Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1885-12-30
The Man With n nnhhY.

The Man With a NobhY.
Ihad been just long enough in the
show business to have stored away in
my mind q choice variety of supersti-
tons. That is the reason WIN. when !
realized that ! Just passed a man and a
woman, both cross-eyed, l turned and
walked down the street again rapidly
until / had passed the ill-omens, after
which, with my good luck restored, ]
crossed the street to go up the Other
side. l had not gone half o block when
lifting my eyes | observed that l was
meeting-that / hal meta funeral
procession. the third evil sign. What
my superstltious weakness might have
prompted me to do had ! not, Just
then, hal my attention attracted by the
behavior of "a man whose superb figure
and graceful carriage were strangely
in contrast with the shabby condition
OF his clothes and whose actions were
singnlarly new to me in the line OF
street exhibitions, it is hard to say.
He passed leisurely before me to the
outer edge Of the sidewalk, where he
stopped, and as the hearse and half
dozen carriages behind it passed he
lifted his hat respectfully and stood
there o picturesque and silent tribute
to the presence of death. The pose
was so genuinely devout, and the cos
tune, from shoes up, wasso supremely
poverty-stricken that one could not
help stopping to take a good look at
the picture. Others besides myself
Nyx, nnl r~ -o .,-,1,aiY,~
that the humble line of carriages pass
ing were n part of the final ~obsequies
over the remains Of some unknown but
distinguished individual, lifted their
hats as had my shabby-genteel stran.
ger.
My curiosity was so thoroughly
aroused that when the reverential
oddly resumed his walk up the street
l followed him, determined to accept
the first excuse offered to question the
man on his singular movement. The
excuse came in the shape of o deliber-
ate and preconceived plan, in the car.
rying out of which l invited the stran'
ger to have a cigar with me. It did
not work, however, for ho courteously
declined, saying that he never smoked.
At this I went bodily to the point by
asking: "Was it the funeral of a friend
OF yours which just passed down the
avenuef"
mo, sir. Why do you ask?"
"Simply curiosity"
Because you saw me lift my hat? ]
always do that; can't help it when ]
see q funeral procession. I know that
somebody has solved the awful prob.
lem, and I know, that there is great
grief in the hearts of those who are
paying their final tribute to the dead,
l cannot help joining in that tribute"
"Iou are generously sympathetic"
mo, that's not the feeling. 1T is
although my appearance may seem
contradictory-a genuine impulse OF
true gentiiity. See here, young man,
now that you brought about this dis
cussion, and as / have nothing particu.
lar to engage my attention just at pres
ent, let me talk with you a triile on my
hobby"
I'm at your service"
"The average man is q good sort Of
animal, and if he has reached the dis.
tinction of being able to read and write
he is also possessed Of sufficient intelli.
gence to know right from wrong
knowing that he would, in nine case,
out of ten, be genteel-mind you, now
I'm not speaking of dress-if it were
not for lack Of selt-possession. Self
possession. That's my hobby. Want
to hear about it?"
"I'm deeply interested"
Mine men out of ten would raise
their hats if, while strolling through a
cemetery. they should suddenly come
upon a group surrounding an open
grave as the clergyman. read the burial
service, and they would do SO because
their surroundings would have placed
them thoroughly in accord with the
the soiemnity of the scene. They
would he perfectly self-possessed.
They would do the same thing on the
busiest street in the most bus Ing city,
upon meeting a funeral pos ession, il
they were only seli-possessel."
POSSIBLY"
"Have vou not many n time failed to
unhitch Il horse for a lady, or pick up a
package some lady has dropped at the
instant when you were passing her.
and when a dozen feet beyond the op.
p%ortunity have you not regretted the
omission Of the courtesy? Can you
not recall scores of such chances in
which you have neglected to do your
self justice"
"Yes, ! believe l can"
"Of course you can. Every man can.
They're happening every day, and the
myriads OF such mistakes are all &C.
countable to a lack Of self-possession
The men are few and far between, as
believe, who are not sufficiently deli
cate Of appreciation to know when they
may bestow q courtesy, but they are
also not numerous who get hold Of the
idea instantly and in time to act with
out making q botch Of it"
Have you any theory to advance on
the cultivation of quick wit%
"None whatever. Its a quality which
is born in a few, required by many, and
lost by default to a great majority
When it becomes universal, then will
this world be a perfect place to stay
in"
"What abont superstitious people p
/ asked as / rehearsed in my mind my
introduction to the man with a hobbg
Everybody is more or less given to
the weakness, and there you arc again
self-possession is an infaliible cure for
the disease."-Detrou Free Press.
Striking the Wrong Man.
Two Berlin hack drivers, each with