The Republican., 1900-12-27

John Kimball was
on his way home. He was not hurry
ing home; indeed. he was proceeding
rather leisurely for a man who had
been married only six months. But
John was meditatirg, and when
man meditates and walks at the same
time he generally forces his feet to
keep pace with his thoughts.
John had just parted from crowd
of his old friends of bachelor days. such
dear old fellows don't mean dear
old bachelors. but dear old friends. for
John was only p, and none of his
friends were much older than himself.
They had given him such a cordial
invitation to go with them to the
rooms of the Bachelors club; they
were such jolly good fellows, so free
and easy and so utterly devoid of
care, that they made John feel as
though he were one of them again,
and the parting from them had caused
his thoughts to meander slowly back
to the time when he was one of them
John was thinking of those sweet
OtOl uuN y Vi DdNHtlOl hOOb- NllNIl llI
didn't have to go home early at
night; when it didn't really matter
much whether he went home at all.
He was thinking of the wonderful
games of poker he used to play, and
the funny stories that were so often
related at the club, but he was think
ing more particularly of the boys
who were up there now, celebrating
another anniversary of its birth-or
suppose | say its origin; clubs cannot
boast of parentage. He was think
ing of the rare old wines that were
being drunk and the fragrant odor of
the imported Havanas. He was think
ing of the various ridiculous resolu-
tions that were being made, and he
smiled as he thought how recklessly
they would be broken.
\ year ago he was a member of the
Bachelors club. and a year ago he
had repeated, for the fourth time. his
ironclad oath to always remain
member of the Bachelors club. But
a year works many wonders, creates
many changes, and makes many mar
riages.
When John took his fourth iron
clad oath, year ago, to the effect
that she would live and die a bache-
i,r." that 'he preferred single bless
etness to married cussedness," and
that "a wife, next to a mother-in-law,
was a nuisance around the house, he
was perfectly honest in what he said.
But six months had hardly passed be-
fore he had fallen like other FOOLS"
as his bachelor chums expressed it.
OF course it was hard blow to the
fraternity. for John was one of its
charter members and stanchest sup
porters; but the club rallied. passed
red-hot resolutions, and posted a
memorial: "To the memory of de-
parted brother" on its bulletin-board,
ana rocked along just as usual, with
out the presence of Mr.. John Kimball.
Now. John Nimball wasn't de-
PRAYED man by any means-women
think all clubmen like wine and cards
better than women, and are, there
fore. bound to be depraved; John, by
uniting himself in marriage to a
woman, had shown, much to the dis
gust of his club-mates, that he pre-
ferred the society of woman to the
society of his friends and wine and
cards.
But recollections of old times,
brought so forcibly to his mind, and
remembrances OF fond ties, so recent
ly broken, brought him to point
where he found himself-like many
men before him-debating a question
that should have been settled forever,
long before he took unto himself
WIFE namely, which did he love best,
his wife or his club? He loved his
home and he adored the little woman
who pre- 'ided over it and endeavored,
with all her might, to make it the
happiest, dearest place on earth for
him, but he could not Danish from his
mind the sweet recollections of the