Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1901-05-23
Saint Mary $ Beacon
A STRANGE TURN-ABoUT.
Hev Linsoln Night Net Have Become
President.

in the state which gave to this coun-
try its most remarkable President
10 an unmarked grave. Not long
ago a traveller passed over this road
in family carryall Of other days
and the driver pointed ont the ne
elected spot. According to the
driver, several stones have marked
this grave. Each has been knocked
down and broken to pieces, but no
one ever tried to discover by whom.
"A tree stood near by once said
the man who jerked the weather
beaten reins which guided the ami
NAL hitched to the rig, 'and it wss
hit three times by lightning. The
last time the tree fell, and. as it
was deader than q mackerel, it
caught fire and burned to ashes
right on the grave. Then q big
wind scattered the ashes
Nearly mile had been made be-
fore the driver again spoke. The
interlude was broken as II there
had been no stop.
Maybe he mightn't have been
President, bat the man who came
after him was. Get up! Funny,
what q little thing in a mans life
settles his hash.'
Then followed the remainder of
the story, as it follows here:
He stood mighty well in the
minds of the people when he started
ont. Everything seemed fixed for
him to 60 right ahead. There was
a lot Of boy babies named for him
before he ever run for Office. When
he used to ride over this road every
body he met knowed him and
knowed everybody so well that he
called them by their first name.
Gone day he was in town and
met q young farmer lad, and he
says to him, calling him by his
nickname If you want to make
four bits as easy as falling of log
you 60 to my barn. clean it out,
and curry and saddle my horse and
fetch him ill.,
There was q circus coming to
town the next day and the lad
jumped at the job. It was purity
hot day. The lad worked on his
job until he looked, when he got
through, as if he had been doused
In the creek. When he rode the
horse to town the owner didn't
know the animal, he looked so
sleek and that fine. The owner
made q mouth, and turning to the
lad, he says Much obliged and
rode of, leaving the lad by the stile-
block. for everybody to laugh at.
'The lad got to be a man and
had become q storekeeper in the
town where he had got the NIT
from the lawyer. Every farmer in
this part Of the country had bought
goods from the merchant, mostly
on credit. He had helped them
sell their corn and oats, and when
the women folks went to town to
trade the merchant always gave
their children q stick Of candy or
a lump Of sugar.
''Bout this time there was an
election. The lawyer had got it
into his head that be would begin
his political career by being elected
judge. One Of his hackers was a
man who became President of the
United States.
The young merchant had kept
his mouth shut all these years, but
when the lawyer began to run for
judge the young merchant hired an
extra clerk in his place and went
out into the country. There wasn't
o farmhouse where he didn't stay
all night, and when he left in the
morning the lawyer had lost as
many votes as the house had. Purity
soon it got noised around what the
merchant was doing, and then tae
man who got to be President Of the
United States went to the young
man and asked him what he meant
by Logging against his candidate.
THE young merchant told him
how the lawyer had beat him out
Of four bits and thereby caused him
to lose q chance Of seeing the circus.
'The man saw that the young
merchant was terribly in earnest
and went and told the candidate.
A half q dozen Of the candidate 8
friends called on the young mer-
chant and tried to patch things mp,
but he wouldn't have it. To make