The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1871-10-06
POOR BUT HONEST.

To whom can riches give repute and trust,
Content our pleasures, but the good and just
Judges and senates have been bought foF gold
Esteem and love are never to be sOld.-PoPs.
At the time wherein my simple
story commences, 1 had just returned
from the Office Of one Of the railroads,
having applied, and applied success
fully, for the responsible, respectable,
and as times go, a tolerably Well-paid
situation OF brakeman.
The situation, I repeat, is a respect
able one, yet not exactly to the liking
of one, who, but few months before
dashed, in his own buggy, a pair of
fast nags, down the BlOOmingdale
road-who escheWed any others than
Bajou's kids, sported diamond studs,
and throwing the bucks of the Avenue
into convulsiOns of envy, with the
patterns of his waisteoats. All these
were mine, and yet became a brake
man.
OF course, when I applied for the
situation-With a letter of introduce
tion from a former clerk of my father,
now a weII-to-do merchant up town
4 took good care to stroke my Incl
pient mustaehe with that declicate
white hand of mine. OF course, al
luded incidentally to the former great
ness, or, to speak more correctly, the
former wealth of my family. OF
course, I took it for granted the Presi-
dept would not consent to debase me
by making me brakeman, but would
appoint me his private secretary.
Alas! the unromantic, matter-of-fact
official, instead of shedding tears for
my misfortune-instead of endeavor-
ing to soothe my lacerated feelings
scanned me from head to foot, and
saidi
"WeII, you are not exactly a chap
we care to employ, but as my friend
MIR. Brown recommends you, We'll
try you. Come tomorrow; and mind,
young man, to be here at eight o'clock,
to a second"
"ChapV "YOung manW And this
to me! Oh, how my blood boiled at
the indignity! I, Augustus Reginald,
ct cetera; for shall not utter my pa
tronymie in connection with the brake
on the rail-, to be called a ''chap"
by that insolent President
But then, dear reader, did you ever
! live, for months, by sending up the
spout, or, in plain English, by depos-
| iting with the pawnbrOker, your val
| uables? Did you ever come to your
last dollar? Welll 1 hope you never
! did, and fervently pray you never
| "
| full what O teacher of philosophy and
moderation is poverty. accepted the
offer.
My history was pretty common
| one in our fast country; a rise from a
corner grocery and bad liquor store, to
| a brown-stone front house; thence to
| bankruptcy, which carried my father
! through the bar room to the grave,
and broke my poor mothers heart.
My only sister, older, by some ten
/ years, than myself, I scarcely Temem-
bered, being but child when she
was discarded, for marrying beneath
her, as my mother used to say, a
young man who was nobody, and a
mechanic to bot.
On me, therefore. the presumptive
heir to the brown-stone front house,
aud to countless thousands, were al
| the parental enjearments lavished;
| that is to say, my father sent me e
| the most expensive schools, where
! learned to smoke cigars, ride on horse
back, decline, without much STAN.
| mering, the FIVE Latin declensions
and speak Saratoga French, which nc
Parisfan could have, by any possibility
! understood; so that, when TeverseS
came, was fit for nothing but 8
! Jockey; yet with the innate shrewd
/ ness Of my nation, took, in prefer
| ence to the institution in the Rscend
ant, the rail.
I can't say I liked my new employ
! ment; at least, did not like it at frst
/ BY degrees, however, custom blunteC
! oil the edge, and, in course of time,
almost forgot my former self, anC
! even passed, without a blush, my
former acquaintance on Broadway.
Hardshfps-and those of brake
man are neither few nor light
strengthened my constitution, till final
ly, by dint of attention to my duties
and good conduct, workeT my wa.
from the platform to the inside of tn
cars; and sported the label with tn
legend conductor" with far NOR
pride than I formerly did with tn
best beaver of Genin's matches
! manufacture.
: 1t so happened that my route ws
; on branch road of one of the creates
{ railways that ever entered the coun
, try, or beggared the stockholders; am
/ took board with widow remarks
BILE for nothing particular, unless it b
> for pale, pretty, rather sad-loOkiu
niece-an orphan girl, who supporte
herself in decency and cOmpaTativ
:. comfort, in exercising her trade of
milliner.
AT first, there was but little symps
thp between the young lady and my
self. She was silent, reserved