is own tongue was alien to the brimstone of the Lord, he became quite
used to strong language on the part of other men, even in the most
genial conversation. Carthey, a little Texan who went to work for him
for a while, opened or closed every second sentence, on an average,
with the mild expletive, "By damn!" It was also his invariable way of
expressing surprise, disappointment, consternation, or all the rest of
the tribe of sudden emotions. By pitch and stress and intonation, the
protean oath was made to perform every function of ordinary speech. At
first it was a constant source of irritation and disgust to Corliss,
but erelong he grew not only to tolerate it, but to like it, and to
wait for it eagerly. Once, Carthey's wheel-dog lost an ear in a hasty
contention with a dog of the Hudson Bay, and when the young fellow bent
over the animal and discovered the loss, the blended endearment and
pathos of the "by damn" which fell from his lips was a relation to
Corliss. All was not evil out of Nazareth, he concluded sagely, and,
like Jacob Welse of old, revised his philosophy of life accordingly.

Again, there were two sides to the social life of Dawson. Up at the
Barracks, at the Welse's, and a few other places, all men of standing
were welcomed and made comfortable by the womenkind of like standing.
There were teas, and dinners, and dances, and socials for charity, and
the usual run of things; all of which, however, failed to wholly
satisfy the men. Down in the town there was a totally different though
equally popular other side. As the country was too young for
club-life, the masculine portion of the community expressed its
masculinity by herding together in the saloons,--the ministers and
missionaries being the only exceptions to this mode of expression.
Business appointments and deals were made and consummated in the
saloons, enterprises projected, shop talked, the latest news discussed,
and a general good fellowship maintained. There all life rubbed
shoulders, and kings and dog-drivers, old-timers and chechaquos, met on
a common level. And it so happened, probably because saw-mills and
house-space were scarce, that the saloons accommodated the gambling
tables and the polished dance-house floors. And here, because he needs
must bend to custom, Corliss's adaptation went on rapidly. And as
Carthey, who appreciated him, soliloquized, "The best of it is he likes
it damn well, by damn!"

But any adjustment must