The Dickinson press., 1901-08-17
MM l[l4I.l[ ] 3, [llAl HERO.
AN ACT TstArSeRouaHT A5lAMyER
EAME AND FORTUNE.


- Looked Like m Exhibition Of
Pure Nerve and DaEinE, mi In
Reality Il Was Simply Al Outcome
o. HIS Nearsishtedness.
"a person who enjoys good eye
sight" said q man who most decidedly
does moi, would be greatly astonished
to know how little Is seen by those who
are nearsighted even in q moderate de-
gree. The average shortsighted man,
Of whom there are hundreds in every
large city, nees nothing distinctly more
than a foot away from his nose. Be-
yond that distance the outline Of OBJ
jects becomes hazy and im1istinct,
growing rapidly NOR and more 80 I'M
til everything is finally merged into
one general blur. The faces ofipeople
across the street are mere ,pinklblotch-
es, their figures are destitutet OF de-
tail, signs are indecipherable 80 feet
away, and the whole movementof traf-
&c and passing show of the thorough
fare is misty panorama, In which
nothing much smaller than ascab 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 q disfigure-
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 IN, to say nothing of be-
ing IN open invitation to accident.
Yet, oddly enough, I know Of a case in
which 1t actually saved a mans life
and laid the foundation Of aI fortune.
1.-THE hero Of the episode was a law
yer in a city in Ohio wherelI spent my
boyhood. He was beyond middle age
at the time, but was straight as an ar
row and a decidedly handsome, soldier
ly 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 a secret. The consequence Of
this folly was a wide reputation for
haughtiness, as he rarely recognized
anybody on the street, and it undoubt-
edly damaged him in his practice. At
any rate, he had never made anything
more than a very modest living when
the curious incident I have in mind &C.
CURED.
1.-THE city government had been for q
long time under ring rule" continued
the story teller, land it finally became
SO bad that the decent people revolted
and organized q reform movement. The
good looking lawyer-can him Colonel
Jones for convenience-was n Of the
reformers, and, among other things, he
made himself active in securing in
dictments against a number Of gam
bling house keepers.
'eThe 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 q giant physically, he would fight
ut the drop Of q 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 newspaper card in which he
scored the authorities for allowing such
arufian to defeat the ends Of justice.
'aThe colonel looked like a soldier, but
he was really avery 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.
edout OF a bar across the street, called
him BY name and at the same time lev
eled a 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 ofsa man with outstretch-
ed arm apparently reckoning him to
come over.
"a little surprised, but still perfectly
placid, he started to cross the street.
Harding glared at him in amazement
and once OF twice was on the point Of
pulling the trigger. but the spectacle
of that serene and dignifedf figure
calmly advancing straight Of the muz-
xle Of the gun was too much for his
nerves. and before the colonel trayers.
ed half the distance he dropped the
weapon and ignominiously fled.
Needless to say, the episode made a
tremendous sensation, and Jones, who
had sense enough to hold his tongue,
was the popular hero of the hour.
Harding, on the contrary, vas ruined,
for his prestige had disappeared like q
flash OF lightning, and, unable to stand
the disgrace Of the affair, he quietly
cold 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 tre
mendous majority. BE. served two
terms, built up one Of the biggest Law
practices in that part Of the state ant
died worth nearly q quarter Of q mil
lien dollars.
'In explanation Of my inside knowl
edge. of the cas- I don't mind saying
thatshe was a distant relative Of mine
and in the family circle, where hi
ne~arsightedness was well known, b
owned up to the facts as q good Joke
He said he had a vague idea when b
started across the street that Harding
was q farmer client who had promise,
10 pay him q fee that morning."-Ne1
Orleans mes-Democrat
Unelained Moneys.
Nearly every bank Of old establish
ment has on deposit sums Of unclaime
money. The aggregate Of all thea
sums, II It could be told, would aston
fish the world. These moneys in til
Bank Of England are estimated var
ously, some placing the aggregat
amount at less than $4,000 and SON
at many times that sum. In the Ban
NJ NnOland aa IN all hanks IN til