The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1900-06-09

member OF the city central cOmm1ttee
from this ward, and the others are Of
fcers of the ward club. They came
over to congratulate me on my can
didacy for the Senate. / couldn't do
less than thank them could r? They
have arranged mass meeting for this
evening to endorse me, and l sup
pose I'll have to go over and make
them little speech.
II thought you wouldn't have to
turn over your hand p
well, you know candidate is
bound to get the endorsement OF his
home ward. Once that I get that
fixed up, you see there'll be no more
trouble"
An hour later Pitzmacher drove up
in an old hack and the Hon. Thomas
Brown descended to welcome him.
His wife gave him fair warning.
'If you go riding around on the
streets with that man, Tom Brown, !"
she called after him down the stairs,
"I'll never be seen on the street with
you again. What do you suppose
the neighbors will say?"
In the gray hours of the early
morning the hack again drew up be-
fore the house, and Mr.. Brown en-
tered his once quiet and happy dwell
ing. As the door closed a crowd of
men and boys, who had followed the
hack from the meeting place, cheered
loudly.
1t was nine O'Clock before Mr..
Brown appeared for breakfast. His
wife received him with a plying
smile in which tears and anger were
equally mingled. She laid before
him a copy of the local paper and
pointed in silence to the headlines
over an article on the first page.
"Tom Brown Out for Senator" it
read. Ridiculous Ambition of
Broken Down Pettifogger." Hints
of Sensational Exposures to be Made
About Him.
"There," Z" said Mrs. Brown, moth
ing to make any change in our home
life, Ell? Elected without an effort
on your part? Duty to your State?
What do you say to that?"
Mr.. Brown lost what little appetite
he had. Then he read the article
through with anxious care. Then he
swore. The children looked up in
surprise.
"The doorbell began ringing before
seven O'Clock this morning." went on
Mrs. Brown. "There was process
sion of all sorts of men neither you
nor had ever heard of. They all
wanted to see Senator Brown. /
want you to sue that newspaper for
libel"
"My DEAR" said the Hon. Thomas
Brown, with a weak and pleading
smile, "you mustn't let that bother
press. Before I forget it there was
one little thing I wanted to speak to
you about. You buy your groceries
of Hilton, doyou not? Well, change
off to Hicks, on the opposite corner,
as he is president of the Brown Club. /"
"Mr. Brown persisted his wife,
twill you sue that paper for libel?"
Why, certainly not was the an
swer, "but that publication makes it
necessary for me to stay. If I back
ed out now the newspapers would say
that I withdrew under fire. Then 1
should be a coward. Of course 1
wish for your sake, since you feel SO
bad about it, that I had never be-
gun"
"Well, they can't say your son is
coward, anyway. He started for
school about eight O'Clock this morn
ing, just as he had done for the last
three years. He wore pretty little
white waist and red stockings, and I
thought he never looked so sweet.
Half an hour later he came back. I
wish you could have seen the child.
He had fought with three big boys,
because they said his father was
broken-down pettifogger. I've got
him in the bedroom now, with witch
hazel on his eye" "
Don't you think, Nellie" said
Mr.. Brown, as he got up from the ta-
BILE, 'that you could strain a point
and buy your groceries from Hicks ?"
GIVE fixed things so that won't be
necessary, I think. 1 saw enough
last night to convince me that you
could never stand the strain of a cam
gaign like this. When you came in
this morning, was sure that was
right, and even if you could the rest
of lis couldn't. So when the callers
began to ring the bell at half-past six
l told them all that Mr.. Brown ply
sician had forbidden him to accept a
nomination. !"
"You did?'
Eyes, and then, a little later, the
reporters for the afternoon newspa-
pers called to interview you, told
them all that you had refused to be
candidate; that the state of your
health was precarious, and that you
were out of politics for good. So
now you see, after all, it won't be
necessary for me to buy my butter
from Hicks
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