The age-herald., 1900-03-31
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
 AND ELSEWHERE


 | the Bank of Montgomery and the Mer- chants and Planters national bank of | Montgomery is of considerable importance l to financial and business interests general | ly. No details of the proposed consolidation | have been yet made public nor does there 1 appear to have been any authoritative | statement from the president of either bank. Therefore gossip in this particular Is | speculative. The Bank of Montgomery is | conducted under state laws Il was found-
 ed about fifteen years ago by the late Dr.
 M. P. LeGrand, who was it's president until | the time of his death. He was succeeded | by his son, Milton Paul LeGrand, who has 1 held the presidency five or six years. The | bank has greatly prospered ever since its organization, and has regularly paid good | dividends. It's capital is $10O00O. The Mer- | chants and Planters is one of the oldest 1 and most substantial national banks in the l south and it has enjoyed practically unin- 1 terrupted prosperity. It's stock is said to | command now a higher price than the stock | of any other bank in the state. The presi- l dent of the Merchants and Planters is 1 Robert Goldthwaite, son of the date George Goldthwaite. United States senator for Ala | bama. President Goldthwaite like his son.
 in-law, President LeGrand, is possessed of | an ample private fortune; and the directors l of the two banks under consideration have | large private means Indeed most of them
 are amongst the strongest men financially | in the state The capital of the Merchants | and Plantres' is $15O,OO0 The consolidation | of the two banks would form one of the most powerful financial houses in Ala l bama.
 There was begun yesterday the work of removing the residence of James M. | Weatherfy from the spacious lot at the cor her of Twentieth street and Tenth avenue. | South Highlands, to the lot in the rear and fronting on Tenth avenue. The house. | which is a large two-story frame structure, | will be removed in it's present condition | without damage and will be placed in a most attractive location on the spacious | Tenth avenue lot. This will leave the cor her lot vacant, and on it MT. Weatherly l will proceed forthwith to erect a spacious | and handsome dwelling house to be occll- | pied as his own family residence. The new | house cannot be completed and made ready | for occupancy before next autumn. The | designs are for one of the handsomest | dwelling houses in Birmingham. The build l ing will consist of two stories and base ment, with a large attic. There will be numerous picturesque gables and angles i The material will be novel in Birmingham l The basement will consist of greystone | roughly dressed, and the walls proper VIII l be old English; that is to say, constructed l of cement between heavy beams of timber, l the wood showing through on the outside l I'm E'n nolann a this | cient houses so constructed; and in Switzer- | land chalets of that style are very numer- | ous. Perhaps no other form of architecture l quite so picturesque for dwelling houses has 1 ever been adopted in Europe or America l Abroad such houses are in many instances tile-roofed or thached: but the Weatherly | residence will probably be roofed with slate | In any event. it will be notable addition to | the large number of beautiful residences | in this city, and will adorn a district al ready attractive. In Highland avenue, not l far from the home of the Weatherleys Alex T. London is building a residence that | will be one of the handsomest and most | comnodious dwellings in the city. That l avenue has been exceedingly fortunate in the recent erection of beautiful houses for occupation as homes. The proposed ini-
 
 the avenue northwesterly from Lakeview will add greatly to the attractions of the South Highlands.
 Talking about a quiet time in the great American game Of poker, am reminded of an incident in which a preacher figured" said Captain Cahill, South Carolinian and most engaging story-te..er. Tn Edgefield a lot of us used to sit out in front of the drug store on pleasant afternoons and gos- sip, burn toToacco, chew tobacco, and en- joy ourselves On several afternoons we noticed strikingly handsome man wear ing q broadI5rimmed soft hat drive rapidly | down the main street in a neat buggy, i drawn by fine horse. He would dash up | to the horse-rack, hitch his horse, hurry l into some store, hurry out, jump into his l ouggy and hurry away. The fellows didn't say anything at first, but one day somebody l asked Who the stranger was. I'd back him l high fer Deing gambler, said Jim Roper,
 a one-armed Confederate veteran. Shut up, said John Eraser; he's the new preach l CT at the - church. But I'll ask him
 when he comes up if he ever played cards | No; don't do that urged Roper; you | nusnt insult a preacher No insult, l
 
 | and he's the 3est fellow you ever saw l The preacher walked up to the drug store, l and greeted Fraser cordially. The others l he didn't know; but Eraser introduced the l boys, and all were pleased. 'Parson,' sud- l denly spoke Fraser, did you ever when l you were young man and before you 1 We're religious, hear tell of the little game l called peaer% Tire preacher was a l,tt l startled for a moment, and then he fn- dulged in a broad and kindly smile. sten l p!nS closer, he lad his hand on Fraser's 1 shoulder, and said softly and laughingly. 1 niusa' noney, hu4h your fuss Three days i and nights once, when l was just a frajd to l leave the ta5le!' Everybody laughed and | was in good humor, and after that every
 sinner of them all went regularly to hear | the preachers sermons. Men went to | church who hadn't been in a house of 1 worship in years before. The whole town fell