Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1873-09-11

that curious twiteh OF the neck, accom-
panied with backward and inquisitive
glance over his SHOULDERS II suspecting
that he was watched By some hotel min
ion deputed to order him away-which.
affection that it was. was involuntarily
one Of the most effective agents Of his sue
cess as humorist. He had at his CON-
mand q thousand recitals Of his own ~xpe-
ricnces, false or trae. and although the
majority Of them were Of q, very question
able character, they evoked laughter BY
their very broadness and absurdity. At
ter he had satisfied the sense Of humor Of
the ccmpany-not that he ever satiated
them or exhausted bis own wonderful re-
sources-he would skillfully draw their
attention to the fact that he was prepared
| to accept from them the usual "initiation
fee"-a sum ranging from cents to dol
lars. according to the liberality Of the Civ
er. These aims he accepted as ifthey were
eminently his due, and he would part
from the company with repartee or an
epigram thrown backward at the group
with most joyous effect. To citizens whom
he knew well-and every man about town
knew the quaint. decrepid figure with its
sugges,iveness of past gensility-he had
no hesitation in applying for his "divi.
dends," as he termed them-the small
pittapces OF monthly or weekly payment.
Familiar with the language of the rport-
ing world, his conversation and his narra-
tives were interlarded with words culled
from the gamblers vocabulary, and to
those who found amusement in his stories
these technical terms went far to season
the feast of anecdote. In his social hab-
its he was pariah. If he had friends,
or even acquaintances. they never walked
with him on the street. or paused to chat
with him for moment. as the friends OF
other men did Few if any knew where
he lived. The public saw him daily at
his post, hobbling painfully along the av-
enue in the vicinity Of Sixth street, and
, furtively but keenly glancing from right
to left, ready. if passer-by should ex.
hibit any curiosity, to approach and enter
into conversation. He wore his hat-a
, wel!-thumbed silk hat-upon the side o
his head, and carried an eye-glass-poor
, relic of the Leaus jours Of his youth !! His
coat and trousers were never of new
fashion, and hts gloves were never fresh
. and vet there was about the man that Gu
, rious mixture Of roue, adventurer, man o
: the world. .nd old beau which would have
: drawn to him the gaze even ofthe listIess
had he stood among a hundred men,
Whatever may have been the unrecordeo
excesses Of his earlier aud more prosper
n Gus days. it must be said to his cred'
!. that Of late years he never drank stron
n liquors. Ii asked by his entertained Ii:
i. teners to drink with them. he would ex
# cuse himself and take cigar" He ha
,e some knowledge, too. Of the classics. TO
i to company Of scholarly taste he h'
,e been known to repeat-and to trans
~ late with excellent method as he n
l peated-liue after line Of Horace. II
lv face was dark and scanned with wrinkle
r. and, like NJ. Bandois in Little Do.rit,
es his noustache, short and dyed, at tim
III went up under his nose, and his no:
=, came down over his mou.tache, giviu
3. him the. look Of Mephistopheles. I'll
at shawl or the light overcoat graceful
\" hanging over the left arm-the right han
an being employed in holding the necessa
n. walkiny-stick-was quite familiar fe
n ture of the "Beau's" outdoor apparel.
,s- Ii was probably the most cherished re
no of his old indulgence in fashionable e
of terror, and in warm weather drew to hi
,it the wondering glance of the stranger W
n. may not have known that the garment "
ire merely a symbol.
an Had such q comic story-teller as j
it Miller ever lived. Beau" Hickman eou
+. have taught him the first requiremeI
n, of his art. Munchansen and Polichine
cd combined, the improbability Of his nj
,et ratives of personal experiences was equ'
II. led ouly by their grotesqueness. 1
ON name of his stories was legion. He re
,r- tied how, going from Baltimore to Wa:
~, ington on the train. he obtained b!
of trick, a new ha. and free passage at
same time. Pretending to be asles
IN. with his head leaning upon his arm on
= sill Of the open window. when the eond'
re- tor. gathering the tickets, passed him
to and roughly shook him, he allowed
,be shabby ..beaver' to fall from his h
var upon the ground. Beau" stormed .
la averred that the conductors rudeness
ore caused him the loss Of his new hat I
hat his ticket which was stuck into its ba
ac- and the conductor. to pacify him. ALLOW
or him to ride free to his destination ,
the repaid him for the loss of his hat.
,ol- ferring to the weakness Of the Virgini
,ers over the question Of their frss famil
ys,. he told bow he once wagered with fri
ard that if they should cross the Long Bri
- they would meet q member Of "i
ind family" in the frst person whom {
crs- should encounter on Virginia soil.
.sh- wager was taken, and beau" HickI
fter and his friend crossed the bridge into
in Old Dominion. The FIRST person vi
mic they met proved to be an old colosed u
uri- and Beau" won his bet. for upon b
the questioned as to the standing of his {;
and ly. the old colored man replied: MY
, OF ity. sirs l belong to cue Of the FIRST
bich lilies Of Africa"
a OF The closing days Of the life of "Bs
unee Hickman we're fraught With mclanc
eau which seemed in keeping With bis for
a of existence. For week prevsons to
ever Saturday he had been ailing. and he
him) net leave his room On Maryland az
sd0se after Thursday Of lskt week. Du
tion. the afternoon OF the day frss mention
allan sanitary inspector visited his lodgings
q the found him suffering frcn para
crous stroke. He was At onec removed 70
, nar- Providence Hospital. where he was o
sten- As much attention BY the Sisters 10 es
g he as ,hossh he vas paying patient.