Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-11-10
Importing anAnCeStOr
By DAN DE QUILLB.

~ IAN LII SOAhh1'
Copyright, lsa,s by American Press Associa-
toni
PROEMIAL.
Congratulate me, old man, am now
b Mayfower of the Mayfowers!" cried
my friend Sam johnson.
"A Mayhower?" queried /.
Yes, a Mayhower Not in person. of
course, but by marriage. 1t shall now
be my care TO perpetuate on the soil of
America the line of the noble house of
Johnson. At last am in the swim
and blue is the hue of my blood!'
What! Married. Have you deserted
our noble band of bachelors"
Yes, and am now of the noble band
Of benedicts."
In what bright spot in the Golden
State did you find your Mayfower
blooming
Why. my dear fellow. I've not been
in California at all. I've been east.
Bless you. old man, since leaving the
Comstock I've crossed the 'bripy'-have
been over to the land of our fathers"
You don't mean to say that you've
brought bride from over the sea, when
we have in our own America the best
and most blooming beauties the world
can boast:''
No. no. my dear boy! No, my bride
is not from over the sea, but to win her
cost me trip to the land of my ances-
tors-to old England, where peacefully
slumbering in rural churchvards lie
whole acres of Johnsons."
why, Sam, you don't mean to tell
me that you've been over to England
since l last saw your
Yes, old man, that is Just where l
have been, and to few other places be
sides. Why, by Jove, "a man may cir
cumnavigate the globe, and when he re-
appears ON the Comstock he is supposed
to have merely been over the Sierras to
California on little flyer! I've knocked
about pretty lively since 1 left Virginia
City year ago"
A year ago."
YES, Il year ago. Nou have hardly
missed me, but l really left here a year
ago. When You think fellow is over
in California. It never counts with YOU
in this town; it is the same as if he were
here at home. In the time I've been
away l might have put about four CIR
dies round the earth.
The particular Sam johnson who
thus spoke was Young man about %
years of age, who had for three or four
years been engaged in running a big
hosting engine at one of the leading sill
YER mines in Virginia City. He also
specialized little in mining shares and
otherwise enjoyed himself after the
Comstock fashion. He was always
happy go-lucky young fellow and bought
and sold minimize Srn,sG-S in, Sr1-h
ingly otfhand. reckless way that his
friends We're wont to say that the god
deSS of fortune herself took care Of all
his speculations. The fact was, how
ever. that every move Sam made in
stocks was we'll considered.
was delighted to meet the jolly young
fellow, and having met we at once pro-
ceeded to our old quiet retreat TO CON
verse at ease and pass upon the merits of
the newest brand of beer put forth as a
candidate for public favor.
Yes, continued Sam. when we had
anchored ourselves in our old time safe
harbor, yes. I've been down east. over
to England. down south and all about"
i can understand your trip to the
New England states and can guess that
You went down into Georgia or South
Carolina 10 look at mines, but l cannot
imagine why you should have gone to
England
''Ha, Ia. haH laughed Sam.
What is the joke about your trip to
England: Perhaps you made it merely
in imaginatlon:'
No. l actually went to England and
accomplished my mission there, but
probably no man ever before crossed the
ocean on such an errand. Ha, ha! it
was the funniest piece of business ever
undertaken. But it was success-a
glorious success"
What you are saving is all Greek to
me. Sam
of course. but you'll see the fun of
the whole business when you've heard
my story. Then if you don't say that
the affair is the most elaborate joke of
the century I'll treat to the beer every
day for the next year. To begin with,
the whole and sole object of my mission
to England was to steal and import an
ancestor for the johnson family"
To import an ancestor
Yes. \ at-great-grandfather, and
got him. He is now the pride of Pason-
ageSSit.'
But he is hot alive:
Alive! Pooh, no. Been dead ever
since 1898.