The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1895-03-16

if he didn't take away the prizes from
the rich fellers and all the rest, and
come out head of his class. Then he
got into the medical school, and pooty
soon he could scoop out an eye and
saw off leg as slick as any on 'em.
Soon as he was through he hung his
name down to Bar Harbor, and he
told me t'other day his practice was
as good as four thousand year.
sS'pose you save some of it, too, don't
you, 'Lish?' l SEE to him, and SEE he,
well, father SEE he, Il manage to
salt away morn half of it every year, |
guess. tell you," Uncle Nat added
proudly, "my 'Lish is a big man.
He'll succeed, he will. Why, he sent
me paper, t'other day, that had a
piece in it as long as that-all about
him and what he's a dom of. I'm
proud of him, l am"
| had heard before of DIR. Elisha
Pevey, and was proud of him too, in
way, even though he has the con-
ventional professional man and no
longer unique Harborite; SO said:
Sand so am l proud of him, too, for
your sake, Uncle Nat. Of course he's
an exception to my general statement
and exceptions, you know we are
told, only prove the rule. Your Doc
tor 'Lish had sand-and that is
bound to tell"
Uncle Nat went on apparently I'M
needing my interruption: "Then
there's my other boy, Link" he said,
Link, he'd jest the same show and
jest the same trainin' as 'Lish. But
he didn't want to break away. He
jest stayed round home! land what
does he amount to? Nothin'; jest
nothin' at all. Drunk half the time,
and the other half earnin' money
enough here or up to the mills to git
drunk on. Big, strappin' Teller, he is,
good-natured as kitten; but he can't
keep dollar, and he hain't got
cents with of ambition. Now, how
do you account for it,"
"Sand again, Uncle Nat" said.
zone boy had it, and the other had
not"
swell, faint, nuther, and faint
born in EN-" said Uncle Nat. "They
didn't git no shiftlessness from me
nor their mother nuther-no more'n
they could get genius" he added
honestly. "And yet it does seem as
if it must "a been in one on EN- to be
good for somethin' and t'other one
not. l tell you l b'leve in phrenology.
Had one of them phrenology fellows
examine them boys heads when they
was little shavers. This one,' he SEE
of 'Lish, he's got the maxim of a
genius in him, and he'll work it out,
too Tother one, he SEE of Link, SEE
he, he's got it all the same, but he
won't stick to it, and he's got hank
erin for things that'll grow into bad
taste if it hain't put stop to-" But,
Lord bless you! l couldn't put stop
to Links hankerin' for drink no
more'n nothin';" and there could be
no stronger assertion for Uncle Nat
than this.
swell, it's hard thing to unravel,
Uncle Nat" said. 81 suppose it all
hinges upon one boy having more de-
cision of character than the other"
"There you are; you've struck it"
and Uncle Nat held me at arms
length. cts jest like that there
thing you must have read about,
hain't you? Pizarro he drawed line
in the sand with his sword and right
about faced to the south. 'On this
side he SEE, SEE he, lays Peru with
its riches; on that side lays Panama
and it's poverty. Choose, each one of
We, what best becomes a brave Cas-
tilliyun. Ez fur as I'm consumed, |
go to the south. Who on you de-
cides for me and richest So saying,
he steps over the line; and the en-
thusiasm of his words so fired up the
others that thirteen on 'em stepped
across the line, intimatin their will
in'ness to follow the fortunes of the
leader for good or for evil. That's
the way it is every time. It's decision
of character that does it, tell ye,
and that's what makes my 'Lish a
genius and my Link good fer
nothin'."
I was quite carried away by Uncle
Mats unexpected burst of eloquence;
for although l knew his reputation
as an exhorter at the prayer meetings
in the gaunt and bare "meetin's-
house" Up Along, and was somewhat
inclined to discount his fervid utter
ances ON such semi-inspired occasions
l was surprised and moved by his
adaptation of Prescott's historic pic