Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1896-01-22

linen ne goes TO MS zen, ana 1t dOeSn I
matter who calls, there is no getting him
away from his books. If | want to go
to the theater my brother has to go with
me. Jack-that's my brother-says:
'James-that's McCabe-was a rounder
and one of the boys before he got mar
ried.' / don't know for the life of me
what q rounder is, or who the boys are,
but | do know since we have been mar
rlcd McCabe has been the most domestic
of men. That's his only fault | say
to him: 'McCabe, why don't you go out?
Why don't you go to the club sometimes
as other men do? | should think you
would get a bit tired of me and of the
children, and of your books-night after
night No, Kate he will say, I see
enough of men during business hours;
and, as to clubs, you have weaned me
away from all of them. You have made
clubs and cards and all the things of
my bachelor days empty and unsatisfac-
tory things to look back upon
about this time we got to hearing a
good deal of McCabe at Joe's. The men
asked each other about him. If any one
had ever seen him. We asked Joe about
him, but Joe was wise man in his
way and knew when not to talk. He
knew Mr.. McCabe. he said, because he
was the head of an old firm of dealers
in imported wines and liquors of whom
he had bought such supplies since he had
been in business. That was all we could
ever get out Of Joe. McCabe, however
developed into a large theme of CONVEX
sation with US 1t was quite easy to
see that the men had had n good deal
more Of him at home than they cared
for; in fact, that they were inclined to
regard him as very much too good for
this world. These ideal domestic virtues
aScribed to McCabe by his wife, which
none of US had taken it into our head to
doubt he possessed, were obviously wear
ING uOOQ every man of rs
- If you were only the least bit like
Mr.. McCaber why don't you take Mr.
McCabe as an eXample?' If [ only had
a husband like Mr.. McCabev were sam
pies of the expressions. as we learned at
Joe's, TO which the married men were
subjected. We had, in other words, so
much of McCabe at home that we flew
to Joe's as to a place of refuge. Every
man Of us had become rebellious and
desperate, and the hours at poker grew
longer and later.
Not one of us had ever seen McCabe.
His house was nearest the avenue, and
that would in way account for it. Still,
we thought 1T strange that none of us
should ever have come across him going
down or coming up town. We might
have regarded him as a myth had it not
been for the evidence Of Joe.
well about this time. when McCabe
had reached the zenith of his glory as
an ideal domestic man. there was pro-
tracted game at Joe's which was still
III progress at q. IN.
I'VE don't know how long he may
have been standing there in the door leer
ing at us with half-drunken gravity. WE
all seemed to have grown conscious of
his presence about the same time, and
saw the big, dissiDated, cynical-looking
fellow.
"'Wcll, Great Scott.' he exclaimed.
Here are the model husbands and the
devoted fathers, who never drink and
know nothing about poker. Oh. I've
heard of you. I've heard nothing else
since I've been living in this God-for
Saken hole. That's the reason | never
come home until and 3 in the morning.
DO you know you have driven me to
drink, and late hours, and poker, and
all sorts of wickedness? What pre-
clous set of humbUgs you are. Mrs. Nc
Cabe says YOU are all models of domestic
virtue, and here you are
:" Are you McCabe?' inquired Charlie
DraytOn, after we had pulled ourselves
together a little.
Yes. I'm McCabe-Jimmie McCabe
of McCabe & Clatworthy. Pearl street,
and I'm one of the boys
But say he continued in half
until Mrs. McCabe got me up here TO re-
form me. 1t was you fellows who drove
me away from home. | got tired OF hear
ing about such Il good lot.
He had come in by this time and was
shaking hands with us.
Joe he asked, have you any OF the
green label cold? Bring it along if you
have. Bring along half a dozen bot
ties
"'You see,' he explained, we are
agents for new brand Of champagne.
and you fellows look as if you might be-
come good customers You domestic men
who never drink or play poker! Here's
to Mrs. McCabe's domestic men" he
cried, and we all drank the toast stand
ing.
'McCabe had fallen; we were glad of
it. We celebrated the occasion until the
break of day.
We'll things were better after that
We still went to Joe's. but we played
poker no more and never stayed later
than II, for we all tried to reform Nc
Cabe. New York Sun.