Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1903-03-27

Sl1llll, anu Ills Nllc iNhlt DOllo
she was before he married her-and
how they tried to butt their way
through the upper crust.
Hank and l were boys together in
Missouri, and he stayed along in the
old town after | left. / heard of him
on and off as tending store little and
farming q little and loafing Il good
deal. Then l forgot all about him until
one day a few years ago when he
turned up in the papers as Captain
Henry Smith, the Klondike gold king,
just back from Circle City with mil
lion in dust and anything you please
In claims. There's never any limit to
what miner may be worth in those,
except his Imagination.
l was a little puzzled when a week
/ later my office boy brought me a card
reading Colonel Henry Augustus
Bottes-Smythe, but l supposed it was
some distinguished foreigner who had
come to size me up so that he could
round out his roast on Chicago in his
new book, and l told the boy to show
the colonel in.
I've got a pretty good memory for
faces, and I'd bought too much store
plug of Hank in my time not to know
him, even with a clean shave and
plug hat Some men dry up with sue
cess. but it was just spOuting out OF
Hank. Told me he'd made his pile and
that he was tired of living on the Stag
heap; that he'd spent his whole life
where money hardly whispered, let
alone talked, and he was going now
where it would shout. Wanted to know
what was the use of being a mob if
fellow wasn't the nObbiest sort of
mob. Said he'd bought house on Bea-
con HILL in Boston, and that if I'd
prick up my ears occasionally I'd hear
something drop into the Back Bay.
Handed me his new card four times
and explained that it was the rawest
sort of dog to carry Il brace of names
in your card holster; that it gave you
the drop on the swells every time and
that they just had to throw up both
hands and pass you the pot when you
showed down. Said that Bottles was
old English for Bolts and that Smythe
was new American for Smith; the Au-
gustus was just a fancy touch. a sort
of high card kicker.
| didn't explain to Hank. because it
was congratulations and not eXplana-
tons that he wanted, and l make it a
point to show customer the line of
goods that he's looking for. And l
never heard the full particulars of his
experiences in the east. though from
what | learned afterward Hank struck
Boston with Il bang all right.
He located his claim on Beacon Hill
between n Mayflower descendant and
Declaration signers greatgrandson,
breeds which believe that when the
Lord made them he was through and
that the rest of us just happened. And
he hadn't been in town two hours be-
fore he started in to make improve
ments. There was Il high wrought
iron railing in front of his house, and
he had that gilded first thing, because
as he said, he wasn't running a re-
ceiving vault and he didn't want any
mistakes. Then he bought a nice open
barOuche, had the wheels painted red
hired niger coachman and started
out in. style to be sociable and get
acquainted. Left his card all the way
down one side of Beacon street and
then drove back, leaving it on the
other. Everywhere he stopped he
found that the whole family was out
Kept it up Il week, on and off. but
didn't seem to have any luck. Thought
that the men must be hot sports anC
the women great gadders to keep on the
, jump so much. Allowed that they were
the livcliest little lot of fleas that he
had ever chased. Decided to quit try
ing to nail 'em one at time ant
, planned out something that he reck
oned would round up the whole bunch
Hank sent out Il thousand invita-
tons to his grand opening as he called
it; left one at every house within
mile. Had brass band on the from
steps and fireworks on the roof. Or
dered forty kegs from the brewery anC
hired fancy mixer to sling together
I mild shorts, as he called them, for tn,
ladies. They tell me that when tn,
band got to going good on the steps
and the fireworks on the roof ever
Beacon street looked out the windows
to see what was doing. There mus
have been 10000 people in the stree
and not soul but'tIank and his wifi
and the mixer in the house. Some on
yelled Speech" and then the who'll
crowd took it up, till Hank came GU
on the steps. He shut off the ban,
with one hand and stopped the fire
works with the other Said tina
speechmaking wasn't his strange hold
that he'd been living on snowballs II
the Klondike for so long that his ga
pipe was frozen, but that this wei
come started the ice, and he though
about three fingers of the plumber
favorite prescription would cut out tn
frost. Would the crowd join him? II
had invited a few friends in for tn
evening but there seemed tO he som