Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1898-05-07
GAVE HIM A $50 BILL.
The Use to Which Colonel Ludlow Put It
Startled the Donor.

The Use to Which Colonel Ludlow Put It
Startled the Donor.
Lieutenant Colonel Ludlow, who tes-
titled recently as witness for the de-
tense in the Carter court martial, was
formerly in charge of the government
work at Savannah, being the first en-
gineer in charge here after the war.
Among other responsible positions
which Colonel Ludlow has held was
that of chief of the Philadelphia water
department. Along in the eighties the
Philadelphia waterworks got in such
bad shape that the authorities were in
despair. The secretary of war was asked
to assign a member of the engineer
corps to take charge Of the works. He
did SO, and Colonel Ludlow managed
them for two years with great success.
The following incident, narrated in
the Philadelphia Record and republish-
ed in The Morning News some ten years
ago, is said to have been an actual &C.
currence:
'That's a cool fellow" said an up
town manufacturer, pointing across
Chestnut street, where Colonel Ludlow,
the chief of the water department, was
waiting for a car. "Let me tell you
something which happened a few days
ago to a friend of mine, whose large
establishment consumes great deal Of
water and who has frequent favors to
ask of the water department. He re-
Gently visited the chiefs Office and
found Colonel Ludlow, as usual, very
polite My friend, before preferring all
his requests, took $50 bank bill from
his pocket and passed it over to the
chief, who examined it curiously for a
second and then spread it upon the desk
before him. He did not utter word at
the moment but when his visitor was
about to go away, said:
Now, my dear sir, what is this
for?' holding up the bill.
ooh, that's to buy cigars for the
boys, was the careless reply.
Eyes, said Colonel Ludlow. Then
suppose that you are fond of the weed
yourself?
"My friend said that he enjoyed
nothing better than good cigar.
GO 'Then allow me, said the colonel
suavely, to insist upon you trying one
of these, moving to secretary and
taking down box of Henry Clay spe-
Gals.
Each gentleman took cigar and bit
off the end. Then wit careless ges-
ture Colonel Ludlow rolled up the $50
bill into a paper lighter, reached up to
the gas, allowed it to become thor
oughly ignited and slowly lit his own
cigar. You know that to light your
own weed first is good test of polite
ness. 1t comes from the French, who
very sagely reason that whatever fumes
or gases are generated in lighting will
be absorbed into the fgS cigar. This
done, the colonel turned with an easy
and polite motion, and said: Permit
me, and held the blazing bill under
the nose and up to the cigar OF my
amazed and startled friend, whose eyes
had now become almost as big as dinner
plates. With two or three gasping in.
halations be managed to get light. He
kept his eyes upon the bill until it had
burned to the very fingers which held
it. Colonel Ludlow watched its last ex-
piring spark as he idly allowed the
smoke of his cigar to escape from be-
tween his lips. When the bank note had
been completely reduced to ashes, the
colonel turned to his visitor and said
carelessly, How do you like your CT
gar? The gentleman admitted its ex-
cellence and took his departure, attend
ed to the door by the chief, who, with
the utmost courtesy, shook him by the
baud and then closed the door to re-
sumo his work at his desk. My friend
gets purple in the face every time he
thinks of the affair, and confded it to
me simply to warn me how to behave
myself at the water department. -
Savannah News.