The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1884-05-15
Ely BIG FISH,

Ely BIG FISH,
Three months ago was a happy
man. | had charming wife, two hand
some children, comfortable income. q
considerable practice. and Qor solicit
tori clear conscience All but the
last L still possess, but the loss of that
one item has DESTROYED my peace of
mind and embittered my whole exist
-ence. And yet L cannot but think that
there was9great excuse for me- When
a man basely yields to temptation he is
said TO FALL" but that expression
hardly applies to my case. | was reg
ulariypushed over by other people, But
1 will tell my painful story and the
reader shall judge for himself.
My name is Marmaduke Howard
Jones. Dropping the Howard as tribe
too ornate for everyday use, | am
known socially and professionally as
Marmaduke III. Jones; and have felt
some little pride in the name, as being
uncommon. not to say distingue do
not mean TO suggest that am by any
means the only Jones, and there are
doubtless other MarmadukeS; but the
tout ensemble. the combination, Marina
duke ii. Jones, tOtIs, tereS Gtque rO-
tu7tf'tS, has always struck me as pos
ISeSsing considerable artistic merit, and
as doing great credit to my godfathers
and my godmotherS. fiattered myself
that the combination was at any rate
unique, and certainly never supposed,
until a few weeks since, that there
could possible be another individual,
laoS 1e
profession. rejoicing in the very same
name. The reader will therefore I'M
-derstand that the supposition of mis-
taken identity was the last that was
likely to occur to me when, on opening
my letters one morning couple of
months ago. l found the following from
AN old friend resident in Yorkshire:
''TIPCAT, Yorks
"DRAR OLD Boy: Just seen q notice of yOur
splendid success, and hasten to congratulate
you. You must come and try your luck with
us very shortly; know of a whOpper, not
far from here, that should like you to have
"A shy at. Kind regards to the wife. Ever
yours sincerely, SAM THORoGOOD."
L stared at the letter in amazement.
Il had recently got verdict in a rather
uphill case of Grumley VS.. Pipkin, but
1T was not matter of much public in
~terest, and was scarcely likely to have
made any marked sensation in a small
town in Yorkshire. Still, this being the
only available explanation, 1 adopted
1t. The allusiOn to the "whopper"
whom L was invited to have q shy at was
mysterious; but concluded that it re-
ferred to some wrong-doer of high de-
gree (possibly the parson or the squirrel
who had been riding roughshod over
his humber ncighbors, and whom
Thorogood desired, in country phrase,
to ''have the law of" Iput the letter
aside and went on with my other cor
respcndence. Presently L came to
still more mysterious epistle:
"BOUNDERBY. EEAR TIvERTON.
SIR: Having seen the report of your recent
achievement, trust you will pardon my in
quiring what flight you arc in the habit of
using. feel that am taking a liberty in ad-
dressing a total stranger on such a subject,
but our mutual interest in the same pursuit
must be my excuse.
81 inclOse stamped envelope for reply.
81 remain your obedient servant,
"WILLIAN PoDNORB."
'Grumley VS.. Pipkin must have made
more noise than l imagined" / solilo-
quized. "But what on earth does the
man mean by his flight and our
mutual interest in the same pursuit?
Does he think / am 8 member of the
Aerial Navigation Society? As he has
sent a stamped envelope for reply,
suppose he must have one, SO here
goes:
~DEAR SIR: 7 am in receipt of your letter.
but haven't notion what it means Please
"MARMADUKE H. JONES'"
The next letter came to was from a
ness, but in aP. S. the writer said: ssAc-
cept my congratulations on your big
fish, L had no idea you were such
sportsman.
Big fish! Here's another Iunaticr'
calculated; but at that moment was
interrupted by the entrance of client.
After we had disposed of his business,
he remarked. as he stood up to take
his leave:
Everybody is talking about that big
pike of yours. I'm not fisherman nv
self, but infer that it was very swell
achievement. Allow me to congratu-
late YOU"
What on, earth are you referring
TOP" exclaimed.
why. that big pike that you caught
at-where was it?-NewburY, or some
such place. L saw it mentioned in one
OF the papers. You didn't know you
were SO famous. Perhaps"
Il certainly did not The thing must
be hoax. never caught pike in
my life, and don t intend to. Butnow
begin to understand some extraordi-
nary letters which I have received this
morning. Some rascally practical
Joker has started the report, suppose,
10 put me TO the trouble of contradict
ing it; but l won't give him that salts
faction"
Then you haven't caught big fish
at alp" said my visitor. .sWell. III
thought such feat was hardly in YOUR
line" And he took his leave with
slightly injured air. as though, 1 had
swindled him out Of a congratulation
under false pretenses.