The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1911-02-21

mdlly lis Ire SuD6tOeu, anu Ne COLI
tinued:
"The old fool had come to my quar-
tiers to ask me to sign paper con-
nected with the settlement At the
sight of his intended son-in-law putting
clouds of smoke, the odor OF which
made him sick. he turned and left the
room, banging the door behind him.
For half an hour acted like mad
man. Then. having quieted down a
bit, / went over to the house where
the Jones family were. l found a
commotion. AS soon as / was shown
into the room where Amelia was and
the door was closed behind me she
stood looking at me, furious.
"'FoolT she exclaimed. You have
spoiled everything
WHATS the npshot?' / asked.
FEATHER says that we can proceed
with the wedding il we like, but there
Is to be no settlement
FEATHER is an old dragon, and I'd
rather not have dragon for father
in-law,' I-snapped angrily.
land I'd rather have man for a
husband who Is not an idiot she re-
torted.
"iAn idiotr 1 replied. West Point
doesn't graduate idiots
"'Wnl you oblige me by leaving
meT
81 said something more-I don't re-
member what. though do know that
it was under the influence OF anger Of
the most painful kind-irritation with
oneself. only succeeded in draw
ing more bitter retorts from the girl l
was to have married. and finally left
her.
The colonel was so worked upon by
the "Reminiscences that was glad to
see him pause again for breath and
composure. Finally he went on:
There was no wedding The old
fool was obdurate, the bride to be was
disguised with my weakness In yield
ing to temptation, and l was mad as
a March hare. went to my western
post alone. but before going swore
great oath that would never again
yield to the temptation of tobacco.
would drink. gamble, dissipate In any
and every form. but never again would
yield to the weed.
81 know what you wish to say to
me-" he continued. land you have my
consent, but. you couldn't please me
better than by smoking yourself into
your grave. AS for me. cigar is an
excitant of a kind Of madness. To-
baeco cost me promotion in the army,
and it deprived me of a fortune. do
not mean that would exchange the
woman love, the mother of my chill
dren, for Amelia Jones, but do mean
that / have never recovered having
lost fortune by yielding to tempta-
ton.
''Now you understand why would
not for the world stand toward you in
the position that cid heather Jones
stood toward me. Smoke, smoke,
smoke smoke to your hearts contentr'
He pushed the button again and or
dered another cigar for me. protest
ed that never smoked two cigars, the
one following close upon the other, but
dreaded to oppose him lest he fly into
a passion.
Ny application for his daughters
hand was perfunctory. Indeed, it was
an anticlimax | was accepted on the
condition that never should stop
smoking.
Ny father-in-law stood in a very sin
gular position. He loved tobacco, but
could not use Ii without the mast COM
ing up in such force as to risk his very
life. kept the secret that he had
confded to me, and to this day my
wife cannot understand why l am
more of smoker than before she mar
ried me, and that, too, without any op-
position whatever from her father
Colonel Mechard's story is an Illus
tration of the trifing Incidents that de-
termine ones career. Had it not been
for his first episode the unexpected
coming of the Inspector at West Point
he would not have been SO affected by
the second. The two together gave an
important direction to his llfe's sur
roundings He was devoted to his fam
lily. but somehow never could recover
from the shock of having given up half
million dollars for cigar. l tell
him that so long as the fortune was to
have been his wife's instead Of his own
he made q wise choice