The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-01-12

hDOhlNG ONElS THE
trar of deeds refused to record the trans
fer. He said that nobody but q literary
man would he such q wild, unfettered
ass. He is cynical to a degree. He told
me that all 1 needed was q nursing bot
tie connected with the Milky Way to do
real well.
L consulted m attorney regarding the
matter. He also is u local humorist.
He said that buying unbranded COM
cts on the range was hazardous in the
extreme, especially in the winter sea-
son. He wrote ont quite a long opinion
on the case, for which he charged me
an outrageous price, and in which he
stated that n man who would advance
money ON n high spirited comet, relying
on the provisions Of tho Monroe doctrine
for the confirmation and preservation of
title, did not know enough to carry Wis.
cera to n bear.
He told me that it would have shown
more mental acumen if I had exchanged
my North Minneapolis building lots and
Hudson's bay addition to Arctic park
for the Big Dipper and Como into the
shelf and heavy hardware business, but
to put cold cash, or ready John, as ho
phrased it, into n luminous hole in the
sky showed moro possibilities rs an in
tellectual disaster than anything he had
seen during six years experience as civil
service examiner for vacancies in idiot
asylums.
He went so far as to ask mo why I
didn't catch my own comets by putting
salt on their tails. I submitted to al
most every i~ndignity from this man, in
Guiding Il bill for $18. He has been told
by friends that he is humorous, and it
has destroyed his usefulness. His bust
ness suffers, and his clients become Of
Tended and go elsewhere. Among other
things he asked me why 1 did not organ
ize an international Lighting and
Heating company and Pipe the surplus
heat from tho burned district of q future
state.
Tho astronomer told me that nv
comet would come up every night, and
then he rolled up the money I gave him
and went abroad for much needed rest
and change Of scene. He told me that
he would have the astronomical record
changed so that it would hereafter be
referred to as Nye's comet, but no did
not do SO. There has bcen nothing pub
llshed connecting my name with the
affair, and a week after 1 bought it l
mislald 1T ono night and have not seen
it since.
l am told also that these comets have
q way of changing their appearance and
then retiring to their former haunts.
Ihe astronomer to whom l allude and
who chiselcd me out of my means had
q long brass telescope OH Broadway, and
he not only cracked up this comet to the
very top notch, but he assured me on
his honor as Il gentleman that it would
become a parent in the spring. Of
course, he said, 1 ought to reap some
dividend after a long, hard winter with
a comet eating it's head off, but June
would find me away ahead of the game.
Sometimes these comets have twins, he
said, and there you are, maybe with q
whole sky full of heavenly bodies at the
cost of IL only.
L am almost ashamed to tell this now,
for it shows how my faith in my fellow
worm of the dust causes me to DO re-
vlled by practical and cynical business
men III this commercial age.
But this has been Il lesson TO ne.
Some have been coarse and rude to me
when l have tried to sell, while others
have treated me with well bred con-
tempt. One man, who is said to literally
have money to burn, +" refused mycomet
because tho astronomer who sold it to
mo had not secured the acknowledge
ment of his wife. 1 regard that as a
nero t~echnicality, and so informed
him but, no, he would not put his mon
ey i'll n comet. he said, and then in FL
ture years, after I had passed beyond,
find himself confronted by heirs claim
ing q dover interest in his comet be-