, 1876-07-01

friend 4-The jim. Jamsl" no repeated, in reply
60 nv questioning look.
= Jobn Brinslev was seated 10 his rooms, read
ing the prica.current in the evening paper,
had dropped in upon him t~oioquire what werethe
prospects, not of our common country, but OF
eheese. He was preparing himself Tor the Dell
very. of an elaborate opinion when he suddenly
started from his chair and, graspiug me by the
arm, . cried For Heavens SAKE tell
me, was that a fly"
T supposed he meant to inquire whether
had bought a few tons Of cheese +" just for a
Ay"-speculators will understand the phrase
or whether | intended to add another branch to
nv business, and replied accordingly.
HI mean, was that's that-a fly" ?" he
cried. making a wild sweep at a Olue-bottIo
whose wings Just then brushed his nose.
"Of course it is" / returned. "What DID
YOU think it was-a guinea-hen or a turkey
buzzard 7"
He seated himself, and began stirring the FIRE
thou9htfully.
MI, John BrinsIoy, let me explain, is a we'll
t1.do and rather portly commission merchant,
whose ACQUAINTANCE / had lately made. NatU-
rally a very sensible fellow, he had the adyan-
tage or disadvantage on starting in life OF a col
L.9iate education, graduating either as a baccha-
naEan or a baccalaureate-l do not exactly re-
member which. Ofhis former habits ! knew
nothing, but he was then one Of the stanchest
tsetotaiers going, refusing even that delicious
.nhose Of the prape-Tokpy, 10 which / always
yield myself a ready victim
Suddenly he wheeled round in his chair aud
propounded the queries with which this article
begins. replied in the negativc-that had
never had the Jim-Jims, and did not even know
what they were. c.
och No - he said, squaring himself in his
seat. "Well. l sincerely hope you never will
AS it is, let ne tell you something about
them"
listened there is no stopping john Bins
lev when he once gets talking and he went on
as follows
For about thirty years of my life was adj
dicted to-to-permit me a periphra8lS-the
use Of stimulants. Never a herd drinker in the
common acceptation of that term, was still
what may be called a steady drluker. | drank,
as people vote in the less respectable wards,
early and often. In short, | would as soon have
thought of going through the day without breath
inc az without bibbing, My nose may have ao-
quired a slightly coppery color 10 consequence,
vet no one ever saw me under the influence OF
liquor, and the charge of intemperanco was
never brought against me. Shutters ana GUT
ters we're alike strange to me.
Right here let me ask how the sin Of drunk
oQQeSS Is 10 De SStiIudI6u diu hO@outCO' a =
the quantity drunk or the effect produced which
we are to consider when sitting in Judgment
upon a mans habits and character For while
one man can drink all day without manifesting
any symptom of inebriatlon, another, who
should undertake or be persuaded to undergo
similar course of discipline, would probably find
himself carried home in a most ignominious way
upon an uncomfortable aud hastily lmproVised
litter, long before the sun was at IT'S zenith;
those who witnessed the Informal procession
would undoubtedly blazon the horizontal hero
as a drunkard of the most eminent type and
solemn tracts with startling titles would be
showered upon him in lieu of the lvy-iieaVes
wherewith the brows of Baochus of old were
bound. All this while the other man, who car
ried off his more frequent indulgences with an
air of unconscious grace, standing up under mis-
~potations like a three-decker to only a moderate
breeze, would very likely be Landed ter his
temperate habits, and held up as a model OF
sobriety to his less fortunate neighbour. But
whether the iniquity Of inhibition is to be mea-
sured by the amount drunk or by the capacity
of the drinker to withstand the subtle speiI
which bewi!ders the brain aud %confuses the
powers of Iocomotion, I cannot undertake 10
determine, nor will I now discuss but one
thing is certain. a fourth part Of the liquor
which / every day consumed without fear anu