Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1913-09-05
THE
BEAUTIFUL
: 1t Is Dwarfed or Enhanced
by Comparison
By ARTHUR TOWNSEND


There was once man on whose
walls hung picture that he did not
think in keeping with the other works
of art in his house. He concluded to
replace 1t and thought that while he
was on the job he might better buy
something Of real merit. So he con-
suited connoisseur, who selected a
painting that cost hundred dollars.
When the picture was hung the others
looked SO cheap that he spent thou
sand dollars more In replacing them
with others up to the standard of the
first Soon after that he went abroad,
where he saw great many beautiful
works of art, and brought two or
three that he especially fancied home
with him. When he got them hung
the others looked so poor that, de-
spairing of keying up the standard to
his foreign specimens, he made a bon
fire of the whole lot
This story Is the keynote to another
which am about to tell. When I
went out to Colorado good many
years ugo | found in the mining dis
tricts on Clear creek, up in the noun
tains west of Denver, few women In
comparison with the number Of men. l
had not been there long before I no.
ticed that when l met a woman she
looked refined and some of the women
comedy.
One day approached man wash
ing" for gold on the margin Of the
creek and fell into conversation with
him. While doing so couple of young
women came and looked at him rock
ing his pan and taking out tho little
particles of gold left in the sediment.
pretty girls, those" 1 remarked as
tho women went away.
"Purty enough outside"
"What do you mean by that"
stranger" he said, pausing In his
work, don't you never trust your
Judgment on women folks except when
there is a lot o. them together-any-
way, as many as there are men, It's
like what you buy In q store, IL It's
only brass candlestick. 1t Isn't much
to look at among the other CANDLE
sticks even II it's ono o. the purtiest,
but list you get 1t homo by itself and
it'll shine for all it's worth"
"Are you a married manT asked.
married. Not on your life. I had
an awful narrow escape onct, though"
"Tell me about it."
"My experience cost me some dust,
l can tell you, but 1t was wo'th 1t, and
I've never regretted buyin' 1t. When l
first come out hero there wasn't n wo-
man nearer than Denver We miners
didn't have nobody to look at except
each other, and we was the most
freckled faced, slab sided, dod rotted
set you ever see. We didn't none Of
us wash oftener than onct week, and
some Of us didn't wash at all. Them
as didn't wenr boards was tho wo'st
loolin' of all. Their faces was al
ways covered with stubble."
ado you know" interrupted, why
you became so slOvenlyw
"Why, stranger"
"Because you were not subject to
the refining influence OF women"
"The refinln' influence o. womenl
That's what I'm goin' to tell you
about We got refined all Of sud
den. There was gal come up here
from somers Kansas City or st. Joe
or Omaha, | reckon-with her father,
who was n minister or an evangelist
or somepin o. that kind, and said he'd
come to look after our souls. Before
he come we was lookln' for gold, and
after he come we was looltn' for his
daughter. Her hair was like the sun
shinin' on red sandstone. She said 1t
was auburn. Her complexion was
what she called olive, and her eyes
was-well, don't remember the color
OF her eyes, but they was beautiful.
"The parson--W Woodbridge was his
name; his daughters name was Lillian
he went into cabin where the two
lived together, the father distItbutin'
tracts, the daughter dOin' his coOkin'
for him. When night come on the cab
In was crowded with us men calm on
lillian, fist like musketers in n room
with light In II. so her father
said we'd better como one at n time,
and Lillian laughed and give us all
an evenin' There bein' six o. us, We
fist took up tho week, all except Sun
day, when her father wouldn't allow
no visitors. On that evenin' from 7
to 3 he used to give us n Bible lesson.
my evenin' was Tuesday. Tho first
Tuesday | went to see Lillian got
spoony and was gOin' to put my arm
around her when she stopped me.
"'Youll tell she said
"T swear by all That's holy won't
""There's Ave other men comm
here she said, and I like you best OF
all, but II grant you favors ten make
'em all mad
"Jist you trust mo to keep mum!
'T succeeded in convlncin' her that
! was reliable, and she soon got
enough confidence in mo to let me kiss
her once every Tuesday evenin' when
was goin' TO my cabin. kept mum,
and In few weeks got ahead OF tho
whole lot OF fellers, and lillian admit
tod that she loved me. But when
asked her to marry me sho told mo her
father wanted her 10 marry some ono