a smile iv complete sang fraud or pain, an' he niver took his cigar
fr'm his mouth wanst. Indeed, it was siv'ral hours befure th'
Havana cud be exthracted be th' surgeon who was called in. While
th' debate was in progress, a pitcher iv Thomas Jefferson was
obsarved to give a slight moan an' turn its face to th' wall. Th'
Sinit thin took up routine business an' th' janitor swept up th'
hair an' neckties. Sinitor Biv'ridge was not much hurt. Th'
tinder outside iv th' wind-pipe was somewhat bruised, but th'
wurrukin' inside is still intact.'

"'Twas a pretty scene, Hinnissy, an' wan that makes me proud iv
Bailey f'r his courage in pouncin' on his collague; iv Biv'ridge
f'r th' manly self resthraint an' rayspict f'r th' dignity iv th'
Sinit that par'lyzes a man's hands whin his wind is cut off; iv
our noble counthry that projooces such sturdy sons, iv th' Sinit
that brings thim together in a clinch an' iv mesilf because I
wasn't there. I'm with Bailey. Bailey f'r prisidint! Bailey or
bust or choke!

"I'm not sure that if I was in th' same place I'd do th' same
thing. But I'm no statesman. Who am I to say that what wudden't
be manners in a bar-room is not all right in th' Sinit? Diff'rent
men has diff'rent raisons f'r fightin'. Ivry man will fight. Ye
can bet on that. A brave man will fight because he is brave an'
a cow'rd because he is a cow'rd. All men will fight an' all men
will run. Some will fight befure they'll run, but they'll run;
some men will run befure they'll fight, but they'll fight. They'se
a pretty good fight an' a pretty fast run in ivry man I know. Th'
debate in th' Sinit don't prove annything about th' merits iv
ayether pug. In some other circumstances, Biv'ridge might have
hunted Bailey up a three. It happened to be Bailey's day.

"As I get on in years, I believe less in fightin'. 'Tis a turr'ble
thing to see th' aged an' infirm swingin' away at each other.
'Tis so unscientific. I hate to think iv a man with one leg in
th' grave usin' th' other to thrip th' free foot iv a fellow aged.
I'm glad Bailey an' Biv'ridge ar-re young men. What a scandal if
Sinitor Cullom an' Sinitor Morgan shud mix it up! Wan iv th' things
a man larns as he grows old is to dislike fightin'. He dislikes
annything he can't do as well as he cud. I'm that way. But I
wasn't always so. No, sir. They was a time whin I'd fight at th'
dhrop iv a hat, f'r money or marbles or pool checks, f'r th' good
name iv