Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1874-12-09

beauty unadorned" theory, another
street feature is also in full glow at this
season, oIlude to the mendicants crouch
ed upon door steps or standing ON pro-
minent corners, who with the approach
of cold snaps have an extra twang of
what is meant to be piteousness in their
tones, though ] must conf IS this sort of
thing appeals to my sympathy very little
now-a-days. For note the same old
wrecks whom / observed winters ago in
apparently the same state of decrepitude,
aud have long since come To the con-
clusion that if they are as helpless as
they represent themselves, they should
have died long ago. There are two old
women to be found nearly every day on
Charles St., who are particularly dis
tasteful to me. One has fearfully
bunglcd up foot and a carefully wrapped
hand which have to my knowledge been
in this state of careful concealment for
several years, leading one to think she
has a tcn-pcnny-nail in her foot and a
darning needle in her hand. At first
she seemed an object for charity, but
passed her one day as she was counting
her pennies and half-dimes. and there
was such look of avarice on her face
as convinced me she must be frand.
will lay a wager that woman has lots of
money at home. The other old woman
may or may not be an impostcr, but |
conceived a personal dislike to her.
which her new tactics have not dispellcd.
She used to have basket of those thin
rubber balls which make a most disgust
ing infantine squeak ON being pressed;
and invariably when | passed her on my
way to dinner she would rouse herself
from her depressed posture and squeak
one of those balls at me, accompanying
II VAIN s"en lnrss9p a. S"a would "@e :"
a three months old baby if you happen
cd to have one. That woman was the
pest of my life for whole winter. |
passed her with stealthy tread and batcd
breath, but she seemed to feel my
presence.
Butin compensation for the persistency
of these old women, we are somewhat
relieved of hand-organs, those musical
nusanccs or rather music murderers. =
Occasionally one comes across good
hand-organ well ground. | have only
met with two hand-organs that | could
tolerate. You see | am dealing in cou-
plets. One was manipulated by fine
looking Italian with brigandish look
ing hat and mustache who ground out
some choice airs from III Nogatore
and other operss, accompanying his
music with an occasional graceful take
of and wave of his hat by way of let
ting you know that any favors would be
thankfully received. This fellow was
an artist in his way. The other hand
organ was diminutiye box with F.;
plaintive wall, just suited to the only all
ever heard from it. This was par
of that closing 'dria" in Lucia
''T5m6e degG doi mier' of course til,
thing was vilely enough done by thi
music box, but it always carried me bacl
to the opera as | first heard Nillson ant
Capoul render it in the shadows of tina
Saturday matinee, and how ! aftcrward
wandered around in the cleaning file,
with the image of that beautiful whit
robed maniac and the the lovers mourn
full melody still brooding over my soul
| hav'nt heard that box for long time
and | suppose now ] should laugh a
these fancies and be very much relieve,
by kicking the cadaverous looking grin
der into the gutter Cos.