Whig and tribune. [volume] (Jackson, Tenn.) 1870-1877, 1876-02-05
Punch. brothers. puneh with carei
Pinch in The pressuee Of the uasSeu

1 came across these jingling rhymes in
a newspaper, Il little while ago, and read
them couple of times. They took in
slant and entire possession of me. All
through breakfast they went waltzing
through my brain; and when, at last,
rolled up my napkin, 1 could not tell
whether l had eaten anything or not.
had carefully laid out my days work the
day befOre-I thrilling tragedy in the nov
el which | am wrighting. l went TO
my den TO begin my deed of blood. j
took up my pen, but all could get to say
was, punch in the presence of the pas
scniare." | fought hard for an hour,
but it was useless. My head kept hum
ming "a blue trip slip for an eight
cent fare, buff trip slip fora six cent
fare, and so on and so on, without peace
or respite. The days work was ruined
Il could see that plainly enough. 1 gave
up and drifted down town, and presently
discovered that my feet were keeping
time % that relentless jingle When j
could stand it no longer, altered my
step. But it did no good; those rhymes
accommodated themselves to the new
step, and went on harassing me just as
before. 1 returned home, and suffered
all through an unconscious ana uure-
freshins dinner; suffered and cried, and
jingled all through the evening; went TO
bed and rolled tossed and jingled right
along. the same as ever got up at mid
night frantic, and tried to read; but there
was nothing visible upon the whirling
page except HPunch in the presence of
the passenjarc." by sunrise l was out of
nv mind, and everybody marveled and
was distressed at the idiotic burden of my
ravings,-"Punch, oh punch! punch in
the presence of the passenjare."
Two DAYS later, on Saturday morning,
arose, tOttering wreck, went to fulfill
M an gr.Igr 4 Vqlunl friend
Rev. MIR. -, to walk to the Talcott
Tower. ten miles distant, He stared at
me, but asked no questions. We started.
Mr.. - talked, talked, taiked-as is his
wont. l said nothing; l heard nothing.
At the end of a mile, Mr.. - said
"Mark, are you sickg l never saw a
man look so haggered and worn and
absentminded. Say something: dOr'
Drearily without enthusiasm. said (:
''Punch. brothers, punch with care,
Punch in the presence3 of the passen-
jare?"
My friend eyed me blankly, looked per-
picked, then said
81 do not think 1 get your drift, Mark.
There does not seem TO be any revelancy
in what you have said, certainly nothing
sad; and yet-naybe it was the way you
said the wOrds-I never heard any
thing that sounded so pathetic. What
iS''-
But heard no more. l was already
far away with my pitiless, heart braking
'sblue trip slip for an eight-cent fare,
pink trip slip for three-ceRt fare; punch
in the presence of the passenjare." l do
not know what occurred during the 9TH
er nine miles. However, all of sudden
Mr. - laid his hand on my shoulder and
shouted
ooh, wake up! wake up! wake up,
Don't sleep all day! Here we are at the
I ra1L L-an cn1
and dumb and blind, and never response.
just look ut this magnificent autumn
landscape, Look at it! look at it! Feast
your eyes upon it, You have travelled; /;
YOU have seen bOasted landscapes else
/ where. Come, now, deliver an honest
/ opinion. What DO You say to this?''
| sighed wearily and murmured,-
"A buff trip slip for a siX-cent fare,
I q pink trip slip for q three-cent fare,
/ punch in the presence of the passenjaTe.'
/ Rev. Mr.. - stood there, very grave,
1 full Of concern, apparently, and looked
/ at me; then he said,-
s'Mark, there Is something in them,
/ and yet they nearly break my heart
/ when you say them. Punch in the
/ how is it they gOE'
I began at the beginning and repeated
/ all the lines. Ny friends face lighted
I with interest. lie said,-
.'Why, what a captivating jingle it is {.
I IL is almost music.' 1t flows along so
/ nicely. 1 have nearly caught the rhymes
myself. Say them over once more, and
] then I'll have them. sure"
/ | said them over. Then Mr.. - said
them He made one little mistake, which
/ | corrected. The next time aud the next
/ he got them right. Now q great burden
| seemed to be tumbled from my shoulders.
/ That tOrturing jingle departed out Of my
| brain: grateful sens of rest and peace
| descended upon me. l was light-heart-
I ed enough to sing; and l did sing for
/ half an hour, straight along, as we went
I Jogging hOmeward. Then my freed
I tongue found blessed speech again, and
I the pent talk of many a weary hour be
/ gan to gush and flow. It flowed on and
on, joyous, jubilant, until the fountain
was empty and dry. As | wrung my
friends hand at parting, l said,-
Haven't we had . roval good time,-
But now l remember, you haven't said a
word for two hours. Come, come, out
with something"
The Rev. Mr.. - turned a laCklusteT
eye upon me, drew deep sigh, and said,
without animation, without apparent
/ consciousness
punch, brothers, punch with care
| Punch in the presence Of the passenjare I.
\ pang shot through me as l said tC
myself, ''PoOr fellow, poor fellow he has
got it now
did not see Mr. - for two or three
days after that. Then, on Thursday
evening, he staggered into my presence
and sank dejectedly into q seat. He Wa
. pale, worn; he was a wreck. He lifte'
his faded eyes 70 my face and said