Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1902-08-27
UPTO.DATE FABLES.

he would like for a time TO be free
and untrammeled like be used to
be when he was q bachelor. He
was a good man and loved his wife
and children all right, but it Oc-
ours to HIM that he was tied down
to a grind and that if the pressure
could be let up for a spell he would
have the ripsnortingest time Of his
life. He therefore determined to
send the family away on a visit
and enjoy himself. His wife OBJ
jected a little at first because she
had come 10 feel that the old man
needed her to look after him and
hat the house would get all topsy-
turvy If she we're to 90 away, but
she was finally persuaded. As for
the kids they we're ready to hike
out any old time. Anything for a
change hit them all right. The
family was therefore bundled of
to a relatives who lived a couple
OF hundred miles away. While
the family was making a get away
the old man was busy and interest
ed and after they were all off he
went to his place of business and
worked up to 6 p. m. Then he
took a meal at a restaurant where
they brought a cup of Overdone
coffee and a steak that would have
made a good lastly door mat if it
had been fringed at each end.
After snpper he went to the hotel
and loaied around till 10 o'clock
and then went home. The house
was so lonesome that he hated to
go in. The next morning he tried
another restaurant and got a worse
layout if any thing than he had
the night before. 1t made him
sort Of hot to see the way the reg
Ular bOarders in that restaurant
seemed to be able to eat the grub
that in his opinion wasn't fit for
anything except dog feed. That,
evening he loafed around town to
see if he couldn't get back into the
old way ne fused to follow. He
found, however that he wasn't in
it. The young fellows had no use
for his company and sort of SHE'D
of when they saw him coming
round He finally fell in with a
lot of old ducks who were playing
whist, and got into the game, but
as he hadn't played for 10 years
he had lost the run OF the thing
and his partner roared and made
unpleasant remarks when he
trumped his ace. When the eve
ming was over he observed that
none of the old ducks invited
him to come back and he over
heard the man who had been his
partner telling one of the other
men that he generally liked to
play whist, but he did hate to play
when he had a fool for a partner.
The next evening he wandered out
to the park and heard the band
play, but while he saw several little
crowds that seemed to be having
some fun, there was no show for
him to butt in and all he could do
was to wander about like a iay
stranger in a strange land. It
didn't take him long to get onto
the fact that a man who had been
out of the social swim for % years
couldn't get in again on a three,
days notice. He used to dance
when he was young and as there
was a charity ball on hand he con-
cluded that he would be gay and
buy a ticket. He found a kind.
hearted girl who was willing to
waltz with him, but before the
music paused he had walked on
four trails, tTamped on his part
ner's feet three times and got his
own feet tangled up as much as
four times. Alter that he worked
up his courage to ask a few other
girls if he could dance with them,
but found they were all engaged
for every set. He hadn't been
there an hour until he overhead a
man asking the floor manage who
that old fool was who labored I'M
Der the impression that he could
dance. AT the end of a week the
man wrote to his wife saying that
she needn't hurry home on his &C.
count, but that her flowers didn't
seem to be doing well for some
reason or other and maybe she had
better come home and look after
them. The mans wife under
stood. Down in the bottom of
her heart she was glad the old
man wasn't having such a rip
roaring time as he had anticipated.
She packed her trunk that after
noon and started for home. The
old man met her at the station bet
ter tickled than he had been for 20
years.