Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1899-03-22
Dickens Bad Influence.

NO. SAIL che man who rs known
to his frien,!es as "A mild dipsomaniac,
81 don't read Dickens any more. Not
that | don't like TO read Dickens; 7
do THAT; think he is the king bee of
the wheel hive of writers. But Dick
ems has a bad infiuen upon me. In
brief. dickens makes me feel like
drinking rum.
Queer? Why's it queer? Look
here, I'll tell you how Dickens works
on me. Suppose | have been doing a
consistent sober act for two or three
whole months-1lot taking a drop, and
giving the never again frosty eye to
all hands who want me ito GO and have
q drink with 'em- All right. / pick
up one of Dickens tooks-any of 'em.
1T makes NO difference which Well,
1 don't get more than fifty pages into
any Cne of Dickens books before, say,
he puts me On top of a. fine, old fash
Toned stage GOA h, along with oft of
happy go lucky, ambanging. cheer
full chaps. and begins ITO whfrl me
through the bracing air ON fine, ring
ing country roads. bounI for some
place or other about a days ride
away from where we start All right.
THE coach load of fellows, includ-
ing myself, have got. of course. to put
up for the night at one of those old
inn's, The Green Dragon or The
Boots and Pelican or The Duck and
the Hound or The Sign of the Blue
Boar or some name bike that Well
dickens unloads me and the rest of
the coach full of good fellows from
the coach. and he dumps us into a
nice. cheerful. Old fashioned tavern
frcnit room. with logs blazing on the
HEARTH. and a buNom. pink checked
landlady and landlords daughter. and
the smell of fine cooking victuIals. and
all THAT. What does Dickens do then?
why, he starts all of 1rs to mixing
a punch THAT "a fellow dreams about
after hes once tasted it-in Dickens.
He dikates at length upon the demon
peel that goes into the punch. and
the sugar. and how its stirred round
when it's being heated. and how the
steam of it perfumes up the room,
and then he tells how everybody
smacks his lips over it and its pun
gent flavor. and how it goes right to
the spot of every man in the crowd
and makes the circulation cirk. until
| great Scott. when I'm reading
Dickens when Dickens is in that iapgy
mood | feel like hustling On my coat
and hat and going down town and
just filling up for snowbirtls for the
sake of getting into the hight spirit
10 arprec1atively read Dickens! After
the punch game is over 1.-THE dinner
makes Its appearance. and any man
who dictates ait a. Dickens dinner nv
reading one rs bound to get hungry.
WeH' after the Yorkshire prltld'intgs
and the meat rIies and the roast beef
of old iEngland and tlle savory lamb
and parsnip Stews and all the rest of
Rhe stuff has been cleared awav nv
the people at the old roadside Tavern
Dickens has the cheerful. odd look
ing wa'hters bring on the beady. foamy
Old ale amid the schnapps. and all
hands sit around the table. losf1ing
up and telling stories. and having
sncn deuce OF a good time-well, its
ha nd reading for me.
Every man in the crowd had oot
mold of one of those long stemmer1.
church warden pipes, and they lust
SAT- there I'm that cosey. warm fire
iHghfed room-while, maybe. the snow
is drifting and f1urrying outside. and
every winter sound is sharp and clear
and drink and smoke and spin
yarns. until this blooming old conn
monplace Iffe that we people nova.
days ieiad-say let's not talk Dickens
any more. My teeth are leaking
now. and the FIRST thing Won know
we'll. / just can't road Dickens. and
you know why. "-Washing'ton Star.