Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1873-03-13
VOL. XVIII.

as he struck light for his cigar on her
gate-post.
ST wish we hadn't done it, 'Liphalet," 4"
| said She
"Ohi don't say so, Dolly, don't"
81 don't like his eye, and for all he
talks SO open and honest he seems to me
like close man, man who keeps some-
thing back"
You mustn't be prejudiced 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 very smart young man. 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"
was carefully laid away, and she no longer
spent sleepless nights over it, nor sighed
| when the matter was mentioned.
The mill went up and the operatives
came; real estate rose again, and the
Native Village fourished. Uncle 'Lipha-
let ped6led 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
| fourishing 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 elk
/ ing" things. Now and then dividend was
declared, and the stream that turned the
mill glittered in the sun like the river
Pactolus. Uncle Liphalet 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 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
/ 1t. 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, assu--
! ed everybody, was for putting this thing
through" and offered his facts for this
| latter purpose with astounding hberality.
/ Alack! the Swinton cigar smoke, though
it rose gracefully, and curled around the
| 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 self f-culture-perhaps the
man needed it. Then were his layers oi
facts, his dividends in paper and his
dividends in money pushed aside. 0, ye
| gods, what sight met the gaze of men
then! Now the smoke rolled up in vol
umes from all quarters; darkness thai
might be felt set in, and men groped fol
each others hands. No more did the
Pactolus glisten and glitter and simmer
before their eyes, but in their ears roared
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.
Some of the men there could talk, and
though one have fetters on his fest, fet
tiers on his hands, and bricks on his head
| if he can talk, his condition is not unbear
/ able. But Uncle 'Liphalet couldn't talk
50 he picked his way down the icy steps
groped his way home through the snow
storm, and ratified the back door as sig
nal to Aunt Dolly to let him in.
care you frozen, 'Liphalet?" asked
Aunt Dolly, in terror, as the candle-ligh
struck the white face.
| Uncle Liphalet staggered in, and sink
ing on the lounge, covered his face will
his wrinkled hands.
! go, Dollyl"
"You needn't tell me, 'Liphalet;
know what tits. I've felt twas coming
i But, o, 'Liphalet, we've helped eacl
other through hard times these fift,
years, and we've got each other YETI
/ "Maybe the farm'n last US through
We're Almost worn out, and it won't b.
long that we'll be waiting. With tn
farm and each other" la
| "O,Dolly, Dolly, you don't know tn,
worst, and I can't tell you. never cal
tell you, Dolly, never"
| Uncle 'Liph staggered part way acros
the room, then turned suddenly.
''They're going to take it all, Dolly
everything strip us clean, clean as w
were when we began fifty years ago
house and farm and cows-everything
There's been great carelessness as well q
great wrong; wrong and carelessness an,
wrong from the very beginning, and nov
they're coming. The law IL let 'em, an,
it's got to go-the back pastur', and tn
woOd-lot, and the young orchard, an,
4 everything-even Rube's grave, Dolly
O, God! haven't 1 served Thee these fift
years; why shouldst Thou cast me OF
now?"
i. The gray, scraggy face, with the gray
straggly hair around it, was turned tC
ward the ceiling. Aunt Dolly went ou
into the night ss-=e
1t was stormy, and cold, and bitter
The sleet cut against her cheek, the win,
|
her feet, but Aunt Dolly did't mind il
She only wanted air and to think Sh
leaned up against the weather browne
clapboards. Was it really going, going
going, ali going? She couldn't think, on
word alone Whistled over and over in he
brain-going, going. She looked O
through the storm to the dimly- outline
maple beneath which lay Rube's grave
That, too, was going.
Heart and brain together grew numt
muscles, involuntarily acting, carrie
Aunt Dolly into the house. The voice {
, an automaton said:
) "It's time we had prayers, father"
The hands of second automatic
opened the book. A, strained voice b.
gan:
r "The Lord is my shepherd; sha
2 not"
e The two automatons fell on their kne,
t with tears, broken sobs, and half artic1
lations, and were automatons no longe
e Uncle 'Liphalet went to 10 more NEE