Worcester morning daily spy. (Worcester, Mass.) 1888-1898, 1898-01-23

rub-educate my mind. Well, | set to
work with a will, and if l often grew
discouraged ] never gave up; in fact I'm
at it yet. though it's over 20 years since
l started.
In the course of a few years my
chance came and | got a small position
in New York, and with time and pa
tience at last got firmly established in
business, and then one evening l hunt
ed my quondam college friend up in the
directory and went and called on him.
When the servant left me in the huge
reception room, while he informed his
master, the sight Of my surroundings
called up a sense of my temerity, my
old lack Of confidence swept over me,
and / was just making for the door to
bolt, when l was stayed by the entrance
of my friend himself, and his hearty
greeting for the moment drove out all
other thoughts l was kept to dinner
and met his wife, charming lady
who did her best to make me feel at
home, with very doubtful success.
Sitting before the fire that night with
my pipe, l firmly resolved that would
see no more of my new friends; felt too
much out of my class. 1 should have
stuck to my resolve, but Hart himself
would not have it; for some. occult rea-
son that l never fathomed he insisted on
taking me up and in a patr0niZing man
ner making me his rlend.
l had too great an admiration for him
to feel anything but pride in his friend
ship. To me he was bright particular
star and in his careless manner he soon
regained the, old ascendancy over me.
1t became a custom for me to dine
with him regularly once or twice week.
and on my second visit he asked me
II l could box. l told him that ! did not
even know what the gloves were like,
oh said he, come along into the
library and I'll soon put you onto the
game"
Well, the result was that could hard
ly eat for the next couple of days. my
Jaws We're so sore. This boxing lesson
was continued on each night that I
dined at the house.
l don't believe Tn coward but the
everlasting pounding always used to
get after dinner fairly took the heart
out OF me, and 1 used to dread going
near the house; but as Hart seemed to
enjoy the fun" so much tried to pre-
tend ! liked it, but the dread of those
social evenings-my only ones-clouded
Al the rest of the week. The worst Of
it was the more l got licked the less able
| seemed to defend myself, and the
whole thing weighed on me like a night
mare.
About this time an old man came from
up home on visit to New York and,
having known me from childhood came
to see how l was comm along"
Ben Martin was the oldest man | had
ever known, and used to think that he
knew the least. His language and man.
rers were provincial, to say the least;
he ate with his fingers and said exactly
what he thought, and greater sins hath
no man than these. Otherwise he was
the cleanest, whitest man l ever knew,
albeit he possessed the reputation of
being a trifie crazy. One thing is certain,
that he had some strange power, prob
ably born of his clean, sweet life. that
in these days of hypnotism and mental
science would have been more rightly
classified. At that time, as l say, he
was simply Slightly crazy
A month before would have been an
noyed at having to entertain what
chose TO term such an uncouth old man,
but now I was really glad to gee him,
he would afford me an excellent excuse