The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-11-21
RICHARDSON'S DREAM.

THE HOAX THAT AMUSED SOME PRACTICAL
JoKERs AND lost A PocKETBooK.
Was it IN erolite beguiled into cloudy atmos-
phere and trying hard to flee the attractions of this
wicked world. planet out for post-prandial
stroll through the system, only baoonist caper
ing about somewhere above the clouds? The score
OF credulous morais who stood craning their necks
and worrying their shirt collars in Sixth avenue.
above Twentyhrd street, did not know for the life
of them; but there they were, rolling their eyes
from the horizon to the zenith and doing their
best to make out what all the hubbub was
about. 1t little man with wall eye,
in plain pea jacket, that had started it,
He had cut up odd Shines nor had he pointed in
the air or shouted anything. He had only balanced
himself lightly on the curbstone and stared into
space with all his might and main. Five men
him, and at they turned around and did their
best look the sky out Of countenance. In dozen
seconds many more had wheeled into line. Soon
there shopkeepers and shopping ladies and
business men standing stock STILL with the newt
able small boy sand wiched among them.
"Whats up?" asked big, pursy fellow who had
almost wrenched his neck out of joint.
''Why it's up it is, don't you see? was the salts
factory reply from the wall-eyed man.
"And what might it be?"
''Waal, it might be a comet, and it might be
hunk O. cloud, and it might be fre-wucks; but it
amt for it's jest the biggest shootin' star ever
"a shootin' star at this time o. day and in weather
like this? Git out, sceptic observed close at
hand.
Young man." said the wall-eyed astronomer se-
verely, ''p'raps you don't bet very heavy on them
blinkers o. yourn. II so. all right. But I'm backing
mine all the time and say it is o shootin' STAR.
The objector held his peace and the walleyed man
II don't take much stock in phenomenons and
them sort O. things anyway but there's that Teller
Rickerson as dreamed the world was goin' to come
to end somewhere about this time O. year, and
that makes me feel interested in shootin' stars.
Halo! there she goes agin!"
At ONCE score OF heads were damned back on as
many shoulders and two score eyes went roaming
through space in quest OF the blazing constellation.
''You can't see it now. your? said the wall
eyed man, calmly turning around. No more they
could.
Looks as If twas all afre don't it? and without
waiting for reply, as twelve more people Joined
the crowd, he said "lt would be cur it that
star kept comm this way till it bunked agin u.s.
there? Quite a bonfire round here. reckon. Rick
erson figgern on it's happenin that way. The
| stars would drop and the sun would bust up and
| there would be q big blaze all around
Some nervous niortals examined their consciences
at this and they thought Of free admission among
| the goats they shudderingly scanned the heavens
| again for the colliding world
COULDN'T SEE NoTHIN'."
One youth of tender years who had climbed q
amppost the better to the impending pyrotech-
mic exhibition doelully announced at this point
that he ..couldn't see nothin'" at which some one
in the crowd insnuated that with four fingers
OF his best whiskey the walleyed man could the
whole solar system. The victim OF this unfeeling
throwing all his lungs into grand effort. he
shouted:-
"By golly, there she goes again." and he melted
nto the crowd Up went the optics again, around
swung the heads ana when they came back to their
natural position the walleyed man gone.
"Guess Rickersons show don't come off to-day"
some observing with air of bitter disap-
pointment when q sinister sound heard. 1t
came from the throat of lady bystander who, as
she clasped her dolman convusively, cried at the
top of her voice.
.'some ones got me pocketbookl"
Thp vvav sta vi pp1a ainut
marvel Of military man9uvring. Some one
shouted ''Stop theft" and nearly every one opened
his her mouth to call "Police' But at that mo-
ment small boy quaint announcement Of "Cheese
it; here's Wilams!'' shut them all up. The dread
consciousness that they were in the Twenty ninth
precinct fell like thundcrbot and visions of To-
Gusts and heads came clustering them fast
that they forgot the utter impossibility of any
policeman being within earshot when wanted.
Somehow Ickerson's dream and the shooting star
had gone out of their minds altogether and the
naked eye the wal-eycd completely
effaced. Mrs. Mary Maxwell. of Astoria l.. l., who
lost the purse directed to seek redress at the
nearest police court but she had not the
remotest idea who the cuprit the magistrate of
course could not help her.