Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1877-11-28
was bad habit. Then he went to q

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physician and asked what effect dis
of the weed would be likely
to produce in his case, and was advised
not to leave off smoking, or, if he did,
to do SO gradually. The sequel must be
toldln his own words.
He came one afternoon to the house
of the before mentioned widow lady,
with more grave and thoughtful face
than usual, and his first words we're:
"Well, sister W., I've done it,"
''Done what, Mr.. ORR" was the res
ponse.
''I've stopped off the tobaccy," he re-
piled. II was rldin' along this mornin'
smokin' me pipe, an the ould devil, be
He was a pushing and capable mech
anic; and now that he set vigorously
about his work, he was exceedingly sue
cessful, and soon had from two to fou,
in his employ, and obtained
the best jobs in the market.
He was a man of rather more than
medium height and of a muscular build
with sprlnginess about the knees, and
a kind of sturdy teeter in his gait that Is
not easily described, but which to init
ated eyes was suggestive of boxing
His head was large, square and crowned
with a shocky mass of brown hair; his
eyes were deep set, intensely, blue, and
wore pleasant expression when one
met them fairly, as in the act of greet
ing Or in friendly conversation; but at
most other times those eyes of his were
either half shut, or else, aided and abet-
ted by his mouth and hands, were en-.
gagged in the struggle unto death that he
was waglng against the enemy.
His favorlte appellation for the Diety
was ''the Almighty" Che pronounced
the "a" SHORTY, as though his comba-
five spirit rejoiced particularly in this
title, which embraced within itself both
power and victory. His pet names for
the evil one were Satan" ''the dlval,"
and ''the ould fellow"
AS soon as he had settled his habita-
ton in the village, which was henceforth
his home, he and his wife joined the
Methodists, and there were two or three
families Of the church membership, IN
whose houses he was sort Of common
er, coming and going at will for when
not a. work he was apt to be restless,
never staying long in one place. One
Of his favoraite resorts was the house OF
a widow lady having sense enough to
his character and cultiva-
ton, that led her to treat him with po-
likeness on all occasions. When he
was about home, two or three times in
the course Of the day and evening. he
would cross the road with that pecu-
liar gait, his eyes shut, and singing at
the top of his voice some favorite hymn.
Sometimes the singing would suddenly
cease, his eyes would rol. upward, his
hands clinch nervously, and if you were
near enough you might hear a heavy
grnan or a sharp ejaculation. At other
times the pantomime would be varied !;
he would possibly cast a sidelong glance
al some invisible foe, accompanied by
a contemptuous curl of the lip, and fol-
lowed by snap of his fingers and a
sh ort derisive laugh. Then he would
enter the house radiant or chuckling,
and relate his encounter and victory.
One evening, when there had been a
fair held in the village during the day,
and sounds Of revelry were rising from
the precincts of the inn i'll the valley, he
to be en- route to make one OF
his flying visits, and he made his en-
trance with this salutatlon:
"Sister W., what do you think the
ould fellow said to me when was COM
in over?'.
Sister W. couldn't imagine so he
her thus:
"Well, he says to me, 'Hah? Billy
Orr, I've got some good fellows down
there"
'''Have ye, Satan?' says I; thin
you jist go down there, an if ye find
Billy Orr, send him home to his
wife," -5
And he laughed in downright glee at
the rebuff he had given his Satanic
One afternoon he came in, and after
the usual greeting, sat in silence for a
minute or two, then broke out with:
II settled him there awhile ago. I
was chopin fre-wood, an the dival,
he says to me, Billy Orr, ye're poor
man; ye have to chop ye're own wood.
Ye didn't do that when ye was in my
and We don't get much in sar-
vim the Lord I didn't think him
worth Reasoning with; so I just lifted
me eyes to the Almighty, and thin 1
looked down at him, and says 1, Satan,
will We spell Bill Berry, That was a
poser, and the ould fellow wint off like
q dog with his tail between his legs"
Bill Berry was youth. of the village,
whose name Mr.. Orr had that morning
enrolled on the temperance pledge, and
therefore he now threw this name in
the teeth of his adversary.
His education, outside of his trade,
had been limited to the three RS and
as he, after his conversion, acquired
quite taste for reading, he found him
self frequently alta loss, and used some
times to apply for information to the
elder of his friends little ones, especial
ly on questions Of history and geogra
ply. On one of these occasions all at
once he closed his eyes and actually put
L. L..