Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1907-04-03
ROMANCE IN SIGNS.
FAINTER Tells of the Tragedies He
Reads Between the Lines He Made.

Painter Tells of the Tragedies He
Reads Between the Lines He Made.
Did you ever note anything in the
| advertising columns of a newspaper
that told a tale in brief as plainly as
IL 1t filed column of the reading mat
ter in another section Of the newspa-
per? Some people read between the
lines romances and tragedies Of the
signs as readily.
A city sign painter has recently chat
ted entertainingly about the suggestive
ness of his work. Ever since I first
learned my trade, he said, have been
reader of signs as well as a maker
OF them. Between the lines of many
sign l read a stOry-a tale Of triumph
or tragedy of defeat. Again, have
acquired the habit of industry, and by
industry 1 thrive, pay rent, meet bills,
keep square with my fellow man, and
am in the shop when wanted.
painted a window card for a prom
inent merchant years ago. 1t read:
boy Wanted" 1t was a remarkable
boy who got the job. AS 1 lettered it,
imagined who the boy would be and
how he would turn out. l kept my eye
on the boy who took the job, the mer-
chants daughter for wife, and place
in the firm. That was a romance, and
a fact.
In my time have L painted many a
boy Wanted" Well, some of them
did not turn out so we'll as my first
hero. More than one was not wanted
long, and went to the bad.
1t was only the other day that
man along in years dropped in on me.
He purchased a Furnished Room"
card, and l could not hide the express
sion of surprise on my face. He ex-
planned that he had lost a fortune since
retiring from business. He told me
that the only thing that was saved
from the wreck was the family home,
which, as good luck would have it, was
in the name of the wife. AS he paid
for the placard he said, sarcastically:
"My wife has furnished rooms to rent
in the house and | have a vacancy in
the upper story
have in my shop now a "Piano Les
sons" sign that is a dirge Of buried
hopes. The job was done to order for
as nice a woman as ever trod the earth,
the flower of a family of high degree.
No end to their wealth, SO everybody
thought. Father died, left an immense
fortune in trust. Trustee, a scOundrel.
beggared the estate and skipped. When
the exposure took place, girl was about
to marry a mob. He had a frozen heart
on account Of the changed financial con-
ditions, and the wedding, already an
nounced, was postponed. The Lord
didn't postpone the measley chap. The
races and the bucket-shOp got him, and
if he lives long enough he will be ped
ding shoestrings Saturday nights and
panhandling the rest of the week. The
brave little woman is now giving piano
lessons to support herself and mother.
Everything they had went, and they
are the poorest of the poor.
Another sign reads: Receivers
Sale. Entire Stock to Be Closed Out"
There is a story goes with that A
man in trade crawled all the way up
the ladder by patient degrees, winning
every inch and every dollar by hard
work, square dealing, and clean meth
DDS. Then at the height, Mr.. Man got
dizzy from a swelled head and thought
that he knew it all, made some blum
ders that Jared him, but taught him
no lesson. Then he got gay, became
extravagant, then reckless; instead of
hauling in sail, he spread more canvas,
threw discretion to the winds, and his
craft turned turtle Mr.. Man is in a
sanitarium, his affairs in the hands of
the receiver, and his wife was in yes
terday and ordered a window card,
Board by the Day or Week"
l sell "Girl Wanted" signs to the
restaurant folks. The last one l dis
posed of produced unexpected results.
A wicked wag stole 1t out of the win
dow and fastened it to the coat tail OF
a bachelor friend and he paraded the
whole length of the street with the an
nOuncement in view, and as he passed
down the street a pretty young woman
ran after and halted him and removed
the sign with many apologies and
bushes. That strange meeting led to
an acquaintance and a wedding-New
York Commercial.