The Press., 1895-10-10
Ss sometimes.

there was rush of business sometimes
 Ralph to talk!
 ''He' might have added, though he
 didn't-Jimmy wasn't conceited-that
 sober he was particularly valuable
 man. He had plenty of energy and
 plenty of industry, and the Simon pure
 business instinct, which, you know,
 isn't lying around loose either Con
 found him! wouldn't ask a better
 clerk or better partner if he would
 only keep straight, have heard Ralph
 vail dozen times. There it was: Jim
 my would not keep straight To look at
 him, with his delicate face and curling
 hair and pensive eyes, always so trim
 and dainty in his appearance and so
 gentle of manner, you could not suspect
 him of degrading vice. And, besides.
 when Jimmy was sober, he was so
 strikingly, so immediately, sober.
 don't mean that he didn t touch iQuor;
 that was the wonder of it to some peo-
 pie. He could touch liquor, he could
 drink moderately occasionally, like any
 abstemiOus but not totally sustaining
 man, and yet not seem tempted by his
 moderate drinking. And ht would walk
 for months in the paths of temperance
 until the next time. Suddenly the de-
 sire, or the weariness of temperance, or,
 call it what you will, the thing would
 be on him, and he would drink and
 drink and drink for days, for weeks,
 until the physical power to keep liquor
 in him left him or until he was raying
 in delirium. And the clean, decent fel-
 low would be as neglected and degraded
 looking a sot as ever rolls in the gut
 ter. It was pretty bad for the women, can tell you. We'll, never mind that part. won't enlarge either on our ef- forts to reform Jimmy. We tried all the approved schemes. We sent him at great expense to ranch, from which he re- turned with mysterious bullet wound and dark suspicion of having shot some one too magnanimous to press his claims. Jimmy bought him off with $1, OO0-he was thrifty as we'll as mag unanimous, and Jimmy was a generous soul, never niggardly with his mothers money. Another venture of ours was to James to the lakes with tried and true temperance captain. This end" ed very sadly, because Jimmy smuggled an assortment of liquors on board, enough to last long cruise, and when. he found that the voyage was to be a ] short one nearly Killed himself drinking l all the stock at once, to save itr Fi- rally wefagreed0 on a desperate remedy. We'll, 1 was the one that suggested it. We had been having Jimmy with us all liner. l had just built. this house
 .rn. And after month or six weeks Jf beautiful behavior he took the money a confiding client of mine paid him for me and went to Chicago on 9 holy ter TOT of 8 spree. This time was angry. I don't think, with all the worry and the disappointment and the tragedy of the thing, I had been angry before: + don't suppose that l could explain to any one who didn't know Jimmy the charm of the fellow. IT, as he was, you could no I more help having your heart move to- ward him than, taking of your coat for Hsop's Fables He had a quick and happy sympathy about him, and genuine interest in other people, that was irresistible. u And while, of course, his perverse qualification of the basest part of him, though it should l break hisnOther'so heartsa was internal ly selfish, he wasn't selfish in little things' II Ihave seen Jim do.a hundred yagrant kindnesses that wouldn't occur to most men. But, as said, this time 1 there was 8 kind of contempt of our feelings in the performance that rasped me; besides it was last straw And Mrs. Cunningham was reluctantly brought to consent to my plan. I hunted Jim up in Chicago A nice. time had I doing it. but never mind that I found