The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1907-07-17
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Icopyright, 1901, by c. H. sutclre.I

copyright. 1907 by C. H. sutclise.l
William Brice applied to a rich iron.
master for work on the ground that
his father had been the ironmasters
friend. He was given a job, but 1t
was reported to the chief that he was
no good.
"Shift him." said the ironmaster.
Every man has his niche" So Brice
was shifted again and again. but after
he had been the cause of one or two
accidents the men complained to the
foreman and the foreman to the head
of the department, and the second com,
plant was carried to the ironmaster.
still dough head. eh?" he queried.
well, we must try another niche. 1
knew a man cnce who entered into
thirteen different occupations before
he finally made a success as a horse
trader Shift him along"
Brice was shifted, and at the end of
week one of his fellow workmen tried
to brain him with crowbar because
he let go when he should have held on,
Then he was shifted again. He was
on his fifth or sixth shift and had be-
come butt Of ridicule among 500 men
when the great man said:
"Fhe man is finding it difficult road
to hit his own particular niche. 1t
may be that it's clerical instead of
physical labor he should be put to.
Try him in one of the departments as
a timekeeper."
The man was tried. He had smile of
self confidence on his face as he as
sumed his duties, but inside of three
days he had the time business SO mix,
ed up that the men did not know Z
o'clock In the morning from . in the
afternoon. lie was then tried as n
messenger, and he held that place for
two weeks. 1t was the general opin
ion among the heads of departments
that he held it two weeks too long, but
subsequent events proved to the con-
trary. 1t took Brice two weeks to make
a score of blunders and to learn that
new and larger works were to be erect
ed farther down the river. All the
land except an acre belonging to an
aged widow had been secured, and he
heard it whispered that she had re-
fused to sell at any price.
"Oh, well, don't let's be discouraged
over him." said the ironmaster when
told that Brice ought to be sent to an
idiot asylum. He is simply hunting
for his niche. He is the son of an old
friend of mine, and we must bear with
him until he finds it. will never go
back on my contention that every man
has his niche. Outside of it he is al
most worthless; In that particular spot
he may do great things. Shift the man
along"
There were three more shifts, and
then William Brice found his niche.
No one but himself had the least sus-
picion of it. When they saw him smil-
ing and grinning and heard his chuc-
king they simply thought he was one
week nearer the idiot asylum.
On a certain Sunday William Brlce
had gone down to see the aged widow.
He was twenty-five years old and she
almost seventy. He was sturdy and
in the best of health; she was all knot
ted up with rheumatism and full of
complaints. The young man might
have been q dough head in the shops,
but outside of them he knew a rabbit
track when he saw one. He fell in
love with~the widow. She was neces-
sary to his future happiness. She was
old, but he didn't believe in flighty
young girls. She was all twisted up,
but marriage at the best was full Of
twists. He loved her gray hairs, her
cracked voice and her wrinkled face,
and in month they We're married,
Rnd he assumed the head of the house.
When he had been shifted for the
twelfth time in the shops he had found
his niche. No foreman or head of de-
partment discovered this fact 1t was
the ironmaster himself, or, rather, the
lawyers who were slyly working to
get hold Of the widows land. Its ac-
tual value was about 81. 200 She had
been offered $1,000 to quietly sell out.
She had partly consented when she
suddenly changed her mind. a scrawl=
ing letter reached the lawyers to the
effect that I'VE" don't care to sell at
the price, and the men of law hustled
around to find that the widow was a
widow no longer
AT about the same time William
Brice resigned his position amid
boots and jeers. Three days later he
was being offered $4,000 for his prop
erty. He replied that he was a dough
head and afraid of being cheated, and
it was not until they bid up to $4,000
that he and his aged wife passed the
deeds and retired to the country to go
into chicken raising on a wholesale
scale.
Just as l told you" observed the
irOnmaster as he handed over his check.
Every man has his niche in life, and
when once found he can hold the fort.
Our dough head was a little slow in
finding his, but he got there at last,
and I'm $4,000 out of pocket for up
holding my opinion" NJ. QUAD.
Before and After.
t. II