Daily Kennebec journal., 1893-04-04
EACH BOTTLE GUARANTEED.
SIXTEEN YEARS OF EUcHRE.
Nearly 10000 Games, and One Side On
l5l Games Ahead.

Nearly 10000 Games, and One Side onl,
l5i Games Ahead.
Twenty Thousand games of euchre
| This is the record of the play of the foul
Chicago gentlemen who have sat every
Saturday evening for the past l6 years
| and engaged in that game which gener'
ally marks the initiation of every novice
| Daniel Westervelt and &. L. Root have
| played against Thomas Benton James
and James Taylor. They have beer
urged many times to play whist or ca
siro or pinochle or seven up, but never
for one moment have they swerved frcn
| their devotion to euchre.
To be absolutely correct, these foui
euchre players. these two pairs of faith
| full adherents to the powers of bowers
reached their nineteen thousand six hun
| dred and fiftieth game of euchre Satur
day evening, and upon the occasion Of
| the twenty thousandth game each oi
the players intends arriving at tho scent
Of play smoking a 50-cent cigar. Except
on holidays or anniversaries, it is said
they are suprernely Indifferent to the
quality of the tobacco they burn.
| Thomas Benton James is pensionei
| of the wholesale house of Marshall Fielt
e. Co He w;is II general salesman fol
that firm and its predecessors for q
| years, and about two years ago wa
| placed upon the retired list with con
tinued pay for services rendered. HI
is n sprightly gentleman OF mature years
which he places ut Go, but which hi
| friends usnaily speak Of us being some
where under 100. Mr.. James partner
is James Taylor, eongenial companion
with life record of 20 years. 1t is s;ti'
that James TAYLOR can indicate by /
| graduated sy.:em of pressure upon til'
| foot of Thomas Benton James wnetheI
he is holdin'. right. left and ace. ten spot
and queen, or no trumps at all. DAME
Westervelt is 73 years old. He was j,
salesman for Field, Letter & Co.. after
| ward for A. r. Stewart e. Co.. and finally
for Storm x Hill. retiring when the lat
ter firm retired. c. l.. Root is the boy
of the quartet. He is only G3 and i,
considered rather wild and frisky by his
companions. Mr.. Root drove stage be
| tween Blue Island and Chicago during
the period between 1880 and 1910 anf
took no stock whatever in the future O
| the city.
| Every Saturday night as regularly a,
| the week rolls around these four cronie;
meet and play euchre. They shift about
ike sittings of the supreme court. from
one house to another. but they alwayi
| sit in the same chairs and in the samt
relative positions. Almost eight year!
ago Mr.. James brought to meeting {;
copy of "Cavendish on Whist" fol
which he came near being expelled from
| the society
| The four players have become so ut
tached to the simple game of euchre tina;
it is now part of their very natures
| and in the III years of their weekly con
tests only on an occasional case of sick
ness. to the number of three Or foui
times in all. has Cancelled the engage
mslt of either player. A complete rec
or; If the games is kept to show wlIicl
| side leads from year to year. At presen;
Mr.. James and his partner are l5i game,
ahead Of their opponents. At the tcI
tlonsandth game they were 1872 games il
the lead, but have been losing for the las
two years. For period Of five year
there was no material gain for either
side
| All four of these lifetime euchreists
are gentlemen rather simple in their Gus
toms, disinclined to adopt the irtricacies
of whist or the novelty of cinch, and are
unwilling to concede that some SATURDAY
night three Of their number will mee1
at the appointed place, light their cigars
get the cards in readiness and wait fol
one who will never deal the cards again
| Chicago News Record.