The Republican journal., 1884-07-31
Our George on Appearances.


mans life is made up of appearances.
even the man who don't 90 a cent Oh
show" and how little there would be left
OF him except for that ! 1t would reduce
| him SO that he could not cast Il shadow
under the most favorable condition. The
real fact is, that appearance is only anotf-
er name for pride, and there is more or
| less of that in everything that wears legs
| from the turkey in the barn yard to the
| president Of the L. 5. Even the man
who considers himself 4 bankrupt in the
article and is ready to 60 intG insolvency,
were he to take careful inventory of
his assets, he would be surprised to tind
that he could pay the regulation dividend
and have "a tidy little sum to start busi-
ness with again.
There is young Higgins for instance.
| Every body is acquainted with him. He
is about 22 years old, has light. bushy
| hair, which stands upon his head like
a LOT OF chickens on q fence rail. llig-
gins don't go much on appearances. He
| don't care how he looks nor what he does.
If folks don't like it--well they can do
the other thing. That's Higgins all
| through. He says that if all the pride
| in him were diamonds, that it would not
pay the cost of the kerosene to 90 down
into him and hunt them up, and he be
lieves it too.
Now let Us ''shadow' Higgins for q day
and see how he will pan out. When he
gets out of bed in the morning he begins
to dress. He puts on few articles for com
fort and the rest forappearance. He wears
a shirt and q pair of trousers to keep him
! Il l,yr- l,,,t
really no necessity for that stiff iron clad
| shirt bosom; there is no comfort III it,
and until it gets bent to him he feels as
| if he had on tin chest protector; it is
as stiff as on old maid at a minister's tea
party. He screws in his shirt studs and
cuff buttons he puts on a clean collar;
he ties on a neck tie; he wrestles with
that serious problem OF life, the putting
of cuff button into an over starched
cuff, and still Higgins don't ever do any
thing for show. Then he washes his
face and hands, brushes his teeth, and
with comb, brush and oil, tries to coax
his hair to lie down and rest, as it has
been standing Oh tip toe S it were all
night 1t may be said that all this is
necessary to his sanitary condition, but
when we remember that the only time
the Indians were ever washed Was at the
| time of the flood, and what few have
| since Joined the Methodist and Baptist
churches, and how one was never known
| to die a natural DEATH and how they are
| tougher than the pastry of a boarding
| house pie, we are compelled to admit
| that cleanliness is not absolutely neccs-
| sary to a long life, however desirable it
may be to the persons neghbor and bed
fellows. And now Higgins goes down to
breakfast and eats with silver fork
when he had ten times rather use his
knife or fingers, and then he wipes his
mouth with a napkin, when inclination
would naturally suggest his coat sleeve.
Then he puts on his boots and blacks
them and goes down town to his busi-
ness, and seats himself at his desk and
writes his business letters. He starts off
by sending a dunning letter, and begins it
"Mv dear sir" and ends it with, ''Nour
obedient servant none Of which he
means and all of which is for appearances,
for he would like to have the man in d
hash chopper all the time he is writing,
and he slowly but surely turning the
crank. And through the day his talk
and acts are all guided by appearances.
After tea he thinks he will call around
and see his GIRL but, before starting, his
person undergoes another overhanling,
which, being satisfactorily done, he saun-
ters out switching the grass with his
cane and whistling to keep up his cour
age. There is probably no situation
where pure grit and "sand" is more nee
essaIy, than for a young man to keep
persistently calling on his girl, before her
engagement is announced, and his posi-
ton is not understood by the other mem
bers of the girls family. Many a young
man has marched night after night up
the steps to "A front door, when he would
rather have been one of a volunteer par
ty to storm a fort. in the first case it is
death by inches, while in the latter you
may escape without scratch. He rings
the bell, and, as usual, the small brother,
aged O. opens the door, and seeing who
it is says, 'hullo". Then Higgins asks,
els Sarah in z" his voice trembling like
the vibrator of thrashing machine, and
receives the very unsatisfactory reply, in
the shape Of another question, "Do you
mean the hired girl Z" and then Higgins
explains, and the young hopeful says,
ooh, yes Mary, she is ut home-why z"
and Higgins explains that he wants to
see her, and the boy says, sob, ! bet
know what you want her for" but he Of
fers no solution, nor does he ask Higgins
in, and Higgins gazes at him and Won
ders if it would be wicked to kill lust
this one little boy, when there are 50
many growing up, but before he fairly
decides the question, Sarah appears, and
apparently very much surprised says,
"Oh, Mr.. Higgins Pm so glad to see you.
Do come in. Ralph, why didn't you ask
Mr. Higgins in before 2" and Ralph says
"He didn't say he wanted to come in he
only asked if you were home" Where
upon Ralph is informed that there was a
nice bed awaiting his coming, and he
disappeared through the door into the
next room announcing to the whole house
hold that Mr.. Higgins has come to see
Sarah. The visitor is ushered into the
parlor and says, "Good evening" to Sa-
rah's father when it is raining outside,
and tells Sarahs mother he is delighted
to see her, when he is not, and says
he "never felt better than he does at
that moment" when there is lie enough
in the remark to make a bar of soap.
Then he very suddenly sinks into a
chair, and sits as rigid as a shovel lean
ing against barn door, and then he
SUFFERS and at stated intervals says he
must go and don't; till at last Sarah's
father rises and takes off his glasses and
says, "Well, mother, it is bed time," and
they both cast a look at Higgins, which
seems to say, "Young man, think you
have come to steal something, and if we
miss anything in the morning we shall
know where it has gone" and as the door
closes behind them Higgins blood begins
to circulate, and stiffness pervades that
room that would cover the whole State
of Rhode Island, till presently two forms
rise from two chairs and hastily approach
each other, and "Oh, Sarah," and 'oh
Charlie," break the stiffness of the air,
and second sound follows, resembling
the bursting of small paper bag, and