Sharp County record., 1883-08-09
Jere. Black and DR.. Elder.

The Critic recently heard an excel
lent story about Judge Jere Black, the
distinguished lawyer and ndpolitician, and
DR.. William Elder, also prominent
Pennsylvania and now an officialin the
Treasury Department.
Both gentlemen were born in Somer-
set, Pa, and were friends from early
boyhood. Both were excellent story
teilers, and both had a wealth of stories
of their early life.
Black was particularly proud OF a
description of the way in which ne first
read Don Quixote, and was fond OF re-
lating it whenever an appreciative au-
dience could be secured. The story was
that in his fathers garret at Somerset
there stood an old hair trunk in the
earliest days of the embryo Judges
career, when his young mind had Just
begun to feel the want of more varied
literary resources than the standard,
dog-eared volumes of his fathers limit
ed library afforded. Jere. was inves-
tigating the garret one rainy day for
some diversion, when he CHANGED to
open the old trunk and observed that it
was lined, as was the old custom,
with leaves of book. Little Jere.
was surprised and somewhat IN,
terested. An examination proved
that the book was don Quixote,
and that almost all the pages had
been used in lining the trunk. Jere.
soon became interested in "Don
Quixote' and his faithful squire, and as
he traced the pages further, he grew
more and more pleased, delighted, ex-
cited and absorbed The opening
chapter was found under the lid of the
trunk, and Jere. began to read the
wondrous story, and page by page ne
followed the winding plot, rivaling the
exploits of the redoubtasle Don as he
sat one moment with his head in the
trunk, then climbed into the trunk to
read what was posted on the sides, lay
on his back, with the trunk-lid on the
top of him, while he perused the bot
tom, stood on his head to get nearer
view of the obscure corners, and in this
acrobatic manner mastered the story,
gathered impressions that clung to him
throughout his life, and made everlast-
inc friendships with luckless Sancho
Panza and erratic Don Quixote.
Judge Black told the story well, and
it was we'll known among his friends.
One evening a large gathering of liter
ary and political people, including
Judge Black and Dr. Elder, were talk
inc of the books of their boyhOod, and
as there were few persons present
who never heard the story referred to,
the Judge was about to tell it, when DIR.
Elder began unexpectedly:
81 will never forget the circumstance
under which first read Don QuiXote,
when was boy. The pages of the
book were pasted as lining in an old
hair trunk in my fathers garret, and l
went through more gymnastics in fol-
lowing on behind the Don's faithful
steed through all the sides, angles and
trays of that old trunk than have ever
attempted since.
Jud - Black listened speechlessly to
the rel tai, and those who tad heard
him tel the story glanced srspicously
from Doctor to judge.
1t was evident that somebody had
stolen the story or that the Doctor had
appropriated it to quiz the Judge, and
the latter was not only surprised, but
good deal chagrined. For long time
Black felt hurt over the theft of his
story, or the ridicule of his friend; but,
after many months, meeting DR.. Elder
on the street one day he said
doctor, do you remember our stories
of Don Quixote in hair trunk? Well,
that mystery has been cleared up. ]
have found that when we both lived at
Somerset my father bought that old
trunk from your father, and we both
read Don Quixote the same way out of
the same trunk. y Washington Critic.