Omaha daily bee., 1889-03-17
A CHAPERON FOR THE DEAD.
The Queer Occupation of q Lady
From California.
MADE THEIR OWN VILLAINS.
What Women will do for Notoriety-
An Irrevercnt Cilmax-The Acme
of Meanness-A Debtor
Sold at Auction.
A Curious Side of Life.

Mrs, Mary Hall, middle-aged lady
OF Pasadena, CAL, who passed through
the city last night, says the Kansas City
calling OF any person in America. She
makes business of accompanying the
bodies of persons who die in south ern
California to their homes in the east,
and according to her own story has
found it very lucrative. II have been
at the business for about two years"
said she, at the union depot last night,
land find that it is not uncongenial
and pays better than anything else l
can do. am now on my way home
from one of my professional trips, but
will stop off at Eldorado, Kan, my old
home, for n few days to visit relatives.
How much do get for a tripp Differ
ent prices; generally from SO to $5 per
day, my railroad fare and travelling ex-
penses. get So day, railroad fare
and travelling expenses for this trip.
but then took it little cheaper because
l wanted to visit friends. You see the
class of people who come to Californian
search of health generally have plenty
Of money, and many of them put Off
been here about five weeks ne generally
dies or gets strong. The change is SO
great in the climate that it soon makes
itself felt. Now it costs double first
class express rates to send body from
California to the the Missouri river,
which amounts to about $500; conse-
quently it is cheaper TO hire me, pay
my expenses and feel sure that the
corpse will go through safely. The
number of invalids who go to California
is increasing every year, and my busi-
ness is fast growing better"
~
Hon. D. A. Russell, an able, eXcitable
lawyer, defended Sandy Banks, negro,
for assault to murder negress, says the
Bainbridge (Ga. Chronicle. Solid facts
were against his client, no justification
appearing. After dodging the Grim
mating facts as best he could, he, in
low, confidential tone, closed with this
stirring appeal to induce the jury to
find lesser crime:
"Gentemen--I do not ask you to ac-
quit my client. 1t would be wrong in
me to do so. l ask for mercy. The
quality of mercy is not strained 1T drops
as the gentle rain from heaven upon the
plain beneath; it is twice blessed; it
blesses him that gives and him that
takes. What beautiful attribute is
mercy! Did you ever think about it?
Why, gentlemen, without mercy there
woold be no charity; without charity
there would be no friendship; without
friendship there would be no love; with
out love there would be no religion;
without religion there would be no God;
without God, gentlemen OF the jury,
where in hi would we be?"
This climax brought out a ringing
laugh, the cause of which the speaker
could not see until his irreverent re-
mark was explained to him. The jury
found no mercy in the case.
~
The height of meanness has been often
defined. l have heard, for instance,
saws writer in the London Figaro,
that it has been reached by a man who,
having been rescued from watery
grave in the serpentine during the
skating season, and duly brought round
after much trouble, in the Royal HUI
name society's receiving house,
promptly stole the graphing irons as he
left the place and sold them for old
metal on his way home. Another detini-
ton asserts that the height of meanness
consists in giving blind man shill-
ing and taking full change for it out OF
his hat. But the Woodbridge Gazette
now claims for that town the credit OF
possessing the meanest man in the per-
son of miserly yeoman who refused to
allow his daughter to receive seal
skin jacket from her uncle as present,