Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-03-15
THE TOPICAL TALKER.
COwnrdice Sometimes is linked Queerly

COwardice Sometimes IL Linked Queerly to
Courage I'm Human Nature.
COURAGE, physical courage, is seldom found
in man without a flaw. 1t was not long ago
that heard of gallant soldier, who undoubt-
edly made splendid name for himself by acts
of great bravery in the late war, and who yet
was nearly scared to death by the irruption Of
harmless necessary cat from its hiding place
under the soldiers bed. He told the story
himself, and confessed most candidly that he
was frightened by the feline intruder.
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A CLERGYMAN who had pluck enough to
swim across a dang erous river when he was .
youth, and since then has shown his brave
spirit by ministering to the poor parishioners
during the cholera epidemic of lS49, think, in
London, and in numberless other great ways
is periodically made perfect coward whenever
the not very formidable wasp or yellow jacket
flies anywhere near him.
This person is remarkably fond of fishing for
trout with the artistic fly, and 1 have known
him to put up his rod and desert a pool where
the fish were rising on all sides, just greedy for
surface food and asking to be caught. because
wasp or two persisted in lowering over his
creel.
ALLEGHENY county boasts brave little
woman, possessed of culture, gentleness and
all the sweetest of womanly traits, who is emil
nently unlike the majority of her sex in that
she can break glass balls with rifle at ten
yards, and has been known to make things verv
lively for burglars with revolver, who yet
has the customary feminine dread of the small
est mouse, and who will faint at the sight of a
pin scratch.
REMEMBER how ghost story was laugha-
bly, interrupted in its telling, and in way
which bears upon this topic Of courage.
Three or four newspaper men were matching
tales of horror in lofty bedroom at the Loch-
lei Hotel in Harrisburg during the session of
1885. There were four of us there, I remember
now. One of them was stout sanguine fellow
who would not be suspected of fearing any
thing in particular. He told the last story, and
the most blood-curdling Of course. 1t was 2
o'clock in the morning. and an empty bottle
stood on the bureau, as reminder Of what had
been.
What an awful yarn it was our sanguine
leviathan told. Every hair in my head was
in revolt, know, and the silence was terrific
when the tale came to thrilling wlnd-up.
The next biggest man in the party was the
only one brave enough to speak. Said he,
huskily, for the bottle had been empty long
while: "Do you mean to say that you weren't
bit scared. George?"
Not a scare" replied the sangulne George,
but ere the words were out of his mouth there
came fearful rapping at the door-quite in
keeping with 'The Raven and that knocking
evermore-and that valiant companion and
hobnobber with ghosts turned two shades paler
than the sheets on his bed.
whats that?" he involuntarily cried.
"1t's me with the other bottle, said the bell
boy, and there was startling roar Of laughter.
So
ONE of the most unpleasant scares a friend
of mine has ever experienced occurred re-
Gently during railway journey by night. I
will let her tell it in her own words.
Just before fell asleep, weile 1 was on the
brink of dreamland, and when was still dimly
conscious that my husband was snoring melo-
diously, saw. the curtains of our berth, or
rather felt them, move. That walked me a
little and 1 strained my eyes to watch the
pale streak of low lamp light which
marked the dividing line of the curtains. They
slowly parted and I saw hand come in, and
then an arm. The hand unbuttoned all the
clasps of the curtains and then I saw 1t stretch
out toward the netting where some of my hus-
bands clothes were. The whole thing struck
me then as rather humorous, and proceedingin
that view l reached for one of my shoes under
the bed, but by chance took hold of one
of my husbands I gripped the shoe
tightly, and sitting up dealt as
savage blow as I could to the arm in sight.
The blow didn't fall quite true, but an excla.
nation of pain and a hurried scuff1ing of feet
down the aisle told me that the owner of the
arm didn't want any more boot. He didn't get
any booty except from my hand"
"Who was the thief?' asked
That's the strange part. Though walked
my husband at once and he investigated all he
could we never found out the rascal. Isus
pected colored porter, but I couldn't
prove it."