HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1870-08-12, Page 1[IUST 5 1870.
ahotil&
not.
arid we
T
reiIace-1* With an-
enture, Is it not
oCCUTred to proper-
etor of the property
inst the Corporation ?
the drain and gave an
heir cellar, but neglect
we are called upon
ape $3,000, as $1,
-5tones over the dep
ded principally iri. that
unjust to the other in-
• ha-Ve: 'dug drains in
died tiPon to construct
int& Their should be
4 By -Law s once enact-
estly, and heartily en-
ney spent in the streets
:heir permanency and.
vetsareproperly water-
/ look along Main St.,
adapted in it, where
does as he pleases with
'oar frontage, but will
her village or town, is
dsof water, more slash
ming fromthis cause,
re should be no torpidi-
L making the streets
ai being hillocked from
id m-acl, and those neat
individuals doore who
ke one. _Every house
s for wilioh- there are
compelled to sink the
ns orproperly construct -
• our muddiness arises
ail there is a system
se of expending money.
t the water-tabIe shaU
awe fom the sidewalk.
Week six feet. nine high-
road, and sixteen from
Vote your thousands to
4 afterwards let every
i -six months there will be
, It is the °pillionof
mdengineers, that the
Uffieientgravel, and if
rater -tabled to allow the
e (and that would riot
niiich raoney, and pre -
ranee. Indeed- the them-
hink so themselves, as
he ieking petite water,
the propensity to awn -
• We do, not want
hen $.20G and a little
iere have not -been $30
terigh .Street, notwith-
amtribnte statute labor
ncl business men prcod-
qnota- of tax, as well
zar.reirients, there was a
and a- gravel walk made
DX per rod, -where as
ie market, for planking
sd,, and will Soon decay,
• expended in making a
f persons liviws outside
;polity, but sufficiently
ES business advantages
of the 1-)orrowed money
.4 reporting side -walks
are pulled up. A re-
waperty holder, t� lay
other part of the ail-
tage, labor, nails, is lost
' this -upou a condemned
ec. mortgag•ed $4,000, to
minge.
.:cesae is over $.2;00.0,, it
ble amount of:improve-
a it goes to pay day
e so mach. Is the good
tender. or private con -
le to the Corparatien?
irconte is spent in daily
rod deal of inimiera-ant
a months). one fifth of
sver $2,000-, and as it
II to pay off oar annual
Ows, we will have less
annual improvements,
(direct taxation). It
r the ratepayers to vote
0 for fifteen years.
Yours truly,
',s,e- - assiaV
A'•
)
:<-4-?.A-V.
-'72-;:i:., . .. 4
e.,e.e7.-esa.....e..--...e
ti,et,1()1.43-re
SE -FORTH.
0;I'POSITE,
OTE
"*.
Uhl intimate to the in-.
th and • surrounding
m hand a large stock of
STUFF They
kr(ler for all kinds of
aade up by experienced
est styles:
- a tiret-elass Carriage
LY'ATTENDED TO.
T DERagE.
&
87..4k 11.1-.tf..
RE -HOUSE
1- TO RENT.
fel- Kale, or to Let, a:
IN STORE -HOUSE, -1
shels. _with horse gram
* sittuLted on the t -rand
k side of the railway
4 U-LII.7$
cri0.
139—
iTRAY
9th Concession Ilib-
ly, one BAY MARE,
I shod on right front
IARE, with white strip
t white, and a spavin
information as to their
nkfully received by thDLIN e
rded.
Staffa P. O.
WM. F LUXTON,
-VOL 3, NO. 36,
"Freedom in Trade—Liberty in Religion Equality in Civil Righten
EDTION & PUBLISHER.
G BUSINESS CARDS.
MEDICAL.
RTRACY, M. D., Coroner for the County of
. 'Huron. Office and Residence—One door
, East of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Seaforth, Dec. 14th, 1868. • 53-ly
TT L. VERCOE, NI; D. C. M., Physician, Sur
geon, etc. Office and Residence,! corner
of Market and. High Street, immediately in rear
of Kidd & McMulkin's Store.
• Seaforth,' Feb. ,ith. 1870. 53-1y.
TeaR. W. R. SMITH, Physician, Surgeon,' etc.
j Office,—.Opposite Veal's Grocery. Resi-
dence—Main-street, North.
Seaforth, Dec. 14, 1863.
53-ly
j- CAMPBELL, M. D. C. M ..(Graduate of 31Ic-
- . Gill' University, Montreal) Physician, Sur-
geon, etc. -,--Seaforth -Office and Residence—Old
,Post Office Building, up stairs, where he -will be
'found by night or day when at hone.
Seaforth, July 151h, 1869. 84-ly
LEGAL. -
141F... WALKER, Attorney -at -Law and So -
•
• .
heitor-m-Chancery, Conveyancer, Natary
Public, &c. Office of the Clerk of the Peace,
Court House, Goderich, Ont.
N.B.-_—•Mmiey to lend -at 8 per cent on Farna
Lands-.
Goderich, jaify. 8. 1870. 112-1y.
IT,CAUGHEY & 110Ia STEAD, Barristers,
_Al Attorneys at Law, olicitors in Chancery
and lnsolveacy, Notaries Public and Conveyance
ers. Solicitors for the R C. Baark, Seaforth,
Agents, for the Canada Life Assurance Co.
N. B. —830,000 -to lend at 8 per cent. Farms,
Houses and Lots for sale.
Seaforth, Dec. 146, 1868. 53-tf.
•
SEAFORTH, FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 1870.
WEEN I MEAN TO MARRY.
BY JOHN GREGORY SAXE.
When do I mean to marry? Well,
'Tis idle to dispute with fate;
But if you choose to hear me tell,
Pray listen while I fix the gate.
When daughters haste, with eager feet
A mother's daily toil to share;
Can make the puddings whichlthey eat,
And fix the stockings that they Wear.
When maidens look Upon man,
As in himself what they would marry.
And not as army soldiers scan
A suties or conuraissionary.
When gentle ladies, WhO have got,
The offer of a lover's hand,
Consent to share his earthly lot
And do not mean his lot of land,
When young mechanics are allowed
To find anc1 wed the farmers' girls,
Who don't expect to be endowed
With rubies, diamonds, and pearls ;
"Goad. for them," another remarked, "Their
fortunes are as goodas made."
I lingered around the place, -listening to other
.observations that were made upon the well and
its lucky owners, andfmally returnedto the shan-
ty and lay down on my hard bed with a feeling
that was something like envy. I dreamed all
night of oil wells, and awoke in the morning with
'.a resolution. that I would own an interest in one
of them before dark. •
As I passed the spot where I had stopped the
night before, on my way along the productive
lands, I walked over to the -well again. The
pumping was going on as before'and the oil came
out in 'great streams into the . tank. I watched
it for a few moments,. With that kind of fascina-
tion which the victims of the oil maaia generally
felt, and was turning away with a sigh when my
shoulder was tapped by one of the proprietors,
the little fellow who had talked so glibly the night
-before.
"A pretty good well, sir' " he said. "1 don't
see any reason why it wontpump like this for
years. , .
. "I should be satisfied 'With it if I owned it,' I
said. ' • . .
" Wouldn't yon like to purchase a share of it ?"
he asked, rather coaxingly. -
I looked at his face, with the thought that he
was quizzing me, but he appeared to be perfectly
serious. Seeing that I was in doubt as to his
meaeing, he pointed to a printed bill posted on the
derrick, which I hati not before seen, although
it was in staring capitals. Without giving the
exact contents of it, it will be sufficient to say
-that it offered for sale the one-half interest inthis
well for -ten thousand. dollars ; the offer to stand
for one week only.
-. - "Are you in earnest about this ?" I asked, feel-
ingsomewhat startled, and somewhat as if my.
chance had come. • _
" Perfectly in -earnest, l'm sorry to say,' he re-
_ plied.' "I've tried hard enough to avoid.. it, but
I'm driven to it. It is my half that is offered for
only a trifle over•what I have expended here. In
. a few minutes More I could easily realize ten thou-
sand dollars out of this oil; but I can't wait.
My house and lot in Buffalo are to be sold on a
_mortgage in one week from to -day, and I can't
bear to have them sacrificed, as I know they will
be. The property- is worth more than the sum I
offer to sell out here for ; but if I am not there it
may sell for one half of it. So you see I must sell
this interest. It grindsine to do it, but for rea-
sons I can't speak of to -a stranger ; it is better on
the whole, for Inc to lose the fortune that is pour-
ing out of this well than my homestead."
"Your partner might - buy ..you out," 1 siig-
gested.
"Aad glad enough Would I be to do it," spoke
up the tall man, corning just in time to hear my
remark, "if I had the means. But I haven't.
Like poor1red, here I've spent my last dollar in
nery to ru it. If it wasn't for -the good pros--
r
putting dos n this Well and getting the machi-
pect ahead, I believe my boarding-honse keeper
would have turned me out two weeks ago. But
I'm better off than my partner . I've only to hold
pn and gather the gold that's coling in -while he
must sell."
My mind -was half made. I walked up to.. the
spot where the oil was gushing out of the pipe at
every stroke oftehe pump, and looked at it as if
it were already' my own. A - small crowd had
again gatheredabout, and such exclamations as
." great thing," "lucky fellows," "here's a for-
tune, sure," greeted my ears. . . . .
"Do you think of purchasing about here?" one
ofthe owners asked,' following me up. . I answer-
ed in the aflirmative.
" Thenihere's your chance, sure as you're a liv-
living man !" the other enthusiastically cried. 'I_
tell you, sir, there's no mistake about it—this is
one of the most promising plac.es on the creek,
and you can pump out an independent fortune
here in a few months. ' If I had the money, I'd
not hesitate a minute, and as I haven't, all My
interest in the sale is to help poor Fred out of his
trouble. I rather like your looks, too, and I'd
prefer you for a partner than some others who
have been here looking at the well. If you've exci
got the cash," and he looked hard at me, " you'd • the
better buy." .
"1 have got.the cash," I replied.
"Good! You're just the man for Fred; and, if
you take his offer it'll be like giving you fifty
thousand dollars. Corne up. to the Office, and let
us talk it over; there are too many people about
. ,
When wives, in short, shall freely give
Their hearts and hands to aid their spouses,
And live as they were wont to live, •
Within their sires' one Story houses ;
Then, madam—if I'm not too old—
Rejoiced to quit this lonely Me—
lt brush my beaver, cease to scold,
And look about me for a wife!
REPLY.
BY A GIRL OF THE PERIOD.
Well, clear old fogie, Mr. Saxe, •
Tis idle to dispute your fate ;
Your beau ideal can't be found,
You reached this world a mite too late.
$10,000 -HOW MR. RAND SAVED IT.
BY JAMES FRANLIN
BENSON & MEYER, Barristers and Attorne r* My little story (b
ency, Conveyancers, Notaries Public, oto. Of -
3
at Law, Solicitors in Chancery and Insolv-
ces,—Seaforth and Wroxeter. Agents for the
Trust and Loan Co. of Upper Canada, ' and the
Colonial Securities Co. of London, England.
Money at 8 per cent ; no commission, eharged.
TAS. EL BENSON, n. w. c. MEYER.
Seaforth; Dec. 10th 1868. 53-ly
DENTAL.
G. W. IIA.RRIS, L. D. S Arti-
ficial Dentures inserted with all the
latest improvements. The greatest
-care taken for tile preservation of decayed and
tender teeth. Teeth extracted without pain.
Rooms over Collier's:Store.
Saeforth. Dec. 14,1868. 1y
HOTELS.
elOMMER01...A.L HOTEL, Ainleyvill , James
le) Laird, proprietor, affords first-class accom-
modation for the travelling public. The larder
and bar are always sapplied with the best the
markets afford. Excellent stabling in connection
A ialeyville, April 23, 1869. 70-tf.
T7- ONX'S HOTEL (LATE SHARP'S) The en-
dersigned begs to thank the public for the
liberal patronage awarded to him ur times past
in the hotel .business, and also to inform them
_ that he has again restuaied business in the above
stand, where he -will be happy to have a call
from old friends and many new ones.
THOAIAS K9NX.
Seaforth, May 5, 1870. 1126-tf.
T R. ROSS, Proprietor New Dominion Hotel,
••begs to inform, the people of Seaforth and
the travelling eommunity generally, that hekeeps
first-class accommodation in every thing required
by travellers. A good stable and :willing hostler
always on. hand, Regular Boarders will receive
every necessary attention.
Seaforth, Feb, 8th, 1869.
63-1y.
Tip) RITISH EXCIL.A.NGE HOTEL, GODERICH,
_13 , J. CALLAWAY, PROPRIETOR ; J. S.
Wreerams, (late of American Hotel,, Warsaw, N.
Y.) Manager. This hotel has recently been new-
ly furnished, and refitted throughout, and is now
one of the most emnforta,ble and commodious in
!the Proviace. Good Sample Rooms for Con:liner-
eial Travellers. Terms liberal.
Goderich, April 14, 1870. 23-tf.
MISCELLANEOUS.
HARP'S LIVERY STABLE, MAIN ST.;
S EaFOR TH. First Class Horses and Carriages
always on hand at reasonable, terms.
R .14_ SHARP, Proprietor.
Seaforth, May -5th, 18,70..
MAILL 1' CROOKE, 'Architects, etc Plans
0 and Specifications drawn correctly. Carpen-
ter's, Plasterer's, and Mason's work, measured
and valued. Office—Over C. Detlor, & Co.'s
store; Court -House Square, Goderieh:
Goclerich, Apii123, 1869. - 79-1y.
& W. McP1IILLIPS, Provincial Land Sur-
• veyors, Enbineers, etc. All manner
of Conveyancing done with neatness and dispatch,'
G.MaPhillips, Commissioner in R R. Office—
Next door south of Sharp's Hotel, Seaforth.
Seaforth, Dec. 14, 1868.
T S. PORTER, Seaforth, Ont dealer in hides,
„ sheap skins, furs and wool. 'Ici%eral advance-
ments made on consignments. Money to lend.
InsurLnce agent Debts collected. High.est
price paid for green backs —Office east side of
Main Street, one door north Johnson ° Bros'.
Hardware Store. 122-tf.
110 HAZLEHURST, Licensed Auctioneer for
.1). the Countsr of Huron. Goderich, Ont
Particular attention paid to the sale of Bankrupt
Stock. Farm Stock Sales attended on Liberal
Terms. Goods Appraised, Mortgages Foreclosed,
Landlord's Warrants Executed. Also, Bailiff
First Division Court for Huron.
Gcxlerich, June 9th, 1869.
y (bean r. Rand) will illus-
trate the imprudence, not to say _folly, with which
e of
men will often act when under the influenc
,some great controlling passion, such as the expec-
tation of great gain. And it w-,11 also illustrate
how mea may redeem themselves from the conse-
quences of such imprudence or folly by prompt
and decided action.
, The facts briner me back no great distance in
my experience ; Only to the spring of 1865. The
_great Pennsylvania oil fever was then at its height
fabulous stories were told and printed of men re-
alizing hundreds of thousands in a day by tlie
simplest speculation in lands, and many of my
friends around me were converting their business
into cash, ,and departing for the theatre of finan-
cial excitement. The fever soon overtook me,
and yielded to it. I was at the time the senior
of two partners in a large and flourishing country
retail store; 1 was prospering, and . had just are
rived at the point where I Could begin'to lay up
money. - I was thirty-five years old, with a dear
good wife and two little children, whom I loved,'
as I still do,' -better than myself. My home was
to me the inost beautiful and attractive spot. on
earth, .anc1 a month before I had determined to go
to bee oil regionz, I could not have been persuad-
ed:that anything on earth in the shape of terap-
tation could win me away from it. But in this
case the tempter attacked me at the weakest
point "Go now," my fancy whispered to me,
" while their is a chance, this golden harvest will
not last long: Venture boldly ; tint in a few
thousands and make a cool half million ; it has
been done more than once, and you are as quite
as likely as any one to do it again. When you
have done this, your family as well as yourself
will be above all the chances and risks of trade,
independent for life. It is your highest duty to
g6."
I prevailed upon myself to think that this was
so. I broached my plan to my wife and several
of my best friends ; they all opposed it. They
reasoned that it was better for mei to- stay here,
with a certainty of fair profits, than to go into
oil speculation and risk all that. I had. Very
true in the abstract, I allowed • but I had got
!myself 'to thinking that I conlh not fail. No
crazy gainbler or speculator ever expects to
,
lose -his money ; they are continually hoping for
good luck', and the hope amounts to an expec-
tation. So with rae. My interest in the busi-
ness was worth fifteen thousand dollars easily,
On hurried sale it brought twelve, and in order to
realize the cash in hand, I was compelled to re -
dupe it to ten. These figures will show how in-
sane upon the subject I had become : and yet my
condition was no worse than that of hundreds of
others. -
With a sad but hopeful farewell to my family
and friends,, I was off for the oil regions. I lad
to pass through Buffalo on my, zway, and there I
stopped over one train, to get my draft for ten
thousand dollars exchanged for a bank certifi-
cate of deposit for the same amount. Then,
with the certificate safely. stowed away in the
leather bill book which I always carried in my
inner breast -pocket, I went on to Venago.
arrived at one of the new oil -settlements in
the evening ; and after camping down all night
on the floor of a shanty,- for the lack of better ac-
commodations, I sallied ant the next morning on
a prospecting tour. Whichever way my steps
turned I seat- a crowd, a tumult of anxious, eager
men like myself, hurrying about or gathered
around some well where was flowing. the precious
green fluid. Nothing was talked of or thought of
but oil, and everybody seemed watching for pro-
mising speculations. I went about all the day,
observina the ways of the place, and toward
0
night I tuned my steps back to the shanty. Be-
fore I had reached it, my attention was attracted
to a group of men who stood a few rods from the
path, and I went out of my way to join them. I
found that they were standing about the machi.
nery of a new well which was Pumping a steady
stream into a vat. .
"Fifty barrels to -cry !" exultingly exclaimed a
dapperlittlefellow, with a huge moustache and
an unmistakable city cut to his clothes. Ile was
standing on the platform of the derrick, above
the crowd, as he spoke, and seemed to be expatia-
ting on the vvell. 'Fifty barrelsi since sunrise !
Not a flowing well, to be sure ; but the pump
brings up the oil in a steady stream, and its my
opinion that it'll last as long as any well on the
ground."
"It's done splendidly," said another man • a
tall dashing fellow who was emphatically pufing
a cigar.
"Theni's the two owner's of it," said a man at
76.tf, my elbow.
wHoLE No. 140.
"Let me see,", said Fred, and I laid the
cate on the table. ."Oh, that's all right !"
claimed, as he read it. "I know the offi
that bank, and they'll pay me on your e
ment."
The other party—my future partner—t
dashing fellow, came and leaned over
shoulder, and looked at the certificate.
bent his face lower, I saw a most rascally
ter smile diffuse itself all over the whole c
nance, and my ear caught a word whispere
significant emphasis:
'Sold!"
Somehow, just at that momentous insta
could not fix my thoughts on oil, and money
ing, and the business before us at all. I t
of Emily and the children at home, and w
ed whether it Was better for them that I s
part with this money so easily. I looked a
two men and their flashy finger -rings and
pins, and I did not feel half as znuch like in
the bargain as I had a moment before.
'His voice startled me from my abstracti
looked up and saw that he had placed the c
cate on the table with his finger upon it
was holding out a pen to me.
"I've written the endorsement—Tay t
order of Fred Brown," he said. "Jus
your name under that. But Lord bless you,
—what's the matter? Your face is white
most. You aint going crazy with your good
are you ?
They both laughed at this sally.
"No," I said, darelessly. "Just let me lo
the face of that certificate again—so!' and
the words I slipped it from under his ling
My bill -book lay on the table; I _quickly pl
the certificate in it, folded it, and bnttoned i
close again in my pooket.
The men fell back in blank astonishment,
both spoke together.
"What's that for ?"
"What the devil d'ye mean, sir IP!
"I've thought better of it," was my repl
"I've concluded not to buy. You may keep
assigninent, or give it to some one else. The
may be a protita.ble investment—but I think
the whole, I'll not take stock in it.
They saw that I was in earnest, and two
rier men I never saw in my life. Fred—if
Was his name—stood glaring at me with the
pression of a hungry hyena balked of his p
and Dick, the one Who had avowed that he
afiaoceii.itereht.in the sale except to help his friie
came close up to me and shook bus fist in
"You can't come that game on us, my
fellow!" he growled. "This trade is all do
and that paper is ours. Hand it over, or yo
smell these."
He shook his fist again. Now their cond
confirmed ray suspicions. I was so rejoiced
my escape that I believe I could have enga
both of them in 'afist fight, if necessary.
there was no occasion for it.
"Lock the door, Fred," said the fellow who
was menacing me. 'We'll see about this chap,
pretty quick."
"Stop there!" I cried, producing a revolver,
and cocking it as Fred started for the door.—
"Lock that door and Pll blow youthrough!" •
He did stop, very suddenly. My attitude and
weapon were what they had not expected.
"I believe you are two great scoundrels," I
said. "Thank Heaven, I have nothing here yet
to bind myself to you in any way; and I cer-
tainly shall not now." I arose to my feet, with
the pistolin my hand. "Now, I am going to
leave this shanty, and if any one offers to prevent.
tnihee'reit. (we ill be the worse for him. Look out
certifi-
he ex-
cers of
ndorse-
he tall
Fred's
As he
sinis-
ounte-
dwith
nt, -I
-mak-
.ought
onder-
hould
t the
breast
airing
on;
,; and
o the
t put
man
al -
'luck
ok at
with
aced.
t up
and
y. --
your
well
, on
ang-
that
ex-
rey;
had
nd,
my
fine
ne,
u'll
uct
at
ged
But
Not a hand wdA raised; no violence whatever
was offered. They stood quietly aside while I
walked out; and I did: not .put away rny pistol
until I had put a safe distance between myself
aria them. -
I went straight down to the well, and found a
great commotion in the crowd gathered there.—
The pump was still working, but the oil had
stopped running. By this time I was pretty well
ted, and mounting the platform, I secured
attention of the crowd, and gave them a brief
account of my experience with the proprietors of
this well. They listened with manifestations of.
angels, and when I had don9, a dozen voices rose
at once.
"These fellows owe me ore'n five kindred
dollars, for work," one cried.
"And me two hundred for .board."
"And me fifty for hoss hire," &c., &c.
"Let's find the d ----d rascals," some one sug-
gested; and a rush was instantly made for the
shanty. They were ten minutes too late; both
the men had gone, leaving behind them the evi-
dences of a precipitate flight. It was well for
them that they were not found; their swindled
creditors were angry enough to soak them in their
own vat. ,
Some of these creditors attached the property
that afternoon, and then the whole swindle was
exposed. The man in charge of the well was one
of the victims, and he did not hesitate to expose
the fraud. As it now appeared, the well had not
been put down more thali thirty feet, and, of
course, not a drop of oil had been reached. Four
barrels of oil had been purchased, and brought
on the ground in the night, and this was actual-
ly kept running through the pipe out of the spout,
and back again from the barrel, by means of con-
cealed pipes. Of course, the humbug was in
hourly danger of detection, as the crowd was in-
creasing and becoming more curious; hence the
haste of the two sharpers in pressing the negotia-
tioni.
I,em
ained in this vicinity less than twenty-
four hours after that. I began to see that I was
hardly keen enough -to cope with the rascals of
the place, who were looking for just such men
as myself. Perhaps •I might have made a for-
tune if I had staid, but I did not feel like trying.
Of corusie, I knew that such adventures as these
were in large minority; but I began to get sick of
the place, and thought it best to retire with my
money in my own pocket while I could. I sur-
pxised and gratified myfriends by my early return,
and went back into business with _the unpleasant
thought that 1 had sacrificed about five thousand
dollars in my haste to try the experiment of oil -
speculation. Never mind; I have more than got
it back again, and with it an experience which
will, I trust, keep me clear of all such dangers in
ttohnefbetutroelrides.. a briesequel
sequel to this story, that ought
si
ted Auburn State Prison, less
than a year ago and saw the convicts at work,
clad in their parti-colored suits. One of them
glanced up as we passed, and instantly dropped
his eyes again. That glance was enough; spite of
his close -cropped head and his showy costume, I
recognized the person who has figured in this
page by the name of Dick. The warden told me
here." ,
I walked with them to the shanty that they
occupied, and wentin with them, almost persua-
ded at that moment to make the investment.
Everything seemed Straight ancl honest about the
matter; I had seen the well and the Oil, and
there was no chance for deception about that, and
the man's reasons for selling were perfectly satis-
factory. In fact, I believed I began to have
some pity for him on account of the hardship of
the case, and to wish that I had a thousand or
two morethan he asked, to offer him. And then
the fact thaethe other partner—Dick was the
name that he answered to— was to remain and
work his interest, was the best kind of guarantee
of good faith. -
If I had any lingering doubts or fears on the
subject When I entered the office, they shortly
dispelled them. We sat around the rough pine
table, littered over with papers. Fred produced
-a bottle of wine, Dick some excellent Cigars, and
the proceeded to entertain me. But no one need
imagine that ,I became intoxicated ; the wine was
a light sparkling kind that merely exhilarated,
and when we had finished it we sat and smoked,
while Fred's tongue ran on describing the profita-
bleness of the investment with all the glibness of
a Bowery Cheap John: F.; as satisfied before he
had talked ten minutes. ten raore I threw
away the stump of my cig .-
" Show me your title. Satisfy me about your
rights here, and I'll buy the one-half interest at
the terms you offer." •
They immediately produced a leas e of the. pre-
mises for one hundred years, which I exammed,
and which was undoubtedly correct. I had seen
other leases made by the same proprietor, and I
knew the signature. ,
"I don't mind telling you what that cost us"
said Fred, with a laugh. "Just twenty-five dol-
lars! We took it when there had been no oil
within half a mile ofhere, and got it cheap enough,
as things have happened."
He asked my name, and in half a minute he
had filled up a blank assignment on the back- of
the paper, and -signed it, transferring to me his
one-half interest m the well and lands for ten
thousand dollars. He held it so I could read it
and I saw that it was sufficient. I took out my
-bill book and produced the certificate.
"This is payable to my order,' I said. "I
don't km* how you will get the money. Who'll
identify you?" -
that he was in for ten years, for forgery. Mr.
Fred, I have not heard from, but if be is not in
that penitentiary he is in some other—or will be.
And I don't think it wrong in me to hope that in
their cases the governor will exercise the pardon-
ing power very discreetly !
VARIETIES.
Discretion in speech is more than eloquence.
The bow of a ship is no evidence of its polite-
ness.
- 4,fine coat may cover a fool, but never conceal
one:
A -Pass-word to Scotch Tourists--Ke-cran-
kie,
Why is a tirea man like an umbrella? Because
he is -used up.
Whoever owes a shoemaker can't say that his
sole is his own. -
When is an original idea like a clock? When
it strike8 one.
Promissory notes. —Tuning the fiddle beforethe
performance begins. •
The way to treat a man of doubtful credit is to
take a note of him.
Why is a mosquito like a railroad? Because it
fastens on the sleepers.
What a pity that COM111011 sense, for want of
use, should become UneOMMOn.
Experience is a pod teacher hut he generally
charges ex: hiavagantly for s lessons.
ti
If a tailo agrees to put braid on' a coat -does
he always consider the agreement binding ,
,
Medical4uery.--"Virhen. a person declares that
o"uhtis? brain is on fire," is it etiquette to blow it
One for the topers—A drunkard's face has been
described as -a "cluster of carbuncles, with a ruby
scenter." -
• "Were you born in wedlock ?" asked a lawyer
examining a witness. "No, sir, answered the'as,
man, " I was born in Ohio."
John, why don't you stop crying and go to sleep?
What do you want? I've got the toothache --
that's what I want.
It is the man who determines the dignity of
the occupation, not the occupation that measures
the'dignity of the man.
A little girl. *anted to py that she had a fan,
but had forgotten the name so she described it as
a " thing to brush the warm off."
"A real gentleman," said an Irishman one day,
"is one -that never earned a haporth for himself
or anyoe belonging to- him."
"W14, Tom, my dear fellow, how old you
look." 't"Dare say, Bob, for the fact is, I never
was so old, before in my life"
Anthony Throllope says- novel writing is to
be learned like any other "trade," and he is "ap-
prenticing" his son to it.
"Eve did not know as much as her daughters of
the present day. Had they been in her place, in-
stead of being deceived they would have deceived
the devil."
"Tak' notice," shouted the Inv-erary
That the boat for Glasgow will sail on Monday
morning, God. willing and weather permittin', or
an Tuesday. whether or -no."
A Paris banker showed Demidoff a pm of mall-
chite, and asked whether it was not beautiful.—
"Very," said the prince; "1 have a mantlepiece
and a door made of the same."
"One might have heard a pin fall," is a prover-
bial expression of .silence; but it has been eclipsed
by the French phrase, "You might have heard
the unfolding of a lady's cambric handkerchief."
Break of day..— "Come, husband, said the wife
of a note -shaving Stock Exchang,e bear, "it is
time for us to get up; the day is breaking."
Well, let it break; I don't hold any of its pa-
pers."
Somebody, describing the absurd appearance
of a man dancing a polka, says: "He looks as
though he had a hole in his pocket, and was try/
ing to shake l a shilling down the leg of his trows-
ers."
"The most miserable man I ever knew," wrote
the late Mrs. Jameson; in her common -place
book, "had twelve thousand a year." There is
a good deal of consolation for misera.bIe dogs in
that remark.
A family at Ripon, Wis., contains thirteen girls,
and no boys. The father says when he was young
girls were scarce, and he suffered from alackoffe-
male society, and he is going to see if this scarci-
ty can't be remedied.
A man in Indiana brought suit for divorce
against his wife, gained his case, and then applied
to her for money to paythe expenses. She gave
it to him, and in a fit of gratitude he offered to
marry her again, but she declined. •
The loss of relish for mirth is a symptom of di-
sease either of body or mind; and where it isthe
result of the latter,- it will be found to be due,
in most cases, rather to evils engendered within,
then to troubles that have come from without.
A fellow contemplating in utter,- wonderment
the _dimensions of a bystander's feet, and in a -tone
of astonishment Said, as he -surveyed the man's
proportions: "You'd have been a tall man if
they hadn't bent your legs so far up."
An intelligent youth, recently engaged in com-
mercial office,made out a shipping bill for four-
ty " barrels of flour. His employer called his at-
tention to an error in the spelling of forty. "Sur*
enough," replied the promising clerk, "1 left out
the gh."
A young gentleman of only six was beset by a
baby of eighteen months with decided manifests:
tions of fondness. "Don't you see, Johnny, that
the baby wants' to see you ?" said the mother.
"Yes 'cause he tates Inc for his papa,"
wastefoheellowingxplanatien.
Thwas
Josh Billings' advice for
Christmas week:
"Pile hi the harth with beachen wood,
Load down the kitchen table,
Fill up the old klay pipe,
' And go it while yure able.
A lady made her husband a present of a silver
drinking -cup, with an angel at the bottom. When
she filled it for him he used to drink it to thebot-
tom and she asked him -why he drank every drop.
"B;cause, Ducky, I long to see the dear little
angel at the bottom," Upon which she had the
angel taken out and a devil engraved in its place.
He drank all the same, and againshe,asked him
the reason. Because I won't leave the old devil *
drop," he replied.