Daily Los Angeles herald., 1883-10-19
|NcLE POT AND UNCLE ISAAC.
BY TON JOLLY.

some years hBo-nOW many are
pf little consequence there stood
upon the corner OF Market and
|ome other street exactly where
nakes very little difference a
title cid frame shanty. This
khanty, being part Of an inclos-
IRE wherein the profitable bust :
resa Of wood and coal was carried
~, was plentifully covered with
We dust and dirt that usually
arises from the hauling Of these
useful articles. The distinctive
mark was made still more con
1fAcuous from the marks Of many
rain storm which had left dark
<exks upon the cracked "a
1IGpboards. And these clap
f<1ds, being old and loose, were
IL 10 rattle sharply in the wind
6ich made at night q rather
ehostly sound. In the memory
81 man the early history Of this
4hanty was unknown, for even
>6soidest inhabitsnt passed it by
femarking:
uThat house is very old, my
<oh, l remember il distinctly. for
8sAea;.-often when ] went to
school, and thought how old aid
worn il looked even at that time.
Ithas changed but very little
since then, my son.
The side OF this old shanty
which was toward the street had
been the especial privilege Of tho
bill poster from the time immemo-
rial; and was stiff and starchy
with the hardened paste Of years,
whereon the notices OF actors Of a
generation past. some dead and
some forgotten, were hid beneath
the later innovation OF pills and
liniment.
The front was ornamentsd with
q door and window, whose whole
aim seemed to bo TO quarrel with
each other, in which mutual en-
deavor their tops were very much
wider apart than their sills, which
gave the little shsnty an appear
ance Of being in il perpetual state
OF surprise at the change going on
around it.
At the time when this narrative
begins the old thanty had an
occupant, 9 little stumpy, burly,
old and curious fellow, whose
wrinkled, dirty face might have
induced the opinion that be, too,
like tho shanty, was covered with
dust Of wood and coal and bud
4 been streaked with the rain.
From little scraps Of leather
etrewn before the door, as well as
from little rusty sign that
creaked above it, the information
was impaired that the dirty little
fellow was Z cobbler, which infcr-
nation any one might easily con
firm by entering the shop. For
thier might have been seen a row
>>of shelves whereupon we're crowd
cd . drooping company OF lasts,
I'll ina tate Of deep dependency,
from h6ying lost their mates. A
little coGnter in keeping with the
place stsetched half way across
the room, and the grimy proprie-
tor sat in ono corner Of the room
on his bench. placidly smoking
his pipe while waiting for the
sole-leather, which was in the
water in an iron pot before him.
TO soak through. which iron pot
was an object Of much attention
to the curious neighborhood.
since it had given to the comical
little cobbler his name. For this
WAS Uncle Pot. 1t is now my
pleasure to relate how Uncle Pot
received his name, in which mar
rative I must refer to Uncle Isaac.
An old, old man was Uncle
Isaac A rich old man was Uncle
Isaac. His house, a grand one
in its day, stood just across the
street from Uncle Pots old
sbaniy. An old gray headed man
was Uncle Isaac. whose steps
we're totteriDg to the grave. The
blotcbed and swollen face, the
trembling form. the uncertain
step and classy eyes were sad
tokens that Uncle Isaac was a
ruined man.
Uncle Pot and Uncle Isaac we're
fast friends. A common appetite
placed them on equal grounds.
And when the bar-room door
closed behind the one, it was
almost certain to close behind
the other also. How they became
acquainted no one ever knew.
How that acquaintance ever rip
ened into friendship no one could
ever tell But they evidently
knew and Understood each other
Thus, when Uncle Isaac, sallyine
forth, approached the spot where
bis money and his self-respec'
went from him forever, Uncle Po
also sailed forth from his domain
with his cobbler's apron Ia mar
vel Of impurity mixed with wax
still before him, and tapping hi
friend upon the shoulder, wonlt
say:
Hey! Uncle Isaac!'
Uncle Isaac turning slowl,
would salute the little cobble
with a stately bow and say:
Good morning, sir
Whereupon Uncle Pot an,
Uncle Isaac would plunge int
the bowels Of the bar-room an
return invigorated.
The years went on and Uncl
Isaac walked nearer to the grave
Years went on and suddenly th