The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-12-23

L BROWNIE nOW hou hhy hA@hy Nv
come wealthy. Dodge the Ministry
and settle Down ms n Prosperous
and veracieus stockbroker.
It was In the smoker, and three Of
business ventures. When 1t came the
turn of the fourth. a solemn looking man
with an honest blue eye, he said:
my first business venture would lack
interest after your stories, gentlemen,
but I'll never forget my first days swap
ping. II there's any one in this group
that knows me, he'll vouch for my truth
fulness." No one had ever seen him un-
til no had entered the train, so he began
without any credentials.
81 must have been about 16. Father
had often asked me what I intended be-
ing when / grew up, and l always an
swsred that it would be time enough to
decide when l got there. The thing that
decided my future was trivial. Such
things often are. One day We caught a
mouse in the kitchen trap. That wasn't
rema rkable, but the mouse was, for al
though he was an ordinary house mouse
he was pure white.
81 begged my mother TO let me have
him. and made him n little harness out
of leathsr-I was always handy that way
and then ! hitched him to little toy
cart and tied a string around his neck
and took him out in the street to show to
the boys. They all wanted him and Of
fered me all sorts OF things for him
tops, knives, marbles. l wouldn't swap
until a boy in tho next block offered a
pretty Maltese cat that could walk on
s,l los,, ito nandta mud fhQn
said I'd swap. The exchange was made
at once.
81 took the cat into the house and
made him a little uniform. and In q few
minutes l was out on the street ready TO
swap again. This time l caught the
fancy of a boy who had black and tan
dog that could play dead. He soon had
my cat and had the dog and was back
in the house fixing him up in regimentals
which faxed out of a discarded dolls
dress of my sisters. Then, as my swap
ping instinct was fully aroused, l went
to the house Of friend OF mine who had
large collie dog.
His dog was sick, which suited me
down to the ground, for l made him be-
lieve that n dog who could play dead was
much better than a dog who was really
sick As soon MS we'd snapped l took
the big dog around to dog fancier, n
friend of mine. and asked him IL he could
cure the collie, and he gave him simple
remedy that worked like u charm, SO
that in few minutes the handsome beast
was full of life. He was beauty and
looked to be worth twice as much as he
did when ! got him.
II had a friend few blocks away that
wanted to buy a collie, and | knew that
he had a pony. or course l expected to
have to give him something TO boot, but
as luck would have it his pony had gone
lame, and he was afraid he'd never get
any better. Well, l took advantage of it
and talked dog to such an extent that in
a few minutes ! was leading his pony
toward my home. and he was gloatins
over his new dog"
Here the solemn man looked out of the
car window and ruminated until one Of
the group coughed. This brought him
out of his brown study, and he went on:
ION my way home l came on q man
who had just been thrown by his horse,
and he WAS in a nasty temper about 1t;
said the beast ought to be shot, he'd sell
him for a song, and all that sort of talk.
Well. he was an easy mark, and l didn'
have TO talk pony long. Inside OF five
ut uppCiiNh tic
corner with my pony, and l was riding
his horse home. | felt pretty good. 1t
isn't every youngster who can advance
from a worthless mouse to a handsome
horse in less than an hour.
"But l wasn't through yet. / took the
horse around TO my friend, the dog fan
cier, to find out what sort of an animal
he was, and he no sooner saw him than
he wanted him for a saddle horse. He
was so eager that / knew the beast must
be worth a good deal, and l told him l
wouldn't swap even, but IL he'd let me
have his driving horse and his Concord
wagon to boot I'd go him.
"Well, sirs, II didn't take me many
minutes to get into his wagon and start
for home with his horse. while he put my
horse in his stable and gave him four
quarts. l was as pleased as Punch. l
knew my father would like the way l
had traded, and l communicated my good
spirits TO the horse, who trotted along in
fine style-srch very fine style that when
l met Jonas Brown, a friend of my ia
Their, who was out driving his span Of
chestnuts, he refined up and wanted to
know where I'd got such fine horse. l
grinped and drove OF"
didn't you swspr asked some one.
any friend, IL were to say did Ia
be lying, and don't want to spoil good
story with faint of mendacity. | didn't
swap one horse and buggy for span and
a carryall by n long shot. | drove home,
and when my father heard what I'D done
he wanted me to study for the ministry
| for the good of society. But l became a
stockbroker nstead."-Charlcs Battell
Loomis in Philadelphia Saturday Even
ing Post.