Waterbury Democrat., 1900-12-18

him to remove his rough pilot jacket. Then they took him into the parlor and enthroned him in the easiest chair and Hackbay brought out his best cigars, one of which Uncle Jonas crumpled up in his hands al d stuffed into a black stub of a clay pipe. Shortly after that the Megginses left, Mrs. Meggins being rather squeam- ish and pernicketty kind of woman, but the Sawyerx stayed for nearly an hour. They said that Uncle Jonas made himself pretty much at home, biting off a chew of tobacco from a dark and sinister looking plug after he had finished his pipe and then ex- pectorating on the gas log. Also that he demanded rum, with the eXplana- tion that his "inwards was out O kel-
 ter,' and that under the influence of
 the rum he used the most awful Ian guage you ever heard concerning 1 Hosea and LemucI Hackbay. The in- ference was that the dialect was not
 the whole of the awfulness. The vizier said that he had visited awhile with Hosea. also with Lemuel, since his return a month before, and that he knew what he was talking about.
 Then the Sawyers left.
 1 Haekbay made a sort of apology to | Sawyer when he saw him in town the | aext day. He said that Uncle Jonas
 was of that virile New England type
 that has been so great factor in mak- i !ng our country what 1t is. No mere
 tricious polish about it, but the real
 sterling downright stuff. And think, , myself,'' said Hackbay, that Hosea and
 Lemuel are-well, I don't care to say 1 anything about my own people, but i you will find skates in every family" ! ''Oh, that's all right said Sawyer. l 1It didn't feaze me. Has your uncle
 retired from the diplomatic service?"
 q guess he has, said Hack bay. ''He
 and the nawab had a difference of
 opinion over the imposition of a new
 tax on jezails and chotas harries and
 Uncle Jonas resigned. I think the old
 gentleman has feathered his nest pret-
 ty well, however. He says he's going
 to stay with us for awhile, and I'm ex-
 pecting him in now almost any minute.
 He wants to see mething O.. the town. It turned out afterward that Uncle Jonas had certain ideas about seeing
 something of the town that Hackbay
 said were oriental. He told his wife
 
 with architectural glories in the east,
 for the public library did not appeal to
 him in the least. Il suppose that after
 the Tai Mahal and that sort of thing it did look little dingy and plain
 to him." Hackbay continued, but I
 am no wholesale mercantile house en-
 tertainer, and I'm hanged if the old
 sinner won't have to excuse me-"
 H. 1,-
 himself and was broaSSlt home in an
 appalling condition by the hackman. A
 day or two later Uncle Jonas chest ar
 rived. It was a brass-bound, flat af-
 fair, not very large, and the Hack
 bays guessed that it contained jewels.
 They were the more inclined to this
 opinion from the fact that the ex
 statesman seemed short of ready money
 and borrowed freely from his nephew. Hackbay was on his part perfectly will ing to lend.
 The people who went up to the house said that ~Hackbay seemed worried. The old man appeared to have settled himself in the house permanently and passed his evenings drinking his eter- l nal rum. smoking his foul pipe and abusing his relatives. Strange to say,
 Hackbay seemed to agree with him , perfectly in his estimate of the charac- i: ter of his once loved connections. Once in the presence of Megginsahe laughed , at some sighting remarks about New Bedford. But there was no doubt that he did look worried. It came to an end with letter Hack bay received one morning from Cousin
 Hosea.
 ? "I hear that Uncle Jonas is with !, you,' said the letter. q hope you are , enjoying him. He is a sweet-scented ? old fraud if ever there was one. Do ? you know that rum-soaked reproba te g has never been anything else than fore : mast hand and mate of a coffee schoon- l CT between Singapore and Madras? Hi t Stullely-you remember Hi-told me g all about him. He sailed with him one
 voyage. I fired him before I found ] that out and he went over to Lemuel Lem thought that Uncle Jonas had a j. trunk full of diamonds, and I don't > mind owning that l did at first but c wouldn't have him around if he had g and Lem soon got to be of the same d opinion. As a matter of fact, happen . to know that he has got $500 or $4OC banked away. I don't know where he ?, stole it, but I do know that it won't D keep him in rum a year, and that it's
 every cent he has"
 s That was all there was on the sub D iect, but it's effect was to land Uncle n Jonas and his chest out on the side a walk in front of the Hackbay resi- e dence the next morning. HacEbay saic Q that the vizier had been recalled to his d Indian principaIty, but the people op l. posite saw the scene on the sidewalk d Hackbay does not talk much about @ New Bedford or his relatives now, anG D he is beginning to interest himself il ]: the census returns relating to Chicago is Chicago Daily Record.
 d
 is SCATTFRED FAR AND WIDE.