The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1855-12-21
THE AMERICAN ALADDIN.

fhoA a LhNiNhh By o. W. CCkftSS.
When we go out on Sunday afternoons {
mOralize and see the new houses, we usual
! take our young ones by Aladdin's Palace
Aladdin started life by swapping jack.knive.
then putting the halves of broken marbles to
gether and passing them off as whole ones
When he had gathered some brass he wen
to school all the summer to learn the colder
rule of characterization for himself an,
subtraction for his neighbor.
At an early age Aladdin was considered I,
be good at a bargain, which meant that h,
could always succeed in changing worse 70
a better-always keeping the blind eye of .
horse to the wall when he had to sell it, anC
looking right at it when he bought it, anC
the village said that certainly Aladdin would
succeed. When he left, she will be rich,
said the village, with more approval than il
would say, she will be generous and true."-
To Aladdin the world was but n market in
which to buy cheap and sell dear. For him
there was no beauty, no history, no party, no
heroism. Vainly the stars shone over him,
vainly the south wind blew. In the wake Of
the great ship Argo, in which Jason and his
companions sdiled for the Golden Fleece; over
the cleaning Mediterranean, where the ships
Of Tyre, Rome, and of the Crusaders had
been before him; through the pillars of Her
cules, through which sailed Columbus to
find fame in new world, now sails Aladdin
to find fortune. To hun all lands were alike.
No Homer sung for him in the Egean; he on.
ly curses the wind that will not blow him to
Odessa. No syrens sing for him, but he
loves the huge oath of the lively boatswain.
With bible in his hand and quid of tobac-
co in his mouth, he goes about the holy
places in Jerusalem and calculates" their ex-
act site. He sees the land of Ramescs and
the Petolomies; and the reverend records of
the Lybian desert, whose echoes have sum.
bered since they were trampled over by Alex
ander's army, are now awakened by the shrll
whistle of Old Dan Tucker. He insults the
Grand Lama, hobnobs with the Great Mogul,
turns his back upon Emperors, and takes a
pinch out of the Pope's snuff:box. lie
chews with the Arabs, smokes opium with
the Turks, and rides for bribe with the Cal
muck Tartars.
Aladdin comes home again, and the admir-.
ing village points him out to the younger
generation as successful man: "My son,look
at him; he began with nothing, and now see"
"My son" does see, AMI beholds him owning
q million of dollars-of all societies of which
he is not president director. His name is
good as gold He has bought pictures and
statutes. He has also bought Mrs. Aladdin
and housed her in luxury, but he pricks his
mouth with silver fork. He has home
for poet, but he makes it his boast that he
reads nothing but the newspaper He goes
to church on Sunday, and only wakes up
when the preacher denounces the sinners of
Seldom and Gomorrah, and those slough old
Jews" of Jerusalem. His head is bald and
shiny with the sermons which have hit it
and glanced off. lie clasps his hands in
prayer, but forgets to open them when the
poor box is passed around; and he goes home
like successful man, thanking God tina; he
is not as other men are, and after dinner he |
sits before the fire in his chair, lights large
cigar, and looks languidly at Mrs. Aladdin
through the thick smoke.
BY and by old Aladdin dies. The conven-
tional virtues are told over MS the mourning
carriages are called out. The papers regret
they are called upon to deplore the loss of
revered parent, generous friend, public spir-
tied citizen, and pious man. Then the pre-
snapper of jack knives and the model set up
to the young generation is laid in the DUST
Above his grave, the stars he never saw, now
burn with n soft lustre which no lamps about
n kings tomb can emulate; and the South
wind, for whose breath upon his hot brow he
was never grateful, strews his last bed with
nnemones and violets that his heel crushed
when living and we, who are to be formed
upon that model, carelessly remark, rs we
stir our toddies; $50 old Aladdin has gone
ut last, and, by-the-bye, how much did he
eave!"
MODEL BAR APPEAL.--Judge, your time !
know is precious, as must be the case of so
valuable member OF society. This case is