Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1901-05-04
TT MADE HIM A HERO.
AN ACT THAT BROUGHT A LAWYER
FAME AND FORTUNE.
IL Looked Like an Exhibition of
Pure Nerve and Daring, but In
Reality II Was simply an Outcome
of His Nearsightedness.

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 moderate de-
gree. The average shortsighted man.
OF whom there are hundreds In every
large city, sees nothing distinctly more
than a 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
I'll 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 30 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 nearslghted person can
see as well as anybody through prop
erly fitted glasses, but n great many
folks regard them as such n dlsfgure-
ment that they prefer to do without
their aid That kind Of pride is GER
tainly very foolish because 1t 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 1t 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
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 n wide reputation for
haughtlness. as he rarely recognized
anybody on the street, and It undoubt-
eddy damaged him In his practice. AT
any rate, he had never made anything
more than a very modest living when
the curious incident | have in mind &C.
Cured.
The city government had been for q
long time under ring rule" continued
the story teller. land 1t finally became
so bad that the decent people revolted
and organized Il reform movement. The
good looking lawyer call him Colonel
Jones for convrnlencr-w one Of the
reformers. and. among other things, he
made himself active In securing In
dictments against n number OF gam
bling house keepers.
"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 ut any Interference. He
was giant physically. he would fight
at the drop OF nat. 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 q soldier. but
he was really n very bland and peace
able gentleman. and he never dreamed
that his little effusion woulS n him
into personal difficulty. On ~ morn
ing the card appeared he was walking
calmly TO bis Office when Harding rush
ed out Of n 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 of a 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 or twice was on the point Of |
pulling the trigger, but the spectacle |
of that serene and dlgnlfied figure |
calmly advancing straight on the muz-
zle Of the gun was too much for his |
nerves. and before the colonel travers. |
ed half the distance be dropped the |
weapon and ANONYMOUSLY fed.
Needless to say. the episode made a |
sensation, and Jones, who |
had sense enough to hold bis tongue, |
was the popular hero Of the hour. |
Harding. on the contrary, was ruined,
Tor his prestige had disappeared like a
1asb Of lightning. and. unable to stand |
the disgrace Of the affair." he quietly |
sold out his belongings and left the
,ity. That broke the back Of the ring
the reformers went into control, and |
he colonel was elected mayor by tire
nendous majority. He served two
terms, built up one Of the biggest law
practices In that part of the state and |
lied worth nearly quarter of a mil
ion dollars.
"In explanation OF my inside knowl
edge of the case don't mind saying |
hat he was distant relative OF mine.
md In the family circle. where his
was well known. he
,wned up to the facts as q good joke.
BE said bp had vague idea when he
started across the street that Harding |
was a farmer client who had promised
10 pay him fee that morning. New
Orleans Times Democrat.