The Southern herald., 1886-04-10
A POSITIVE MAN.

tasw Mr.. Bullion Was Cured of the Bad
Habit of "KnOwing" Too Much.
f'When was young fellow" said
Mr. Thomas Bullion. of the well-known
firm of Bullion, Siverley & Co., 81
Was the most positive man alive-never
let anybody else say word when once
I'd made up my mind about any thing.
If I'd heard Nelson talk about sea-
lights or Soyer about cooking, I'd have
been sure to contradict them and make
out knew more about it than they did.
Somebody said once to my poor brother
Jack, the lawyer-who was rather a
dictatorial sort Of chap himself f-that
he did well to lay dosOn the law, for he
certainly hadn't gained much by taking
IL up. But l was every bit as bad as
ke was, and worse too"
Mr.. Bullion brought out this last
confession with that self-complacent
emphasis wherewith an Englishman
will sometimes own himself guilty of
things which, if laid to his charge by
any other man, would probably impel
him to punch that other man head on
the spot.
''You remember that story" he pro-
seeded, ''about the argumentative man
who, hearing a watchman calling out
nnder his window one bitter January
night: Past one o'clock, and a fine
starlight morningH jumped out of bed,
rushed to the window, threw it up and
hawled out to him: Yes, but is It past
one o'clock Well, sir, that's just the
sort of fellow that was when l first
started; but I've had lesson about
Contradicting and being positive that
will last me all my life.
''This was how it happened. One
cold morning in the early spring q
don't exactly remember what year it
was, but anyway more years ago than
I'd particularly care to count ROW),
Twas going to the city as usual by ON
Aibus. There were four or five other
men in the same line of business as nv
self, who generally went in about the
same time as | did; and when | got
into the bus that morning, | found the
whole lot of 'em together. The only
man there that [ didn't know was a
qneer-looking chap wht sat in the far
corner, with his hat SO pulled down
over his eyes and the collar of his gray
cloak SO turned up around his neck,
that his face could hardly be seen at
all; and he kept SO still that l made
sure he must be asleep, and thought no
more about him.
''Well, we all began talking, and
somehow or other we came around to
the battle of Waterloo, and there got
up a dispute about whether the gate
of HougoumOnt had really been shut
agzinst the French by one man or not.
SAM Lockitt, of Lockitt & Redwood
(he's dead now, poor fellowD, stuck
out that he had, and /, of course, con-
fradicted him fiat, and said that it was
all bosh, and that no one man could be
strong enough to do it.
~'Ah, we all know yoar ways, Tom,
says Sam; you'd say black was white,
If anybody else said it wasn't. Did
you happen to be engaged at Waterloo
yourself without knowing itP'
-'Never you mind, said l, if l
wasn't I've known them that were, or
that have met others who were, which
Is the same thing.
"sOf course it iJ,' says Sam, wink
ing at the rest why, Tom, you're
as good as that countryman in the
story, who, when they asked him if be
had ever seen the King, replied: "Noa,
niver saw the King, but I've got a
cousin rs once COON very nigh seein'
thr Dock o. Wellington.