The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1912-01-02

conschience-stricken becuz he had from
time to time opened private letters
which had come through the P. o. by
steaming them over the teakettle at
home, being as he was curious to know
what the contents was & then sealed
them up agin. good as ever, which he
didn't calkilate was emmy harm, but that
Rev. Moore had made him see the mat
ter in different light and that after
Jan. 1st he would stop this pracktice
and would only read postal cards &
circklers in envellups not sealed 8, that
he wanted patrons of the Bingville P.
0. to feel that they could hereafter
| mail private sealed letters with IMMUNITY
but would sujjest that they first show
him the contents Of the letters so he
could judge as P NJ. whether what they
wrote was obseen matter & fit TO go
through the mail or not, which was his
duty to find out. Eph also said he
was d going to stop the pracktice Of
removing the cancellashion marks from
old stamps which had been used and Of
| fering them for sale to customers agln.
Then Eph set down.
Next Miss Polly Skinner, who has
been a Miss for 10 these 40 years or
more agone, riz up and said that after
Jan. 1st she was going to stop circulatin
skandal in our mids, and when she
hecrd a roomer about some woman in
Bingville she wasn't agoing to repeat
it. and add somethinl to it as she had
been in the habit of doing in the past.
Polly sobbed & wept she was that con-
schience-stricken and took sollum VOW
newer to let the breth of skandal pass
betwixt her lips agin. Then Polly set
down.
Up to this time Bill Hepburn, our
artistick blacksmith, who had been set
tin away back by the door, had been
turrible Uneasy and had been shiftin
back & forrid in his seat enuff to al
most wear out the seat of his pants.
Them as watched Bill knowd he was
having a awful rassle with his con-
sentence and was strugglin aginst his
better nachure, which told him to git
right up and denounce the Demon Rum.
Finally Bills Conscience got the better
of the struggle & Bill riz to his feet
very much embarrassed. For minnit
| he couldn't say nothink at all-all he
could do was to twist up his soft felt
| hat in his hands like as if he was Try
! ing to wiring worter outen it and he
twisted it so much that he twisted it
all outen shape and now the hat looks
like thunder on Bill Finally he said;
Mister Chairman, Ladies & Gents
You all know that l am hard drinker
and sometimes rum gifts leetle mite
the best OF me and"
1T does every time" hollered Dea-
con Bradbury. Bill started to cline over
the seats to git holt of the Deacon, but
fell, and before he could git up the
| Deacon run outen the church & dis
persed down Main St. to his home as
fast as he could dispense. Bill then
! said If ennybuddy else had eunythink
/ further to say about him being hard
drinker to go ahead and say it & he
would kick them clean outen the church.
Bill then paused for a reply, but no
buddy said ennythink. Then Bill went
on:
"As was saying I have been in the
habit of going to the Co. seat every
Saturday and coming back to Bingville
full as ushuaL Rum is a turrible thing
when it gifts a holt on man. If l
could drink in moderashion and on the
sly like some of the stanch pliers of the
Bineville church I could name (& here
Bill looked very severe at Cy Hoskins
& Deacon Andrews & Lem Brown who
all scrooched down in their seats and
trenabled) it would be all right, but l
cant-unless I can ticker up & git full
as a tick I amt satisfied. But Ime q 60
ing to reform beginning not on Jar
1st. but right now-Ime going to begin
practisin tonight and from now until
Jan lst, 1913, not single drop OF ticker
will tech my lips. got jug half full
of old hard cider hid in my blacksmith
shop right now. but line not goin &C