Western Kansas world., 1888-06-23
NIGHT o. cor


fashioned, straight-laced cot, and be
gun to wreak improvements on it,
not so smart man as he thinks he is
If he is working for money it is posi-
BILE he may get it If he is workin
for glory, or the good of his country
men, he'd better stop.
The comparatively steadfast old CO
of our forefathers is almost extinct
Those who do any attempted sleepln:
on cots nowadays, do it upon som,
patent spring, verterbreless jack knife
affair, with not half as much sleep il
them as the old-time canvas sleeping
troughs.
There are three stages to night
spent on cot. Inception growing
dissatisfaction-and bitter retrospect
ton.
1t is almost always one of the coldest
nights of the year. You see your cot
made up snugly against the wall, with
great many heavy clothes, and the
ante outlook is quite pleasant one.
You turn back the bedding carefully
when your hour arrives to climb into
the arms of morpheus, and by tortu-
GUS downward movements find yourse
inside. Then you begin to say your
prayers, and when you awaken it is
sometime in the night.
Finding it necessary to turn over
you forget you are not upon the cam
pus of your own big bed, and fling
yourself over with debonaire reckless
ness. This act is virtually the end of
your nights rest.
In making this sidelong movement a
rift has been created somewhere tow
ards the. foot That is, the general
direction is that way, but when you 90
on rift chase, they seem to have taken
an all over tendency, attacking the very
small of your back and careering in
spring bed spirals all up and down that
portion.
The fire by this time is quite low,
and the feecy breath can be discerned
on the upside of the bed quilts. Then
the front corner of the clothes is firmly
grasped, and you bring your little
Christian science to bear upon your sur
roundings. But it won't work. The
clothes begin to slowly but surely slip
forward, gradually leaving the ex-
panse of your back open to the invasion
of more careering chills You feel all
back, and yet, you know, should you
move, the whole fabric of bed gear
will fall off in soggy heap upon the
floor. So there you lie, longing to
sleep, even if it only brings nightmare,
Upon every slight stir on your part
the patent legs of this new-fangled cot
squawk, and you dread to hunt much
for the coverings, fearing to be shot as
a midnight prowler. With desper-
ately cautious movement to at last save
5he state, you take firm hold of the
slipping clothes. 1t is enough. The
upper half of your dream tent folds
Up with snap, and you come to earth |
n horribly inverted attitude.
To get out and hunt up the combina-
ion is the only apparently feasible
hing to do, but somehow this wont
work either. You fuss away in the
lark trying to straighten this canvas
.iddle when suddenly the perpendicu-
ar legs at the foot go to meet their
closed fellows, taking in your fingers !
IN the way. "Then you find you have
IN your hands stiff, linear, trough
ike article, that won't be anything, or
10 anything, but bang through the book !
'ase doors, or puncture the sides of the
house. Finally you lay it down with
lot very much consideration for any
hing and as you do so are met by
ohebus, as she goes by to open up the
lay. From out the duskv mistiness of
he somewhere. you find your cold
hoes and stick your bare feet into
hem, and sneak behind the stove with
ONE of the bed-clothes around you
nd muse over the depravitv of inani-
nate things, and wish it would grow
ighter so you could find your panta-
oons. Detroit Free Press.