Montgomery County sentinel., 1888-03-30
MiscellaMenMs.
A DERNIER RESORT.

A Widdle-aged man was walking up
the street of little country town one
afternoon in early June. It was quiet,
tree-shaded, grass grown street, and the
man, as be walked along with jaunty.
swinging step, seemed wonderfully wide
awake in contrast to it, He was we'll
preserved mau, who must have been very
good looking, if not positively handsome !,
in his youth. He was dressed in gray
suit, of fashionable cut, and wore his
silk hat slightly tipped on one side of
his abundant. brown curly hair. This
brown. curly hair was very lightly
touched with gray here and there, SO
lightly indeed, as to not be perceptible
to the careless observer. In his right
hand, which was firmly held against the
small of his back. he grasped heavy,
gold-headed cane. He glanced from
side to side, as he walked, at the win
dows of the cottages with the air of one
who had been used 10, and still expects
to, catch the admiring glances of peep
ing women. And in this expectation
he was not wholly disappointed, for from
at least half a dozen doors and as many
windows he caught their glances, though
they were really more of wonder than
admiration ; albeit, he chose only to ad-
nit the latter.
"By Jove !'' said he to himself, in a
drawling tone, as, the last cottage pass
ed, he emerged into the highway again
and came in sight Of picturesque old
blacksmith's shop, before which stood an
immense weeping willow, show little the
place has changed. What sleepy old
town it is. l don't believe there have
been twenty buildings added to it since
| left here nearly quarter of a century
ago. And there's the smithy. just the
same as when ! worked there in a grimy
apron--paugh p And then stepping
across to the shop where man of about
bis own age--a stout, round faced, mer-
ry-looking fellow was welding ham
mer with force, striking brave sparks
from the horseshoe he was fashioning
and singing loudly the while to the
musical clink, clink, clink that answered
his blows. "Hallo Jim Farlow," said
the newcomer in louder and quicker
tone than that in which he had spoken
to himself, but it was not until Jim
Farlow was touched upon the shoulder
by the gray-kidded hand that the loud
singing aud musical blinking ceased,
and the blacksmith turned slowly about
and gravely regarded his visitor with no
hint Of recognition in his honest blue
eyes.
why, jim, don't you know mo ?"
asked be Of the gray suit. "Surely you
haven't forgotten Jack Palmer 2"
Jack Palmerl" repeated the black
smith. BE you Jack Palmer? If you
be you don't look much like the Jack
Palmer that used to work aside of me at
this very forge"
"But l am all the same," said Pal
mer, though l fancy city life has re-
moved all trace of the country youth.
That is, all trace of his rusticity.
Aatter myself some of his good looks
still remain. Hey, Jim p
To this speech, made with self sat
isfied smile, Jim replied by another
question Il s'pose you invested that
money SOS you made heap of it?"
"Well, l did-at first" answered
Palmer, "but the heap soon dwindled
away. 1t was only thirty thousand in
the first place, you know"
only thirty thousand l' replied Jim,
with grim chuckle; ivy you fust
heard of it | thought you'd go clean daft.
swan | did. Thirty thousand says
you to me a-tearin' off you apron--'tbir
ty thousand fur me that never got dol
lars together since the day / were born
an that's six an twenty yeaas ago.
Thirty thousand, says you"
"Yes, yes" interrupted his compan-
ion hastily; II suppose it did look like
a large sum to me then, but when one
lives in great city and associates with
wealthy people it soon begins to look
like very small one, and by Jove! it
and all | made by it got less and less as
the years went on until l am actually
down to my las5 hundred"
Down to your last hundred ~ echoed
jim Farlow. "Well, you must have
lived high. And now, il | make SO
free as to ask what have you come back
here for? You surely amt lookin'-"
and glancing at the kid gloves he broke
out into loud gufaw-'you surely amt
looking for job at the old smithy
agaih ?"
f'Pshaw ! Nonsense !" replied the other
half angrily, and then he resumed. in his
former drawling tone, "Old Corbett $
dead, l hear, and left Ruth all his prop
erty. Must be worth tidy little sum |?