St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-05-20
THE SKELETON DUDE.
The Funny Things Writtin in His
Autograph Album.


New York journal.
One of the most striking looking char
acters at Barnum's is Harry Coffey,
who has adopted the professional title
of the skeleton Dude" Mr.. Coffey is
an intelligent young man, who few
years ago weighed 100 pounds. He be-
came the victim of a mysterious disease
which consumed the greater part of his
adipOse tissue, leaving little but frame
work of formerly stout man.
Although Mr.. Coffey, might have set
tied down in dime muSuem as an
ordinary living skeleton, at small sal
airy, and might have eventually married
the fat woman, as all living skeletons
usually do, he had an ambition for
higher things and he struck out as the
E. Berry Wall of the skeleton kingdom.
In that line he is decided success.
All of his salary that Is not borrowed
by the tattoed man and the boy-snake is
expended upon fine clothes, and Mr..
Coffey rejoices in the possession of a
wardrobe that would do credit to the
most confirmed Anglomaniac in town.
Even skeleton dude has his little
fancies, and Mr.. Coffey's latest fad is
that of an autograph collector. He pur-
chased big autograph album few
days ago in which he requests his adj
mirerS and casual visitors to sign their
names.
Write anything you please is his
advice to the callers, and they take him
at his word.
The album was formally opened by
the genial ''Tody'' Hamilton, the friend
OF everybody connected with the big cir
Gus. On its first page Mr.. Hamilton
signed his name to this sentiment, which
the skeleton dude proudly refers to:
''He is man of small parts, and easily
seen through, but, nevertheless, worth
his weight in gold.'
AS MIR. Coffey is said to be in receipt
of an enormous salary, Mr.. Hamilton's
encOmium is doubtless founded on facts.
Police Justice P. Gavan Duffy has also
placed his autograph III MIR. Coffey' S
collection. The sentiment which fol-
lows it reads thus:
''You are awfully thin, but you seem
to be awfully thick with the girls"
Mr.. Coffey is indeed ''masher," as
with eXultation to faShionably written
passage in his album, which he says
was the work Of Fifth avenue belle.
1t was as follows:
81 dote on thin gentlemen. EMMA -
After studying up Mr.. Coffey's fine
points, a well-knOWn sporting man
wrote:
"As heavyweight pugilist you can
not rank with John L. Sullivan, but
you are dandy in your line"
A convivial friend of the skeleton
dude toasted him in this manner:
"May your shadow never grow less. y
Mr.. COffey is certain that if his
shadow does grow less nobody would be
able to see it.
Eddie Schmitt, who is a Judge of
dudes, wrote as follows:
''AltOgether too thin, but very fine"
A lady who, it is to be feared, does not
live the most pleasant of home lives,
gaZed at the skeletons muscles and
then wrote:
81 wish my husband were as thin as
you" A facetiOuS friend writes this:
Never drink your lemonade through
astraw. You may slip and be drowned y
A well-known politician signs his
name and says: 'YOu remind me of
Fatty Walsh" but Mr.. Coffey thinks
that he was joking.
One visitor dropped into poetry and
left this gem with his signature:
Although you are thin,
You're not 'skin."
Before Mr.. Coffey leaves for the West
with the Barnum show he intends call
ing upon Mayor Hewitt, Aid. Diver
and other prominent citizens with a re-
quest that they affiX their signatures in
his album. He has left four pages blank
in case the mayor desires to write him a
letter.