Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1884-01-12

ket sltfti De hung TN the outer wal
l. and no beau allowed to taste GU
!. cake aud wine? Out With 1t. .Tel
me all, and By yonderi tirowsy pc
s liceman ON the corner, i swear &
right our.wrongs. a -ssd az
"Oh, Charley" said his cousin
sit is aIF about Jack You know
: his irregular habits-that's wha
you men call it, 1 believe. | mus
make him.stop drinking. Charley
dear, you are man; do give int
some advice"
t Charley grew grave in moment
"You are rfghf, Alice, I" he said
We must put our heads together tC
save Jack Quinby. And IL for your
sake alone, dear girl, / shall sill
awake all night thinking how il
can be done. Give me twelve
hours to concoct some scheme that
shall bring Jack out Of the niire,
and make his frequent 'swear-0ffs'
of some permanent value. Now,
don't fret any more. Finish that
pretty thing and send ii TO him. i
must away to seek counsel. Fare
well, and JOY be with you" And
he rushed away in time tospring on
dummy at the risk of death or
mutilation.
IF il can be done, Charley will
do it," said Alice, cheerfully. so,
Jack, Jack, If you could but under
stand how much trouble you are
/ giving us"
Jack Quimby saw the old year
out and the new year in according
to the usual fashion OF such ceremo-
MES And he awoke with the same
old head, only intensified by deeper
and more varied rotations. While
he was .deliberating whether it was
worth while getting up at all or not,
a knock came at Ills door, iinmedi.
ately followed by couple of young
fellows, fanltlessly dressed in the
regulation visiting costume.
/ Come, come, Jack You're
nice fellow for Il citing churn.
Over forty visits to make to-day,
and you not up yet, and they drag
ged the unfortunate roysterer from
his bed and watched his hurried
efforts at dressing with uproarious
| Inifth. H DIV a
/ deuce take you both," said
Jack 'didn't you bring an eye.
opener to help a fellow out ?' The
eye-opener was, produced, in the
shape Of pocket flask, and under
its cheering Influence Mr.. Quimby
was soon ready for the road. We
shall not follow him to the various
houses he favored with his pres
ence. He was conscientious about
drinking the health of his fair hos
tesses, individually and collective
ly, and il wasquiie late in the even
ing before the Quhnby carriage
halted before Judge Benton's door.
Alice had been anxiously ex pecting
him all day, but when a gush OF
cloves preceded his entrance her
heart sank within her. Jack felt
the Importance Of a sober appear.
ance, and his bow was cold, almost
stern, andsfull of the most prefer
natural gravity. n4 irw#3k
81 wish you, Miss Benton, the
compliments of the season, he said
in slow and deliberate accents.
There was not solitary 'sr" In this
sentence, for Mr.. Quinby knew
from past experience the, danger,
surrounding that consonant at this
stage of the proceedings "Judge,
l lan delighted to see you looking
SO well,' and this time.the bow was
directed to a stiff, high backed
chair, an heir-loom in the Benton
family.
'sSit down, Jack, and don't be
silly whispered Alice, after greet
ing his friends. .'Oh, You wicked |
boy what's the matter with your |
eyes ? And your necktie has clipped |
UP under your ear. How your |
gloves are stained with claret"
Vintage of ~, Miss Benton"
said Mr.. Quimby, witha pronounc-
ed hiccough. land he quatied off
the cold, black wine'-but excuse
me, am 1 mistaken in surprising
that you asked me for a song"
snow, do be quiet, Jack, and
don't sing" and she pushed an ca
sy chair toward her demoralized
visitor, who sank into it with a
groan, and declared in sepulchIal
voice that if her father, the Judge,
would step thissway, he should like |
to make his will, rs he felt the chill
of the tomb stealing over him, and
dwelt in the shadow of the dark
angels wings. Half AN hour later
Mr.. Quimby was supported to his
carriage, and Alice registered sol
emfl vow that unless her Cousins
plan was concluSively and perma-
nently effective, she would never be
Mrs. Quimby, if she had 10 live and
die an old maid.
On the evening of MIR. Quimby's
calls, half dozen young fellows sat
together In the private rooms of
we'll known restaurant. Alice Ben
toms cousin was chairman.
"Boys," he said, 1--WE must all of
us make a raid Hpon Quimby to-
You, Jack, will be the
deeply insulted husband, and you,
Tom, the honest capitalist whose
money Quimby has borrowed and
Dick, / want you TO
play the undertaken from whom
the coffin was engaged, and Bill,
you can appear as the man as II
saulted by QuImby--the angry II
man, who has determined to appeal
to the laws of his country for re-
dress in the shape of heavy damag-
es. The Office troupe will now re-
EIearse."
The conspirators agreed and Char
ley ElmOre gave them their parts (
and insisted on a full dress rehears-
al before the close of the session.
The boys were all OF them keenly
alive to the situation, aud, besides
their ambition to carry out the joke,
felt that it was really IA serious mat
Ter, as tending 10 lead to Jack Quinn [
Oy's permanent swear of.
at is his last chance" said Ell
more. II tell you, boys, if we don't
cure him this time saltpeter won't
save him, and we shall never dance ,
1t Alice Benton's wedding, SO far as 1
Jack Quilnby is concerned" And
The boys all swore they would do
their level best.
1t was a bold plan, hut among
Mr.. Quimby's many failings they
knew that forgetfnlness was one Of ,
the most prominent, and that he
seldom remembered in the morning
the occurrences that took place over
night.
II
When Jack Quimby awoke on
the second day OF the year he had
vague idea that he Was ON the
threshold of spontaneous combus-
ton. Never" he groaned, "were
my coppers SO Internally hot before.