, 1876-06-23
A Tale With a Moral.
BY GIsBIES.


vidual and extremely difficult to fathom.
Being deprived in early life OF his
father. amino associating to any extent
with the boys of his village, he was LETT
to grow up to manhood and Its reSpon-
sibilities with little more than his own
promptings. and in this way he formed
his own idea of things in general and
acquired rather odd notions as to right
and wrong. He was one of those quiet,
unobtrusive, distant beings who pursue
the silent tenor of their way regardless
of all precedents; yet he was not at all
stubborn, but, on the other hand, of a
Welding -pusillanimous, yet
nluckv when cornered; and, if wOrsted
in battle, he would the next moment
treat his assailant as if he had received
an honor at his hands.
1t had been Jimmy's lot to learn the
art of printing, and while at this bust
ness he received the cognOnen of The
Cast-iron Man" from his ability to work
almost day and night without an effort,
and s1arning the use OF stool to sit
upon To be on a par with his fellow
typos, he very soon acquired the prac-
tice of chewing tobacco but J1mmys
idea for using the weed was his own,
and perfectly in keeping with his whole
department. 1t was not for the pleas
ure derived from it, but to appear as an
equal in the eyes of his fellows ; and to
do this the more effectually, he always
kept the quid in the front part OF his
mouth, partly protruding, so that there
might be no mistaking it for licorice.
If asked confdentially what he meant
by it, he would reply that it made him
"feel big"
If Jimmy prided himself in anything
it was in swimming. He was a very
fair swimmer, but, as usual, in his own
unique fashion. He did not like the
water to be very deep, but Just sufi-
cient depth to allow him to put his
hands and feet on the bottom, with his
head above, and in this mode he could
get along nicely, and would feel elated
at his success. He always preferred
the shallow water for this purpose
and we thought his choice a wise
one. And it was while living on the
banks of the stream in which he occa-
sionally INDUCES in these crab-like per-
formances, that he bought cornet, de-
termined to be a musician or die. He
bought a frst-class, new instrument,
and paid five dollars for it, and night
after night, almost every night, he blew
on that cornet until he would finally
have to give up from sheer exhaustion,
and the neighbors were about becoming
frantic. As he advanced in his studies
be exchanged his cornet for a larger one,
one that could indeed be heard by all
bent on letting the inhabitants know
that verify there was q musician in their
midst. When Gabriel emigrated from
America he must have forgotten his
trumpet, and it was beyond doubt the
very one that Jimmy had now in his
possession. The sweet strains were
poured forth to all the willing and un-
willing listeners far and near; and if the
performers critics could have had their
desires realized, poor Jimmy would
long ago have been keeping company
with Gabriel in the far off realms of
eternal bliss, where his exertions would
doubtless have been better appreciated.
But he was impervious to all criticism,
and took sweet counsel only with him
self, blowing his new trumpet with, if
possible, renewed energy, until at last
Nature herself became exhausted, and
he was obliged to dispose of his beloved
companion, and its value was shortly af-
forwards drawing interest in the village
savings bank.
Without doubt Jimmy was indeed
peculiar genius. Among his many vir-
lures, however, he did not lack in feel
ing for his poor old mother and his sis
ter, and was always devising plans for
tightening their household duties. His
principal one was this: After wearing
shirt one week, instead of removing it
at the end of that time he simply put
on a clean one over it, and wore these
two for another week. On the follow
ing Sunday morning he would don still
another white shirt over the other two.
and at the end of three weeks remove
all three shirts, continuing the same op-
Grafton throughout the year. 1t is no
exaggeratior when we assert that he has
positively been known to wear six shirts
at one timel Jimmy had some way of
his own of explaining the utility of this
proceeding, but the mental exertion re-
quired to comprehend it was too great,
and we quietly acquiesced.
But there is an end to all things, and
this, in part, applies to Jimmy, as the
sequel viii show. Last year he took
unto himself wife to love, to cherish,
and to protect, and determined to turn
over a new leaf. Being then frugally
inclined, it was then said, they, for the
present, concluded to take up their
abode with his mother and sister, where
all would dwell together in perfect har-
mony, oblivious of the cold and selfish
world around them. But ''man is born
to troubles, as the sparks fly upward.
1t was woman this time, however, as
Jimmy's better-half soon discovered.
Her position in the household soon be-