The Van Buren press., 1893-05-27


the frst house you come to, right on the
edge of the village. No, itain't much OF
house; more of shanty, as you say, but
it's mighty sight biggern any rent l
ever get fur it. Good-by, stranger.
TEN YEARS LATER
Hiram holds forth to crowd OF
listeners on the veranda of the village
tavern. -
sKnow Mr.. Bolton? Well, should
rather say did. can remember the
| time when jeremiah Bolton didn't have
| a second shirt, had doubts about the
| first shirt, to his back Jobs turkey
wasn't in it with Jerry-I allus used to
cali him Jerry an he used to call me
Hiram. There warn't no misters be-
tween us them days. Some of you
boys think yourselves smart. but there's
none of you could hold a candle to Jere.
miah Bolton. No, sir Last lection,
when there was talk of running Jerry
| for guvnor, knowed Jerry wouldn't
take no nomination. What did he
care about being guvnor? Why, Jerry
Bolton could buy the hull state ef he
wanted to"
Most of the governors have to do
that said bystander.
swell, Jerry amt that kind of man.
Fact is, they don't build men like Mr..
Bolton nowadays. Why | remember
CLEVER years ago, before Jerry took out
his patent. an he was feelin' kind o.
discouraged, says to him: Never you
mind. Jerry, your times a-comin.
You'll be able to buy out the county
some of these days Why, there wasn't
man in this town believed in Jerry
but me- There was old Deacon Swipes,
him that's dead and gone. He used tc
say to me: Hiram. can't imagine what
the devil you see in that wuthless coot.
Jerry Bolton The deacon used to
swear just little. cause he'd been
lumberman once, and a man has to
swear when he's bringin' down raft,
but he never knew he swore, and no
body liked to tell him, and him dea-
con. Why. the preacher, he used to"
"What did you say to the deacon
about Bolton?"
''Oh. l says to him: Deacon. you're
all right at seein' anything that's right
under your nose, but you're no good at
dealin' with the future A. y =,
"Thc preacher attended to futurity,
suppose
.Jess so, jess so. But the deacon
could never see why took such trouble
with Jerry, but knowed he wasn't no
common kind of man. He had a way
of lookin' past you and of not hearin'
what person was sayin' to him
that
| "Lucky man.
| Exactly. lie was always a-studyin'
and a-studyin' in his mind. We used to
talk about his patent, and, though he
never'd tell what he was figurin'on,
you could tell which way his mind was
turned. Hiram he used to say to me.
| great inventions, like the air brake and
the telegraph and the standard oil COM
pany, they's only thought out once in a
life time. 1t takes big man to invent
them sort of things, and I'm only a
small man. Hiram He was always a
modest man, was Jerry"
That was because he was SO much
in your company"
"Well, anyhow he used to say that
what he wanted to invent would be
some little thing that everybody would
| want to have and couldn't do without
| once they had it, and that wouldn't
cost much, and wouldn't last long, and
yet would pay fifty per cent to the
maker of it. Hiram he used to say to
Sv1't tnu ta6 y a f@S
| what l would like to invent and get a
patent on. He never could have lived,
eff it hadn't been for me. Lived in a
house | owned at that time, and most
| they got to eat come off my farm.
never bothered him about no rent nor
pay, and when he was troubled about it
l used to slap him on the back and say:
You wait till your ship comes in.'"
Didn't he pay the mortgage on your
| farm. Hiram?'
'Well, that's neither here nor there.
That's private matter 'twixt him and
me. Besides. it was like this: l put
that mortgage on, TO get the money for
his patents ThN
'Why. it was in the papers that the
man from New York put up the cash. :"
Now young man, you keep your
shirt on, and don't be too smart.
didn't need to use no money for that,
because brought Jerry the man from
New York. Twas me introduced 'em.
The man from New York made a good
enough thing out of it, and he can
thank me fur it, not that he's ever done
it."
'But Jerry was grateful"
"You bet he was. And he didr't
want to hurt my feelings nuthef. His
wife she came to my wife with the pa
pers that Jerry had bought mp and she
| says to my wife: Hiram was good to us
when we was poor, and so you give him
these ere papers fur a present. Then
Jerry's wife. thinkin' of the hard times,
suppose, she breaks down and cries,
and my wife she keeps her company,
and them two women had good cry
together"
''over yonr goodness, Hiram. sup
pose
| well, that's neither here nor there.
Jerry knows who backed him up when
it was hard sleddin' fur him, and now,
by gum, he's rich enough to buy us all
out and never feel it, and has big
house in New--Y ork. 1 nilus said that's
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