The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1880-11-04
THE "FRIED SOLE" INN.
London Truth.

marked Parkles, the solicitor, as he
saw some bills announcing a sale put
up in the windows Of the "Fried Sole
Hotel" at the cOrnors of the Pig Mar
ket in Jowberry.
eyes, failed, as Tarberry, PENNIES,
and several others before 'em have
failed in that house. l call it a waiting
room Of the work house, | do" an
swered Mr.. Walter, foreman to Salt and
Treacle, the local brewers; and he
shook his head mysteriously "Truth
is, Mr.. Parkles, I believe there is a spell
on the place"
II remember the time when it used
to be the best hotel in the country" re-
marked the lawyer.
AYE, so do we all who are getting on
for fifty" replied Natter, ''The farm
ers used to have their ordinary there on
market days; the Free Masons had
their meetings and dinners in the
house, all the best barristers there at
Assize time; and lor' bless you, at cleo
tons, when the "Fried Sole'' was the
conservative headquarters, I've seen
twenty barrels Of ale emptied there in
an afternoon.
'sThere's no electioneering done there
now," remarked Mr. Parkles, dryly.
':No; since old Dark, the last land
lord who made Il fortune there, hanged
himself, there's been, Us l just said, a
spell on the place. repeated the
brewers foreman emphatically. 'My
own opinion is that the place is haunt
ed; I've heard nasty noises sometimes
when I've sat alone there in the coffee
room ofan evening taking my glass Of
grog.'
''Tut, tut, Walter, laughed Parkles,
with consciousness of superiority; and
made a joke about the grog at the
'Fried Sole," being perhaps a bit
strong, for he was no believer in the
supernatural, this lawyer, land he attrib-
uted the failure Of the "Fried Sole" to
mere commercial reasons.
He was wrong, however, for success
siye landlords had tried their very best
with this old hostelry according to their
lights. They had tried honesty for one
thing; they had sold good wine cheap,
engaged capital cooks, hired walters
who were civil and smart in their at
tendance, and they had taken every
care to make the bedrooms clean and
comfortable. 1t was all to no purpose.
The house would not prosper. Per-
sons who came to it out Of curiosity or
from ignorance of the bad name it had
acquired, did not return to it again.
Some found one fault with it, some an
other, but the majority found no fault
at all; they simply preferred to go else
where.
Abel Dark, the last landlord who had
conducted the "Fried Sole" success
fully, had taken no such trouble about
the place as his successors did. Money
poured upon him in torrents, and he
gave himself no concern to make
more than he got. There was pain
full story about this man. His wife,
who was pretty woman, one day dis
appeared-having eloped with an Off
Ger it was said-and this event preyed
upon Abel Dark's mind. After fretting
for a year he hanged himself: 1t was
supposed that he had left IL large for
tune for his only child, a baby-boy two
years old, but this turned out to be an
error. A couple of thousand pounds
lodged in his bankers hands proved to
be the total of the deceased's wealth.
Thereupon two versions arose. Ac-
cording to one, the Tightly Mrs. Dark
had taken away all her husbands
money in clipping; according to the
other, Abel Dark had long INDUCED in
a secret propensity towards gambling,
and had squandered his substance in
betting on races. One fact was certain,
namely, that Mrs. Dark never reap
peared to claim share in her hus-
bands inheritance, or the guardian
ship Of her boy. The latter was adopt
ed by some distant relatives, who lived
a long way from Jowberry, and the
Fried Sole." going to the hammer,
was knocked down to an enterprising
publican, who thought he should have
the same luck as Abel Dark there, but
who was fated, on the contrary, to be
the first in long series of landlords
who beggared themselves in this place.
Garbery, the last landlord, whose
failure led to the aforementioned con-
versation between Mr.. Parkes and the
brewers foreman, had really done
wonders in trying to win back to the
Fried Sole" its old name, but he was
obliged to confess himself, when he
wound up his affairs, that there was
something uneanny in the house. He
had heard the wind blowing there at all
sorts of odd times, when it was not
blowing out of doors. It whined
through the keyholes, it blew out can
dies in passages free from draughts, it
kept tired travellers from sleeping.
Then smallpox, typhoid fever and
scarlatine would rage there to the de-
struction of cooks, walters, and chance
wayfarers, while the sanitary condition
in all other houses of the town was per-
feet. A beautiful young barmaid whom
Garbery had engaged, hoping that her
winsome face and bright prattle would