Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1871-10-27
CHAPTER Y.
TILE DEVIL OLE SILENCE.

Ralph had reason to fear Small
They were natives of the same village
OF Lewisburg, though Small was five
years the elder. Some facts in the
doctors life had come into RaIph's
possession in such n way as to confirm
lifelong suspicion without giving him
power to expose Small, who was firm
ly intrenched in the good graces of the
people of the cOUnty-Seat village of
Lewisburg. where he had grown up.
and of the little crossroads village Of
Clifty, where his "shingle" now hung.
Small was no ordinary william He
was a genius. Your ordinary hypo-
critic talks cant. Small talked nothing
He was the coolest, the steadiest, the
most prominent boy ever born in Lew
isburg. He made no pretensions. He
uttered no professions. lie went
right on and lived life above reproach.
Your vulgar. hypOcrite makes long
prayers in prayer-meeting. Small did
nothing of the sort. He sat still in
prayer-meeting and listened to the
elders rs modest young man should
Your commonplace hypOcrite boasts.
Small never alluded to himself, and
for mOdesty. 1t is but an Indifferent
trick for a hypOcrite to make tempe
rance speeches. DR.. Small did not
even belong to a temperance society.
But he could never be persuaded to
drink even so much as Il cup of tea
There was something sublime in the
quiet voice with which he would say,
Cold water, if you please" 10 lady
tempting him with smoking coffee on
cold morning. There was no cXul-
tatiOn, no sense Of merit in the act
Everything was done in q modest and
matter Of-course way beautiful to be-
hold. And his face was a neutral tint.
Neither face nor voice expressed any
thing. Only keen reader of charac-
ter might have asked whether all there
was in that eye could live cOntented
with this cool, austere, self-contained
life whether there would not be some
where volcanic eruption. But if
there was any sea of molten lava be-
meath, the world did not discover it
Wild boys were sick of having Small
held up to them as the most immacu
late of men.
Ralph had failed to get two schools
for which he had applied, and had at
tributed both failures to certain shrugs
of DR.. Small. And COW, when he
found Small at the house of Granny
Sanders, the centre of intelligence as
well as of ignorance for the neighbour
hood, he trcmbled. Not that Small
would say anything. He never said
anything. He damned people by q ST.
lencc worse than words.
Granny Sanders was not little flat
tered by the visit.
= Why, doctor, howdy, howdy =
Come in, take seat. | am glad to
see you. l lowed you'd come. Old
DR.. Founder used to say he larnt lots
o. things of me. But most of the doc
tors scnce has been kinder stuck up,
you know. But l knowe'd you fer a
manof intelligence.
Meantime, Small, by his grave ST.
lence and attention had covered the
old bag with fiattcry without saying
one single word.
Many's the case I've cured with
YARDS and things. Nigh upon twenty
year ago they was a man lived over OF
Wild Cat Crick as had breakin '-Out
On his side. Twas the left side, jes
below the waist. Doctor couldn'; do
nothin'. Twas Doctor Pcacham. He
never would have nothing to do with
the ole wOman's cures We'll. the
man was gOin' to die. Everybody
seed that. And they come n driving
away over here all the way from the
Wild Cat. Think of that air! / new
or was so frustrated. But as soon as |
laid eyes on that air man, | says, says
/, that air man, says /, has got the
shingles, says I. ] knOw'd the min
ute seed it. And if they'd gone
clean around, nothing coIld a saved
him. | says, says i, Git me black
cat. So jist killed black cat. and
let the blood run all over the swellin'.
| tell you, doctor, they's nOthin' like
it. That man was well in a month"
(TO BE CoNTINUED.)