that chair, and hoping that nothing
/ will happen to: his son until he can. ge'
well enough to administer it himself
/. DahJ1i7:g Ne.rS. .--..-..,..4 ...st