The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1912-01-06


have called Uncle Abner mean
and peculiar, but that description IS
insipid. It is about as adequate as
| describing Satan as not being pleas
ant person. Of all the cold-blooded
men | ever met, Abner Halliday had
| the most frog-like temperature. once
had a dream which will illustrate my
lifelong impression Of him. 1t hap
pened when I was spending a year at
| a technical school learning practical
mechanics prior to entering college,
and 1t was brought about by partlc-
ularly heartless and thoroughly I'M
called for letter which he had written
me. / dreamed that / had seen him
dissected at clinic and that his
veins were filled with liquid air IN
stead of warm red corpuscles. And
when it came to the region OF his
heart they found it's place occupied
by q toadstool He was long, lean,
miserly and rich. AS to the amount
of his wealth, had little knowledge
except from a boast he once made 10
me and which l was inclined to be-
.lieve at the time.
happened incidentally to remark
that he must be pretty wealthy man,
and he turned to me with that cum
ming leer of his-a leer that had the
cunning of a fox and the relentless
ness of a wolf. II suppose you know
how far 1t Is from here to the heart
of the CITY," he grinned. told MIN
that 1t was eight miles as the crow
flies.
"And about 80 rods. Now, you listen
to me, young gadabout. If l should
turn all my money into American dol
lars and put them side by side, edges
touching, remember, they'd reach from
here to the city hail.
Which is long ways" assented
meekly. He grinned again.
"And I'll tell you where else they
would reach. They'd reach to the
: chambers of the judges; they'd reach
to the private Office of the assessor
and they'd reach to the heart of any
public official l wanted, then to-
, which is the reason desire them
/ Understand, now. young jackanapes?
, Eyes," l returned YEARLY, disguised
: by his contempt for all human hon
s esty. Then I went away and left him
|. feeling more resentful than ever thai
I must toll day In and out as the
r cashier of a soulless corporation fol
8 $4,000 a year, and then out of 1t pay
9 my uncle pretty near first-class hote
9 rates for my board and lodgings. A
7 times his browbeating and insults fair
J " sIckened me of ltfe;ayet I swallowed
a them with the resignation of school
4 boy who takes quinine as condition
3 to his being allowed to go fishing. On
) dead mems shoes! How we will dance
r until we fall for the prospect Of wear
k ing them.
y Now a. few words about the hous'
@ we lived in.
% It was a rookery. Large and ram
bling, 1t had degenerated from hand
some, well-groomed suburban home
. hulking, characterization outcas
= amidst responsibility. It was bruise
and battered The spine of it's roo
!" already had curvature; the pain
- hung from it in shreds, and ragweed
surrounded it. Internally 1t wa
= nearly hollow. Year by year Uncl
- Abner, clutching his dollars, sat b
:. and watched it run down as steadil
q as a clock that Is never rewound
q prideless Of himself and Of all bt
longing to him save his money. An
re whenever he did spend a few dollar
" upon repairs his cheerfulness wa
% that of one who gives surgeon III
e. fee for extracting his vermiform al
" pendix Necessity, SO grinding an
er imperative that further neglect woul
ID prove fatal, was the only conditio
r. that could loosen the Gordian knt
re which bound his money bags.
~ I never opened the heavy door thu
10 led from the group Of magnificent cel
~ fury old oaks, the branch ends
W. which stroked the gray house like c.
Is ressing hands, without feeling
le disgust and hot shame. The lowe
p floors were unfinished save for tt
10 kitchen, the dining room and tt
% room for the housekeeper. BarrlI
re those portions it was as barren as
ae ships empty hold. For years Mr.
ID Tebbets had been the housekeeper
Ut the place, doing all the househo
ar work and never to our knowledge T
IL. ceiving company, and almost new
IL leaving the premises. The upstal
st portion of the house was also bal
is of furniture save for my uncle's al
er my apartments. His quarters co
sisted of a large, sparsely furnishe
dis room running the length of the fro
o. of the house., with an alcove in co
he nection, my own sleeping room al
lie den being adjacent thereto. Tn
H. Uncle Abner continued to live amid
to this shameful waste Of handsome
ar designed rooms and broad natur
sr- grounds, was about the only piece
m extravaganza I ever knew him to
to dulge himself in. However, I cou
/ partially account for It in two way
ip- In the first place he had come in
\ IS S.