Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1873-02-01
Il STRANGE BED-FELLOW.

do not know whether what / am GO
ing to tell you is a "grin' or not. /
only know that l have been laughed at
often by my friends, who years ago, be
fore they died out, got married. or went
to Congress, considered tia good joke. |
remember well what Shakespeare saws
about wits prosperity lying in the ear,
and some ears are so long that | sup
pose the poor joke gets lost and con-
fused before reaching the tickle nerve of
the brain-if, indeed, any brain exist for
1t to rest upon.
L was young, quite young i'll years
and younger i'll existence, when some
business of our firm-Seizen & Holden.
eminent attorneys-sent me into prim-
ltime part of Indiana. | never before
had been among people so near the
starting point in the race of civilization
I believe Darwin would have made n
good thing of it had he accompanied me
on that eventful occasion. ] believe he
could have found quite number of men
on Rocky Ridge who had just dropped
their tails, passing from the animal to
the human, and by killing and stuffing a
few he could have trinmphed over his
unbelieving enemies.
L could fill a volume with historical
illustrations Of this barbarous life, but
hasten on to my little adventure.
had terror of the people who fought
like animals. | believe | am not def
clent IN that common thing called cour-
age, but L shrank from coming in con-
taco with these roughs as one would
from ferocious beasts. I found I could
do this very well by treating crowd
whenever occasion offered and abstain
ing from any tender approaches toward
the falr sex. BY pursuing this course
during my stay of four months l became,
although the wearer of "store Clothes"
and therefore an object of envy, very
popular But | came to grief at last
The girls of the ridge were not attrac-
tive. Their ill-ftting clothes did not
grace their beautiful figures, nor did
their internal bonnets frame in lovely
faces. Indeed it was quite the contrary
we may say what we please of the rare
natural beauty of country life, but when
1t runs on rough breeding it is apt to be
coarse and unattractive. The cultivo-
ton of the mind is reflected not only in
the countenances Of the cultivated, but
aid more especially so.in their chill
dren. This is what we mean by the no.
bility of nature. 1 will reserve these
original and elevated thoughts for
book, II L am ever so fortunate as to find
an infatuated publisher who will prefer
risking his money on my thoughts rather
than republish that which had been a
success abroad
found an exception in the way of
beauty in the person of little Polly
fitcher, who, from contrast, L suppose,
appeared to me cross between Ger
man angel and Venus. She was
plump as partridge and as 1.-the as n
larry. Her little nose, slightly elevated
a5 the end, with dimple thereon, gave
saucy, piquant look to her white and
lea lace. Peaches and cream what n
complexion the little Pitcher had She
was Jolly as guinea pig and graceful as
lawn. L met her at wedding. 1t
was a rip-roaring frolic. We began
dancing and fighting early in the after
noon, and danced and fought through
the night until breakfast next morning
Then we had race for the bottle from