The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-09-03

sale, in my presence, once upon
time, and, though it was no business
of mine, l could not help listening.
He's as gentle as a cat" said the
man who was selling the horse. ANY
woman can drive him." he said. Il
never knew him to kick nor try to
run in harness; but he trots along as
sober as a judge; and, if you wanted
to, you might lay the reins on the
spatter board and go to sleep. He's
just the horse for you
Il don't think So said the purchas-
er. Il don't want an old poke. When
| start anywhere / like to go along. L
want wide-a- wake horse that's got
life enough to pull on the bit and
make the driver keep his eyes open"
Hes the horse for you. if that's
the kind of an animal you are after,
said the horse-trader. "I'll tell you
what's fact, Mister: if you want to
go ten miles an hour, all you've got
to do is to hold the reins and let him
go. If it's life and git-up-and-git, you
are after in horse, this is the horse
for you. He's no poke easy, old
scrub; he's a horse of sense, and
knows his place and business. If your
wife drives him, he'll go along as gen
tie as lamb. If you drive him and
you want to keep ahead of streak
Of creased lightning, all you've got
20 do is to hold the reins and let him
60"
Il don't care" said the purchaser,
about going ahead of the lightning;
about six miles an hour is as fast as |
care TO drive"
"Then, this is the horse for you"
said the horse dealer; six miles en-
hour is about his speed; and that's
fast enough, for any horse to travel
over our roads"
/ expect a trade was made for the
horse dealer had the happy faculty
Of knowing how to make his horse
anything or everything, to suit the
wishes OF a purchaser.
l used to hear a similar story that
the late Jhon G. Williams, ESQ.,, was
won't to tell, on butcher of this city
Going into the market one morning
early, Mr.. Williams, addressing a
butcher, who was member of his
,hurch, said:
Brother B., 1 want some sausage
for my breakfast want good saul
sage
I've got it, Brother Williams" said
Brother B., the very best in the mar
<et."
II want pork sausage"
That's exactly what I've got
Brother Williams; just as good as
vas ever made out of hog"
Il don't care about it's being all
pork. | rather like it mixed. Too
much pork makes too much grease"
Then. Brother Williams. my sau-
sage will suit you to t; what little
pork there is in it wouldn't make
grease enough to drown q fly
Brother E. was a butcher all right.
he had just what customer wanted;
he didn't, he'd imagine he had it;
lud try his best to make the customer
imagine that beat waSc pork, goat
meat was lamb. and that sausage,
made up of grissle. liver and all sorts
Of odds and ends, was first class all
pork, the very best in the market And
he most always did it, for he never
failed to call his customer Brother
md say something about religion dur
ing the trade conversation. One could
hardly help buying from him. he was
so polite; SO accommodating and so
pious. I've bought many things l did
not need, because the salesman was
20 polite and oblging; on the con-
trary, I've left a store and declined
TO buy a thing l really needed and
wanted. because the merchant was so
unaccommodating and morose l didn't
care. to have any dealings with him.
Speaking of trading calls up an old
memory. / used to know a man who
vas always talking about following
he dictates of conscience. and, if one
could have believed it possible for
man to be perfect, that one would
have been forced to exclaim: Eve
found the perfect mani"
No, that man didn't sell liquor-on
the contrary he was an outspOken tenn
perance man; but he furnished the
money to his son to run a drug store
that did little else than fill liquor pre-
scriptions He didn't lend money at
an usuriOus rate of interest, but when
he took mans note for a hundred
dollars at six per cent, he let the Dor
over have only ninety dollars, charg-
ing him interest on a hundred He
1idnit do any work on the Sabbath
lay; on the contrary he went to
church; but, away back in the field,
off from the road, he had hands cur
ing tobacco While he was conscien-
tiouSly keeping the Sabbath He
didn't stealzz-of course not-but he'd
buy cotton, after dark which he had
reason to believe was not grown by
the man who sold it.
Yes. he was conscientious and
Dragged about it. But, some people
science could outstretch india rubber;
and, a great many others thought it
was true.
Conscience is q pretty safe guide,
provided It has the standard seal upon
it Otherwise it won't do to measure
with. A conscience that stretches won't
do to trust l used to hear a story
in my boyhood days, of q man who,
at the whipping post for stealing a
horse, said he was conscientious In
what he did. He reasoned this way:
IT | were, he said. to find horse shoe
lying in the road, not knowing whose
horse lost it, I'd claim the shoe as
my property because 1 found it; and
my conscience told me that if it were
horse. instead of shoe, | found, 1t
would be mine, If 1 didn't know whose
horse it was. And. SO. his conscience,
which had stretched enough to encir-
Gle horse, if he had not run up
against whipping post, might have
gone on stretching until, as it was
said that Murrill did, he could have
killed and robbed man for TWENTY
five cents. q tmd&S8X
Our trend, George S. Baker. EST
of Louisburg. tells a story that will
make climax for these remarks on
conscience. A negro man. known as
RABBIT" used to flourish as a preach
er, in, around and about the beautiful
City on the Tar. He preached, he