The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1876-10-05


one owes fellow money one is bound
to BE- civil 30 him. We got talking OF
pheasants, and the old fellow asked me
if I liked pheasant-shooting, and when
I said yes, Then come" said he, "and
have shy at mine" no more sus-
pected Slowcombe Of having any pleas
ant-shooting to give away than of keep
ing a roulette table at Hampton Court
races he was stodgy, pursy, pletboric
old fellow, who had been in the yeo-
many for day or two Gust to get
qualification for the club, and had then
rested on Lis sla1rels. Still, when man
farms his own land, there is always
temptation to get something out of it,
and it seemed he had grown pheasants
I ought to rave been more prudent, and
I will another time, or my name is not
Martingale.
I am, moreover, man of my word,
and I never thought of breaking my
promise to Aowcombe, until I heard him
ask another man, and then another, to
come down and enjoy themselves among
his covers, and both of them refused
point blank. They did not owe him
money, as did; but it struck me that
they we're more decided in their mega
tives 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 companion
in such an expedition she means well
and is quite harmless.
"Harmless (! By Jove that is just
what he ism t, J" was the unexpected re-
ply. "Why, last year was the first, &C
cording to his own confession, that he
ever took gun in hand, and he shot
Brooks of ours in the leg at fifteen yards,
in one of his own turnip-felds. You
don't mean to say you never heard
Brooks tell the story about his leg, and
how Slowcombe made game of it,"
I did not like to say that myself had
promised to go down to Slowcombe's,
but I made up my mind from that mo-
ment that wouldn't go. am not
family man, but respect myself, I hope,
as much as if was; and I wasn't going
to be blown to pieces by an old rhin-
oceros like that, in field of swedes. My
difficulty was to find an excuse: for the
other mems refusals- and his own knowl-
edge, perhaps, of why they wouldn't
come-had made Slowcombe 'Ftouchy;"
and when I had limited that couldn't
be quite sure of being with him on the
first, he had made an allusion to the lit
tie matter of business between us, which
I felt to be equivalent to "play or pay"
Come to Ploughshire (for he lived
among the clodhoppers), or settle my &C
count.
At last I hit upon plan. He knew
that was connected with the Great But
ter Company, and had often sounded me
as to its prospects,; but l could never
persuade him to invest in it. elf it's
such real good thing, you had better
stick to it yourself, Martingale, and let
nobody else in" / didn't like the re-
mark about letting people in; but I was
not in position to quarrel with Slow
combe. 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
3Oth), / wrote him this letter from the
club
my DEAR SLowcoMBE-I am exceedingly
sorry to disappont you-and still more so to
disappoint myself but regret to say that my
proposed visit to you has been knocked on the
head. The inelosed telegram will explain
itself Nothing but the most urgent business
would have prevented my keeping my engage
ment and / feel confident, from the ideas
you have often expressed to nae respecting the
necessity of attending strictly to the G. b. c.,
/ need no further apology for my absence.
You will, doubtless, have many another gun
with you and if the phrase of the more the
nI1<@
that OF the fewer the more cheer is certainly
still more to the purpose. A fuller bag will,
I hope, compensate for the absence of yours
most faithfully
eMARMADUKE MARTINGALE"
Then, leaving the envelope open, I
proceeded to concoct the telegram
ssFrom the Secretary of the Great Butter
Company (Limited), Cornhill, to Marmaduke
Martingale, Esq, Military, Naval, and Militia
Club, Pail Naturalization have been dis
covered in the company's accounts. ] am
therefore compelled to summon an extraor-
dinary meeting of the Board of Directors for
Wednesday next, whom your presence will be
indispensable"
I gave this composition to the club
commissioning, an active, intelligent
fellow, whom had often employed, and
sent him off to the nearest telegraph
Office. / calculated that it would return
to me-in Geographic form-in about
a quarter of an hour at furthest. But,
as it happened, it did not. I had an
engagement for that afternoon at Fur
lingham, and was obliged to leave the
club before the arrival of the expected
document. However, as knew it
must come. and could place the utmost
confidence in the porter, left my letter
with him, instructing him to place the
telegram inside it as soon as it came to
hand, and then to post it.
The next morning found, upon in
quiry, that this had been done, and
thought no more about the matter. The
day after. note, as had expected,
arrived from Slowcombe the contents
of which, however, did not expect
ssS1R-I am astonished that you should have
kI,o oScY1ropop tn SouS mo that FOL from