Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1885-07-23


When / was unmarried and could do
as pleased / never carried watch.
1 never could understand the value Of
a watch except as an article that might
be hypothecated in pecuniary emer-
gency. could always ascertain the
time, because every church and sample
room boosted clock, and what was
the use of purchasing what could be
had for nothing?
BY my system of consulting these
public time-pieces, l always managed
to make my connections right. never
entered theater after the curtain had
risen, or reached the station at the
moment when the train was vanishing
was made happy in more ways
than one by not having q watch. I
didn't have to tell fifty people the hour
every day, and never worried about
the safety of the contents of my vest
pockets In crowded horse-car.
One night was awakened rather
suddenly. felt a strange hand under
my pillow. 1t was a burglars, feeling
for my watch.
Il have no WATCH" / remarked, as
politely as l could; shut you'll find a
dollar brass clock in the kitchen. if
you want to know the time
In his great hurry he passed through
the window, and 1 shuddered as 1
heard him trickling down through the
arbor below.
But after marriage it was different.
was told that 1 should wear watch,
In order not to appear poverty-stricken
In the eyes of the world. 1 argued
that it would place me on par with
weasel-headed clerks whose bangs and
eyebrows meet. / was told that if 1
wore no watch every one would think
L had one drawing interest for an
avuncular relative.
This seemed to be a very subtle argu-
ment in favor of having q watch. And,
besides, it completely upset me. inn
agined on the same basis people would
fancy had all sorts of things in pawn
that L didn't wear, such as q sealskin
overcoat, diamond rings, etc.
AS tentative measure, got what /
call to this day "patent-medicine
watch" because bought it in drug
store. 1t was an advertising scheme to
attract people to tho patent medicine
L should much prefer to swallow the
contents of drug store than carry one
OF those watches q week. It had to be
wound up every night, and took nearly
all night to wind it. 1t didn't keep very
good time, but 1 continued to wear it,
that l might wind it for exercise. 1t |
superseded my dumb-bulls until the |
stem wore the skin off my thumb and |
foretnger. When buried in profound
Naan aAAA A Il
the watch out and wind it in an alb |
stracted manner, just as others in o
similar mood pick their teeth or whit
tie. l stated at home that / merely
purchased the patent-medicine watch |
to learn how to take care of and manip-
ulate one before getting a more expen-
sive specimen.
This bit of news gave great satisfac-
ton. L was looked upon as good
natured, self-sacrifcing being, who
would soon wear long watch-chain
stretching all the way across the chest,
and emptying into two pockets. AS a
reward l was presented with watch.
The first day L wore it was told l
was wrong by man who had Just set
his watch at some jewelers.. So L
changed mine to make it agree with
his. 1t seems it lost time, and missed
my train that night, thing / had new
er done when l did not possess time
piece.
nvuI, 70 BoU nIv acCusUUmed TO pulling
it out, and inside of week had ac-
quired an artistic negligence and indif-
ference of manner that was pronounced
beautiful.
But the watch became eccentric. The
eggs that were timed two minutes py
it came out as hard as cobble-stones,
and. trying to regulate it by tapping it
against my boot-heel, 1 thoroughly dis
organized it, and was obliged to leave
it for week with q jeweler, who lent
me, in its stead, great silver machine
that was ashamed to take out of my
pocket in daylight.
In short, when got it back 1 did
nothing but miss trains. 1t was never
right. 1t was either too fast or too
slow. Sometimes i would start for the
cars thinking had ample time, and
reach the station after their departure,
or else L would start on run and half
kill myself to get there in time, only
to ascertain that had arrived half an
hour too soon.
To a,,v..la A wv muCu INK 10 Yell
how many sorrows and tribulations that
watch brought upon me. l protested
against wearing it many time, but my
protests were in vain. Finally, con-
cluded that would allow myself to be
martyred, so I still carry it, but not for
use. I wind it up about once month,
and never look at it. 1 go by the
clocks see around me, as / did before,
and catch my trains and make all other
time connections right. don't like to
say anything harsh of it, because it is
q nice watch, and it would be simply
perfect if it could only keep the right
time.-Puck.