The Magnolia gazette. [volume] (Magnolia, Miss.) 1872-current, 1886-05-21
a PLACID CLERK.
How He Mortified a Desperately Revenge
full Individual.

How He MOrt1hed desperately |
full Individual.
The receiving clerks behind the desks
at the telegraph offices are cool, placid
fellows. They take your message OF
life or death with perfect indifference,
mechanically count the words, and look |
bit bored as they reply:
''It will be sixty-five cents, please"
had my eye on certain chap for
several weeks before 1 humbled his
pride. He insulted me. He insulted
me by softly whispering to himself as
he counted the words in the following
message:
Grandmother died last night very
suddenly. How many OF you can at
tend funeralp'
When 1 handed in that message ex-
pected him to exhibit little emotion.
while he could not have been person.
ally acquainted with my grandmother,
| he must have suspected that she was
| nice old lady, and that her sudden death
| had greatly overcome me. Why didn't
he look up with bit of sympathy in his
eye and say:
"Too bad! I know just how you feel,
and I'm sorry for you"
| But no. He whistled and counted,
made scratch OF two with his pen, and
carelessly remarked:
sThree words over-seventy cents.
And as he made change he told one
of the boys behind the counter that he'd
be hanged if he wasn't going to the
dog fight that night. Then he picked
up my dead grandmother dispatch and
banged it on hook, showed me ovOr
some change, and turned away to re-
sumo the perusal of sporting paper.
The next week l went in with dis.
patch announcing that my grandmoth-
er's will had been opened, and that ]
came in for twenty-five thousand dol
lars. That man must have seen by my
face that was highly elated. He never
had the fifth of that sum, and his salary
had lust been cut down ten dollars pei
month, but when he had read the dis
patch he calmly announced:
Forty cents, and you forgot to datt
it."
And then he began talking tt
one of his fellow-clerks about
slugeing match, and how he won thre
dollars by betting ON the right man.
don't say he ought to have swung hi
hat and cheered over my good fortune
. but why couldn't he have extended hi
!, paw and said:
d .sEhP Old boyp In luck, amt you
!; Well, I'm glad on it. Send around tn
!, cigars and we'll smoke to your goo
;, health
made up my mind when / went ou
!, that would upset that mans equanin
:. -ity or lose leg. I'd tumble him o
: that pedestal of placidity if it cost
a $1,000. I'd upset, unbalance and III
. hinge him or die trying. gave hii
% % two weeks to repent. 1t isn't right
y y rush telegraph man out of the wor
y on days notice. went back or
'e evening, and felt bit sorry for hi
=. as he glanced up. / knew that his wi
= and child were in Ohio on visit, and
- stepped to the desk and wrote:
q DETROIT, Mich, June 6, 1885
g. J. H. Smith, Columbus, o.:
n Please telegraph me ruii ue particnM,ars Ma OF
daughter, of this city, were instantly kill
IN this Afternoon. S. 2
III felt bit sorry as 1 handed it in, n
+ knowing but the man might faint de,
away as he read the terrible nev
al Still, had vowed revenge, and wor
IN not forego it. He received the
On patch, whistled softly as was his wol
clattered the point of his pen alo
the words as he counted, and th
drawled out:
"a dollar and twenty-five cents, a
:, where shall send the answer?"
~ s.Did you read that dispatchp"
asked after looking at him for hal
ne minute.
"Yes."
al "Do YOU know the partiesP"
vo Eyes, SIR"
he Isn't your name George TaylorP'
he ayes, sirp"
ill AREN'T the parties your wife
ne daughterp"
he mo, sir. They returned home
he morning-here's your cnangs''~'
Quad, IN DETROIT Free Press.