St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-12-25
FLING WAS FURIOUS
How a Legal Light in His
Great Zeal Came to Un-
timely Grief.
Serio-Comic Incident Which
Includes Also a Very
Large Moral.
Anticipated Litigation Which
Failed to Successfully
Litigate.
a Course of True Law Which
Did Not, Unfortunately,
Run Smooth.
Written for the Globe.

Written for the Globe.
The filings were a poor, INDECENT
family. Irish to the liver, and afflicted
all over generally. A slab pile sup
ported their humble, dirty cot on the
west, while the usually heavy wind kept
the clapboards against the frame of the
1ut on the east; heap of rocks on the
south, and Gods tender consideration
on the north and above, held together a
suggestion of wood and straw which
sheltered the Filings, twelve in number.
In the lap OF Calvary cemetery lay the
rest of them. Kitty, James Burke,
Nancy and Darby.
Filing pere was by force city laborer
the annual dependent of our war
politicians. By choice he would have
been the advocate OF mems rights and
wOman's wrongs. and Of the rising
spirit against the bric&-veneered gall of
local corporations. But, because of his
seedy mentality, physical incO mpatibil-
lty and domestic poverty, supplemented
by personal obscurity that was always
in the way of loud successes, Mr. Fling
had 10 choice in the matter of vocation,
and therefore and tor numerous other
reasons he resigned himself to drudge.
His posterity seemed likely to follow
his example. At least his eldest red
wigged daughter always said so. Like
most females born and reared under the
American suns. she was ambitious far
beyond her station in life.
''lt'S'h the Ould woman Mary'S grown
afther," old Fling would say when
speaking of his eldest, and ''be the
saints and virgins O'm mighty proud av
her, If she do be so Stuck-OOp."
Mr.. Fling was gaunt and lean. about
as high as 1.-TWO cord av wood piled
straight oop," as he himself declared,
while his noisy, but better half, was a
short, wide-eyed, pudgy little body,
good nature and the devil scintillating
from every crack in her pudding-like
face. Taken together, they were per-
feet parity Of happy hand-tO mouth
IRISH parents. their present offspring
consisting of eight live children. incOn-
gruouS in mass, form, color, wit and
promise. MIR. Filings pate was thatched
In autumn red, while on the other head
of the family nature had left a greasy,
sOmber blUtch of squaw texture. as
black as the raven OF Mr.. Poe. or
course, Mrs. Fling had moist blue eyes,
as every true-hearted Irish laSsie should
have: but Fling. whose optical inherit
snce descended from the biblical boiled
mackerel, had grown severe, suspl-
cious expression under shaggy brows.
which, with a severely red nose and his
cOcOanut-hued hirSnte, cast out a mean
Ing at times savage and devouring, at
Others ridlculously Insane. Mary. the
eldest, was charming girl, slow in
lire, slower III dress, and very slow in
her appreciation of old Fling. The nest
OF other Filings were study in black
and blue, scabS and bruises. chilblains,
Group, humps and pip. They all lived
in and upon the mutual beds and hunks.
hopes and provisions, in the only room
of the slab-patched cot which stands in
the alley just east of Blilygoat Plains
on Mississippi street.