The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1901-06-15
NEAR sIGHTED HERO.

/ DEFECTIVE VISION GAINED FoR
HIM a REPUTATION.
A Lawyer in an Ohio City Walks TO
ward Presented Revolver in the
Hands OF An Infuriatest ana Thre ten-
ing Enemy. 5sss
The average short sighted man,
said the individual with glasses, secs
nothing distinctly more than a foot
away. The faces of people across the
street are mere pink blotches and
their figures are destitute OF detail .SOf
course, through properly fitted glasses
nearsighted man can see as well as
| anybody, but some folks will not wear
them. Oddly enough, know Of a. case
in which failure to wear glasses aetu-
ally saved mans life and laid the
foundation Of a fortune. The hero of
the episode was a lawyer in city in
Ohio, where spent my boyhood. He
was straight as an arrow, and a de-
cidedly handsome, soldierly looking
| parsonage. These good looks Of his
| were his weak point, and although he
was extremely near-sighted he was
vain enough to deny himself glasses,
and kept the fact of his inflrmity SCI
scret. The consequence of this folly.
was a wide reputation for haughtiness,
| as he rarely recognized anybody on the
street, and it undoubtedly damaged
him in, his practice. At any rate, he
had never made anything more than
very modest living when the curious
incident have in mind occurred: The
city government had been for a long
| time under ring rule, and it finally
became SO bad that the decent people
revolted and organized reform move
ment. The good-looking laWyer-call
him Col Jones for convenience-was
one of the refOrmers, and, among 9TH
er things, he made himself active in
/ securing indictments against. a number
OF gambling house keepers. The boss
ringster of the place was a typical bull
! ly and ward politician named Hard
| ing, who was financially interested in
several of the games and naturally was
| furious at any interference. He was
a giant physically, he would fight at
the drop of a hat, and the personal
fear he inspired was really the secret
Of his influence After the gambling
indictments were found he proceeded
to use his pull to have them pigeon
I h11 loo ,ipo who
on, Col. Jones was rash enough to
write a newspaper card in which he
scored the authorities for allowing
such a rufian to defeat the ends of
| justice. The colonel looked like SOL
| dier, but he was really a very bland
and peaceable man, and he never
| dreamed that his little effusion would
get him into personal difficulty. On
the morning the card appeared he was
walking calmly to his Office when
| Harding rushed out Of a barroom
across the street, called him by name,
and at the same time levelled a six
shooter at his head. At that distance
all coons looked alike to the near
sighted lawyer, and, turning in the
direction Of the voice, he made out
! the vague figure of man, with out
/ stretched arm, apparently reckoning
| GO him to come over. "A little surprised,
but still perfectly placid, he started
across the street. Harding glared at
| him in amazement, and once or twice
was on the point Of pulling the trig
ger; but the spectacle of that serene
and dignifed figure, calmly advancing
straight on the muzzle of the gun, was
too much for his nerves, and before the
| colonel traversed half the distance he
dropped the weapon and ignominious-
/ " fed. Needless to say the episode
made tremendous sensation, and
Jones, who had sense enough to hold
his tongue, was the popular hero Of the
hour Harding, on the contrary, was
ruined, for his prestige had disap-
peared like a fash of lightning, and,
unable to stand the disgrace of the af-
/ fair, he quietly sold out his belongings
and left the city. That broke the back
of the ring, the reformers went into
/ control and the colonel was elected
mayor by tremendous majority. He
served two terms, built up one Of the
! biggest law practices in that part of
!: the state and died worth nearly quar-
/ ter Of a million dollars. He was a
| distant relative of mine, and in the
1 family circle, where his near-sig GIFTED
ness was well known, he owned up to
the facts as a good joke. He said he
had a vague idea when he started
across the street that Harding was a
! former client who had promised to pay
him fee that morning. J" - Utica Globe
Bermuda's Revenue from Lily Bulbs.
The Bermuda lily was introduced
into this country in 1875 Two plants
in bud and bloom were brought to
I Philadelphia by lady and given to
.she florist This florist, approaching
their beauty and value, cultivated the
plants for the bulbs. Since that time
The exporting Of the lily bulbs has been
i one Of the Industries OF Bermuda.
Very few lilies are exported, as the