The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1885-06-09
BOOTS ROMANCE.
Mental Wreck Made So by Unrequited
Love for Jenny lind.


Love for Jenny Lind.
To see Boots" Tan Steenburg. q.
he is called, with unkempt hair flying
in the wind and his unshaven face
decked in suit of red, white and blue
with long streamers of all colors at.
tached to his clothing. and weather.
beaten straw hat decked with ribbons,
and asking penny of each one he
meets, as he wanders from place to
place in the Hudson Valley. one would
not think that a tender passion ever
thrilled his rough breast, a maiden's
glance had ever opened his sigh-valves.
or drew forth one imprisoned utter
ance of love. And vet it was no less a
parsonage than the nightingale of song,
Jenny Lind, who for a while listened to
the mans avowals of undying affection
only to tell him in the end that he loved
in vain, and made him q mental wreck,
his life a dreary waste.
A gentleman who knows of the Incl
dent related the following to Necs-
Press reporter: Boots" as he is
called, was an attractive young man,
the idoliZed son of Ulster County par
ents. who never stinted him with
money. He CHANGED to be in New
York when Jenny Lind created furore
in the musical world. and went to hear
her. He was smitten with her charms,
sought an introduction, fell madly in
love. and night after night sat in front
of the foOtlights TO applaud the song
stress. He poured costly presents into
her lap. and the story goes that thirty
thousand dollars would not cover the
cost of them. There is no doubt that
his suit was encouraged; but she dis
carded him. He followed the song
stress from place to place, in a vain en-
deayor to renew his suit. until his rea-
son was partially destroyed. Since
then he has lived the life of wild man
in the woods, near Kingston. OCCASION
ally making trip the Hudson to col
lect funds TO start a bank. His collec-
tons in all these years have been large,
but what he does with the money no.
body knows or can ascertain. Some
years ago | called at his place and
found an old diary, and in it were
words something like these: Jenny
NAV not be called beautiful, but l
loved TO look upon her face. and when
she appeared upon the stage | stood
until the great storm of applause had
subsidized. | was jealous, because she
seemed to desire everyone to- have the
pleasure of seeing her. But then /
suppose she thought the people had
paid TO see her, and didn't want any,
one to be cheated. Her turning her
head first to the left and then TO the
right was but the artleSS manifestation
of simple and beautiful character.
On another leaf of the diary were these
words: And that song-bird sang of a
summer coming night. Was it true?"
Beneath these words were: Diamond
ornaments and point lace fan COM
pleted her royal costume" Boots"
has always been perfectly harmless,
and the boys in Kingston and other
places never jeer him as he makes his
This queer mortal visits the city
twice a year TO deliver patriotic
speeches and collect money. His
usual speaking places are the court
house steps and the opera house step
ping block. His stereotyped speech,
familiar to many, goes something like
this: Three cheers for George WASH
ington and the great American eagle,
and the goose hangs Hight He invari-
ably closes his speech with a song so
that the words can not |
be caught. 1t is stated that he col
lected between thirty and forty dollars
on his last trip here. Notwithstanding
his nonsensical talk and unintelligible |
Songs lie is always warmly greeted by |
t.: kors.-P0aghkeepSie NeicS-PreSs.