Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1879-09-25
MisctlIantous.
A Modern Del!lah.
EN JANIS FAlS.

John Riddei WAS q Young man 10 whom
confidence was justly placed By Mc,srs.
MoonsiOne Il 10. jewelers.. his employers.
Ia whose establishment. A. the time We be-
came acquainted with him. be occupied the
post Of foreman. He was not "scif. made
man as yet, bGt he va, On the road 10 il (;
for. a. we all .uow, i'ruyideuce has siIll
the advantage OF priority ia thi. particular ;
il naAes il man-sach a. he is--At a com
parAtIyeit ea.ly date, whereas, v hen = man
makes himself. be seldom accompll shes u
before he IS tvc-and- -forty Al the very least
when. indeed, the other e~nso, DO Sou-
pared with him.
John never drank, excep; glass Of beer
with hi- early dinner; he never smoked
nor. OF course. tooA suuf; he never hand
led anything IN The shape OF a billiard cue
unless II was his neatly and tightly rolled
up umbrella; he nevcC.-l Mas going TO
add he had no weakness as reg ards the la
di.s /; lat this hardly dare to write because
oi the extreme attention he paid TO his very
fne head OF hair. Why should any man.
not being Mare elssGs, take such great pains
With tbs hair unless 10 make an Impression
on the ladies:
Yet even here | mus; hasten 10 do John
Riddei justice. Il would have shocked him
!, have supposed that he had any gener al
views 44A All4t GlANAssDAs Lsk y lfOH
Juan. nor even 4 gay Loihario. II he had
had serious designs, they would have been
on one lady only, ard by no IuesUs Induced
by any meretriclons attractions. such as
youth or beauty; he would, la accordance
sRh precedent, have attached himself TO
his masters daughter though she had been
twenty years older than himself. or black
woman. or All alblno.
Unfortunately, Mr. Noonstone had only
nephews, whom our hero could not marry /.
aud who would in all probability become
partners In the concern before him. sin
be cultivated that fne head of hair har-
rowed IL " iih = tortoise shell comb, drove
= iuitow straight across 7, from his brow
10 the nApe OF his neck. and iop-dressed IL
with mac cassar oil aud other unguents. IL
shone 10 the sun as brightly as any OF Mr..
Noonstone Co.'S cosiiy wares over which
he presided.
There were other assistants In the shop.
aud with them ! AN sorry TO say Mr.. John
Ridel Was not popular. Young men rare
y appreciate In their associates SO much
virtue as resided In our hero. and especially
il that virtue has not been its own reward.
but has enabled its possessor 10 walk over
their heads aud stop there. There WAS
hardly Que among them but q, sone time
during lis servitude with Messrs. Moon
stone s. co. had Inislaid ring or Il trinket
for a few hours, or had even caused some
loss 10 the firm, not SO much through care
lessness as from not being quite as wide
awake as weasel.
For the way Of s6eweler's assistant is set
with springes. Ii Is calculated that about
one per cent. OF the customers at such es-
Establishments are rogues and yagabOndk
people who come To spy oot. not the max
edDess of the land. but its riches, and II
possible 10 possess themselves Ut them BY
force or fraud. And these look A. Little like
| rogues as nature-sDd srt-can enable
them TO do. Notwithstanding all that has
| been written upon the deceitfulness oi
! riches. 1t /. difficult to believe that = gen
tleman who drives his own mall pheion, OF
a lady who comes in q chariot upon
| springs. Is bfigand in Disguise. Yet the
yonny men at Messrs. Moonestone's hxs
been, most of them. taken 10 10y appear
ancrs, aud al least once ia the lite Of each
their employers had paid for the exper-
/ ience. One uf them had taken jewelry Ia a
newly married couple At fashionable hotel
ION approval, aud had been so successful
| 10 his recommendation that they had 'col-
Jared" the whole lot. and given him such 4
| dose OF chlofoform IN exchange for them
that he was unable TO give auy clear ac.
| count of his adventures for hours alter
ward. Another had been set upon by d
whole gang OF thieves IN such a promiseu
Gus aud overwhelming fashion that b,
| could recall nothing of what had happene,
except that he had been struck with al
INSTRUMENT like the ace of spades" whicf
the newspapers expressed the hope woulC
afford some clue To the police. They
thought 1t showed, | suppose, that the per
| petrstOrs OF the outrage must be eitbel
gardeners or gamblers; but nothing came
OF the suggestion. Others, again. had beef
exposed TO the seductions Of the fair Sc K
and in losing their hearts had sacrificed th,
diamonds OF their employers.
10 this last regard Mr.. J0hu Riddel
being adamantine, was invaluable. Hi
youthful AS well as handsome looks attract
ed these ladies OF industry, who on enter
ing the shop gravitated toward him quit
naturally. A man OF thatsse, "a they Nat
tered themselves. and one SO particular
aboat his hair, must surely fall an easl
victim 10 their fluctuations Thieves, .
they were. they were still women, and per
hsps they allowed their feelings 10 carr
them too far IL they had stopped hal
way, where Mr.. Boltby. the cashier, sal
or AT the desk over which Mr.. Nation 9TH
hero of the ace OF spades) presided, the
would have had Q better chance; but Boil
| k.s. hol