The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1896-07-04

q lad some notion of writing book
enitled '"The Adventures of Smith,"
and probably would have done so had
not a clever fellow named Hayden
Carruth- put forth upon the world a
humorous work entitled 'The Adyen-
tues of Jones." But Jones and Smith
are two different individuals altogeth~
er. Jones, as pictured by Mr.. Car
ruth, is a liar, whereas Smith would
no more depart from the truth than
would the late George Washington.
Smith is q most remarkable product
and don't in the least understand
how he came to be upon this earth.
His father made a few millions in
timber and Smith is his only son.I had
the old man on my hands for three days
once in London, and a more awful
three days I never spent. I wanted
to be kind to him, but we had no com
mon ground on which we could meet.
I didn't care a hang about pine lumber,
as wasn't building house that year,
and old Smith didn't care a hang about
any thing that I was interested in. I
took him to some Dickens localities,
and showed him Goldsmith's grave in
the Temple, but the 6.11 inai1 Had never
hear of either of them, and didn't want
to. 1t was not until 1 carried him off
| to great lumber yard, where Americ-
an and Norway pine is piled in amaz-
| Ing quantities, that the old man would
| admit that London had anything in it
worth seeing.
| am sometimes amazed to see how
little brains it requires to become rich.
! Smith had come over Oh the TeutOnic,
which was the fastest steamer afoat,
| and it actually took me a whole day
to explain to him that there could not
possibly be awaiting him in London
any letters from America, He had
k t a whole week out Of his busy life;
1 had taken the quickest steamer across
| the Atlantic, and the quickest express
| train to London illr v eek was gone,
why therefore, should there be no let
ters awaiting him? They had prom
ised to write to him, he said, every
| day. I think the old man never quite
understood why the letters were not
here, and he had a strong suspicion
was hoodwinking him in some manner
or other. He had come over, he said
| to look after his only son, who, he in
formed me, had gone entirely wrong land
| refused to return to America to take
charge of certain mills, the overseeing
Of which his father had designed as
the lads future career He had cableC
| to the young man to meet him in Lon
dOn but the young fellow had beer
travelling in some remote part of the
continent, and the word did not reach
him in time. However, when the saw
mill king, thoroughly sick of London
had been in the big city for three days
his son appeared, and greatly to my
| relief, took old man Smith off my
hands.
The second day, when the old maj
seemed to come to a realization tha
didn't want to make anything out Of
him, he became confidential and spoke
feelingly of the shortcomings of his
son. He strongly urged me to NEE
the young man, acquire an influence
over him if possible and use that in
fuence for good; in other words, try
to induce young Smith to return tt
his saWmill. [ had no intention of in
terfering in a matter that did not con
Germ me, and furthermore, I had {
most ardent desire not to meet thu
son, who, if he were anything like his
| father, would undoubtedly prove {
most unmitigated bore. The meeting
| however, was not to be avoided, an(
l was only few minutes in his com
pany when l understood that the saw
mill in the West would have to jis
| along as we'll as it could without hi:
supervision.
Smith, Jr., proved to be dreamy