Evening star., 1925-04-12
Rambler Gets Interesting Notes
From Letters Sent by Friends
Contribute O
Some of

years iS a question. The literary
quality of man ought not TO be de-
termined by a single outbreak. He
should have stamina and long wind
Many a man writes one piece for
newspaper, sends q hundred marked
copies to friends-or at least. to men
he knows-pastes the clipping In
scrapbook and brags about 1t for 20
years.
Nearly every man the Rambler
meets says, "Oh, yes. l used TO be
newspaper man myself. You know, in
the Summer OF 1S76--or 1t my have
been in the Spring of 17S6-our
church gave a strawberry festival,
and the editor Of our county paper,
who was kept home by the mumps,
asked me to write It up for him, and,
sir, don't you know, the Jay County
Weekly Sentinel of Liberty published
my piece verbatim ct literatim with
out change. Yes, SIR, ] used to be a
newspaper man oncet myself"
This is not remarkable. When you
invite a friend to have a game of pool
he says: Dear, dear! l used to be
the champion pool shooter of my
town. j haven't had a cue in my
hand for 80 years. but l used TO roll
EN- in the pockets with my eyes
shut"
II you bring up the question OF fox
hunting he says: II was a great rider
in my day Why, sir, when lived at
Hickville l used TO go out 70 my
uncle's farm, near Swamp Corners
and L would ride one Of the farm
horses from the barn TO the water
trough, 80 yards away. and ride him
bareback sir; yes, sir, bareback.
used to be a great rider in my day"
If you ask him to have a game of
croquet he says: Well. well! Gro
quet! II used TO be my favorite
game. Why. sir. I've started off from
one striped stake and gone the round
OF the wickets without missing a
shot: but 1 haven't had a mallet in
my hand for 40 years"
Then, II you get stuck between the
gerund and the supine, he says: You
know, / took a prize with my Latin
essay at the Nut Hill Academy and
could put II all over old Prof Bone
dome in conjugations. because he
didn't know 'em either, but 1 haven't
read line for 80 years and am a
trffe rusty on Nepos. but tell you,
sir, tempus fugit"
IF you invite him TO pitch horse
shoes, well, he will tell you that once
upon a time he was the champion of
Hensfoot Corners. There Is a great
deal of young talent that doesn't
grow up.
AS a starter for this story the
Rambler said that he gets letters
from men who write better than he
does. There are two varieties of con-
ceit-the bold and the covert. There
are some men so upright in their con-
ceit that they will tell you that YOU
don't know anything. Then, there is
the man with weazle streak in him
who speaks words of modesty, but
smiles in way that says. You're a
small potato alongside of me" A man
whose conceit oozes from behind a
mask OF modest, fattering words is
about as agreeable to other men as
a goat is to sensitive nostrils.
x X
PUT there is a great deal to be said
in favor of f1attery. Josh Billings
said, THE man who fatters you viii
rob you IL he gifts the chance" Yet,
many of US have to use fiattery to
get along.
l was in a shop few days befo' :,
left town. and the boss came I'D to
knot OF men and said he had a
funny story. He was trying to he
democratic and he wanted his hands
10 say as they gathered at the noon
pie counter, The boss is a reg'Iar
feller. No airs about him, He talks
TO us just as If we was human be-
ings. OF course. sometimes he fires
US for letting a customer get away
without buying 81 worth of goods
marked down to $7.sS."
Well, the boss told the funny story.
The buyer for the collar department
laughed until he choked. The book
keeper laughed loud enough to wake
a cop. The floorwalker had Mysteries.
When the boss went back to his
of1ice and order was restored the coll
lar buyer said to me: IT heard that
joke when Christy's Minstrels were
playing at Odd Fellows Hall In 1860,
and Christy told me he got the joke
in England, where it had come over
with William the Conqueror"
But you laughed at it?" said the
Rambler.
'Ah," said the collar buyer; "the
boss told It,"
Bosses should not tell jokes to their
employees. It's taking advantage of
defenseless men. The boss, if he is
successful business man, probably
has no sense of humor.
The Rambler takes from the let
ters that have come to him several
he thinks good-good, because they
give information that fits this work,
and good because they are written as
the writer talks and give the reader
a glimpse of the writer.
They are good because the writers
did not know they were writing for
publication and did not fall into the
sef-conscious froze-stiff style which
oTeTcomeS so many persons when
they write for publication.
The Rambler wrote a story of the
Youngs of Nonesuch and gave you
an appetizing description of the
place, but not much nourishment
about the Youngs. The following let
ter is from Mrs. F. r. ToIson of La
fayette, La, a member of the Young
family:
Your much appreciated letter duly
received. Excuse delay in answering
it. Thanks for information. Sorry 1
cannot tell you who my great grand
mother was. Only know that she
was Mrs. Nicholas Young of None
such. My great-great-grandfa
was Benjamin Young, and my grand
father was Motley Rozier Young. My
father was Nicholas, the son Of Motley
Rozier Young.
Let me tell you why I am in
Louisiana. My grandfather left Mary
land just after graduating from
Georgetown College. He was young
and had a desire to roam and see the
world. He landed in Louisiana, set
tied here, and married Louisa
Graduigo, a beautiful Italian girl
from Venice. My father was IL years
old when she died. My grandfather
sent him to his mother at Nonesuch,
to be educated at Georgetown COL
lege. After his graduation he came
back to Louisiana and married my
mother, Martha Porter, rich in tim
Der land. I was Martha Young and
married DR.. F. r. Tolson in 1877. He
was a graduate of Tulane Medical