St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-09-23
SAINT PAUL.
AddifonaL cifr Views on Face s.
ST. PAUL FANATICS.

W
hates there are in this world. Even in
this city alone there are hundreds and
hundreds of people who are absolutely
insane on the subject of religion, and
ought, for the safety of the public, to
be incarcerated in insane asylums.
Everybody knows how disagreeable the
weather was yesterday. The streets
were wet and muddy and the atmos-
phere filed with malarial microbes.
About 8 O'Clock it raiHed very hard. vet
throughout it all. with head bare and
mouth agape, stood man, at the APP
preach of the WabaSha street bridge,
singing some religious song as loud as
he could.
Dead to the world and alt its joys"
sang he. while the rain drops splashed
and spattered on his face. He was re-
ligious fanatic, and was trying to save
sinners by standing singing in the rain,
and probably catchinghi death OF cold.
Now, if such people are not crazy, what
on earth are they? This man ought to
have been taken care of by the police
authorities. as it was very evident he
was not able to take care OF himself.
The most eccentric fanatics in the
who live in separate novels on the side
hill near the Westminster street bridge.
They are familiar to every resident OF
ST. Paul, as a day never passes. either
winter or summer. sunshine or rain. but
what one of these two men
can be seen walking bare
headed and barefoeted through the
streets. They are doing penance
for the whole world and are making
MARTYRS of themselves by torturing the
flesh. They generally choose the
toughest streets to walk on and seem to
be best pleased when their feet are
bleeding and they are suffering the
most. If they find a piece of bread
they carefully place it in their pockets
and when they get home burn 1t as an
offering. The strangest part OF 1t all IS
that both of the men are clever WOOD
carvers, and one of them works at his
trade week while the other walks the
streets doing penance. The next week
his place is filled by his brother, and he
in turn goes out to suffer for the Sins or
the world. This is kept up the whole
wear around. The men are such a
familiar sight on the streets now that
nobody moiests them. So from morn
ing until evening they walk up and
down, never speaking to anybody, but
with lips constantly moving in prayer.
50
On Rice street near the intersection
of Como avenue, lives an old lady
named French. She is nearly eighty
years old and as blind as a bat, and has
been so for the past forty years. Yet
such a remarkable memory has she and
so we'll versed on the Bible, that she is
able to quote whole chapters from any
part of the Scriptures. The old lady is
now in her dotage and is taken care of
by son who is employed in the rail-
road yards. She does nothing now save
sit in front of the fire CRATE or at the
window where the sun can shine on
her, grooming and mumbling some lines
from the Bible and continually wigg-
ling her thumbs backward and forward.
If a stranger addresses her she will
reply by some Biblical quotation. She
never makes a mistake i'll her lines
either, and her son defes anyone to
detect flaw in his mothers Biblical
knowledge.
-
There are a great many of these so
called religious enthusiasts who are
rank hypOcriteS, and simply adopt the
mask of pietY for some purpose of their
ban Methodist churches here had quite
a sensation. One of the sisters. who
had always been very deYout, got up in
church one Sunday morning and an
nounced that she had been to heaven.
She had always claimed before this that
she was subject to frances IN which she
saw heavenly sights and prophetic Wis
ions. This last time she claimed thai
she had been in heaven three whole
DAYS, and to her interested auditors she
told about how her soul had taker
wings one morning and scared into the
infinite beyond The streets of heaven
she said, were paved with gold and dia
monds, and the whole place in TACT was
one chaotic blaze of splendor.
Although the majority of the brothers
and sisters believed the story there were
few who did not. Among these were
several ways who determined to expose
the heavenly visit as fake" Know.
ing that the sister who had told the story
was finn believer in SpiritualiSm they
put up job on her and invited her t.
attend a private circle. They haC
everything arranged beforehand so tina
as soon as the room had been darkeneC
the spirits began rapping and the al
seemed filled with ghOStly whispers ant
Tapping of wings. Somebody asked thu
sister if she would not like to conYers'
with the spirit of her departed mOthe
and she replied "Yes." Instantly Their,
was rushing sound in one end of the
room and white spectral hand coming
as it seemed, from the very wall, APP
peared with finger pointed threaten
ingly. Then a voice, as hollow ant
sepulchral as it was possible to make
said:
Daughter, you have told these good mortal
a great untruth, and call upon you to righ
1t. You know you never visited HEAVIER
much lefs remained there three day.
Daughter, heed my words.
With this the spectral hand fade
away and the voice was gone, and tn
bogus celestial traveller fell upon lie
knees, with teeth chattering, and az
knOwledged that she had lied about tn
heaven business. She promised faith
fully to hereafter attend to her Nor
days washing. and not monkey wit
frances any more. She never di
either, and the little Methodist churc
is rather lonesome without its regula
revelations.
There is another religious fanatic
who lives on the West side. He is a
alderman, and isn't long for this eartl
He imagines that he is one of the Deit,
and whenever he gets an oppOrtunit
he gets up and breaches about the man
miracles he intends to perform. Hi
special hobby is the Twin Cities. H
says that as soon as all his plans ar
completed he intends building an ell,
waited railroad between the two cite
that will be two miles from the grount
He also intends to unite. the two citit
under one charter, and elect James {
Blaine as mayor.
ST. PAUL PARK.
Mrs. o. c. Moody has returned fro