Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1876-10-19

As'N 10 uO1t oOtOio, buu even lIo CIV
= mics. People shook their heads
1t especially when they tasted tn
butter), and prophesied we shoul
not last; and it was necessary to ac
4 vertise considerable to get new Gus
toners. Our business lay rathe
with new ones than old ones, perhaps
3 but it was gradually getting sprea
over the country-though thinl
spread, like butter upon bread a
school.
So long as we were harmoniou
amongst ourselves, said the Chairman
or at all events, washed our dirt
J linen at home-did not attack on
another in the papers, as so man.
Boards of Directors are wont to-
we should be all right; but IL ono
there should be mistrust of on
another, he would not answer for th
the -coRsequenees.-sLe only tn,
Great Butter Company be true u
itself" said he. during the peroratior
OF the most powerful speech L eve
remember to have heard from any
man sitting, "and 1 do not hesitate tt
affirm that the days of dairymen are
numbered" For though 1 am still
under obligation of secrecy as to the
material Of which our butter wa.
composed, may say it had nothing
in common with dairies. except a lit
tie water. Enough, however, of com.
mon details.
When playing at pool in the early
autumn one night at the club 1 had
the misfortune to lose-neither my
money nor my life, for was amazingly
careful OF both, but-my self-posses-
sion. and some how or other got in
weighed into promise to go down to
old Slocombe's to shoot upon the 1st
of October. 1t was a foolish thing to
do, for Slocombe is bore, and hap
pened to owe him little money, and
when man is both bore and a cred
itor it is intolerable to be under the
same roof with him, more especially
If it be his own. There were some
excuses for me, for in the first place
there were so few men in town that
we were obliged to ask Slocombe to
make up the pool, and secondly,
when one owes fellow money one is
bound to be civil to him. We got
talking Of pheasant-shooting. and
when said yes: ~Then come,' said
he, "and have shy at mine" no
more suspected Slowcombe OF having
any pheasant-shooting to give away
than Of keeping roulette-table at
Hampton Court races; he was a stod-
gy. pursy. plethoric old fellow, who
had been in the yeomanry for day
or two Gust to get a qualification for
the club, and had then rested on his
laurels. Still when a man farms his
ownla lands there is always temptation
to get something out Of it, and he
seemed to have grown pheasants. L
ought to have been more prudent,
and 1 will another time, or my name
is not Martingale.
am, however, a man OF my word,
and I never thought OF breaking my
promise to Slowcombe until l heard
him ask another man, and then an
other to come down and enjoy them
selves among his covers, and both Of
them refused point blank. They did
not owe him money, as 1 did; but it
struck me that they were more de-
cided in their negatives than the
occasion demanded.
"Why don't you go down to poor
old Slowcombe's? said / to one Of
them--a man Should have liked as a
companion in such an expedition
~he means well and is quite harm
less" aH
@Harmlessl By Jovel that is just
what he isn't, was the unexpected re-
ply. why, last year was the first.
according to his own confession, that
he ever took gun In hand. andh shot
Brooks Of ours in the leg at fifteen
yards in one Of his own turnip fields.
You don't mean to say you never
heard Brooks tell the story about his
leg, and how Slowcombe made game
OF it?~
/ did not like to say that / myself
had promised to go down to Slow
combe's, but l made up my mind
from that moment that wouldn't go.
1 am not a family man, but respect
myself, 1 hope, as much as IL l was;
and wasn't going to be blown to
pieces by an old rhinoceros like that,
in a field Of Swedes. My difficulty
was to find an excuse; for the other
mems refusals-and his own know
ledge, perhaps, OF why they wouldn't
come, had made Slowcombe Atouehy y
and when I limited that 1 couldn'tl be
quite sure Of being with him on the
1st, he had made an allusion TO the
little matter Of business between us,
which / felt to be equivalent to "play
or pay"-Cope to Ploughshire (for
he lived among the clodhoppers, or
settle my account
At last I hit upon q plan. He knew
that / was connected With the great
butter packing company, and had
often sounded me as to its prospects;
but could never persuade him 70
invest in it. "If it's such a real good
thing you had better stick to 1t your
self, Martingale, and let nobody else
in." / didn't like the remark about
letting people in; but was not in a
position to quarrel with Slowcombe.
He parted from me on the last day
but one of September, telling me he
wanted twenty-four hours to get his
guns ready, and impressing upon me
the best train by which to start for
Ploughshire on the morrow. The
next morning (the 30th) / wrote him
this letter from the club: 4s.a-f
My DEAR SLowcoMBE: T. am ex-
ceedingly sorry to disappoint you