Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1886-06-25
WANDERINGS OF A WnEELMAN


Boston Herald.
Mr.. Thomas Stevens. in a letter from
Teheran, Persia. says:
Breakfast at noon. and a stroll down
through the top maidau, or artillery
square, is proposed and accepted. The
thermometer, which registered % degrees
above zero this morning at sunrise, now
registers 80 in the shade. and the sun
shines almost too warm to be comfort
able. The ground has been freezing at
night and thawing again during the day
regularly since the snow storm of a week
ago, and the street we turn down is mud
dy. Through the mud. however. are
foOtpaths trodden sufficiently hard and
dry by the broadsOled geivehs of hund-
reds of pedestrians and the spreading
feet of strings of camels to enable Us to
pick our way without much discomfort.
A hundred yards from the turning an
old and never failing landmark of this
particular street-an old gentleman in
great round specs and seml-European
garb-is strolling leisurely along the
beaten foOt-track. Muddy though it be,
he wears undress slippers and snow white
socks, with fancifully embroidered tops.
Queer old joker THAR remarks my
companion.
iSS. L ltB4N. htNtl hd PtittN
down this street. rain or shine, dry or
wet, without seeing him solemnly pa
trolling this same beat, extending back
and forth for a couple of hundred yards.
Who is he!"
"Oh. he's an old Armenian-an indie
pendent gentleman on a small scale, sup
pose you'd call him; besides his own
house behind the wall here, he owns half
a dozen others, enough to net him an in
come of say Is tomaus e5l a month: he
spends his whole existence in promenad-
ing back and forth along this street in
front of his own house.
happened 90 strike up sort of a cas-
ual acquaintance with the same old gen
tleman soon after reaching Teheran.
| had ridden past him on the bicycle per
/ haps a dozen times. and each time he
| stopped and stood motiOnless and gazed
at the bicycle with the expression of a
man speechless with astonishment. In
/ stead of the novelty wearing off as the
! sight became more familiar, as one would
/ naturally imagine, he seemed more stupe-
/ fed with astonishment at each reappear-
/ ance than before. Finally one day l hap
/ pened to have occasion to dismount on
! his beat. and he took advantage of this tu
] CbilE up anu SdA41At HIS NAEAbcllN
In looking over the bicycle he espied
/ the silver name plate, and pointing out
the words Expert Columbia he wanted
/ to know if that was my name No. that
/ the name of my machine" / replied
/ Often since then l have passed by wheI
the old Armenian was conversing with q
| friend. and have overheard the word 1Col
! umbian" in reference to the bicycle as ht
| explained to his friend who | was: he had
made the very natural mistake of taking
] Columbia for the common name of ny
| wheel instead of the proper. Hulk. huk,'
| tmy right. my right. shouts wretched
looking dervish, thrusting his polished
/ gourd alIns-holder out IN a supplicatine
! manner as we pass him: he was squatting
/ in the warm sunshine against the deaC
wall of a mud-house, and seeing Us ap
| proach. padded through the mud TO in
! tercept u and ask for aims. -Booroo
/ booroo,' and the dervish sinks back into
| the sunshine again, mutteriug .-AIIah-ii
allah
All down the street we have to run tn.
gauntlet of small army of medicants
/ Besides the deryishes are scores of Others
I cripples who are compelled to beg ol
/ starve. miserable Eretches deserving Of
/ pity. and lusty, able-bodied vagrants whS
follow begging for profession. becaus'
too lazy to work. or because they find i
more profitable Many OF them are per
manent fixtures in certain spots from ear
ly morning till after dark; each of thes,
have their own peculiar method of ap