Democratic Sentinel, Volume 10, Number 21, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 June 1886 — A Little Hard o’ Hearing. [ARTICLE]

A Little Hard o’ Hearing.

Jonathan Chace, the quaint old Rhode Island Quaker —who has a tender side, by the way, for all the victims of Cupid—was taking the subscriptions of his colleagues of the Senate for the wedding present they were to give Gen. Anson McCook, the Secretary of the Senate, at his marriage. He went to L'olph, of Oregon, and said: “We are going to give McCook a wedding present. How much will you subscribe?” Dolpli seemed astonished. Finally he said, with some appearance of confusion: “Why, l’il give something, of course, if you want me to, but I’d like a little time to think about it.” “Oh, certainly,” responded Chace, somewhat miffed, and then he walked off. Then Dolph hurried over to his colleague, Mitchell, of Oregon, and said to him in a puzzled way: “Chace asked me just now to join him in giving a wedding present to his cook. What do you suppose he’s driving at? When my cooks get married I don’t go around asking other fellows to send them wedding presents.” “Oh,” laughed Mitchell, who had been in the Senate before, “he meant McCook—Anson McCook, the Secretary, you know. It’s the custom, you know, for Senators to give the officers of the Senate presents when they get married.” “Oh,” said L'olph, breathing freely again, “of course, of course. ” It is related that when the first Maine railroad was started, about forty years ago, W. C. Pitman, of Bangor, was a conductor. One rainy morning he started from Waterville, and on arriving at North Belgrade, a flag station, not seeing any flag, ran by the station. Just as the train had passed the red flag was run out for some passengers to get on. Mr. Pitman stopped his train, and asked Stephen Richardson, the station agent, why he did not display the flag before, Mr. Richardson replied: “Be you a-goin’ to run your train in rainy weather? I didn’t think you would. ” If you grasp a rattle-snake firmly about the neck he can not hurt you, says a contemporary paper. To be perfectly safe, it would be well to let some one else do the grasping.