The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1888-08-28
COLONEL ADAIE TELLS A STORY.
The Moral of which ia Time Has Changed.

The Moral of which ia Time Has Changed.
81 am going up to Chautauqua," said Colo
mel George Adar as he came IN on the West
End street car; 81 am going up to see Professor
George Frederick Holmes. If he is the man
| think lac is, he used to teach school III De
oatur, and ] used to go to school to him be-
tween times.
owe got so now" continued the colonel,
bowling and smiling as he passed up blonde
ladsy's fare-"I We got so now that / have
hankering after old acquaintance, and don't
mind travelling fifteen or twenty miles to tell
n man howdy. The Youngsters are all mighty
nice, but when it comes TO enjoyment give
me an old fellow that can sit on the front
porch all day and tell stories about old times.
az don't know whether Professor Holmes is
a good hand ut the business, but L m going up
today and fling out my trotline, as the boys
say. and see whether he's the same Holmes
that taught school in Decatur, lie was some
thing of a yOuugster then, and as Tor me,
why, bless your soul, / wasn't any bigger than
| ought to have been, but l was mighty big in
my own mind. | clerked in Il store part Of
the time, and went to school part of the Time
and that is how l remember Professor
| Holmes.
''He is quite literary man, distinguished
not only as n scholar, but as writer of books,
| but if he's the man that taught in Decatur,
! he'll remember one little incident as well as
! / do"
"What was that?"
"Well," said the colonel, 'it WAS such O
| long time ago don't know that / have any
| right to fotch it up now. But it was funny.
In those days there was quite little colony OF
| English people in Decatur, and it was proba-
| bly, on account of this that Professor Holmes.
| who is also an Englishman, came there to try
| his hand at teaching. He has made great
success of it since Qf lie is the same NAM, but
| | don't remember whether he was regarded
! as a good teacher in Decatur. The truth is,
| he didn't have time to impress his theories on
| the populace"
what was the trouble2"
ooh, the simplest thing in the world
| You see the tavern at Decatur was kept by
| DIR. Thompson and his good lady, and PROBES
sor Holmes boarded there. If my recollection
is worth anything, and ii generally passes fol-
| history in these parts, the fare was pretty
good but 1t was the old-fashioned variety
All the essentials were there, and everything
| in season.
TITS different now. when you have everything
out of season. Lettuce before the snow is of
the ground, radishes before they arc planted
and watermelons in the spring. Thisis what's
! running the digestion of the people. This is
| what is taking off tho young ones before they
have reached their primo.
| "Well the Decatur tavern had the best that
! was going, and everything at the proper time
| There was lettuce, for instance. When
! the time for lettuce came, there was an abun-
| dance of it on the table of the Decatur tavern
| and You didn't have to look on French bill OF
| fare TO find tit was right there before you,
fresh, crisp, tender and juicy. This was the
| way things were running when Professor
Holmes was teaching at Decatur.
"rheIe are new tangled ways OF
! eating lettuce nowadays" the
| colonel went on, frowning OF small boy who
| was stealing ride, "but in those times the
people In the neighorhood of Decatur thought
! il was good enough for them ii il was sprinkled
! with ham-gravy and vinegar. i know it was
| good, because used to eat 1t that way my
| self, and it makes my mouth water to think
| about il now.
"But Professor Holmes was an Englishman
| and one day when they had lettuce the
| tavern table, he asked for some sugar TO put on
| II. | don't know whether this is the English
! style, but 1t was different from our style. In
| those days sugar was sugar 1t cost money and q
! heap of it, and whom ahoarder nj a tavern called
for sugar in the middle OF tho day, with nc
coffee or tea ON tho table, it WAS bound to at
| tract attention.
"Wel, the professor called for it, and the
| landlady, not understanding the demand,
| wanted TO know why sugar was called for nj
that unseemly hour. This initiated the pro
fessor, and some very sharp words passed oe
| tween them. The result of it all was thai
when DIR, Thompson heard of il, he followed
the professor out on the varanda, and the tive
had fight. 1t was q regular knock-down
! aud-drag-out affair. The veranda was lonl
and wide and they had it all to themselves
They got under tho chairs aud on top Of tn,
chairs, and tore up everything in sight
81 don't remember how tn
fight resulted hut do remember that whel
the people OF Decatur learned that the teache
Of their school WAS using sugar ON his lettuc
instead of hamgravy, they withdrew thei
patronage and the professor was compelled t
leave.
There is no moral to this that know OF
said the colonel refeetively, Except that pee
pie ought TO he mighty particular about hoy
they call for sugar in a strange land. 1t is
call that is just as likely to BIO misunderstood
as not"