Produced by Bryan Ness, Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) _The Life of the Party_ * * * * * BY IRVIN S. COBB FICTION THE LIFE OF THE PARTY THOSE TIMES AND THESE LOCAL COLOR OLD JUDGE PRIEST FIBBLE, D. D. BACK HOME THE THUNDERS OF SILENCE THE ESCAPE OF MR. TRIMM WIT AND HUMOR EATING IN TWO OR THREE LANGUAGES "SPEAKING OF OPERATIONS----" EUROPE REVISED ROUGHING IT DE LUXE COBB'S BILL OF FARE COBB'S ANATOMY MISCELLANY THE GLORY OF THE COMING PATHS OF GLORY "SPEAKING OF PRUSSIANS----" GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY NEW YORK * * * * * [Illustration: "ARE YOU PAYIN' AN ELECTION BET THREE WEEKS AFTER THE ELECTION'S OVER? OR IS IT THAT YOU'RE JEST A PLAIN BEDADDLED IJIET?"] * * * * * _The Life of the Party By Irvin S. Cobb Author of "Back Home," "Old Judge Priest," etc., etc. Illustrated By James M. Preston_ [Illustration: Publisher's logo] _New York George H. Doran Company_ _Copyright, 1919, By George H. Doran Company Copyright, 1919, by the Curtis Publishing Company Printed in the United States of America_ * * * * * TO MISTRESS MAY WILSON PRESTON A LADY OF GREAT DRAWING QUALITIES * * * * * _ILLUSTRATIONS_ "Are you payin' an election bet three weeks after the election's over? Or is it that you're jest a plain bedaddled ijiet?" _Frontispiece_ PAGE "That's nice," spake the fearsome stranger. "Now stay jest the way you are and don't make no peep or I'll have to plug you wit' this here gat" 24 Mr. Leary's gait became a desperate gallop, and as he galloped he shouted: "Wait, please, here I am.--Here's your passenger" 32 * * * * * _The Life of the Party_ I It had been a successful party, most successful. Mrs. Carroway's parties always were successes, but this one nearing its conclusion stood out notably from a long and unbroken Carrowayian record. It had been a children's party; that is to say, everybody came in costume with intent to represent children of any age between one year and a dozen years. But twelve years was the limit; positively nobody, either in dress or deportment, could be more than twelve years old. Mrs. Carroway had made this point explicit in sending out the invitations, and so it had been, down to the last hair ribbon and the last shoe buckle. And between dances they had played at the games of childhood, such as drop the handkerchief, and King William was King James' son and prisoner's base and the rest of them.