The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1882-05-31
Toledo Beggars.

The populace are instructive, free
born, Unsuitable beggars. The mag
nifcently chased doorways of the
cathedral festered with revolving speci-
mems of human disease and degenera-
ton, appealing for aims. Other more
prosperous mendicants were regularly
on hand for business every day at the
"old stand" in some particular thor
oughfare. I remember one especially
whose whole capital was invested in a
superior article of nervous complaint,
which enabled him to balance himself
between the wall and crutch, and
there oscillste spasmodically by the
hour. In this he was entirely beyond
competition, and cast into the shade
those routine professionals who took
the common line of bad eyes or unin-
terestingly motionlessa deformities. It
used to depress them when he came on to
the ground. Bright little children, even
in perfect health, would desist from
their amnsements and assail us, struck
with the happy thought that they might
possibly wheedle the "strangers" into
some untimely generosity. There was
one pretty girl of about ten years, who
laughed outright at the thought of her
own impudence, but stopped none the
less for half an hour on her way to
market carrying basket on her army
in order to poster poor Velazquez while
he was sketching, and begged him for
money, first to get bread, and then
shoes, and then anything she could
think of.
A band opened to receive money
would be highly suitable device for the
municipal coat of arms.
Ny friends irrepressible pencil, by
the way, made him the center of crowd
wherever he went. Grave business men
came out Of their shops to see what he
was drawing; loungers made long ana
ingenious detours in order to obtain a
good view of his labors; ragamuffins
elbowed him, undismayed by energetic
remarks in several languages; until
finally he was moved to get up and dis
play the contents of his pockets, invit-
ing them even to read some letters he
had with him. To this gentle satire
they would sometimes yield. We fell
prey, however, to one silent youth of
whomwe once unguardedly asked ques-
tion. After that he considered himself
permanently engaged to pilot us
about. He would Enger for hours
near the fonda dinnerless, and,
what was even more terrible,
sleeo oless, so that he might fasten upon
us the moment we should emerge. If
he discovered our destination, he would
stride off mutely in advance to impress
on us the fact that we were under obli-
cations to him; and when we found the
place We wanted he waited patiently
until we had rewarded him with half
cent. If we gratifed him by asking
him the way, he responded by silently
stretching forth his arm and one long
forefnger with lordly gesture, still
striding on; and he had very superior
Oastilian sneering smile, which he put
on when he looked around to see if we
were following. He gradually became
for us a sort of symbolic shadow of the
towns vanished greatness; and from his
mysterious way of coming into sight
and haunting us in the most unexpected
places we gave him the name of ghost"
Nevertheless, we baffled him at lastA
In the street of the Christ of Light
there is q small but exceedingly curious
mosque, now converted into church,
SO ancient in origin that some OF the
capitals in it are thought to show Visi-
gothic work, so that it must have been
Christian church even before the
Moorish invasion. Close by this we
CHANGED upon charming old patio, or
courtyard, entered through a wooden
gate,and by dexterously gliding in here
and shutting the gate we exercised
Ghost" for some time.-Harper'S
Magazine.