The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-10-12
Ctrugsle to Throw
" OFF an Influence.

lCopyfight, lSOS, py american lTess AHsO-
- ciation,l
Elisha Hereford at twenty married !
girl OF eighteen. Elisha was rather
bright fellow. but without good judg
meht His wife was exactly the oppo.
site. She was not bright, but possess
ed an enormous amount of "horse |
sense" For twenty years she kept her
husband on the track aud when he
showed signs OF "breaking" would
speak 10 him in no uncertain tone,
pun strong on the curb aud now and
then give him a sharp cut with the
whip. The consequence was that Here
ford, being smart, by the time he was
forty had secured a competency,
Now, the thing without which sue
cess is not TO he attained is often UNI
recognizable, especially by the achlev-
err Hereford attributed it In his case
TO his talents. arguing that If he were
not pulled back by his wife he would
he millionaire. His most intimate
friends knew That his wife had put
those talents TO their proper use and
prevented his wasting them. Perhaps
If any of them had told him this it
might have neutrali2ed this story. Per-
haps he would have received the In
formation as false. The latter suppo-
, sitlon is the more probable.
one day Hereford disappeared. II
was found that he had taken $4,000
and left 100000 for his wife, with no
explanation whatever This is the
most practical thing he had ever done
| without her assistance. Almost any
one would pronounce the money pref
cradle TO the explanation. But the act
! was Just like Hereford. lie was a
mixture OF the sublime and the ridicu-
/ lous
lie hadn't been gone long before his
\ wife received a letter from an Ameri-
can gen.lc Eian IN Constantlnoplc
named Tarbux stating that Hereford
had died there. He had left instruc-
tons with Tarbox to send what money
he had left4some $10000-and his in
! cnerated remains TO his wife. Her
friends said that so long rs he had sent
the money he needn't have troubled
himself about the ashes. Mrs. Here
ford deposited the former In bank and
wcpt over the latter. When il came
10 sentiment she had her weaknesses,
the most pronounced Of which was a
sincere affection for Elisha Hereford.
She was too sensible TO keep her hus.
bands dust in her own house, so she
spent 500 on marble tomb, placed
it In u cemetery and locked the dust
IN IT, Not that the 500 represented
her love for her dead husband. The
tomb was plenty large TO contain the
ashes. and Mrs. Hereford's sentiment
never ran away with her instinct OF
economy.
Before proceeding any further with
this story wish to say that there Is ;
feature I'm 1t that won't he believed
You can invent lot Of imaginary non
sense. and it will be sulped down, bu
give people a real coincidence such a
happens every day und they VIII laugl
Mt you. | am sure. However, that an!
! one who knows Elisha Hereford ol
hearing what refer to would say
, 'That's Just like him for all the world
= As ! have said Mrs. Hereford wa
prone TO indulge sentimental sorrow
: so long rs 1t was not expensive. Sh
went once week TO the cemetery, too
: out the urn, busted IT, probably becaus
, she had been used TO periodically dus
t the marble clock on her mantel a
E home, wept over 1t and put 1t back
4 One day just after having done In
3 busting she turned the key aud wit
: bowed head was mutcly Offering
q prayer for the rcposc of her husband
I soul when she was aroused by crasl
Q IL seemed she had heard some WOOD
en- structure knocked into klndlin
+ wood Starting up, there In lot nc
! hundred yards from her she saw
{ promlscu0us mass of slender timber
4 iumblcd with some light woven teS
!. ture From beneath 1t q man strul
D gled to free himself and after doing S
@ stood upon his feet. The widow wcr
{ toward the fragments, and when til
{ mans head appeared above the wrecl
Z age she caught at an iron rail incloI
0 ing a burial lot.
It She saw him whose ashes she Ia
@ been weeping over.
d "Well." he exclaimed pctulantly, su
v veyinG the wreck, "it's all up, and II
Il glad of IT,"
t Mrs. Hereford, who saw mediul
II for wasted money, breathed hard.
It Elisha" she said sternly, 'whi
l. foolishness have you been guilty I
e this time"
Il own up, my dear. 1t was tn
|. way: heard OF all these fellows tr
It ing aeroplanes, and | had plan thi
o | wanted to try myself. knew yC
l. would never consent to spending Il
II money TO build II, so ! concluded
It take the job into my own hands, fir
It eliminating y0u from the eXperlmeu
= Jim Twinkler was going abroad, and
v charged him to take care Of You fro
II there under an assumed name, tellll
O. him what TO say and what TO sen
{. This LEFT me $4,000 with which to-
a Elisha
if "Aly dear"
/ "IIaye you sunk $4,000 In that th
II heap?"
.e "Ive SUNK $4,000"
A. "Where Is the rcst?"
/? "ln bank"