Richland beacon., 1873-05-03
QHeer People.

g lT takes all Orts Of people TO make
world" says the old adage, and truly
there are great many varieties of queer
men and women and queer societies and
queer communities scattered all over the
earth, when one takes the trouble to look
them up, as curious investigators do now
and then. 1t is said that Dickens knew
an original for every one of his characters,
and that he cOried them pretty closely |
too in his delineatiOns. If this be true,
he must have known some very rare Oddi |
ties indeed. We have no difficulty in reali- |
Zing the possibility of Dick Swiveller or
a Sairey Camp, but Mr.. Quilp seems al
most out OF the question. MIR. VhOles
has many duplicates, and so has Mr.. Spen-
low. of the firm of Spenlow 81 Jorkins;
but Dora and Mr.. Crook and MIR. Dick
and Miss Flite-these and score Of others
seem so unlike the common run of people,
that we find it hard to believe them pOr-
traitures from life. And yet almost every
body meets now and then with people
quite as oddly made up as any of these.
Mr.. HepwOrth Dixon found more than
dozen sects in Russia. whose hundreds of
members were risking both liberty and
life for the sake of the most utterly absurd
faiths imaginable. Similar bodies exist in
other lands. There is within a days jour
AgapemOne, or Abode of Love, in which
dwell number of people who believe
that their leader-a man named Prince
died some years ago and again became
alive; that he is now incapable of SHINING,
and finally that he is the Almighty him.
self, as he claims to be. And this Abode
Of Love is not an insane asylum either.
We have in our country the Shakers on
the one hand and the Oneida Communists
on the other, while some parts of the West
and South have sects far queerer of doc
triEe than either of these. We can readily
understand how one cranky" man OF
woman can take up the odd notions Oh
which these curious sects are based, bu
that scores of others should follow sucl
leaders seems marvel.
Our purpose. however, is TO speak o
singular individuals rather than of singll
lar sects or communities, and almost ev
cry neighbOrhOod furnishes at least on
oGdity. We remember one old man witt
q mania for litigation, whose favOrit
amusement was suing his sons and daugh
tiers on all imaginable pretexts. Once il
suit. no matter how small the amour
at issue might be, he would spare neithe
money nor time to push the litigatiOnjus
as far as the. law would let it go, and tina
too i'm spitebf the fact that in all othe
iHdltt.S Ic WIS DIS as al iiliSti
We knew another man once who, in ridin
on horseback, would always sit with hi
back toward the animals head, becaus
he believed it a sin for any body TO s.
otherwise on horseback since Baalam
time. Another, neighbOr of this on,
would always go out without his hat q
soon as a rain began, and would wal
thus for hours over his farm, returnin
only when the rain ceased or night set il
Another would not allow on his tabl
sweet pickles or any salad-dressing j
which vinegar and sugar were mixed
even though he was abundantly supple
with pickles or dressing to his tast,
In the same neighborhOOd live
land still lives, we believe)
gentleman who has belonged to seven di
ferent churches, and whose oddities {
other kinds are innumerable. For man
Years he thought walking the only prOpt
mode of locOmOtiOn, and so he wake
everywhere, even to the city, forty mile
away. Suddenly he became convince
that walking was not the proper thing
and ceased TO walk altogether outside tn
house.
Somewhat less strange than these wa
the case of gentleman of high cultur
and cOurtly manners, who would never
on any account, bid any one adieu, eve
y
He would lay deliberate plans to avOi
thi- without seeming guilty Of discOurtesy
and rarely ever failed to accomplish hi
purpose. But in any event he positivel
would not say goodbye; and if he cOul
not evade it by taking French leave or i
any other way, he would abruptly tur
his back upon his friends and leave will
out word. He went to Europe once fC
ajOurney of many months. and gave n
notice whatever of his intention to g
even to his own family. He lett the hOu'
without baggage, apparently for tel
minutes walk, and sent back note by
sservant, saying that he would wait in Ne
1ork fo- his trunks to arrive by expires
"A goOd nl;tny Irregularities, of which v
are too apt to make sport. are the resu
of nervous disease. Several uaoas of n
kind have come within our own kiiu,
ledge. One of them was that of a your
man who would be seized with an irresi'
IDLE impulse to touch, with hand or foe
some object within sight. He would ri
from his desk, when writing, and Gro
the office to touch a particular spot
the wall or the leg of a particular cha
When walking along the street he won
feel bound to touch post here and TT
there, so that his progress was often Sc
Ously impeded by the nervous necessit
Sometimes the impulse would seize hi
after he had passed the object, and
would be compelled to return to it. II
first meeting with the lady who aftt
wards became his wife was at par
where, seeing her, a stranger, on the O
pOsite side of the room, he was sudden
impelled to cross the floor for the purpO
of laying his finger ON her nose, a pl
ceeding which friend of both had to e
plain and apologize for in an intervit
with the lady next day. The explanati
led to an acquaintance which ripened in
afriendship and ended in marriage. Is
If any novelist had told this life-stOry il
book, who wouldn't have thought it
ufferlI, Unavoidable ona2 Hen,.fh a