The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1865-01-27


The great be.uty of the humor Of
sJ,hn Phe ak" (Lispt. Darby was that
there was not particle Of Miniature about,
it. He wss not ore of those sour, discon
tented, satirical, practical jokers, 20 natu
rally and Justly tabooed in.society. Good
nature and good Fellowship be cherished
and beyond these, save in the way o.
harmless mirth, he never swerved.
was not ia him. We have mentioned
how he joked us some deal 10 introducing |
himself as MIR Ferguson whom We had
met before. But funnier and perhaps
more perplexing thing was what he did
to clerical missionary from the Mission
D,lares, foreign establishment not faI
fom SIN Francisco.
Tue aforesaid missionary was "Iank.'
as our rebelious rebel brethren would
term him, very poor and very pious, but
one among the most inquisitive of his
tribe. He was introduced BY Mr.. Phn
nix to his wife, an accomplished and at.
tractive lady, to whom the missionary was
anxious, of course to make himself accep
table. After the changes were RUG up.
on the usual meteorological topic, and the
growth and wickedness of San Francisco,
the learned prelate suddenly asked:
"Captain Darby, what was the name
of your good lady before you married
herr"
Without moving muscle and looking
him steadily in the eye, John Phoenix re-
piled:
"Her name, sir, was Coon (which it
was, by the by. being that of an opulent
and we'll known family of St. Louis; you
must have heard Of her father"
"Not that l am aware Of" answered
the missionary. "You have forgotten it
probably. but he was the well-known Zip
Coon, odd Zip Coon,' they used to call
him; everybody who knew him always
spoke Of him as a very clever fellow"
"Oh, yes responded the simple
minded priest, al do now remember hav-
ing heard tell of him; there we're some ex-
ceedingly elegiac lines written upon him
after his death"
"Not a smile, says our informant, who
witnessed this scene and heard this con
versation, mantled the face of John Phe
nix during the whole of it His power
of face, in fact, was something wonder
full, as is sufficiently attained BY the fol-
lowing anecdote:
He was sitting, on one occasion, 10 the
guests lolling room of the New York Ho
tel, confronting on Broadway, when a lit
tie beggar girl came in, and with the
IS keen discernment OF little people in gen.
eral, noticing his child loving benevolent
countenance, approached him asking aims.
She was very Young, innocent-locking,
and had none of the juvenile whine and
persistency OF most young mendican.s one
meets in the streets and halls of our pub.
lie hotels. PLenx at once assumed a
mournful expression Of face and began to
talk, as it we're con6den,ial,y and very
afecsonstely to her. He TOLD her that
his father was long since dead, and that
he, >
"IIaving early lost his mother
Without sister, without brother"
was now left entirely alone in the world;
that be was then bat little boy, with
nobodg to look to, and often he had not
known where he was to sleep at night.
The little girls blue eyes began to moist
en-; the lolling guests, most o. whom knew
Captin Darby, gathered around, when
what was their surprise to see the poor
sympathetic beggar child go close up to
him aud in qriet, confidential way take
out Of the side pocket Of her soled and
tattered frock all the money she had gath
cred during the day and placedoit in his
hand. This tribute to Mr.. Darby's pow
er of counteuance and manner and the ex-
quisitely beautiful evidence of the effect
of it in fhe act of the little girl, struck
every person present with admiration. l.;
is needless to say that the tender hearted
and generous little donor of her hard days
earning had not only her small, yet great,
benefaction restored. but wen. away with
great possessions, educed from the sym
pathetic pockets of by-standers
Happening to be in Boston--we believe
he was temporarily placed there ia an or
cal capacity-he CHANGED to be walking
through Washington street when his at
tention was arrested by sign which his
iuquiring mind was DESTROYS of inves.
tissting. The sign read "CALL aud TUT.
TIE. Phoenix Vnt into the store, tine
establishment, with all the appointments
OF an elegant resort of the haus ton, and
said:
81 have called to futile; | have neva,
fulfilled but would like to. How much is
it?v
"Mr. futile is out, said dapper clerk
"but will be in in few moments"
81 can't watt" said Phoenix, sbut
when he comes in say to him that to- moi
row at ten O'Clock, l will call and tuttle."
Cory O'Lanus ON Family Affairs.