The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1877-11-01
vagabond. Ancient and Modern.

! written In 1900 by an unknown author
the first printed edition of which ap.
peared in Augsburg between 1912 anC
ljl4, and was entiteled Liber Vagato.
rum, " or Book Of Vagabonds.
In the " Liber Vagatorum a." there ar,
twenty-five kinds of vagabondism de.
scribed, the arts of most of which arc
obsolete, but enough is shown to prove
that the principle of fraud remains UNI
changed, however the forms may differ
The author happily discriminates he
tween the unfortunate beggar ahd the
cheat, saying that " there is many a god
ly man who begs unwillingly, and feels
ashamed before those who knew him
formerly when he was better Off, and
before he was compelled to beg" and
commends such to the benevolent. The
rest he classifies, and of these select a
few as bearing upon our own time:
], The Stabulers, or bread gatherers,
who beg in families, each having six or
seven sacks, and carrying pot, plate,
spoon, flask, to hold what may be given
them in the name of all the saints, sew
orally.
Occasionally, in the country, such
groups are seen here objects of the
deepest pity, and if not begging in the
name of the saints, present appeals for
charity before which doubt is banished.
,. The LosSeHerS, or prisoners let loose,
are beggars on account of pretended
imRrisOnments for conscience's sake.
Since the war many of these have pre-
sented themselves, making it very hard
at times to decide which is the true and
which the false. One of this class not
long since appealed to an association
of which he affirmed that he was mem
Der, and proved himself such, telling a
fearful tale Of wrong done him; impri-
sionment, property burned, wife and
child destitute, his perilous escape and
hoped reunion! Tears poured down
his cheeks as he told his story and
begged for aid. Ordinary business pru-
dence was drowned in that flood of tears,
and a collection of forty dollars was ta-
ken up on the spot. Then the lachrymal
udders again gave down, and as he
pOcketed his plunder he breathed the
pious wish that God would bless with
his infinite favor those who had done
this pious deed. How the scoundrel
must have chuckled at the credulity of
his dupes!
3. The KleakerS, or Cripplcs. These
beggars "sit at the church doors and
attend fairs and church gatherings with
sore and broken legs one has no foot,
another no shank, a third no hand or
ARM st. ..
This class, then very large, has nu-
merOus representatives to-day in our
own country, though modified by cir
cumstances. Master Hans Zeigler of
ROsheim went for one with wooden
leg, who had insulted his niece, when
the fellow ran away, leaving his leg
behind him another ran so nimbly, in
terror of a constable, that, as the book
says, "a horse could hardly have run
faster" a withered arm or wooden
leg is a pretty little capital nowadays
for one of moderate ambition. The late
Rev. Thomas Starr King was on one of
the Hudson river boats when cripple
appealed to him for money to aid him in
purchasing a wooden leg. He had col
leCted, he said, but seven dollars and
half, and Mr.. King gave him generous
sum. The next year Mr.. King was on
the same boat and was asked by the
same man to subscribe for the same
object. He was asked how much he
had collected, and informed his ques-
toner that he had got but seven dollars
and a half. He was advised to increase
the figure somewhat for the credit of a
charitable public.
4. The DobiSSerS, or Church Mendi-
cants. These frauds went about with
letters and seals, begging aims to repair
ruined chapel or to build new
church.
Concerning this class the Liber says:
Verify such friars do make collections
for an edifcium, namely, one which lies
not far beneath the nose and is called
st. Drunkard's Chapel" There were
good men however, among these, for
the writer advises that elf from church
that lies two or three miles from the
people come to beg, give them as much
as thou wilt or canst." In our own
day the honest applicant of this class,
if a stranger, cannot find fault if fvouch-
ers are tested, Beggars for church fairs
need have no fears of being included
among this class. Their fair faces, so
often seen, are guaranteed Vouchers
Boston Journal
A Model Fourth of July Grafton.
l.. -.