Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1893-04-06


Late one Saturday afternoon in Ger
tain December sat by good sea coal
fire in my Office, trying to muster cour-
age enough for an encounter with the
cold winds and driving storm outside.
Half ashamed to confess my cowardice
to myself, had done every unnecessary
thing could think of to kill time, till
at last was reduced to the necessity of
counting over the contents Of my purse.
This, however, was but brief resource.
"a short horse" as the proverb has it,
ais soon curried." The only coin worth
lingering on was bright, new half
eagle given me that morning by some
chance customer as my recompense for
''doing deed"
Limited as my practice and my fees
had always been, half eagles were not
entirely a novelty to me, and yet from
the prolonged attention with which in
my procrastinsting frame of mind re-
garded it, locker in might have sup
posed was studying some rare antique
instead of very ordinary specimen of
Uncle Sans daily spending money. l
examined it chronologically with refer
ence to the date, and geographically in
respect to the mark Of the mint whence
it issued.
compared the eagle on the one side
with my remembrance of such ornitho-
logical specimens as had seen in trav-
cling museums, and of the efigy-then
solemnly believed to be of solid gold
which in my boyish days kept watch and
ward over Tommy Townsend's coffee
house. ! scrutinized the head of Lib
erty with the eye of physiognomist,
and in attempting with sharp pointed
penknife to give the hybrid profile a
more feminine mouth / accomplished
sundry scratches, which might very
well have passed for mustache, besides
cutting my fingers and breaking at once
the knife blade and the third command
ment.
A knock at the door checked the half
uttered malediction, and was only re-
peated when l cried, "Come inp' Had
spiritual rappings been invented then
might have thought that satan, his
patience exhausted by this new develop
ment of wickedness, was about to fore
close the mortgage he is popularity sup
posed to hold on every member of oul
profession. AS it was, only rose ant
opened the door. The ruddy firelight
streamed out into the dark entry ant
fell upon o slight figure that seemed
almost the embodiment of its coldnes
and gloom. The figure, however, wa
too familiar to me to inspire any super
natural fears, being that of youns
woman who earned scant livelihood
by copying for lawyers. Why need
describe herr
An employment requiring easy pen
manship and some acquaintance wit
commas and periods, if not with tn
more essential parts of composition
falls almost as q matter Of course t
those who at some period have ha
greater advantages-to those who, i
that common but more touching phrase
shave known better days" The resul
is easily guessed. It might be told /
many tale of patient suffering an
labor; of bright eyes dimmed with lat
watching; of red cheeks blanched to th
hue of the paper before them; of youn
hopes withered and shrunk till they al
as ifeless and void of meanlQg to tl
weary heart as the dry legal phrases
the copy to the tired hand that tral
scribes themi
And while I had been lingering i'd
by my fire, dreading to face the storm
this scantily clad girl had walked a
the way from her distant garrett 81
did not tell me that she was weary an
chilled to the very heart, but read it
her pinched face, in the frozen sle
which covered her dress of faded mour
ing and in the eagerness with whit
she drew toward the fire, as starvil
man would approach food. Iii protects
as she was from the storm, she had ma
aged to cover the papers she broug
from its drenching with q care whi
told more strongly than any words t
importance to her of the trifing su
she was to receive for the copying.
This was the first time / had ever el
ployed her Fact did not often ID
it necessary to obtain such extraneo
aid in getting through my business, a
the present occasion was due less to t
pressure of my own occupations than
the whims of one of my best ellen
who had declared that he would see l
in still worse place than Wall str'
before he would spend time in deciph
ing my legal chirography, or the scho
boy pothooks and hangers of my OF
and very juvenile Clerk.
I took the packlse and ran my
over its contents. they were written
neat, plain hand, just stiff enough
show that the consciousness of copyi
for lawyer had marred the write
ease. AS copies they were scrupulou
correct and finished even to the. nu
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