Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1888-02-02
cEN WunAM H GIBSON.

TEE AND STOLE A LOCAL SPEAKERS
AUDIENCE AWAY FROM HIM.
\ great Republican meeting, says the
,Scioto Gazette. was arranged for in one
of the large cities of New York, we be-
| lieve Syracuse. The arrangements were
all perfected, when their speaker was
taken sick. No other of like reputation
was available. all having their list of en-
gagements. In their dilemma they tel
egraphed the situation to the Ohio Re
publican Executive Committee, asking
| for the best speaker in the state. Our
election was over and the Committee tel
egraphed in reply that they would send
! General William H. Gibson, who would
fill the bill to a dot. The change was
announced, and on the day of the meet
! ing the local committee, in silk hats, kid
gloves and Prince Albert coats, was at
the depot with fine carriage to receive
its guest. They watched the passengers
get off the Pullman car, but didn't see
any person that they thought might be
General W. H. Gibson, of Ohio" The
General is a plain man, given to plain
things, plain of speech, plain of dress, and
plain of habits. He was in the smoking
car, from which he alighted on arrival,
and went to the hotel, where he register
ed, and went to the common wash-room
to wash off some of the dust of travel.
| The committeeman were much disap-
! pointed, but they might have missed
! him, and went to the hotel, where they
saw his name on the register, and he was
| pointed out to them by the clerk. At
| first they were disappointed to think he
had not come; now they were not looking
for a plain man in a linen duSter, who
made his hasty toilet in the common
waSh-rOom. They had been looking for
man like themselves, gotten up regard
less of expense, and they had engaged
| for him the best room in the hotel. The
| time was limited and General Gibson
swallowed hasty supper, while the COM
mitteemen were damning the Ohio Ex-
ecutive Committee for sending them
that old hay seed" They were busy
concocting some scheme to keep him
from speaking; they judged him by his
clothes and thought it would never do to
have him bore the large, distinguished,
and fashionable audience that had as
sembled at the hall.
So one of the local speakers best
one they had-was put to speaking, and
was hard at it when the committee and
General Gibson arrived at the hall. They
took seats in the wings, and the local
speaker kept on expounding the Consti-
tuition. The hall was crowded, and many
were unable to gain admittance Finally
one of the committee suggested to the
General that there was large crowd on
the outside, and asked him if it would be
agreeable to him to address them, as the
speaker already engaged seemed to have
grown warm with his subject, and did
not give way. The General had caught
on to the spirit of distrust of his ability
to entertain a New York audience, and
as he enjoys joke he thought he would
have little fun at the expense of his
New York friends He said he would
just as leave speak outdoors as nOt-he
was accustomed to it.
A store-box was placed on the pave
ment, near the hall, the space was lighted
by torches, and he commenced to hun
dred or so young men and hOodlums, by
telling them stories that convulsed them
with laughter. He kept ON, the boys
laughing and cheering. Pedestrians on
their way to their homes stopped to lis
ten, and all who stopped remained. He
went on in his own inimitable way until
he had an audience of thousand or
more, all wild with enthusiasm and
cheering the General to the echo. The
audience in the hall heard the growing
noise on the outside, and finally one and
then another went out to see what caused
it. None of them went back, but staid
to swell the crowd, which kept on grow
ing in numbers and enthusiasm until the
hall was vacated, that meeting broken
up, and the man from Ohio had the audi
ence
1t is needless to say that after the meet
ing the committee was profuse in its at
tentiOns, and the best that was in the city
was at the disposal of the General. They
had found out there was man inside
that old linen duster, and now when the
Republicans of that city want to have an
old fashioned jollifcation they always
try to get General Gibson, of Ohio"
THE DEACON'S PRICE.
From The Boston Courier.
A deacon is after all deacon the
world over. The office gets the better of
man, or it may be that the office is too
weak to prevent the man from getting
the better of it.
Deacon Y. is a dealer in furniture and
also superintendent of the Sunday school.
When the holiday season comes he shows
affection to the scholars in the latter by
distributing to them gayly colored and
appropriately noticed Christmas cards;
but he is too thrifty man of business
to let the reverse of the cards run to
waste and accordingly upon this he has
printed a neat little advertisement of his
business.
Recently ParSOn Y, pastor of the
church with which Deacon X is con-
nected, wished to purchase desk, and
the Deacon agreed to let him have one
for the wholesale price. Mr.. Y. selected
desk which pleased him, and asked the
price.
cat RETAIL" the Deacon answered,
keeping by his phraseology carefully
within the letter of the truth, 81 should
ask you $50; but l will sell it to you at
$50.
The clergyman said he would think of
the matter, and retired. Perhaps he
knew his man; perhaps he was but obey
ing the Scriptural injunction to be as
wise as serpent; at least he returned
to the store when the proprietor was alb
sent and inquired of an unsuspecting
salesman the price of the desk he had
selected.
"The regular price of that desk," was
the answer, sis $50"
And ParsOn Y. chuckled over his
Shrewdnass, but did not purchase.
nTT T ~ Nssy a OF