Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-02-11
A Little Comedy Of EIrOrs'
BY S. s. MORTON.

SPEAK mus 10 MOI! Ills manner Ii Vlllo
insu fcrablc! We shall have n little
scoro to settle between ourselves some
day, if he is not moro careful"
Hold on, North, where are you go
ing? Here's the post office" said War
ner ut this point, int0rrupting himself
in the midst Of u sentence and North in
his reflections. 'Got your letter there
Better hurry. Mail closes in precisely
ten minutes" he added with q hasty
glance at his watch
There is time enough, my dear War
ner," returned North. negligcntly, a.
he drew the letter from his pocket
Don't you know, never hurry''-ht
glanced critically ut the supCrscriptiOr
| when | can possibly avoid it'-he
turned the letter over and inspected the
scotland, generally speaking, l CON
slider ten minutes ample time for mail
ing letter" He dropped it carelessly
into the box with these last words,
Once more on the street, they halted
by common consent to light Their
cigars
"Anyv here clsc in view this cvcn-
ing?" inquired Warner, briefly, between
vigorous pufTs at his cigar, which OK
hibitcl an cXa"pcruting inclination to
go out, notwithstanding his efforts to
prevent that catastrophe.
mo" returned North as briefly, as he
waved his fragrant Havana with its
pale wreath of smoke and tiny spark OF
fire with an air of slight triumph. and
prOffcrcd the still burning taper. ''llav(
Il light, Warner? Oh. | SEQ you've made
it go at last. Wen, thon, suppose We
| sauntcr back to the Clement house.
Unless You have some other engage
mont"
ooh, not at all! Nothing in the world
to do"
Tho truth is" resumed North, after
n mcditativc puff or two, as they started
| slowly on, I'm not in Tic mood for
anything tonight - club, politics or
| society. Confound business! Attend to
| it faithfully'and it makes a slave ofyou,
neglect it, and it's an avcnging Nemesis,
forever at your heels"
chats So" asscnted Warner. with a
mournful infection, rs if he were reluc-
| family admitting proposition which
he had found to be all too true. '"The
| political field pays better; for, what if
they 60 pitch into you, the opposition
| press, mean, you draw your ducats
regularly so long as you're in Office, and
the less you do to deserve it, the better
| your chances c,of being appreciated by
| the public. Oficc-holtling is Il soft bust
ness, if nan isn't fanatic on duty
and knows how to look out for number
one; and guess we con trust you for
that, North"
''Oh, yes; that has always been a very
important figure with me, and darcsay
| it will continue to be. And why should
it not, pray? A man Is the natural
| guardian of his own interests, and If he
| ncglects them they nrc npt to suffer; no
one else will look out for them. But,
on the other hand, there's an almost
universal impulse to help the man that
helps himself"
provided he doesn't help himself at
the dear public's expense" suggested
Warmer, dryly; bon mot at which
both he and North laughed indulGcntly,
and the latter added:
"But, even then, my dear Warner
you should rccOllcct that there are
usually rogucs enough in authority t.
connivc at his escape, unless they hap
pen to be so deeply concerned i'll his
transactions that their only way t.
save themselves is to sacrifice him anC
mako him the huge scapcgoat of the
| race"
Now you've hit It'll" declared War
nor, turning sharply to North. 'Wilt
horses couldn't drag the admission from
| Clipper, but I've always belirvcd-an,
said it, too. all in the family-th2t thi
| was about the size of that cutlery
| against Damon. Why he should have
been bounded out of office by q set o
rogucs, who had probably been flcccing
the Taxpayers ever since they went int
politics, l don't sec. It's on the princi
plc, suppose, of Furnishing the starv
ing wretch that steals loaf Of breaC
and letting tho shrcwd scoundrcl tina
| swindlcs whole communities go scot
| free! OF course, there's no reasonable
| doubt that Damon was crooked, bu
who imagincs that he was any wOrs
than Brown or Jones, for instance
He was unfortunate enough to &c
found out; they were shrcwd enough
not to. That's the way figure it out
/. Warner spoke with considcrabl
warmth, and as if he wore certain O
NOrth's sympathy.
1t was with blank dismay that Mort
perceived to what definite suspicion
against persons quite unknown to hin
| llS Ntio 6IlppOSSu w llSSNC COiLlhLOOS'
himself by his innoccntiy abstract re
Z mark. He FASTENED to take refuge be
o hind n convenient brcastworlx of col
ton.
''Now see hero, Warner" he sal
, with an air of speaking in the mos
sacred confidence, lit will never do t
= say this, you know, and really, di
not wish you to understand me quito q
you did. don't consider it cxpedicr
to make any definite charges agains
y anyone, whatever my private opinio
may be-"
ooh, of course; no use to bring it IL
now; bat IL VIC get TIalleck in thel
he'll sift the whole business. That
what told Clipper all along, as n
argument for opposing Halleck's nom
nation; but he said: We've got to Civ
them the treasurer, or it will cost L
the other offices, like enough And s
it would, suppose. If we had made
split on ITallcck it would have done til
business for you, for they were dcte
mined to get one of their men in, eithC
for treasurer or attorney, and Clippe
said: so long Us we elect the cit