Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1901-07-30
HIS START IN LIFE.
TWAS AGOOD ONE AND WAS THRUST
ON HIM BY ACCIDENT.

xAe incident Wouldn't Have Hap
lened if n ShOrtsiEhted Real Es-
ate AuctiOneer Had Not Forgotten
i&s Eyeglasses.
~ 1--WE my start in life to the fact
aa.zi an estimable old gentleman forgot
g. gAt his eyeglasses in his pocket n
imeMng," said a prosperous business
GBkas from a sister city. ITS rather q
czrfsas story" he went on. "and I'll
AL il as briefly as possible. A good
xsZsY years ago, when l was a young
..SlSyw of 25 or t~hereabouts, .drifted
shtas Louisville in search of a job that
aHs2y!t materialize, and the upshOt Of it
xzs chat l found myself practically
drzke in a strange city. Up to that
'dxne / had always worked for small
1syEes and had never succeeded in &C.
aazuauIating as much as $50, but l had
lHp abiding faith that if | could onc
xst hold of a modest stake l could
L2rznsh out for myself and make some
.Msney.
.Une morning, when l was wander
lIas1s< about with only two or three silver
iSafzars In my pocket, looking for a
rrlnace to 60 to work at anything that
wight offer, l dropped into a big
Jasxn stairs room where some real
astHte was being sold at auction. A
urge crowd was present, and there
VAS an indescribable feeling Of ten
a.So- t. %I,o ~. %J,n% ,yr,, mn ~,
f6ing unusual was about to happen.
while l was standing there, only
:yaguely Interested, the auctioneer, who
78ls- quite an elderly gentleman. put
afs & piece of improved city property
nls1 after a considerable pause receiv-
yMN,i "a. bid Of 5000. | could see that the
MnalIness of the amount excited sur
prise, and | was also aware of Il COM
2ntian. in one corner where half a
j. H@n. previous bidders were gathered
5t'4a@irr in IN eA .itcd group. They
s~tn1cd to be qua. .cling about some
hing, and meanwhile the auctioneer
T1s Indignantly appealing for a re-
EYatstable offer.
MAKE it $500" he shouted. Does
mry gentleman bid $2,5oO?' He looked
arsstly at me. and | made a gesture Of
,SsaIa1. Thank you! he exclaimed,
y-eGtly to my surprise. 'Tlle gentleman
fyssar there bids 5000, and, if | can
Saetp it, no combination of buyers is GO
my, to be allowed to dictate prices at
taias sale" With that he suddenly
s1s.ked down the property to me.
NO sooner was this DONE" continued
tae story teller, than a great uproar
@1s protests arose from the group in the
f.xxzner. They insisted that they had
4Asz7 given no chance to bid, but the
sssrsioneer stood firm and. calling me
saEi lie platform, requested my name
sud address and a 20 per cent cash de-
position the $1,000.
by that time l realized, of course,
hat some extraordinary chance had
thcnwn a fine piece of property into my
lands at a fraction of it's real value,
RzAst I did some quick thinking. i've
gAArs a messenger for the money l said
~ esolly as l could, and I'll have 1t
3esz. in 10 minutes
ATE auctioneer looked at the clock.
"1&. light he replied, I'll give you
SEfzg limit
~Hhen | took a desperate chance. l
eSgaie1 through the crowd, which was
as,nsdy interested in the next sale. and
EA,A1tnned to a little fat man who had
fiasSs one of the loudest kickers a few
axs%,Iaents before.
= hook here l said, drawing him
lxsas1e. DO you want to be my silent
.asrtner for an hour or SOP
~$Nlat d'you mean? said he.
~H gave him the truth in a dozen
'ss4a,is. Now let me have that $500
sKsasasit money! l added, and we'll
tsksszs the profits, whatever they are
~The little man looked at me shrewd-
ge. This is g. big joke on all of u.s. he
aasl. grinnins, and l guess III risk the
aksxe'
~ the same time he counted out
aSSs& and put it in my hands. l raced
.sNaak to the desk with the cash, clinch-
ssK7 he sale and before noon had the
sH6srS in my possession. Then, to make
u xsag story short. my silent partner
slxsred me $1,000 cash for my interest,
sExf as $1,000 looked about as big as a
lnsuntain at that stage of the game
Nomptly accepted. That thousand, for
tanateiy placed. gave me the start that
2ss Kept me going ever since.
But what about the eyeglasses, did
1sss say? Why. the auctioneer. al l
Hfssrward learned. was very near
sfsHitsd, and on the morning to which
SssA. he had forgotten his glasses. That
yxx0 why he mistook my gesture Of dis
acxawal for a sign of assent and forced
nn.s ID spite Of myself, into a good
sasxxnsg; I Dever understood the exact
.akns" fnwardness of the deal, but the
a1sss in the rough were that a clique
nE Spectators had formed a combine
~ 2ssp down prices, but, owing to
name misunderstanding. failed to bid
Weamptly on the property which l &C.
eHERd. The auctioneer was on to the
elne and anxious to break 1t up; hence
hahADRecipitancy in knocking down the
NJ TO yours truly. l heard. later on,
-Nna1 INV nOrtlv silent M rtner made S2.