The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1906-01-24
A MAN.

will have my fling at him if live,
and oh, what satisfaction it will bring.
OF course it will cost me time and eft
fort, besides that I am going out OF
my way to do it. This is no dead man
whose body is buried. nor dead while
he liveth. but one Of the livest corpses
va ever saw.
| So he can fling, too, yes; and his
ventures are more deadly than the
deliberate aim Of most others, as
many can testify. No I am not scared,
not because I feel myself his equal
in the art Of f1inging, but because he
hates meanness, littleness and shat
ters venereted images the moment
he finds nothing in them.
You need not think ne is going to
swallow your notion, even if you do
sugar-coat and dress it up, without in
vestigation, but when he accepts it he
Incorporates it; then it is like death
to separate the two. I tell you some
thing elese; you may go off and get
a great distinguished looking fellow
with a rep and a record from here
to Louisville, with lot Of fxings be-
/ hind and before his name and bring
! him here and set him up before my
man and in i;ffy the spots are
knocked off of him.
Now I am going to tell you a tale.
/ One time gnat-he did very we'll for
a gnat, but for nothing eise-who was
to,erab,y fat and a little sleek, rich,
|lighted on the horn of a. great oxen
and tried to jar an1 shake him. but
when he utterly failed he became
much perrurbed and called another
and another, and finally quite num-
! Der, and would you believe it that OK
never lost nights rest or a days
work. That was bad for the gnats,
was it not? Especially after they went
to so much trouble.
But to return to my man, though he
will not get lonesome if I don't; he
has so much company. Why he has
plenty of it, good company, and all the
time, not in anger, wrath, strife and
such things, not in the wrong he suf-
Ifers, and he does; he isTnot5 past feel
ing; not in petty revenges he would
take; he has not the time for any Of
these if he had the disposition; but
he is greater than them all. But time
is precious with my man, whose firs+
thought is for the churches, then her
precious wards, the old preachers.
How he loves man, even though he
be in the gutter, and is never so busy
that he cannot stop to lift him up or
so Strengthened that he cannot help.
one boasting his courage, yet trying to
stab another in the back; who mag
| ines himself wise, great, ETC., and
gets mad if others do not think so;
| who sets himself up for honor and
preferment and is disgruntled if they
are not accorded him. My man has a
passion for puncturing baubles and
treating big heads. Many big head
after his treatment, and he is quite
successful, could be spelled with p
! instead of a big o. whose owner took
the sore head.
Now don't think my man a blood
thirsty fellow. I solemnly aver he
never fights till forced to, and woe
betide the one who crosses swords
with him, for as an expert fencer his
equal is hard to find.
| Once upon time big fellow, that
is he thought so, came across in soma
way another who seemed to be
somewhat himself, not of his own die
tum, but from reputation, but he had
| never lived anywhere but in small
town in one state while the big (?l
fellow had lived in big places, in big
towns in the wild West. Big man was
invited, possibly he bid for it, to come
down and crush out the other fellow
I suppose that in his journey he
thought of all the great conquests Of
history, Of Perry's terse mes
sage to congress: We have
met the enemy and they are
ours;'' of Caesars more pithy. to the
Roman senate: yeni viGi, vici," and
added his brain for a more terse and
2ithy announcement OF his victory
The messages of Caesar and Perry are
on record in history but this man :
never, for the simple reason that, t:ae
whole project was a no. seGuitai. He
found his man without a:y trouble
looking as meek a2d denurc as one
could wish No doubt q touch OF sad
nass stirred in The bosom OF the big g.
| -, ;Cri