He would insist on getting on top of the reservoir--had a glass pump in
his hand--pumped up wine for every body--put the spout into his mouth,
and pumped into himself for an hour,--first fifteen minutes made him
rich; second quarter of an hour made him tearful; at the end of
forty-five minutes he was helpless but happy; and when the hour was up
he tumbled off the top of the machine and we stowed him away in a
corner, where he lay until he revived sufficiently to be able to partake
of some bread and butter which the Dutch housekeeper gave us, and which
he insisted was lobster salad, and kept calling for boiled eggs, olive
oil, and mustard to dress it with.
At last he was taken violently sick, and we took him out doors, set him
on top of a basswood stump, when he looked like "Patience on a monument
smiling"--although he tried to convince us that he was D. Webster, Esq.,
and insisted on making a speech to convince us that he "still lived."
Never before had I seen wine of such tremendous power. One of our party
was addressing a number of pint bottles alternately as "Fellow
citizens," "Gentlemen of the Jury," and "Ladies of the Committee."
Another had seated himself in a small puddle of Still Catawba on the
brick floor, and was calling out for soap, towels, and a black boy to
scrub his shoulders.
A third had emptied four bottles of "sparkling" into his vest-pockets to
take home to the children, and put the fragments of the glass into his
hat under the impression that they were hickory nuts, which he tried to
crack with the carriage lamps, evidently supposing them to be
nut-crackers.
My most intimate friend was trying to feed the horse some oats, by which
appellation he called a three-cornered harrow and a breaking-up plough,
and had filled the buggy with wild flowers, as he supposed, but which
were, in reality, two year old grape vines, which he had pulled up by
the roots.
Did not allow myself to become affected in like manner, as I had to
spend the evening with the family of one of the "solid men" of
Porkopolis, an ardent supporter of the Maine Law, who always keeps a
large variety of liquors in his cellars, and insists, whenever his
friends spend an evening with him, on making them pass their time
drinking whiskey-punch, with seven whiskeys to one water. Passed a
delightful evening, called the children by French names, mistook the
piano for the hat-rack, hung my hat on the harp-pedal, and laid my
gloves on the key-board. Met Damphool's uncle as I was going to the
hotel; he had brought home the glass-pump, thinking it was our
carriage-whip, but was otherwise sensible.
Is going to sell his vineyard, and turn teetotaler.
XXXV.
Theatricals once more.--Shakspeare darkeyized.--Macbeth in high colors.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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