The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1907-03-29
FRIDAY AFTERNOON, MARCH 20, 1907.
Seleft Storg.
A SLIGHT MISTAKE
BY II. ELLIOTT MCBRIDE.

In Such way as to ehuea'ol W "aiu oh
the biting blasts.
An old man waited at Plainfeld station
He had come by rail to this place and ex
pected that he could reach his destination
by taking the stagecoach which ran down
the Plainfeld Valley.
Now this old man, although quite
wealthy, was somewhat eccentric, and al,
though he could have come back to the
scenes of his childhood looking as well as
anybody and wearing as good clothes as
any other man, yet he preferred to put in
such an appearance as would make his old
time friends think that he had got down in
the world.
He had waited an hour or more at the
station when the hack, or stage coach, drew
up.
81 want to 90 down the Plainfeld Val
ley" said the old man.
eyes" answered the driver, 81 got a
telegraft about you, You want to go to
the poorhouse.
''Well, don know as | do. At least,
not on such day as this. But [ want
to 90 in that direction You'll take me,
SUPPOSE
ooh, yes; oh, yes; I'll have to take
you-that's the orders. But [ don t
know how the young ladies inside will take
it. I'll have to speak to them about it. .
He opened the side door of his coach
and said, in low tone that he had orders
to take pauper from this station to the
Pennington poorhouse.
"He ism t Just as slick lookin' Teller
as you might want to have in the coach,
but you ladies can take the back seat and
I'll make him sit in one corner Of the front
seat"
'Indeed he shan't come in here, said
one of the young ladies-Fanny Raymond,
by name "Ride with pauper-never!
Let him walk, OR wait until tomorrow
Cor he might ride outside with you, "
said Ellen Anderson, who seemed to have
more kindness of heart than her compan-
ion.
But" said the driver, cit is such a
very cold day, and he doesn't seem to be
burdened with outer garments. I'd hate
to ask anybody to ride outside. I'm pre-
pared for the cold, you know" continued
the driver. ''Im always prepared. To
tell the whole truth about the matter, if |
should refuse to take him, or if | should
make him ride outside with me | should
lose my place. y
"Well, lose it, them said Fanny.
"He shan't come in here.
1t was now the proper time for the
driver to lose his temper and speak sharply.
:'And, madam" he said, 81 say he
shall come in. I'm running this stage
coach. know my duty and know my
orders
Then turning to the old man he said:
s'Come in. Be seated and make your
self comfortable. | like to be agreeable
and please the ladies, but know my duty,
and, knowing, dare perform"
The matter was settled, the door was
closed and the driver mounted his seat and
drove off,
"And SO, you are pauper," said Fan
ny spitefully. ''Of course it it very pleas
ant for the young ladies to ride down the
valley with pauper.
''Pitty the sorrows of poor old man."
said the new passenger laconically.
81 don't pity anybody" snapped Fan
ny, 'swho gets away down so low in the
world as to be pauper, and then comes
and pushes himself into stage coach with
respectable young ladies who have respect
able homes and respectable families -
eyes, yes, said the old man, ''some-
times people can hardly keep from being
respectable They were brought up that
way, and it follows, as matter of course,
that they have some responsibility about
them, or, rather the appearance of respec-
liability. But, otherwise, they are dead
mems bones, so to speak. They may even
be whitened or whitewashed sepulchres.
Probably it would be better if they had
little more common sense. "
Fanny was now quite angry.
'To be talked to in this way" she said,
sis little more than | can endure. |
believe I shall get out and walk
"That would be good idea," sug-
gested the old man. GA walk down the
valley this breezy morning would, no doubt,
be conductive to health and happiness.
ooh" said Fanny, 81 wish we had
waited for the next coach.
"But," added Ellen, eff we had we
would have missed the party this evening"
eyes, SO we would-so we would
Oh, the troubles of this life Oh, the
vexations and annoyances that must come
to us on account of paupers and such likel"
"Pity the sorrows of poor old man.
was again walled by the man whom they
supposed to be pauper. 'Oh, give re-
lief, and heaven will bless your store. I
learned these lines when I went to the
little school house which stood in this val
ley about two miles ahead. We spoke
pieces then on Friday afternoons, and that
one Of my recitations PITY the sorrows
Of poor old man whose trembling limbs
have borne him to your door. But Tn
not SO very old-only seventy-two.
"You don mean that you used to live in
this neighborhood?' said Fanny.
II do" the man answered. stMy
youthful days were spent here. May
ask your name2'
"My name is Fanny Raymond"
"Then am your Uncle John. sup
pose you have heard of your Uncle John
He went out West some years ago."
The picture of Fanny's face at thi
juncture would have been good subjec
for an artist.
sI-I-oh, dearI' she stammered. g
didn' know. The driver said you we're
pauper and that you were going to tn
Harrington poorhouse.