Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1882-10-12
much i'll luck goin', and one is bound to
Cnt fhf41Y{Hf with q fffsY1 assaf.d ,ntter

likethe Multiplication table, but 1 never
had$no head for tigers. But had wit
enough to see that what he said was
true on gineral principles
~ How yougoin' to account fol-. the
bad luck that foiiers some folks all their
livesp" said, in quefulous' voice; "A
detected, wizened little man named
Zachariah Avery, and called uncle by
| everybody, although he was nobody's
uncle in reality. Uncle Zach had fallen
from the proud position of stage driver,
lower and lower by degrees, untilhe had
become permanent guest in the low,
struggling, dingy building which gave
shelter to the town poor.
"a man has got to have wit enough
| to see when his chance comes along;
that's where the differkilty comes in,'
said Sim. 'sThere's good many that
amt got understandin' enough to know
that it's sure to come, so they get terri
BILE discouraged with their poor luck,
and are,afraid to take holt of anything
even if it does look promisin'."
sMebbe I'd better "a went shares
raisin' hogs with 'Liph'let Junkins when
he wanted me to- said Uncle Zach, in
a plaintiveavoiee = 'sbut folks, they told
me that 'Liph'let was terrible hand to
git all the fat, and leave the lean for
other folks, and calkerlated that would
| be dretful poor business so fur forth as
hogs was consumed"
I " And then there's other folks that
amt got the sense to wait till their
chance comes along" pursued Sim, ig-
noring this interruption. s'And them
kind is terrible apt to make slightin'
| remarks about them that don't care
about gOin' through with all the failures
that belongs to 'em in the mater of
things, but follers Proverdential lead
ms, and keeps a good lookout for their
chance"
"a Proverdential leadin' to set and
| twiddle your thumbs is dretful apt to
lead to the poor-house," said Elijah
Wisweli, the store keeper, brisk little
man, who was suspected of great energy
in the matter of sanding sugar. ~
81 never see my way clear to haul
them logs for Abijah Sprowl for three
and ninepence day, though I done it.
Mebbe there was where l missed my
chance" murmured Uncle lack, who
evidently accepted Sims theory with
profound faith, and was looking back all
along the track of his enterprises to
discover traces of the chance he had
lost. .s
ssYou must be all beat out waitin' for
that chance of yourn, Sim,' said Jim
Durgin, who prided himself on being
the wit of the village. 81 expect it'll
get here long with the millennium, or
CIV Underhill's machine that's goin' to
pull weeds and never touch the plarnts.
Cy has been to work on that nigh upon
fifty year now, and he amt mite dis
outraged" " r
ssHe might Just as we'll "a been takin'
things kind of easy all them fifty years."
said Sim, ignoring Jim Durgin's per-
sonal inquiries. "He'd ought to "a found
out long ago that he was jest a-wrast-
lin with fate, and fate was bound to
win Like enough his chance has come
ioggin' his elbow time an ag'in while
he was t'ilin' away on that ere machine,
and he's shet his eyes to it, or fairly gin
it hist out o. the winder. That's
where the intelleck comes in; bein' an
onintellectooal man, CIV has done ter
rible sight of hard work, and missed his
chance. And he wouldn't be apt to see
it now if twas p'inted out to him. He
can't believe in nothin' but that pesky
machine. And there's sight of folks
in this communerty that's got their I'M
derstandin' darkened through settin' too
much by stiddy days. works. They
don't darst to leave 'em, for fear o.
gittin' into the oor-house, not if their
chance comes along and yanks 'em by
the hair of the head. But, la! you can't
expect everybody to be Intellectual; it
amt in the mater of things"
"Well, you won't forget us poor fell
| lows when your chance comes along,
will you, Sim?" said Jim Durgin.
| The mailbag arrived at that moment,
and created diversion.
ssI was calkerlatin' to 90 home and
set my dinner pot a-b'ilin'," said Sim,
s'but guess, as long as the mails got
| in, may as we'll wait and see if there's
any letter for me-"
The men all laughed at this, Sims
standing joke, for he had never been
known to have aletter but their laughter
was soon changed to EXPLANATIONS of
astonishment, for the postmaster called,
'sHere IS a letter for you, Sim, as sure
as you're born" And he came out
from behind the partition which shut
the post-office in sacred privacy from
the store, in a state of great excitement.
Sorting the remaining contents of the
mailbag was not to be thought of until
curiosity concerning Sims letter was
gratifed. M
Every feature of Sims face seemed
distended with astonishment. He took
the letter tenderly between his thumb
and forefnger, and looked at it in 81
lence, at the superscription and the
post-mark alternately. There was no
doubt about it; the address was ::
"Simeon Pingree, Esq, Greenhollow,
Maine' The postmark was almost il
legible. The crowd waited in re-
spectful silence while Sim struggled to
decipher it. @
Californy!" he exclaimed, at last,
bringing his hand down upon his side
with a resounding thump. "Cur'us if
my chance had come long now, wouldn' It
ftp" ..4
"Some advertisin' cirkler-minin'
stock or somethin'. They've found out
that you are capitalist, Sim, and want
to get you to invest" said Jim Durgin
"Or mebbe they want man of tar
Tents for president of mimi COM