Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1903-01-22

nmse1r with the various makes anC
trade marks and other intricate de
tails of the goods in which his EN-
ployers dealt, he had stored his mine
with vast fund of miscellaneous in
formation. And it so happened thai
rare and unique makes of earthen
ware was just now the subject il
which the fashionable world was in
terested.
But as the evening wore away his
face began to look puzzled, then
questioning, then grave. At last he
made his way across the room to his
hostess.
81 am glad you have come" she
said. "While the guests were arriy-
ing I could only just bid you well
come. Now, how is Agnes and how
are your sisters?"
at is about them l wish to speak, y
he said, bluntly. "Mr. Ware asked
me if my people were well, and one
of your daughters just asked me if
my sisters were coming to the city
soon. Now, l am alone in the world.
My mother has been dead ten years,
and never had any sisters. There
has been a mistake"
aren't you John Williams, at Bur-
ton & True's?"
eyes"
She looked puzzled.
cts there another clerk of the same
name in the establishments"
Not that know of. There are sew
eral Williamses, but do not think any
of them are named John"
"It is curious. Agnes Williams
wrote me that her son was coming to
the city to engage with Burton &
True, and that she hoped would look
after him a little. She is an old school
friend of mine. I thought that you APP
peared rather older than her son
could be-"
"Well, my being here is a mistake"
he said, gravely. Out you must allow
me to thank you, Mrs. Ware, for the
pleasantest evening of my life. 1 will
go now. I am sorry for the person
whose place I have usurped, but can
not help being little glad on my own
account. 1t has given me something
to think about and has shown me there
are more sides to life than a narrow
minded man sometimes sees"
"But, really, you must not go until
the end of the evening"" Mrs. Ware in
terposed, pleasantly. "It has been
mistake, certainly; but hope you will
not make that a reason for leaving u.s."
He shook his head.
"I would better CO." he answered.
81 do not like to take advantage of mis-
takes"
When he saw the new man come in
the next morning he left his desk with
a sudden presentiment of the truth.
"What did you say your name WASP"
civilians, sir"
"John?"
yes; John WllllamS.
"H'm!"
81 am Mr.. Burton's nephew" the new
man continued, blandly, "and am
learning the routine of each depart
ment, with view of entering the firm
in January. would have told you this
yesterday if you had given me an OPP
portunity. But l am afraid l shall have
to ask you to excuse me from handling
the heavy boxes. I am not particu-
larly robust, and must content myself
with the lighter work"
every we'll"
Head of Department Williams creed
was to view the world as a huge ma
chine, of which he and his fellow
clerks were cogs. Emotion of any kind
was looked down upon by him as I'M
businesslike; so now he turned stoical-
ly to his desk, and his copy clerk
thought he had merely been giving
some orders to the new man.
But all through the day there was a
peculiar light in the matter-of-fact
eyes of the chief, and when he went to
his boarding house that night he did
not turn to his books, as usual, but
sat gazing out across the twinkling
lights of the great city, thinking.
In the main office few weeks later
Mr.. Burton suddenly laid down his
pen.
'Do you know, True" he said, con-
fidentially, 81 believe our machine
clerk, Williams, is becoming human
lied. I actually caught him lifting a
beggar child out of the mud to-day
and saw him giving her pennies. I
must ask him up to the house some
time. I wouldn't be surprised if there
was considerable good material be-
meath that shell of his"
eyes," answered Mr.. True, posing
his pen meditatively above his ledger,
''I think you are right. Williams has
been a good automaton, but l always
held that a business man could not
reach the best success by mere me-
chanical ability" and then both bent
over their desks and were speedily lost
in the computations evolved by their
swiftly moving pens.-N. Y. Times.
ORIGIN OF "COLD FEET"
TnG