Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1901-05-16
1T MADE HIM A HERO.
AN ACT THAT BROUGHT A LAWYER
FAME AND FORTUNE.

FAME AND FORTUNE.
1t Looked Like an Exhibition of
Pure Nerve and Daring, but In
Reality 1t Was Simply an Outcome
of His Observation-Disclosures.
"a person who enjoys good eye
sight," said man who most decidedly
does not, would be greatly astonished
to know how little is seen by those who
are nearsighted even in a moderate de-
gree The average shortsighted man,
of whom there are hundreds in every
large city, sees nothing distinctly more
than foot away from his nose. Be
yond that distance the outline of OBJ
jects becomes hazy and indistinct,
growing rapidly more and more so I'M
til everything is finally merged into
one general blur. The faces of people
across the street are mere pink blotch-
es, their figures are destitute of de-
tail, signs are indecipherable 80 feet
away, and the whole movement of traf-
fic and passing show of the thorough
fare is a misty panorama, in which
nothing much smaller than cab can
be definitely distinguished.
"Of course a nearsighted person can
see as well as anybody through prop
erly fitted glasses, but a great many
folks regard them as such a dsigure-
ment that they prefer to do without
their aid. That kind of pride is GER
tainly very foolish because it causes
one to miss at least nine-tenths of
what is going on, to say nothing of be-
ing an open invitation to accident.
Yet, oddly enough, know of case in
which it actually saved mans life
and laid the foundation of fortune.
"The hero of the episode was law
yer in city in Ohio where spent my
boyhood. He was beyond middle age
at the time, but was straight as an ar
row and a decidedly handsome, soldier
" looking parsonage. These good looks
of his were his weak point. and al
though he was extremely nearsighted
he was vain enough to deny himself
glasses and kept the fact of his in
trinity secret The consequence of
this folly was Il wide reputation for
haughtiness. as he rarely recognized
anybody Oh the street, and il undoubt-
eddy damaged him in his practice. AT
any rate, lie had never made anything
more than a very modest living when
the curious incident ] have in mind oc.
cured.
'"The city government had been for a
long time under ring rule" continued
the story teller, land it finally became
so bad that the decent people reyolted
and organized n reform movement. The
good looking lawyer-call him Colonel
| Jones for convenience-was one of the
| reformers, and, among other things, he
| made himself active in securing in
| dictments against number of gam
bling house keepers.
i 1.-THE boss ringster of the place was a
] typical bully and ward politician nam
ed Harding. who was financially inter-
ested in several of the games and nat
urally furious at any interference. He
was giant physically. he would fight
at the drop of n 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
holed. and. learning what was going
| on, Colonel Jones was rash enough to
write a newspaper card in which he
| scored the authorities for allowing such
a rufiian to defeat the ends of justice.
!, "The colonel looked like soldier, but
be was really very bland and peace
able gentleman, and he never dreamed
| that his little effusion would get him
into personal difficulty. On the morn
| ing the card appeared he was walking
calmly to his office when Harding rush
ed out of bar across the street, called
| him by name and at the same time lev
eled six shooter at his head. At that
distance all coons looked alike to the
nearsighted lawyer, and, turning in the
direction of the voice, he made out the
vague figure of man with outstretch-
ed arm apparently beckoning him to
come over.
"a little surprised, but still perfectly
| placid, he started to cross the street
! Harding glared at him in amazement
1 and once or twice was on the point Of
pulling the trigger. but the spectacle
of that serene and dignifed figure
calmly advancing straight on the muz-
Zle of the gun was too much for his
nerves. and before the colonel trayers.
ed half the distance he dropped the
weapon and ANONYMOUSLY fed.
Needless to say, the episode made q
| tremendous sensation, and Jones, who
had sense enough to hold his tongue.
was the popular hero of the hour.
Harding, OH the contrary, was ruined,
| for his prestige had disappeared like a
| fash of lightning, and, unable to stand
| the disgrace of the affair." 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 a ire
mendous majority. He served two
| terms, built up one of the biggest law
practices in that part of the state and
died worth nearly quarter of mil
lion dollars.
I'm explanation of my inside knowi-
/ GuSC vi luz SdSC dOu tDluu say iLS,
that he was q distant relative Of mine,
and in the family circle, where his
nearsightedness 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 farmer client who had promised
to pay him a fee that morning. New
! Orleans Times Democrat
Eoyv to Make Hair Tonic.
Lemon juice enters into one of tue
best hair tonics made and is within
every ones reach. The yoke of an egg
is beaten to a smooth oil, the juice of
a lemon is added, and when well mix
ed a few drops of ammonia. Brush
! the hair thoroughly and apply the mix
ture with the finger tips and let it stay
on the head for half an hour, and then