Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1867-05-03
Pretty Good Compensation.

Pretty Good Compensation.
We read Of men who devour widows
houses, and we hear of savages who eat
missionaries without-so far as one can get
Internationally kind of sauce; but do
civilized beings in civilized countries de-
liberately live on and swallow up other
civilized beings? Not, perhaps, literally;
but they do figuratively, and if they do not
exactly Gevour widows houses, they de-
your railway companies, that rs, sharehold-
ers, that is, fellow creatures, and make
certainly not for mere pretense-long
prayers for compensation. Of course, no
body would plead the cause of company.
How can anybody's bowels of compassion
be moved for company, any more than a
Company's bowels of compassion can be
moved for anybody? Men act towards
companies as they would not act towards
individuals, as individuals. Nevertheless,
a company-even a railway company
may be the victim of an individual, just
as an individual is-eyery day, according
to letters in the newspapers-the victim OF
q company.
NV opinion is that the Great Southern
Railway Company is the victim of Hop
per. Not that Hopper would have had the
heart-indeed, might say the wit-to VIC
timize the Company on his own account,
or, at least out of his own head I; but then
he had friends, and amongst them solicit
or and doctor, and il is astonishing what
a light can be thrown upon apparently
simple matters by doctor and solicitor.
The circumstances were as follows: Hop
per being licensed victualler, felt bound,
after his kind, to attend all manner of
races, and so it happened that in attending
certain races, the train in which he was got
run into by another train. Now, there is
no intention here to make light of railway
accidents; he who can speak lightly of or
smile any but the ghastliest of smiles at q
railway accident, can never have been a
witness of one-can never have felt the
shock, followed by the crash, succeeded by
the shrieks, intermingled with the groans
of mutilated passengers and of engine
drivers boiling TO death. But life is to a
certain extent a melodrama; after we have
supped our NIL Of horrors, come the droll,
grotesque, laughter-moving dance and song
of the niger minstrels. So it was in Hop
pers case. Three widows and many
fatherless children bore witness that the
accident was nothing to laugh at; but
there was something to laugh at in the way
Hopper was affected by the accident 1t
will be easily believed that flourishing IL
censed victualler whose bar anu parlor
were always full of customers, was not like
" to make a secret of what had befallen
him. Hopper was naturally man with
out the least guile, but also without the
least strength of mind; but his mental
weakness had rather increased than dimin-
ished by practice which he considered
was his duty, of showing his customers
that he was not afraid of his own liquors,
and that there could therefore (from his
point of view, be no reason why ANYBODY
should be. SO, when his fiatterers land q
licensed victualler has a great many OF
them), after hearing his story, said every
one of them: Il 'ope, Mr. Upper, you'll
be down on the Comply" Hopper at
first opened his eyes in honest amazement
and said: "What for, / should like to
know? / consider was uncommon lucky
to git off with this here little scratch on
the nose; why, there can't be more than
ha'p'orth O. bark took off, and dye think
It's with while to go to law TO- that? But
when oi,e person cOughed, and another
grinned, and third winked, and a fourth
put his finger on the side of his nose, and a
fifth declared he must have something to
drink after that" and a sixth asked him
how he could be sure he hadn't played old
gooseberry with his innards," and a
S'SH "AhoPSiCu oisv. IOu SO W
Achan the lawyer, and he'll git you a
for he was doubtful, first of all, whether he
showed as much knowingness as was to be
expected of a sporting publican; secondly
whether there might not be more than he
liked to think of in the hint which had
been thrown out with respect to his ain
nards;' end lastly, if he did not deserve
some compensation for the mortal fright
into VIII lch he had been thrown
He resolved, therefore, to consult Achan
TO whom he had recourse in all little diff
culties to which the Ito him) unsatisfactory
state of the law with respect to victuallers
Especially such as have sporting tenden
Cyl from time to time involved him. But
Achan, being keen man of business Gas
became his lineage and hook of his nOse)
always having his eye on cases of compen
sation, knowing Hopper's sporting tenden.
cies, and having seen in the paper an &C.
count Of the accident, was beforehand with
his client, and appeared at the t-tailed
Mare so very soon after his name had been
pronounced, that everybody present was
struck with the aptness of the saving, to
the effect that the mention of the name is
speedily followed by the appearance OF
somebody, 10 whom Mr.. sAchan was dc
clared by al present to bear in many re
spects wonderful resemblance. Mr.
Achan was apparently much fiattered by
the characteristics ascribed to him, for be
bowed, smiled, and kept repeating, "Ah
my dears, wish it vas true-I wish {. vas
true" He then drew Hopper aside into
the latter's sanctum, and asked with the all
of one who should ask you whether you
had won the prize: "Vas you in the &C
shident Mr.. Hopper, vas you indeed p
And when he had heard Hopper's story. he
rubbed his hands gleefully, and said en-
couragingly: Yesh yesh my dear, but
depend upon it, you're injured internally
1t lsh better than nothing but if you'd
been killed, could have got e-nor-mousI
compensation" .st.B
Thankee," said Hopper, dryly; and
away went fAchan, having settled tha
steps should be Immediately taken with 8
view to compensation, and that doctor, 9
friend of Achan's, "a very clever man
"espeshially," said Achan, with diaboli
cal leer, Sin cashes of internal iniury'')
should call and examine Hopper. The
doctor called, and examined Hopper boil
by word and deed; he punched the publ
can about, and as he did so, muttered unde,
his breath broken sentences which made
Hopper shudder. At last the doctor said
And now, pray tell me how the accident
happened, and what your sensations wer,