The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1903-12-26
Seleet Stnrp.
A FORTUNATE MISTAKE.
VIM. Hit in Philadelphia Ledger.

VIM. Hit IN Phlladelphla Ledger.
There is nothing particularly remarkable
in the fact that two men sat in an office
whose windows looked out upon busy
street Such instances, doubtless, could
be multiplied many times, but these two
men are here introduced chiefly because
they have much to do with the narrative
that follows. One of them was Henry l..
Tupple, apparently about 35 years of age;
the other, Mortimer j. Sommers, who
looked to be 40. 1t was the Office Of Mr..
Sommers in which they sat, and Mr.. Tup-
pie had merely dropped in to invite Mr.
Sommers, who, by the way, was a bach
elor, to take Christmas dinner with him
on the morrow They had been friends
for years, and yet in some respects repre-
sented antipodes of human nature-Tup-
pie, agile, jovial and generous; Sommers,
sluggish, cross and mean. Perhaps that S
not entirely fair to Sommers. He couldn' t
help being sluggish because he was rather
corpulent, and he was cross because he was
a dyspeptic, and that may have had some
thing to do with his meanness, or probably
il was his meanness that made him dys
peptic. His meanness, however, did not
extend to Mr.. Tupple, and he really
thought much of the latter S friendship,
and stood ready at any time to do him
good turn. This may be said about him,
he was 10th to accept favor for fear that
he would be expected to reciprocate, and
he rarely gave because he did not wish to
receive. In word, his chief ambition
was to hoard money. When, however,
he offered Tupple cigar, good one, too,
he did so most cordially, and it was while
they sat there smoking that Tupple made
the proposition that his friend should par
take of Christmas dinner with him. With
the greatest good humor he told Sommers
what he should expect. "Mrs. Tupple,
he said, s'has bought one of the finest tur
KEYS you ever saw, and then we are going
to have the usual concomitants of Christ
mas dinner, including last, but not least,
grand mince pie Now, isn't that better
than going to a restaurant, old man? Be-
sides. I told the children you would come,
and they are looking forward to your visit
with great delight.
II suppose" said Sommers, ''you are
going to send horseless sleigh after meP
for glance out of the window showed that
it was showing fast; "and, as for mince
pie he added, ''you don't know
what mince pie is. All times have chang
ed. We don't get the mince pies that
mother used to make.
It was singular that such an unimportant
thought should have entered Sommers' s
head, but it did, and, as he took long
Whit at his cigar, and then poised the lat
ter between the forefnger and thumb of
his left hand, he lay back in his chair,
and, looking at his friend, remarked;
"Say, Tup, you young chaps don know
what mince pie is | remember-and
it seems only yesterday-when days before
Christmas mother used to be up to her
head and heels in the work Of making
great stacks of ginger bread and mince pies.
Nowadays people buy store pies. What a
delight it was to us children as we watched
the manufacture of those pastries. | can
see her now with big rolling pin spread
ing out the dough. Then she would take a
large earthen plate and grease the bottom