The Mt. Sterling advocate., 1914-09-16

suffered. Bright, new, imposing. capa.
cious. untouched. they stood. But,
shades of Jefferson Brick-the tile
floor, the beautiful tile floor
Here first saw Major (by misplaced
courtesy Wentworth Caswell. I knew
| him for a type the moment my eyes
| suffered from the sight of him. A rat
has no geogra phical habitat My old
! friend \. Tennyson said. as he so well
said almost everything:
| Prophet. curse me the blabbing lip
| And curse me the British vermin, the rat
Let us regard the word British" a.
| interchangeable ad lib. A rat is a rat
This man was hunting about the
| hotel lobby like starved dog that haC
| forgotten where he had buried bone
He had face of great acreage. red,
| pulpy and with a kind of sleepy mas
siveness like that of Buddha. He pos
sessed one single virtue-he was very
smoothly shaven. The mark of the
beast is not indelible upon a man unit
| he goes about with n stubble. ] think
that if he had not used his razor that
day would have repulsed his ad
vances, and the criminal calendar of
the world would have been spared the
addition of one murder.
happened to he standing within FIVE
feet of a cuSpidOr when Major Caswell
opened fire upon it. had been observ-
ant enough to perceive that the attack
ing force was using Gatlings instead of
squirrel rifles. so | sidestepped SO
promptly that the major seized the op-
pOrtunity to apologize to nOncOnn-
batant. He had the blabbing lip. In
four minutes he had become my friend
and had dragged me to the bar,
desire to interpolate here that / am
a sOutherner. But am not one by pro
fession or trade. | eschew the string
tie, the Slouch hat. the Prince Albert,
the number of bales of cotton destroy
ed by Sherman and plug chewing.
When the orchestra plays Dixie do
hot cheer.
Major Caswcll banged the bar with
his fist and the first gun at Fort Sum
ter re-echoed. When he fired the last
4
But then he began on family trees and
demonstrated that Adam was only Il
third cousin of collateral branch of
the Caswell family. Genealogy dis
posed Of he took up to my distnste his
private family matters. He spoke of
his wife. traced her descent back to
Eve and profanely denied any possible
rumor that she may have had relations
in the land OF Nod.
BY this time began TO suspect thai
ne was trying to obscure by noise the
fact that he had ordered the drinks on
the chance that | would be bewildered
into paying for them. But when they
were down he crashed a silver dollar
upon the bar, Then, of course. an
other serving was obligatory. And
when l had paid for that | took leave
Of him brusquely. for wanted no
more of him. But before ! had oh
tained my release he had prated loud
ly Of an income that his wife received
and showed handful of silver money
When got my key at the desk the
clerk said TO me courteously: IF that
man CaSwell has annoyed you and il
you would like 10 make complaint we
will have him elected. He is uuis
anCe. Il lOafrr and without any known
means of support. although he seems
to have money most of the time. But
we don't ~,-r'n Ia br able To hit upon
any mri,uS If throwing him ont legal
ly."
"WhN. nu said !. after some rehec-
ton. II DOM see my way clear to
making II complaint. Rut would like
TO place myself on record as asserting
that | do not care for his company.
Your town" continued. seems to be
a quiet one. What manner Of enter
tainment. adventure. or excitement
have You to offer To the stranger with
in your gatrs:'
"Well. SIR" said the clerk. there
will be a show here next Thursday.
II is-l'll look 1t up and have the an
nouncement sent mp TO your room with |
the ice water. Good night"
After went mp 10 my room looked |
out of the window. II was only about !
10 O'Clock. hut looked upon silent |
town. The drizzle continued. Spanged |
with dim lights. aS far apart as cur
rants In cake sold nj the Ladies' ex-
change.
Nashville occupies "A foremost place |
among the manufacturing centers Of the |
country. II Ia the nth boot and shoe
market in the United States. the largest
candy and cracker manufacturing city In /
the south ard does Hn enormOIs whole
sale DRY soohs. grocery and drug business
] must tell you how ! came to be IN
Nashville. and | assure you the digres-
sion brings as much tedium 10 rle rs It
does 10 you. 1 WIS travelling else
where on my own business. but bad
a commission from northern literary
magazine u stop over there and estab.