The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1891-10-19
THE BOARD OF TRADE.
What II Said and What 1t Did in
Phenix.

What 1t Said ana what It Did In
Phenix.
Cities have their boards of trades vii
lagos have theirs. The former meet under
cover, the latter under the sky, way down
under, seated on the store steps or stand
ing around the sidewalk.
Recently double quartet OF the mem
bers of one of these outside boards dis
cussed the coming storm, seen advertised
against n wide wash of grey sky to the
westward. They spoke of the crops-said
there were no good ones this year: onions
down TO 80 cents for finest, less for COM
parative degrees; apples thick as tar,
pears couldn't be given away tomatoes
sold by the bulk, all you wanted for cen
amost nothing.
One old man, with face in sepia shades,
looked up. There comes George" he
said "bet he'll stoop down before he gets
furder than the corner"
They all looked. George sculled along,
and, true to prophecy, stopped down, pick
ing up some invisible thing off the
pathway.
"Told you so; George won't never let a
pin lie if he sees one with the head twoards
him, or pick. pin up IL the point is
twoards him."
George came into the board room and
took place with the members. When
asked if he never did pick up pin which
pointed towards him, he said Yes, L did
awhile, Jest to prove | wasn't supersti-
tious, but every time l did suthin' bad
happened" &C.,
"Well, once | was going home from
work and | saw a bright pin shining
and hated to waste il and 1 picked her
up and when | got home | found one OF
the young uns had fell over the clothes
line in the morning and broke its wrist.
"Well," said a practical member, didn't
l...f.. irlr rnh ha
pin ~
"What difference does that make ?" said
George. scornfully. "Then another time
we had some of my wife's folks visiting
us, and at last they made up. their minds
60 20 home and they was too late TO catch
the train, and Saturday afternoon at that J,
he added, pathetically. :" bought n ticket
In rattle and / picked up pin pint
towards me, and the man next house to
me drawed the turkey jest the same,"
continued George, as he picked up
straw and slowly found it stall between
his long teeth. 81 have had good luck
when have been careful not to let a pin
lay when the head was pointed toward me,
/ was worried most TO death about little
piece of business 1 had to home, and one
night 1 was hurrying to get there, and
pinting jest as straight at me with the
head first was a bright pin, and by Guy |!
that night the baby was born, and it
wasn't u twin! "
"If you'd let that pin lay and not picked
IL up, do you think IL would be twins"
said doubling ThomasS
"Well, / alters kind of thought so J"
answered the believer. "Then a retro
spectiye smile changed the outline of his
face he bit the end of the straw quickly,
tossed IL away, changed position and
tipped back his straw hat, which no chime
had recalled There was once" he
said, looking down on the ground, "a
time when the rule didn't work. / was
all dressed up in a new suit bought the
night before in the city, and was going
to meeting i'm the evening. The light
from a house struck on the sidewalk and
saw n shiny pin, head towards me. |
stopped quick, and picked il up, and
pinned IL under the edge of my vest. l
thought felt suthin' kind of give when
stopped, but forgot it. got 10 meeting,
and the sexton that seats folks met me
and he was kind of lame, one short leg and
one long one. To me he says, walk
this way, SIR" and he began hip hop
ping up the aisle. j couldn't hardly keep
from walking that way too, just as he told
me TO, as went up the aisle. | thought
suthin was the matter, folks looked so
queer; then felt all give out kind of, and
was give out, you can gamble For when
| stopped, busted the stitches TO them
pants and they went at n 20 gait without
persuading let folks go out ahead that
night" The electric bell on the fire sta
toned doomed twelve, and the meeting
dissolved. II was dinner time.