Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1897-01-30
A STAG DAY.

Whenever an amendment is auoplSu
il is because the voting body believes
that the amendment is an improvement
on the original motion. The Creator,
on second thought, made woman, be-
cause He knew she would be indis-
pensablc to man, and because without
her ia would be a dismal failure.
HYDE had known the Blakeslees long
before they were married. He had at
tended the high school with Maud
Crompton, and had later belonged to
the same militia company as Howard
Blakeslee. He had been Blakeslees
best man at the wedding, and had in
deed hurried back post-haste to the
house to get the marriage license which
| Blakeslee in his excitement had for
gotten. He had stood as godfather for
the first Blakeslee of the Junior order
of generation, and on holidays, he be-
ing a bachelor, he always took dinner
with the Blakeslees. The Blakcslee
family held Hyde in high esteem, and
Blakeslee primus named his most vii
lainously ragged and therefore best
loved doll for him.
One day Blakeslee appeared before
HYDE in the Office OF the latter with in
yitation fairly encircling and enguling
him like an atmosphere.
~ want you to come out TO the house
Sunday" he said. Come out and have
a glorious old free-and-easy sort OF a
stag time. Maud has gone down to
spend the holidays with her Aunt
Rachel in Pontiac, and the boy is with
her, so | am to be alone for two weeks,
Come out tomorrow and let me show
YOU how TO cook a 'possum,"
Now, 1t occurred that 'possum was a
dish Of blissful romance and aspiration
to HYDE. So he said he would go. He
pictured in his mind great deeds Of en-
joyment for that day.
With no woman in the house butthe
girl" Blakeslee said, in hypnotizing
way 1--WE will do just as we please and
have a bully old loaferish day OF it,"
HYDE arrived in the suburb on the
seven o'clock train Saturday evening.
He walked oyer 10 the Blakeslee
house, and, as he drew near, il seemed
to him that something was a little diff
ferent from the conditions OF other
DAYS and visits. There seemed to be
a sort of gloom about the place. The
house doomed up in the moonlightabout
four times larger than he had ever be-
fore considered it. He rang the bell
and Blakeslee came to meet him and
ushered him into a stygian hall, down
through the somber tunnel of which
the semi-light Of the dining-room base
burner shone.
"By George" said Blakeslee; 81 for
got 10 light up. suppose if Maud was
here she would have the place all bril-
liant and a fire in the fireplace in the
parlor. She always did believe in going
to extras, even II a fellow did happen
to be an old family friend. might
have done it, old man"
Nov, now, now" said Hyde, that's
all right. We are going to have a bully
time of it, without any women folk
about"
Still there seemed TO be something de.
pressing, The parlor was so vast and
Blakeslee took up such a small portion
of it.
Finally the girl called them to dinner,
It was a good-enough dinner, too, but
HYDE noticed there were no roses on
the table. Somehow, he had gathered
the impression that the Blakeslees al.
ways had roses on the table, for the
flowers were always there whenever be
house. Also he observed that Blakeslet
had taken dinner in the Blakeslet
did not know how to serve tea and the
lamp was trimmed TO smoke and not tc
give light. For three minutes they
talked about the latest political event
and then Bl1keslee uttered a sentenc,
made up of seven words, to which Hyde
replied in n consisting of three
Blakeslee said: YES" and both wer,
silent for the next 90 minutes.
They went into the charnel house o
n parlor after that, and, by a strong eff
fort, Hyde made muster to talk for 1