The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1883-08-25
PLAYING 1T ON THE OLD
MAN.

"What started your pa to drinking
again Z"
"Oh, ma thinks 1t was losing money
on the Chicago races. Pa has been
steaming aver since. He cant stand
adversely. But I guess we have got
him now. Pa 10 the scaretest man you
over saw"
"How did You bring him to his zen
ses r.
'.Well, ma tried having the minister
talk to pa, but pa talked Bible abont
taking u little wine for the stomach's
sake, aud gave i~llnstrations about Noah
getting full. SO the minister couldn't
brace him up. and then ma had some
of the sisters to come and talk to him,
but he broke them all up by talking
about what an appetite they had for
champagne punch when they were out
in camp last summer, and they couldn't
have any effect on him, and ~ ma said
she guessed l would have to exercise
my ingenuity on pa again. 10 l told
her that if she would do just ~ l said,
me and my. chum would scare pa SO
be would swear of. She said she
would, and We went to work. Firit I
to0k pas spectscles down to an opti-
elan on Saturday sight and had the elas
- taken ont and . pair put In their
place that would magnify, and I took
them home and put them in pa'sspecta
Gle case. Then l got . suit of clothes
from my chum's uncle's trunk about
half The size Of ps's clothes. Ny cheM's
uncle 10 . very email man, and pa is
c~orpulent. / got . plug hat three laizes
emsllee than pas hat, and took tho
name ont Of pas hat add put is in the
email hat. I got . shirt about half big
1Asough for pa and put his iaitials on
the thing under the bosom, and Tot .
No. IL collar. Pa wears II. Pa had
promised to brace up and go to church
on Sunday morning; and ma put these
small clothes where ps could put Nem
on. told ma, when pa woke . to
tell him he looked awfully bloated and
excite his curiosity, and then send for
me-"
"You didn't play such a trick % that
on q poor old man, did you Z" said the
grocery man.
"You bot. Well, ma told pa he look
ed awfully bloated. Pa said he guess
I'd he wasn't bloated very much. but
he got up and put on his spectacles and
looked at himself N the glass. You'd
. died to see him look at himself. His
face looked as big as two faces through
the glasses, and his nose was a sight.
Pa looked scared, and then he held up
his hand and looked at that. His hand
looked like q ham. just then I came
In, and turned pale with some chalk on
my face, and l began to cry, and eaid !:
%. pa, what ails you I You are SO swell
led up | hardly knew YOU Pa looked
sick to his stomach, aud then he tried
to get on the pants. Oh, my. it was all
I could do to keep from laughing to see
him pull them pants ~. He could Just
get his legs in, andwhen 1t got a shoe
horn and gave it to him he was mad.
He said it was a mean boy that would
give his pa q shoe horn to put his pants
on with. The pants wouldn't come
around pa by ten inches, and pa said
he must have eat something that Gisa-
greed with him, and he laid it to wa
termelon. Ma stuffed her handkerchief
in. her mouth to keep from lafine.
when abe see pa look at hisself. The
legs Of the pants were 90 tight, pa
couldn't hardly breathe, and he turned
pale and said 'Hennery. your pa il q
mighty sick man. and then ma and me