Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1873-03-14

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as he struck a light for his cigar on her
gate-post. hpftlal r1 sHaH
Il wish we hadn't done il, 'Liphalet," !"
said she. i4 Nfl .i1a
"Ohl don't say so, Dolly, don't"
''I don't like his eye, and for all he
talks so open and honest he seems to me
like a close man, man who keeps some
thing back" "a t1
"You mustn't be preiudiced agin him,
Dolly, because he appears leetle vain
and flashy. Men ant now what they
were in our days. He comes of an honest,
| obleeging kind of family, and they call
him a very smart young nan, Dolly"
Time with its incidents and accidents
went on, and Aunt Dolly grew used TO
thinking of Rube's money as In Swinton's
hands. This certificate of stock in the
Native Village manufacturing company y
was carefully laid away, and she no longer
spent seepless nights over II, nor sighed
when the matter was mentioned.
| The mill went up and the operatives
came; real estate rose again, and the
Native Village hourisned. Uncle 'Lipha-
let peddled out early potatoes, sweet corn,
and mutton by the quarter; and Artford
Swinton, though he had President and
Directors, and clerks, and heaven only
knows what else around him, was "The
| Company" and smoked cigars-best
brand or none-gave the company's note,
and forever stroked the foxy -colOred
moustache. While he carried on the
cotton manufacture he did still more
| lourishing business in the manufacture
of facts. He heaped facts upon facts on
the head of the President until he
smothered that gentleman in facts; he
piled bales of facts before the directors
until they couldn't see over the pile; he
threw facts into the eyes of the stock
holders until they were stone-blind; he
gave banks and creditors security of
facts, and his friends quaffed nepenthe of
facts in the social glass. Days when
croqueting was dull the books were
fixed" Bookkeeping, once science,
designed to show the pecuniary standing
of individuals and companies, now became
an easy and economical method of Fix
ing" things. Now and then dividend was
declared, and the stream that turned the
mill glittered in the sun like the river
Pactous. Uncle Biphalet put green
backs into the contribution-box and
thanked the Lord daily that He was Civ
ing him increase of substance.
Then there began to be q haze in the
air through which had glittered the
river Pactolus. Swinton said it was smoke
from the Boston fire. 1t grew denser and
denser.
"Smoke from that - Boston fire;
wind blows it this way, yet" said Swim
ton, between the puffs of his cigar.
But smoke has an unpleasant effect on
mems eyes, and meeting after meeting
was held to devise measures to get rid of
it. Uncle 'Liphalet, at these meetings,
sat silent and trembling, listened to talk
that he could no more understand than
the chattering of Choctaws, and was
shown statements that he could no more
comprehend than the inscriptions on
Pompey's pillar. The Man of Facts
lounged in an attitude of such elegance
as men are wont to assume when by them
selves, and agreed with everybody, assur-
ed everybody, was for putting this thing
through" and offered his facts for this
latter purpose with astounding liberallty
Alack the Swinton cigar smoke, though
it rose gracefully, and curled around the
heads of the stockholders, naturally min
gled With the smoke Of the Boston fire,
and mems visions became more and more
obscured.
All at once Swinton was off to Europe
for purposes of elf-culture-perhaps the
man needed it. Then were his layers of
facts, his dividends in paper and his
dividends in money pushed aside. o, ye
gods, what sight met the gaze of men,
them Now the smoke rolled up in vol
umes from all quarters; darkness that
might be felt set in, and men groped for
each others hands. No more did the
Pactolus glisten and glitter aad simmer
before their eyes, but in their ears roarad
a swollen, turbid stream, foaming, tossing
great cakes of ice up and down, and
threatening to bear them all away, grind
them up, and carry them out to open
ocean. .r.. r
Some of the men there could talk, and,
though one have fetters on his feet, fet'
ters on his hands, and bricks on his head,
if he can talk, his condition is not unbear-
able. But Uncle 'Liphalet couldn't talk
80 he picked his way down the icy steps,
CROPPED his way home through the snow
storm, and ratified the back door as sig
nal to Aunt Dolly to let him in.
"Are you frozen, Liphalet?" asked
Aunt Dolly, in terror, as the candle-light
struck the white face.
Uncle 'Liphalet staggered in, and sink,
ing on the lounge, covered his face with
his wrinkled hands. 81,
so, Dollyl"
"You needn't tell me, 'Liphalet;
know what tits. I've felt twas coming
But, o, 'Liphalet, we've helped each
other through hard times these fifty
years, and we've got each other yet"
"Maybe the farm'll last us through
we're Almost worn out, and it won't be
long that Wen be waiting. With the
farm and each other"
go, Dolly, Dolly, you don't know the
worst, and | can't tell you. never car
tell you, Dolly, never"
Uncle Liph staggered part way across
the room, then turned suddenly.
They're going to take it all, Dolly
strip us clean, clean as we
were when we began fifty years ago
house and farm and cows-everything
There's been great carelessness as well a,
great wrong; wrong and carelessness anC
wrong from the very beginning, and now
they're coming. The law II let 'em, anC
it's got to gO-the back pastur', and thu
wood lot, and the young orchard, ane
everything--even Rube's grave, Dolly
o, Godl haven't served Thee these fifty
years; why shouldst Thou cast me OF
nowg"
The gray, scraggy face, with the gray
straggly hair around it, was turned to
ward the ceiling. Aunt Dolly went ou
into the night. ...seersf
1t was stormy, and cold, and bitter
The sleet cut against her cheek, the vino
raved in her hair, and the snow drlfted ~
her feet, but Aunt Dolly did't. mind it
She only wanted air and TO Think She
leaned up against the weather Drowned
clapboards. Was it really going, going
going, ali goingS She couldn't think, one
word alone whistled over and over in hel
brain--going, going. She looked of
through the storm to the dimly-outlineC
maple beneath which lay Rube's grave
That, too, was going. q
E Heart and brain together grew numb
= muscles, involuntarily acting, carried
Aunt Dolly into the house. The voice o
an automaton said; f3 m
Its time we had prayers, father"
The hands of a second automatol
I opened the book. A strained voice be
) gan:
''The Lord is my shepherds I shal
, not"
. IN tx,vo n,,k,,.,ato,o FoII -.