The Canton mail. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 18??-1882, 1876-04-22

that they might run few weeks and
then break and be brought back to him
tor repairs, when he would charge double |
price for the spring, and double price for
his work, which prices were always paid
cheerfully, because the extra amount
seemed a sort of guarantee that the work
was well done. He had also frequently
filed tooth nearly off, so that it would
break and new wheel have to be put
in Sometimes he would use sticky oil
that would collect dirt, and that would
bring job of cleaning; and occasionally
he would say to his customers, on look
ing into the works, that pinion had
broken, and although it had not broken,
and he did nothing but clean the works,
he would charge for putting in a new
pinion. He now perceived that every
time he had put dirt or bad oil in clock
work, or broken a tooth or pinion, an
equal amount of dirt or bad oil had been
inserted in his moral machinery, and
tooth for tooth and pinion for pinion had
been broken there, and consequently, 1t
matters continued long thus, the whole
machine would fall down in a wreck, and
people would discover what had been 60
ing ON in secret But this was not the
most alarming, he saw Il great wheel with
only one tooth left. On counting the
fractures he found that it had once con-
tanned four hundred and ninety teeth.
"Four hundred and ninety! Four
hundred and ninety. Four hundred and
ninety!!" he .ejaculated, in bewil-
dered way, as if gfasping at vague,
dreadful idea. "Why that is seventy
times sevenl And here 1 have been for
given four hundred and eighty-nine
times. and there is no authority for hop
ing for more than one more chance! BE-
sides, there are all the teeth gone but
one. and when that goes"
With scream of fear he awoke. HI
neck was across the back of ike chair,
and all the blood in his body seemed to
have settled in the top of his head. He
discovered that he had been dreaming,
but felt that he had been warned in
dream.
| After breakfast next morning, which
was Saturday morning, he went hastily
to hunt up an elder of the church, to
whom he related his dream, and insisted
that he must be wound up every Satur-
day morning, or he could not run till
Sunday. The elder pshawed at such an
absurd idea, but gave him a good talking
to, and that afternoon he missed his Gus
tomary Spree After that, every Satur
day morning he went to an elder and got
wound up. This continued aboutayear,
when one Saturday morning he could
find neither elder nor minister. All had
gone off to a meeting of the synod. he
was in great distress. That afternoon he
got drunk, went home cursing and swear.
ing, broke three chairs and all the china
turned his wife out of doors, locked the
door, and went to bed with his boots on
The police did not take him that time
buthe remained at home. His wife, who
knew and pitied his frailties, crept bach
through WlHuOW dltcf uC was dSiCCi
and lying down beside him, slept till hel
usual time of rising and going about hel
morning duties.
At six o'clock, when she went to WIND
him up for breakfast, she found he had
run down forever. His heart had ceased
to tick. Neighbors were called in. HI
was cleansed for the last time, and lait
away on a shelf till the judgment day
when he would have to meet all the lam,
cog wheels, married spings, solemn-pacet
pendulums, and the faces, hands and fig
his lifetime.
A monument was erected over him il
the form of clock, with the hand
shaped like human arms and hands-tht
hour hand pointing to 6, and the minute
hand to IL, to preserve the time of hi
death, and also, by happy coincidence
to indicate the doubt his friends were il
as to what had become of him. If one
hand missed the other would hit.