The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1885-03-05
THE FAMILY CLOCK.
Sad Results OF Mistinkering With 1t by an
inexperienced Person.


inexperienced Person.
have always chung affectionately TO
the theory that poor man should ever
hire anybody else to do what he himself
j can do about his premises. l am OPP
! posed to hiring tranps to eat up the
substance of hard-working individual
like an editor. hence l never allow one
to saw wood for his breakfast at my
place.
The other day tramp called at my
house. He had a kit of tinkering instru-
mcnts and displayed burning desire to
heal the eccentricities of our clock,
which never could be satisfied unless it
was from four minutes to three days
slow was at first disposed to let him
give it two or three experimental thinks,
| but when he informed me that his time
was very valuable and the wear and tear
of his brain very severe in the perform
ance of such Offices of human bene-
| faction l concluded to do the job my
self.
That afternoon | went down town and
rGid seven dollars to a hardware man
! for the necessary labOr-saving machine
~ felt that seven dollars was not an
eXtravagant price to pay for set of
tools that would tinker me during the
entire period OF human life. so | hur-
ried home and went for that clock.
, My wife spread a white paper on the
idin;ng-table for NE ard it was not long
before | had the viscera OF that clock
scattered about me like the shattered
remains of brass foundry after cy
clone has toTed with it. No wonder it
was Slow Every cog and journal was
clo@ged with dirt and stifencd with oil.
| rubbed up the parts carefully and then
nv wife leaned lovingly over my
shoulder and remarked that she could
not comprehend how in the world /
would ever get all that stuff into it
again | replied that 1t took high
order of genius to do that. and drawing
myself up broadly, assured her that |
was fully equal to the situation.
Thea | began to put the clock to-
gether, and soon had it full, but there
were wheels and eccentrics and levers
enough left to make another clock. I
feel proud OF my grand achievements.
| had often head that economy is
wealth" and | had saved enough of
that cock to pay for a new hair-spring
in my watch. Iput on the hands and
wound up the reiuvenated timepiece,
then started it 1t went of ike the
gong at a railwaY eating house. where
a fellow stops twcaty minutes to get
robbed. When | was little boy going
to school my teacher, tender
Young soul of about forty-twO
summers and twice as many winters,
used to write Time Flies" in my copy
book. but never fully realized the scope
and intent of the remark until that clock
resumed business at the old stand. |
realized in moment that | had con-
quered the perverse disposition of that
clock to play along the road. 1t seemed
infused with renewed EigOr and was
punctual to fault.
The hour-hand cot around the dial
once each hour, while the miEute-hand
got around sixty times in the same
period. and the bell sounded every sec
ord. On close inspection l discovered
that had accomplished what had never
been done before. / had turned time
backward. and lOngcd to have the poet
who sang backward, turn backward. 0
time. in thy fight present that | might
show him that his wish was gratified.
The hands were going toe wrong way.
and my wife smiled q sweet sad smile of
hope as she remarked that in about four
DAYS we would be boy and girl in
schcol again / was pleased for a mo-
mcnt at the thought. but as a faint
wonder what would become of our five
children in such an event stole upon me,
hope gave place to Il fear that it would
leave a blcmish upon our young lives to
return to the good old times. and |
damned the screw-drivcr into the mass
of rapidly revolving wheels and put a
stop to their mad career. One of these
times ] am going pull the nail out and
90 back to the garden of Eden and see
Eve feed Adam apples--E. L. Hudd'e,
ia y. Y. .Hcsc&rg.