The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1878-09-13
Professional Beggars.

The ingenuety practiced by pro
fessional beggars, to obtain IA liveli-
hood, is really surprising. In this city
there are are clandestine schools where
children are regularly taught the rudi-
ments pertaining To this profession.
They are placed under the immediate
care of experienced persons until they
have acquired sufficient confidence TO
make their own way in public. The
arts of the professional beggaT are many
and very curious.
A stout, middle aged person, for sever
al successive years appeared in Broad
way, under the disguise of an old, brok-
en- pOwn man.
He was very lame; misery was de-
picted in his cOuntenance; he was shock
ingly clad; spoke with a feeble and
trembling voice, and appeared to be in
the greatest restitution. This man re-
ceived aims in abundance, and seldom
made less than five or six dallars a day.
About five O'Clock he would hobble away
from the scene of his labOrs, and disap-
pear very mysteriously until the follow
ing day. He frequently changed his To-
cality, and traversed Wall street and
other noted localities, and almost always
with success. Occasionally, charitable
individuals endeavored 10 obtain. some
insight into his history; but his language
was so broken, and his voice so feeble,
that it was impossible to understand
ANYTHING he said. He was regarded
with compassion, and the police seldom
disturbed him in his day rounds.
This man was at last secretly followed
by gentleman who had long noticed
his peculiar manner and habits. He
was tracked to vile part of town, in
the neighborhOod of Baxter street, and
was seen TO enter one of the squalid
abodes in that vicinity. BY dint of per-
sistence, and the free use of money, the
gentleman who led the pursuit was able
TO secure the services of Manufactured
woman, who occupied apartments in the
same building, and he was thus able to
cautiously observe the movements of
the beggar. 1t appears he went there
old, decrcpit, and miserable, to come
forth from the building entirely rcjuve-
mated. This house was mere hating
place, where he changed his clothes.
Where he went, after he left for the
night, was unknown to his wretched ac-
quaintances of the slums. All they
knew was, that he was not what he APP
peared to be to the public at large; that
he came there early in the day 10 but on
the habiliaments of his swindling pro-
fessiOn, and that at night he returned to
gentleman was now more than ever de
termined to fathom the beggar's secret /;
but it required several weeks of cautious
effort before his labOrs were crowned
with success.
The beggar was naturally suspicious
of being tracked, and he had recourse
TO various plans to elude pursuit. From
the wretched abode at Five Points, he
walked very briskly up town, turned
many sharp corners, looked about him
watchfully, plunged boldly into one of
the hotels on his route, mingled with
the crowd IA few moments, and then rap
idly walked away. He occupied luxuri-
GUS apartments in the vicinity of Bleeck-
er street. and almost nightly visited
some place of public amusement. He
was rich, and dressed luxuriously. After
"A while he appreciated the fact that there
were persons who had discovered his
secret, and he soon disappeared altogeth-
er from public view.-N. y. Mercantile
IOurn1l