The Magnolia gazette. [volume] (Magnolia, Miss.) 1872-current, 1888-10-06
LErrrR FaoM COX GRAPES.
Fox GRAPES, MISS, Oct. 4, 'SS

OF Ike f1ammerslager cheap John
establishment, last Monday MORN
ing, | found Ike busy pulling
debris, (deebris, says Squire
Binks, away from a large iron
safe which had luckily fallen
through with the floor, right side
up. The old man had on his
chocolate-colored knit blowse,
bound in bright red, anda familiar
gray cloth cap. With his long,
crooked-stemmed, c h n a-bowled
pipe, (bought in Amsterdam by
his father, fifty years ago. stuck
IN one corner of his mouth, Ike
would smoke through that corner,
spit out of the other, and pitch
charred timbers in a pile, grum-
bling all the time about bad luck.
While | stood on the sidewalk
looking at Ike, Sandy Badmedi-
clne, who had been out ali night,
came along and satdowa near by
on II half-burnt house-block.
Sandy could h,rdly support him
self; his eyes were bloodshot,
his red-top boots and copperas
clothes were spattered all over
with mud, the crown of his faded
straw hat was crushed in, and his
moustachs and whiskers were
fecked with bits of sardines and
crackers, which he continued TO
eat from paper-sack. Mean
while BadmedIcine slowly and
cautiously crossed his shaky legs,
and fixing a maudlin gaze upon
Ike, went on stuffing himself.
Presently Ike cleared all the rub
bish away from the safe and be-
gan to turn the nickel-plated COM
binaiion knob, S. B. watching the
performance in dazed but Curl
Gus sort of way that mlde by
ISLANDERS smile. At last the safe
was opened, and books, cash
drawers. a large bundle of notes
and accounts, aud even the strip
of Administer carpet ut the bot
tom, were found, to the satisfac-
ton of Ike, perfectly intact.
Then n faint streak of light
seemed to dawn upon Badmedi-
cine, and heleared over and called
Hammerslager. "Shay, Ike, (hic }
housh (hc) blowed awayg' "No,
replied Ike; 'svot is wolshter,
it's all burnt up. But de agounts
was safed, Bill, und / like for you
to scddle dot leetle agount Of
yours. eh ~ "I'll shettle (hic)
T. da n" SAID Badmedicine 81
got (Iic) plenty monish.'' Ike
knew Bill of old, however, and
walked on.
An hour latel found Hummer
slayer at Mayor Lightcost's office,
engaged 10 a meeting of what the
whistler is pleased to call
s'lhe town fathers (another one
of that papers original remarks, J
bur what some of the bad boys OF
Fox Grapes call the "town scoun-
drels." Hammerslager, who is
an alderman, was making speech
upon the great necessity of rails
ing the yellow fever quarantines
From the ashen hue Of Ike's face,
his nervous excitement, and the
trembling Of his long, bony hands,
one could see at q glance that he
was badly frightened. He had
offered a motion to quarantine
Fox Grapes Immediately, and was
using avery art of persuasion of
which he was master to have it
adopted. "Shall we." raved Ike,
est down gywietly und let dem
yellow fevers kill our yifes und
leetIc childerun? No, Mishter
Mayor, we moost gywarantine,
or we moost get sick nit dem
feyers, und-und-( choking up)
--und-die = As Ike took his
seat, Alderman Begging laid h,s
fine cotton-sampling hfnd upon
Ike's shoulder, and whispered,
.sIke, | thought you were such a
good fellow, with SO much faith
IN the God of your fathers, you
were ready to die at any moment. !"
"Oh, veil, Bagging, / told you
how dot vas" SAID Ike, with an
air of utter seIf-abnegation at
vas not for mineselps, understand,
lpoIntlng at his Breast, dot |
gare SO mooch, but mine wife,
und Shake und Carrie, YOU know
-vot becooms of dem, eh ~
During this colloquy Mayor Light
cost had toyed. apparently in an
amused sort Of study, with a
copy of BridewelI's mississippi
JUSTICE" lying on The table by
him. Raising his large, bushy,
lron-gray head. he remarked,
"Gentlemen, this is called
meeting of the Board to consider