Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-02

didatss for all
the offices in the
III gift of the new
Mark Twain in 1867 State of Neva-
United States Senator and Secretary of State. Nye
was certain to get a senatorship and Orion was SO
sure to get the secretaryshp that but him
named for that office.
But he hit with of his spasms of virtue
the very day that the Republican party
to make its nominations in the convention and
refused to go the convention He urged;
but all persuasons failed He said his presence
there would be an unfair and improper influence,
and that if he was to be nominated the compliment
must come to him free and unspotted gift.
This attitude would have settled his case for him
without further effort; but he had another attack
of virtue on the same day, that made it absolutely
sure. 1t had been his habit for great many years
to change his religion with his shirt and his ideas
about temperance at the same time He would be
teetotaler for awhile and the champion of the
cause; then he would change to the other side for
a time. On nomination day he suddenly changed
from friendly attitude toward whisky, which was
the popular attitude, to uncompromising teetotal-
ISM and went absolutely dry. His friends besought
and implored; but all in vain He could not be per-
suaded to the threshold of saloon The
paper next morning contained the list of chosen
nominees. His name was not in It. He had not
received vote.
ment came into power. He without occupa-
ton Something had to be done. He put up his
sign attorney at law: but he got no clients. 1t
was strange. 1t difficult to account for can
not account for it; but if / going to guess at
solution l should guess that by the make of him he
would examine both sides of diligently
and conscientiously that when he got through
with his argument neither he jury would know
which side he | think that his client would
find out his make in laying his case before him, and
would take warning and withdraw it in time to
himself from probable disaster
7 HAD taken up my residence in San Francisco
about year before the time have just been speak
ing Of One day got tip from Mr.. Camp bold
who was always making big fortunes in in
genious speculations and losing them again in the
of six months by other speculative ngenuities
Camp told me to buy some Shares in the Hale &
Norcross. l bought fifty shares at three hundred
dollars share. bought on margin, and put up
twenty per cent 1t exhausted my funds. l wrote
Orion and offered him half and asked him to send
his share of the money. l waited and waited He
wrote and said he was going to attend to It, The
and higher 1t reached thousand dollars share.
1t climbed to two thousand then to three thousand
then to twice that figure. The money did not come;
turn and began to gallop down. Then | wrote
urgently. Orion answered that he had sent the
money long ago: said he had sent it to the Occi-
dental Hotel. / inquired for it. They said it was
not there. To cut long story short, that stock
went on down until it fell below the price l had
paid for it. Then it began to eat up the margin:
and when at last got out very badly crippled.
When it too late, found out what had be-
come of Orions money Any other human being
would have sent check; but he sent gold. The
hotel clerk put it in the safe and went vacation
and there it had reposed all this time enjoying its
fatal work, no doubt. Another man might have
thought to tell that the money was not in a
letter. but in express package; but it never
occurred to Orion to do that.
T ATER, Mr.. Camp gave me another chance. He
agreed to buy our Tennessee land for two hundred
thousand dollars, pay part of the amount in cash,
and give long notes for the rest. His scheme
to import foreigners from grape growing and wine
making districts in Europe, settle them the land,
and turn it into a wine growing country. He knew
what Mr.. Longworth thought of those Tennessee
Copyright. 1904. by & Brothers All Rights