Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-03-04
THE OHIO STATESMAN
THE HOMELESS OF. o MEMPHIS.
How they Live, N owe and have Their
keinR

THE HOMELESS OF. MEMPHIS.
sASaE kA3AfsAts ---Ea E.-f'FaE EsSF-t7,eT eTFsssFs
How they Live, N oxsa and have Their
Being
1t has been carefiIllys Estimated that the
city OF Memphis at the present time has a
pSpuiation Of between .sixty and seventy
thousand persons, ten Thousand OF whom
are entirely homeless 1t is not to be in
ferred, however that these ten thousand
unt0rtuaates live In the Sfraets, or have no
place to lay their heads. They are simply
without home, and have no appreciation
of the beautiful wor1s;t vFGq Ar
Home. home.swe sweet home,
Fherss no pace like home. y ( ~"
They live in all sorts of curious places.
such AS hotels gfeat1and small; boarding
houses, good, bad, and. Indifferent; fur
nished rooms, com portable aud fttncoriz
fortAbie, aud often situated in the top
most stories of the highest buildings of the
city. "HQme'S to these persons, many of
whom are married, without much idea of
double-blessedness, is q Thing unknown.
andSwhiek can hardly be realized. They
Of the comforts and pleasures of ones
own fireside. They i've. move, and have
their being in crowd, and cangnot realize
what the privacy Of home MEANS La no
tells they eat at the public table surrounded
by strangers, and often without that pleas
ital an aid to digestion. Their meals are
served a Ia carte. and they know nothing of
the meaning of a "home joint or s. good
cup Iefa teasf The only play aground 7for
their children, E'if they are SO unfortunate
as to have any," as a witty writer once re-
marked, is the halls and corridors of the
hotel, where they become prematurely pre-
coeious. These innocent little ones suffer
most for the want OF a home, for after
roaming through the halls for few hours
they are cooped up in close room for the
remainder OF the day. and. seldom, ifEeyer,
breathe the fresh air. Hotel Ecfiidrefi1 are
in consequence weak and sickly, arising in
part from want of pOweriahd healthful ex-
ercise, and lately highly seasoned food.
which is certain to promote indigestion
and dyspepsia. Lille in boafding-house
is the same. but '.oply little more so,' as
Artemus Ward would say.
The great majority1Of the homel ess. .hpw-
ever, are the young men of the city who
occupy rO Ims wni h they furnish them
selves in large buildings, often up three
''pairs of staifs,f and who take their meals
atIthe hhndreiii AMI one RESTAURANTS of the
city. Some of these rooms are very richly
furnished, nicely carprted. and have an all
of comfort about them which is really
pleasant TO Observe.' Many of these v oIn9
men are thousands OF miles away from any
relatives, and the only reTnem branees they
have of homes are the portraits of fathers
mothers, sisters and brothers. which otter
adern the walls or repose quietlysin agVand
lyibound album which occupies a conspic-
uous place among paper covered volumes
of light literature. AM, perchance, box o.
cigars or smoking tobsccO on ore of the
side tables. AS a general rule, the young
men, alike the rabbits and hares. go togeth-
er In pairs" and the apartment is furnished
at great expense. Many young men dis.
play The greatest amount of taste in the
n md lma Eop
them in decent order. Some even aspire &C
MARBLE topped furniture. comfortable
looking carpet frequently covers the floor
and the fuEuitRreis generally of a substan-
tial character. and all kept neat and clean
blythe negro ,janitor WHO; Yisits the roou
each forenoon for that purpose. But with
all its air of comfort the room has what
Dickens quietly calls il, "a bachelor-likt
look" One can easily observe at glance
that the neat hand of woman has. not beer
there. TliisS il Aeasily SEER in the genera
arrangement of thitfg Alflioughsit may
be called ''snug'' still there is no .shome-
lOoko about the apartment. Yet with al
this these yonng fellows are not to be piiied
orthey Hye1a jolly life and rather lovethan
otherwise their Arab like existence. They
feel like the man who sang
.s"I care for nobody -. 7'7 - S.a
and nobody cares for me-"
They go where they Ike do what E,they
merHiAg.1 which is frequently the case,
they have not the slighte fear of a Sour
tain lecturer They get up. betimes in the
merning. breakfast at "a Restaurant then
gOsto business. They also dine andgsup at
the restaurant, and In Che evening spend
their time at the EtheatFry or some other
place of amusement. Call in at one of the
numberless saloons, If they do not happen
to. be Good Templars.. and then having
passed their time to- their . oWn> satis faction
at least, they retire to rest, and the same
round of working, eating, drinking and
sleeping goes on from day to-day.
Such life smacks of pleasure to many
They are jolly, aud thoroughly enjoy it.
but it has discomtorfs; and these gay
young men are often called on to taste the
bitter cup; and to feel 0m0st acutely the
want of home, aud home comforts and
attentions. While in tie enjoyment OF
perfect health; they take pleasure in al
around them. On winters evening theil
friends call on them, and the pipes anC
cigars and perhaps the hdeniijehfi, with
its contents, accompanied by lemons anC
sugar, are.br0ught out. The keuIeis PLACED
on the stove, aud the jolly company arr
soon enjoying what a Western divine wa
pleased TO call :. that pleasant compound
hot Scotch whisky punch" Songs art
sung, f1eaiths are pledged, while the clouds
of smoke are blown upwards from tht
pipes and cigars, and all is mIrth anC
jollity SIS ''lA.ia1 's9i'7 SD '1 III. trf.
GBisis- the bright side of the picture, ba
it has its reverse. Stretched on a bed in {
room ON the upper story of large build
ing lies young man, who only few days
previously was to- sbesseen walking aloBg
the streets the very picture of health al {
strength. Sickness. however, has sudden
ly seized upon him, and he. tesses uneasily
upon his couch. There is no .'ne near hin
to assist him. His iscampanion" has gone t.
.<l4-.s Ill
breakfast to be sent Co him from the restau
rant. His appetite, no wever, Is gone, anC
he waits impatiently for the arrival, of tn
Doctor. At last, to his great relief,
knock is heard at the door, and, in respoBs'
to his faint 9come in" the disciple of Es
culapioss enters and approaches the. bed
and makes the necessary inquiries. In re
ply to the meek at is nothing serious
D0ctor?" the medical man looks solemn
and quietly shakes his head, recommend
that a nurse be procured. and having writ
ten prescription, softly takes his depart
ure. The young man, all alone III tn,
world. stretched OH sick bed. from which
he is destined. perhaps, never to rise, nov
feels all the wants and comforts of home
The tender hand of the wife, the mother
or the sister are not there to place th
soothing cup to his burning lips or to wip
away gently the large beads of perspira
ton that gather upon his bro We No ten
der hand To smooth the hard and carelessl
stuffed pillow 5r to perform those thous
and and one little, kindnesses which onl
woman can do to loved one. 1t
then that the once 'jolly young bachelor
realizes his true position. He feels that
is a TWaif on the great ocean OF life, aud tina
he is sailing. without a rudder, far froI
home and kindred. The little negro VIII
has, been, hired as nurse, does the best sh
can, or which she understands to be best
The 1comrade, companion, and room mate {
the patient, is assiduous inshis attentions
and former acquaintances are with him fire
altentlY and bring him delacacies. Th