The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1878-01-10
A DISEASE OF THE HEART.

The days of my clerkship were ended;
my examination was over; ! was ad-
mitted wrote myself nehemiah Hubbs,
attorneys" put up my new, bright little
sign, and in my native village began my
professional career. No, did not,
either. am mistaken. 1 intended to
pursue the honorable profession to which
! had dedicated my talents and learning
in the place of my birth; but never was
truer word penned than the time-honored
proverb, ga prophet has no honor in
his own country" believe if I had
remained in the village of Green Briar
till my head was white, they would have
thought of me as nothing but boy, and
would have feared to trust me. Even
after my sign was put up nobody called
me Mr.. Hubbs; it was still "Ne," with
old and young, and "Ne" would have
remained to this day had remained in
Green Brian.
Only one case claimed my attention
during the three months OF my patient
continuance in Green Briar, after being
admitted to the bar, and that was the
case of an unjustly impounded pig,
"feloneously extracted, your honor, from
the small but secure spot in which my
client had trustingly deposited him; and
maliciously driven to public enclosure
called pound, for the vile purpose,
doubtless, OF compelling my client, in
his poverty and destitution, to pay the
enormous fee that has been demanded of
him, in order to extricate the animal
from his unpleasant position and restore
him to the bosom of his family!"
BY this [ meant the clients family,
the pig having none of its own. It was a
figure of speech undoubtedly, the family
not inhabiting an Irish cabin, but still
it rounded off the period and sounded
well to me as repeated over and over
again my maiden speech, pacing up and
down the floor of my little office. In
this my first case, l was successful 80 far
as to rescue the impounded animal and
save my client from the payment Of an
unjust demand; but it brought no silver
to my pocket. neither, to my surprise,
did it bring honor to my name. The
eloquence of my speech did not form
the theme, as fondly hoped it would,
Of paragraphs in the village papers. or
of discussion at the corner of the streets;
neither did it bring to my Office the rush
of clients for which daily vainly made
ready. 1t was plain that should never
rise to distinction in Green Briar, and
so came to the sudden determination
to remove from that pleasant spot and
settle in some city where nobody knew
or heard of me; and where, above all,
there was not soul to call me "Ne."
There L was more successful, and soon
lad the opportunity of forming very
advantageous partnership. Business
fnn 20 Il
at first, but after time more plentifully,
and all things seemed prosperous in my
outward circumstances. But, alas as
we are often told POLITICALLY, there is no
sweet without its bitter, no rose without
its thorn; and trouble came to me in the
shape of disease, insidious and slow in
its approaches at first, long feared and
suspected, but at length betrayed itself
SO plainly that could blind myself no
longer to the truth.
Yes 1 was, without doubt, victim
TO disease of the heart not metaphoric-
ally, dear reader, for never had the Or
gan beat with a quicker pulsation at the
approach of mortal woman. So far as
the gentle sex was concerned was a
perfect stole; but that there WAS organic
disease about my heart could not
doubt, and if ever the symptoms dis
closed themselves unmistakably they did
so in my case. There was a fiuttering,
palpitating, irregular action, and al
length, pain. could not work. Life
had lost its zest. The fear of sudden
death was ever with me / could enjoy
nothing. If I had anything to leave, OF
anybody to leave it to, should have
made nv will. for was quite sure now
that I should drop some day lifeless in
the street, or that the morning would
soon come when the power to rise from
my bed would have left me.
I remained in my boarding-house and
found no comfort in anything but my
cigar, and my dread disease grew worse
and worse. As yet / had consulted nc
physician, partly, think, from the ap
prehension of having my fears con
firmed but as sat by my f'indow on'