The Evening critic., 1883-04-20
THE CRITIC ABROAD,

THE CRITIC ABROAD.
Charlie Pelham played heartless joke
on the good -natured and whole-souled
Assistant District Attorney Charlie Moore,
on the last night Of Mrs. Langtry's appear
ance at Ford's," said one of the boys to the
Critic this morning.
What was it ?' inquired the Critic.
"Why, Charlie occupied private box on
that occasion and was twisting his mus
tache, when Mrs. Pelham observed him and
asked her husband who he was. Freddie"
replied Pelham in tone loud enough to be
heard by several persons near him, and in
five minutes hundreds of people were star
ing at Moore as though he were the Prince
of Wales.
Coming down the Avenue this morning
the Critic saw little old man in faded
blue overcoat dust-hued hat, clay-covered
boots, withered face, scrub-brush chin and
shaggy eyebrows, whose appearance in
stantly recalled the dwarf-ia.the-mounta
scene of rip Van Winkle." He looked
for all the world like the gnomes or goblins
the fairy tales tell about, and had mouth
set in n deep grin that recalled early men,
.ories of the feats of the Fi-fo-fums Of child
hoods mythland.
A more realistic presentation of idealis-
tic hideousness could not be desired. He is
known as old Uncle Billy Hostler, and
lives hermit-like life in small
shanty out on the Seventh-street
road. He is a bachelor of seventy
three years, and a miser of the most pro-
nounced type. He said to the Critic that
upto the age of thirty he had an immense
fortune at his command, which he sprinkled
all over Europe. His home was in the sunny
South. He has lived in Indiana, Tennes-
see and Ohio. Smoke, he says, is never
seen to curl from the chimneytop where
he now lives.
II wear the same old blue coat you see
now that I"wore ten years ago.. / labor
just as hard now as ] did forty years ago. 1
am poor, old miserable man, without
friends, without home, and no one to love.
There is not ON earth a single human being
that cares for me. There is not face on
earth that | care to see. To me Death
would be welcome visitor"
What is the secret of your troubles?"
asked the Critic.
"Woman woman, oh perfdous woman!"
was the only reply the old miser made to
the inquiry, when he toddled off. He is
said to have now at least 100000 in money.
In round-the-ta talk last night q
well-known Republican remarked:
ut is pretty hard to tell who is in
love with the President now. l know of
no onein the party from New York who
| cares damn for him, except George Bliss;
unless, possibly, mention Grant, who has
not expressed himself. We all know that
ConkliDg doesn't like Arthur, and Don
Cameron admires him only because he
keeps Brewster in the Attorney General s
office. Nearly all Indianans and Ohioans
curse him. If had been deserted by my old
/ time friends like Arthur has been and had
acted as small with my friends as he has, !
should want to fish in Florida waters all my
life. Take away his official power and
| patronage, and you can stand ON cellar
| door all of his old friends of prominence
who now indorse him."
A prominent Mississippi Republican, who
was recently in this city, said that the
Chalmers campaign had set the pins up fol
an entire new leadership of the party il
his State, and that hereafter other meI
will come to the fore and the ex-leaderi
will go to the rear--the result, gain fol
the party not only in Mississippi, but il
| the entire South-that is, the Democratic
| party. He believed the demise of the
Chalmers kind of Republicanism would
| hotStAoiiy oiu shO PuipJ, put tuhu tuC pdTl
the Department of Justice has taken in the
election cases has injured Republicanism
beyond measure in Mississippi and the Caro-
linas.
A day or two ago prominent attorne,
stated in Judge Hagner's court that tn
wife of man confined in the jail had beel
denied the privilege of seeing her husband
| and asked the Court to make some Orde
whereby she could see her husband.
The Court. for perfectly satisfactory
reasons, declined to take any steps in tn
matter whatever, stating that he was salts
fed that there was some mistake about tn
matter, and suggested to the attorney t.
write q note to General Crocker, explaining
the matter.
The Critic in company with another at
torney yesterday called at the Jail and ha(
an interview with General Crocker on thu
subject. Said the General:
'All proper persons are permitted to cal
here on proper business and to see thei
friends and relatives on business. The
must be proper persons and have busines!
We have rules and regulations here an
endeavor to carry them out, otherwis
the Jail would be a perfec
Bedlam. We have, during the smallpo
scare, been very particular about admittin
persons for precautionary reasons. Ono
get that disease in the jail and every on
confined in it would most likely have 1t.
would be dangerous alike to the prisoners
the courts and the community. As l sal
at the outset, all proper persons on prope
business can see prisoner If he or she la
an interest in them other than mere curl
osity."