Year: 1873

Since the unfortunate acciucHs " HAA-
Coville while on the roof counting the
shingles he has been obliged to keep


pretty close to the house. Last Wednes-
day he went out in the yard for the flrse
time, and on Friday Mrs. Coyille got
him an easy chair, which proved great
comfort to him. 1t is one Of those chairs
that can be moved by the occupant, to
form almost any position, by means OIL
ratchets. Mr.. Coville was very much
pleased with this new contrivance, and
the first afternoon did nothing but SIC
in it and work in it all ways He said
sueh a chair as that did more good In
this world than hundred sermons
He had it in his room, the front bed
room upstairs, and there he would SIT
and look out of the window, and enjoy
himself as much as a man whose legs
have been ventilated with shot, Mon


day afternoon he got in the chair As usu-
al. Mrs. Coville was out in the back
yard hanging up clothes. and the son
was across the street drawing iath
along a picket fence.


Sitting down he grasped the ehair


with botlr hands to settle it back, when


the whole thing gave away, and eoYiiie
came violently to the flour.


For an instant the unfortunate gen.
tleman was benumbed by the sudden


ness of the shock, but the next he was
aroused by an acute pain in each arm,
and the great drops of sweet oozed' from
his forehead when he found that the
little finger of each hand had caught IN
the rackets, and was firmly held as If IN
a vice. There he lay with the end OF
round sticking in his side, and both


hands perfectly powerless. The least
move of his body aggravated the pain
which was chasing up his arms he
screamed for help, but Mrs. Coyille was
in the back yard telling Mrs. .Coney,next
door neighbor, that she Didn't know
what Coyille would do without that
chair, and so she didn't hear him. de
pounded the -four with his stocking feet
but the youngerC Covilie was still drawing
emotion from that fence across the way
and all other sounds were rapidly sink
ing into significance. Besides, Mr. Co
yille's legs were not sufficiently reeov-
cred from the late accident to permit
their being profitabIy used as mallets-


How he did despise that offspring, and
how frequently he did wish the owner
of that fence would light on that boy
and reduce him to powder. Then he
screamed again and howled and shouted
ssMaria,'' But there was no response
What if he should die there alone and in
that awful shape? The Precipitation
started afresh, and the pain in his arms
assumed an awful magnitude. Again
he shrieked s'Maria!'' but the matinee
across the way only grew in volume,and
the unconscious wife had gone into Mrs
Coney's and was trying on that lady's
redingote. Then be prayed. and howl
ed, and couShed, and swore, and then
apologized for it, and prayed and howl
ed again, and screamed at the top Of his
voice the awfullest things he would do
to that boy if heaven would only spare
him and show him an axe.


Then he opened his mouth for one
final shrek, when the door opened, and
Mrs. Coville appeared with a smile on
her face and Mrs. Coney's redingoee on
her back. In one glance she saw that
something awful had happened to Jo-
seph, and with wonderful presence OF
mind she screamed for help, and then
tainted away, and plunged hesdlong in
to his stomach. Fortunately the blow
deprived him of speech, else he might
have said something that he would ever
have regretted, and before he could re-
gain his senses, Mrs. Coney dashed in
and removed the grief-stricken wife,
But il required blacksmith to cut Co
willie loose. He is sgain back in bed,
with his mutilated fingers resting ca
pillows, and there he lies all day c,s-
cocting new forms Of death for the in
ventor of that chair, and hoping that
nothing will happen to his son until he
can get well enough to administer it
himself.