The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1872-01-18

i,tas % Grates are glowing, music flowing.
knS a1i1 From the lips we1oye the best; gf
ta1 Thsrs her are he hearts sS Whereon b rec tofest
trsl n Hearts that throb with eager gladness-
| s. : Hearts that echo to our own
] While grim care and limiting sadness3
lsEg Ming1e neser in look or tone. agae
- Care may tread the halls OF daylight,
AA@ Sadness haunt the midnight hour,
irsuBnE the Nierd and Watching twilight
/ s - Altar OF our honest feelingsi
II 8N Childhood's welf-remembered shrine
Ie=rs e Spirit-yearnings-sou -soul-reve eaiings,
- Wresths immortal round thee twine
li's 30 = = ----- - :. - 80
MIR: Spriggins' Experiment.
.QssIa-ssz zBYiA. B. C. z6r76f9
III bet you you fifty dollars cant said
/ Spriggins. ss.,fs ..ssstss
II seAndIIn bet you fifty dollars you
can't, said T. emphasizing the last
word very decidedly. IS sa-tg,s 50
1. The moral and conscientious reader
must not be shocked at what he may
consider our gambling proclivities.-
The phrase, I'll bet yon fifty dollars,
was simply a clincher or climax used
s by Spriggins and myself when we had
Eexhausted every argument, and each
| failed to convince the other that he
was wrong And since neither of us,
except in rare instances, ever acknowl-
edged ourselves in the wrong, we had
to bet fifty dollars very frequently.
But we never expected to pay when
we lost. Indeed, we never demanded
payment when the point in question
was settled, but contented ourselves
ii saying, 81 told you so.'
Thepoint in dispute in the present
instance arose about an item in the
morning paper. The item read as fol-
lows :-a5. ig3Eilii1 sd 5gsl5 aseA
John Tones, O. convict in MiIbank
Prison, has fallen heir to one hundred
thousand dollars. Efforts are being
made to secure his pardon 9a
= es There. 2 said 4 = you see the power
of money. That man was just as in
iioeent and just as guilty before he
was worth one hundred thousand dol
lars as he was afterwards, but behold
what change Wealth brings him
friends who make efforts to secure his
pardon Il Had he remained poor, his
p friends would have permitted him
bug. Mr. Spriggins--a regular cheat,
III Tic udsOt Vi ROCAIt Il +1CaN AA
boyhood, it is fall hollow, hollow, hol-
low poJ aflR Ia ari4s.ss4 ee5 re5ss
AS 7 eIconcludeds this spitefu1 little
himself up in the way he had when
preparing ri for q combat; and / knew
we should have a. fight, our tongues
being the weapons. Without giving
the arguments pro and con, ii will suf-
flee to say that the discussion was
brought to close by Mr.. Spriggins
proposing an experiment.. He was,
be It understood, a man of means
business fllanS0f good business stand
ing, but somewhat eccentric; and the
proposition he made was to 20 around
among his friends, and tell them he
was Absolutely insolvent. e.'s4
said he, E.do this and they freely
advance money to start me in business
4 wiIi.d I have no doubt that j can
borrow all the money I want with
nothing but my face for security
Ig( Then, as stated at the outset, we bet
fifty dollars on the result and await
ed with eagerness the result of the
practical test.
I, however, ventured to intimate
that if he carried out the experiment
he might weaken peoples confidence
in his truthfallness but this only
made him think j feared the result,
and made him more determined than
ever. So the experiment was tried.
+ He; went to Mr.. Smith, one of his
most intimate friends, and said: Mr..
Smiths am a bankrupt .a sftIa ~
! :IndeedP calculated Mr. Smith.
very much astonished, land pray how
.ba al hnnf p
se.siI-I---' said Mr.. Spriggins, hesi-
tatingly; for storytelling, or, in plain
English, lying, was a new sin with
him. tI--I went security for a friend
and had to pay the last shilling of it..
hSToo bad, indeed, was Mr.. Smiths
sympathiziDg response. ss 3a
5gafI IF j can only borrow few thous-
ands, however, to get started in bust
,nesscagain, ] think Lean get on very
WE'LL ads "a 1asi .xs6-e5 aifyG ma1I
.Es Mr. Smith thought there would be
no difficulty in getting the money. He
would be very glad to advance it HIM
self, but he was excessively Short
1u It at that time. Mr.. Spriggins knew
| that this was not the case, and his
opinion of Mr. Smiths undying friend
ship, underwent rapid and radical
He saw all of bis many friends, and
renewed his request to each in turn; !;
but they all happened to be short
just atthat time. After few days of
unsuccessful effort to borrow money,
he acknowledged he had lost his bet
fairly, and that his face was not good
security among his friends. -
Il told you so,' said I.
But an unlocked for trouble came
upon him. He was engaged to very
accomplished young lady. His trust
Lin her was unbonnded. He had often
| told me that if there was a good, true
woman on earth, 1t was his intended
But her father, hearing of the insolv.
ency of his son-in-law that was TO be,
aecosted him, saying,
Il understand, Mr.. Spriggins, that
you have met with a reverse of for
tnne2 -
Yes. SIR replied spriggins, sheep
ishly.
j OF course, under yonr altered cir
cumstances, you cannot expect to wed
| my, daughter -
Here was a new turn in affairs, for
which Mr., Spriggins was not pre-
pared. He thought at first of correct
ing the falsehood he had himself start
ed but the idea suddenly flashed upon
his mind, that here was o good oppor-
tunity of testing the sterling qualities
of his sweetheart. This would be a
triumph which would more than COM
pensate for his defeats in other direc-
| tions. -
+, So he replied, or course, sir, have
fa better opinion of your daughter,
than.te suppose she. PeeMissd to be
my wife for the purpose of sharing
my money'--and Mr.. Spriggins was
becoming, vepycindignant--'marriage
for money, sir, is a seif.degradation,
and nothing else, let the. world call 1t
! by whatever name it may Nf
j sOf course, Mr.. Spriggins, my daugh-
ter thought something of you; but
you know, a man without means
:. would befoolish to think of marrying.
/ N i \ ks