National Republican., 1880-03-04
MISCELLANEOUS.
JESSE WnIrH,s r1RsT DRTNK.


The Mysterious Power OF the Governor OF the
Carolinas.
~ am sixty years old, and never got drunk
till day before yesterday" remarked Uncle
Jesse White as he sat OH a salt barrel In front
OF grocery store. 81 have lived In Arkansas
for forty years-cum here from East Tennessy
and tho thought that / got drunk in tho
evening Of my life when / can Just see ths
gray hairs shining In the twilight, is enough
to mako me throw myself in tho river" Tell
us how it occurred, Uncle jesse" asked a by
stander "Woll, some time ago, up In my
neghborhood," and he stopped talking aud
drew his pipe vigorously to see If the fire was
out, "a Good Templsr's lodge was organized.
All the young people jined, aud pretty soon
they came after me. My son Ike was the
leadn' man, and he says 10 me, Pap,
] want you TO iine this thing Ike says |,
i don't know the taste Of liquor and | don't
sec the use Of jnin'! Pap, says he, we
want your influence. We are gwine to voto
on the l0cAl option law pretty soon, and wo
want you publicly Identified with the work.
Then my daughter Susan, she came around
and begged me to iine Susan, says /, You
never seed your old father take a drink
No, pap says she, but we want you to help
us frown down the curse of intemperance'
Next onr parson came around and sot my
wife on me- and when they all got
TO drummin' | had to iine. / jned on Fri
day night and ON the following Saturday got
on the boat and came down here. Somethin'
allied mo, Somethn' kept sayin' jesse White,
you amt FREQ man. II bothered me, aud
when / saw one of the deck hands turn up a
jng down ! walked and looked into 1t, took
hold Of the corn-cob stopper. walked away aud
smolt my fingers. / went up on deck and sat
down in front. Pretty soon two men
came aud sat down After while
one of them remarked: The Governor
..E II. ...G
South Carolina and without finishing tho
sentence, both men laughed aud drank out
Of big black bottle. There was
somethin' in that Governor business
that took me. l had heard my father
talk about it and laugh. had often heard it,
but no one had ever been positive what it was
that the Governor said. only that tho time be.
tween drinks had been rather long. Pretty
soon ono Of the men reached down, took up
the bottle took out the cork aud said The
Governor of North Carolina said to the -
Then both men laughed aud drank never
felt so curious in my life. ! looked around ut
the trees on the bank, and at women who
waved their handkerchiefs ut us rs we passed
These Governors had ring about them that
tingled through my old blood. Just then one
of the men turned, held the bottle toward me
aud said: The Governor of North - Be.
foro knew had held of the bottle. turned
itup and drank. All ! thought about was the
GoVernors,and when the shadows of Ike, Susan,
the parsoD, and my wife fitted through my
brain, the two Governors, tall and grand,
staiked right up and ran over them. The
Governor of North Carolina aud had taken
another pull and long one. l began to sec
the Governors in their true light. l thought
they were the best fellows in the world. The
boat seemed to be runnin' mile minute, and
l didn't care what she did so long ms the Gov
orors were with us. Woll, boys, the Cover
"a n lnn ipf nd
by the time got TO Little Rock was drunk
as an owl. o, was drunk as n mule--a mink.
got off the boat and yelled Hoorah for tho
Governor Of North Carolina, and the first
thing knowcd 1 found myself in q sort of
prison. Fust time / ever was locked up, boys.
Fust timo ever was drunk, and l am sixty
odd years Old."-LiHe Rock Gd=elie.