The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1867-10-03
OUR CHICAGO LETTER.
CHICAGO, Sept. %, 1857.

/
Victor Hugo has devoted whole chan
ter graphic and tru hful in his powerful
novel of Les Miserables to the, Partisan
ssgamin" or youthful vagabond and one
of the best English stories of the day is
the True story of little ragamuffin "a
description of the life OF "a little vaga-
bond in London. Each is in the highest
degree interesting but the characters In
each are as dissimilar as any develop
ments OF French and English life may
possibly be. Equally far removed from
either yet no less character in himself
Is the little vagabond OF our American
cities. Localities may give some bias TO
his peculiar traits but the main features
OF has moral character and personal APP
pearance remain about the >ame in all
our chief cities. La New York he has
way OF sleeping In cutters where escap
ing steam from solne printing vault will
warm HIM, ,--he is an inveterate check
grubber and, with his fellows constitutes
power over ON the Bowery-He is quite
versatile In his accomplishments gifted
as he Is with the boy enterprise which
struggles to Initiate every thing which it
sees done and is happily unconscious of
any bashfulneSs which should deter him
from experimenting upon his powers at
any time and place when he may feel in
the mood for SO doing. He knows that
it is little dangerous to steal "coz the
cops d be down on a felier so orful
quick. but his moral PERCEPTIONS are
seldom acute enough to perceive any rea-
son other than the cops (polieemen)
Tor caring Tor the laws OF meum and teum
He has passion for tobacco,-is oaly in
exceptional cases 10 be found suiokin a
pipe, pipes Is Vulgar in his OPINION
and then when one has to load his pipe
with guilds Of chewed tobacco picked up
aud dried In the sun the flavor is not pai-
tlcuiariy exquisite, so he prefers the
stubs OF cigars, ON very fortunate days re-
gales himself with whole new cigar. He
has honest contempt for chaps what
smokes d stump down so short that fel-
Ter can get puff outn t it as also for
them nervous buffers what chews a
stump all to nothink. Liquor be rarely
INDUCES in for the opportunity is seldom
offered, but a cove what's been drunk oile
time is looked Oh with considerable re-
spect by his fellows u. having made great
progress toward men 5 estate. His taste
for practical jokes is very largely devel-
oped and in an hundred ways he strives
constantly to gratlIyit either at the ex-
pense OF his CO nFades or OF the public
Toys he cares bot tor without they are OF
vicious tendency. For instance, some
time since there was a positive rage for
wooden ball attached to elastic strings.
The boys found intense delight IN chuck
ing these fearful missiles at the faces of
people who looked slow or timid and
checking them after within an inch Of the
nose OF the afrighted party. Now their
love OF mischief Is gratltied with a sort Of
wooden cannon which shoots peas with
tr1bble accuracy and force. Few of the
little rascaiS have ever been to school but
still fewer are Unable to read or write.
They pick up the rudinlents of education
somehow possibly in the same turtige and
OCCASIONAL way ~ which they acquire Il
| NnoWiedge or euchre seven Cd and
fortyhve. Compelled to constant ac-
tlvlty IN order To earn his precarious liv-
ing, the llttle vagabond sells papers,
blacks boots, runs errands does indeed
anything he is able TO to earn an honest
living. Very often when this fails he
aids his fortunes by little smart prac-
tice. During this peach season some ger
man grocers buy up all the peach stones
Tor mere nominal sum OF Il few pennies
per quart. One OF the ''ga;nin; the
other day hXed upon un Inspecting leu
5op grocer a5 his victim for Z. little o ;Jersi-
ton in this line ard thus be achieved IT,
fist, he hooked a til pan from near
the grocery door. Then when no one
Was looking he filled it with peach pits
from a barrel full which stood on the
sidewalk, cooliy walked in and sold them
Ihe unsuspectlng shop keeper poured
the newly purchased pailful into the bar
rel ana re-entered his shop. Very soon
the little operator re-iiled his pail from
the same stock and found ready sale for
them to tier olvner. Again aud again
the operation vas repeated Until dlacov-
cry ensued when the young "a seal coolly
returned the PAD aDI Detook MS heels.
Ii he lives and keeps on practlcing some
day he will be IN the B ,ard Of Trade.
Lead pipe In unOccupled houses. Is "a
dangerous temptation for the "gamin
| and when everything else fails he ieapt to
| fail back upon 'till-tapping Or in other
words making a raid on the money draw
| er OF some little store. Only yesterday
a couple OF them performed this feat aud
when olhccrs attempted to arrest them,
! they threw cayenne pepper III their eyes.
| Ihe Young Mems Christian Assocla-
tion mas taken in hand sort OF mission
airy work among those boys aud Is dong
no small amount of good in moral inStruc-
ton of the poor little fellows who are
| SO homeless, friendless and sef-dependant
that they should not be judged too harsh
| ly even if they are guilty OF some little
! deElatIons from the straight and narrow
path. But enongh Of the gamins for this
time. Possibly you say, yes, and too
much p Well, will change the theme
in the little space | have left.
| Literally supplied with schools as our
city is, necessity has been found to exist
for a system for female education, super
Tor to that now in Use and, as might be
expected, no sooner is the want felt than
steps are taken to supply it. Professor
| Oscar Faulhaner, who has been for four
teen years an instructor OF the young has
recently stablished at his house, No. 73
Fourteenth street, near Wabash Avenue,
a boarding school for young ladies, upon
a system which seems to remedy every
defect which has hitherto existed In this
mode of tuition. Especially. happy Is
his thorough mode of impartlng know
edge of the French and German languages
which are constantly in use Ill the estab-
lishment. even outside schools houses SO
as to teach the peculiar idioms and aecu-
rate pronounciatlOns of each language.
All branches of education common to
other boarding schools are taught here.
and no extra change is made for he Ian
guages as is customary. Pupils from the
country are enabled tn attend the oh arch
preferred by their parents The terms
per aunum for board and tuition are but
i S4OO. sia7f.5
i All this past week there has been a
grand billiard tournament going on here