Charlevoix county herald., 1907-03-16
TURNED THE TABLES
GOVERNOR HAD LAUGH ON THE
WoULD-BE JokERS.
Fact That Guest "Knew Champagne
and Had No Prejudlces Against
It" Disconnected Their
Shrewdly Laid Plans.

The government of the new terri
tory OF Nevada was an interesting
menagerie. Gov. Nye was an old and
seasoned politician from New York
a politician, not statesman. He had
white hair; he was in fine physical
condition; he had winningly friendly
face and deep lustrous brown eyes
that could talk as a native language
the tongue of every feeling, every pas
sion, every emotion. His eyes could
out-talk his tongue, and this is saying
a good deal, for he was very remark
able tapker, both in private and on the
stump. He was a shrewd man; he
generally saw through surfaces and
perceived what was going on inside
without being suspected of having
an eye on the matter.
When grown-up persons indulge in
practical jokes. the fact gauges them.
They have lived narrow, obscure and
ignorant lives, and at full manhood
they still retain and cherish job lot
of leftover standards and ideals that
would have been discarded with their
boyhood If they had then moved out
into the world and broader life
There were many practical jokes in
the new territory. do not take pleas
ure in exposing this fact, for l liked
those people, but what / am saying is
true. / wish l could say kindlier
thing about them instead-that they
were burglars or hat-rack thieves, or
hot +hot w. hn
utterly uncomplimentary l would pre-
fer 1t, but / can't say those things;
they would not be true. These people
were practical jokers, and l will not
try to disguise it. In other respects
they were plenty good-enough people;
honest people, reputable and likable,
They played practical jokes upon each
other with success, and got the ad-
miration and applause and also the
envy of the rest of the community.
Naturally, they were eager to try theh
arts on big game, and that was what
the governor was. But they were not
able to score. They made several eff
forts, but the governor defeated these
efforts without any trouble and went
on smiling his pleasant smile as If
nothing had happened. Finally the
joker chiefs of Carson City and Vir-
ginia City conspired together to see If
their combined talent couldn't win a
very uncomfortable place; the people
were laughing at them instead of at
their proposed victim. They banded
themselves together to the number of
ten and invited the governor to what
was a most extraordinary attention in
those days-pickled oyster stew and
champagne-luxuries very seldom
seen in that region, and existing
rather as fabrics of the Imagination
than as facts.
The governor took me with him. He
said disparagingly:
It's a poor invention. 1t doesn't
deceive. Their idea is to get me drunk
and leave me under the table, and
from their standpoint this will be very
funny. But they don't know me. am
familiar with champagne and have no
preJudices against it."
The governor was serene, sober,
comfortable, contented, happy and
sober, although he was so full that he
couldn't laugh without shedding cham
payne tears. Also at that hour the
last joker joined his comrades under
the table, drunk, to the last perfection.
The governor remarked:
This is a dry place, Sam. Let's go
and get something to drink and go to
bed."-North American Review.