The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1882-10-25

time or mother it's bound to come.
That's the doctrine that this feller
preached. Hazlitt-Eph Hazlitt-his
name was; and smart? He'd swaller
snakes as quick as look at 'em; boy
constructor want no more'n COM
1tabIe mouthful for himi Edicated
lie wouldn't have thought nothin' of
maxim, dictionary or an almernick if
he had "a felt so inclined. Kind of
a slim, pigeon-breasted Teller, too,
put terrible hearty to his vic
tuals. He was a master-hand for lot
terles, and such kind of resky business,
and it alwers turned out well; seemed
as II he hadn't nothin' to do but to put
out his hand and haul in the money.
Made me think of king that I'd read
Oh somewhere in furrin parts, that ev-
erything he took holt of turned to gold.
hadn't never took no stock in the
story-them stories about furrin parts
is mostly deceivin'-and it didn't seem
to stand to reason, but when see Eph
Hazlitt begun to think mebbe 'twan't
so big lie after all. Says to Eph,
says L, Gurus what a run of luck you
nave, amt it| NO. says Eph, says
he, 1T amt Gurus at all. It's in the
mater of things. I've been failin' for
long time, and it was time that my
luck come. 1t had ought to "a come last
year, accordin' to the law O. probabili-
ties; it was bound to come this year,
as sure as two and two make four
Wei, kind of laughed it off as a joke,
or figger of speech as you might say,
but he went on and reasoned it out to
me till twas jest as clear as daylight.
1ou see there's jest about so much good
luck and so much i'll luck goin', and one
is bound to get through with a man
and let t'other have its turn some time
or mother. Eph he'd reasoned all out
about hisn, jest like the multiplication
table, but | never had no head fur fig
gers. But l had wit enough to see
that what he said was true on gineral
principles"
How you goin' to account for the
bad luck that follers some folks all
| their ives?" said, in querulous 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,
until he had become a 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. "There's a good many that
amt got understandin enough to
know that it's sure to come, so they
get terrible discouraged with their
poor luck and are afraid to take holt
of anything even if it does look prom
| isin'."
"Mebbe I'd better "A went shares
raisin' hogs with 'Liph'let Junkins
when he wanted me TO-" said Uncle
Zach, in plaintive voice; but folks
they told me that 'Ligh'let was a ter
rible hand to git all the fat and leave
the lean for other folks, and calker-
lated that would be dretful poor busi-
ness so fur forth as hogs was con-
| sarned."
"And then there's other folks that
amt got the sense to wait till their
chance comes along" pursued Sim, ig-
noring this interruption. "And them
kind is terrible apt to make slightin'
remarks about them that don't care
about goin' through with all the fail
ures that belong to 'em in the mater of
things, but follers Proverdential lead
in's and keeps a good lookout for their
chance"
A Proverdential leadin' to set and
twiddle your thumbs is dretful apt to
lead to the poorhouse," said Elijah
Wiswel, the storeSeeper, brisk little
man, who was suspected of great en-
ergy in the matter of sanding sugar.
Il never see my way clear to haul
them logs for Abiiah Sprowl for three
and ninepence day, though l. done it,
Mebbe there was where l missed my
chance" murmured Uncle Zack, 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.
"You 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 ex-
pect it'll get here long with the mil
lennium, or Cy Underhill's machine
that's goin' to pull weeds and never
touch the plarnts. Cy has been to
work on that nigh upon to fifty year
now, and he amt a mite discouraged" /"
"He might Jest as well "a been takin'
things kind Of easy all them fifty years" 4"
said Sim, ignoring jim Durgin's per-
sonal inquiries. "He'd ought to "a
found out long ago that he was jest
a-wrastlin' with fate, and fate was
bound to win. Like enough his
chance has come joggin' his elbow
time an ag'in while he was t'ilin' away