Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-04-09
THE TOPICAL TALKER.
Senator Quay Means TO ReEt-A Woman's
View of the President-A New Nursery
Raliad-The Moekiu9 BIRD and the Han

View of the President-A New Nursery
BRllad-The MOcking Bird and the Hen.
THE Office seeker who thinks to advance his
cause by descending upon Senator Quay in his
home at Beaver is sadly mistaken. Mr.. Quay
has been so thoroughly exhausted in his tussle
with men wanting favors at Washington that
he has allowed his family to decree that now he
is home he shall deny himself to all who ap-
proach him asking gifts.
He is accessible to those whose business is
not connected with securing consulates and of
fees for themselves but on the best authority
1 learn that the Office seeker pure and simple
will not receive the slightest attention from
the junior Senator from the State until he has
enjoyed a season of rest and recuperation. One
who saw him few days ago says that Mr.. Quay
is looking very much more tired and unwhole-
some than he did the day after Harrison's elec.
ton in November.
A YOUNG woman of this city who has just
returned from Washington, D. c., said to me
yesterday: president Harrison has not been
treated very generously by the Washington
correspondents in some respects By almost
everyone he seems to have been given the
name of being an austere, chilly and curt sort
of man. l thought he would have no use at
all for me, but 1 was agreeably disappointed.
Some friends of mine from Colorado and Kan
Augustine, Fla, came up Washington a
week or two before left, and of course they
wantedto see the President.
"Well, an obliging Senator was found to pro-
cure morning audience for us at the White
House. There were more than dozen in the
party, and only two of them were gentlemen
More than that, not more than three of the
ladies were really grown up. 1t was crowd of
girls. Possibly there was good deal Of gig
Cling when the President came into the East
room, where we were all assembled. The Pres
ident, however, did not appear to be bit en-
barrassed, and he smiled and said something to
Senator -, who advanced to greet him,
which could not hear, but which was prob
ably some jocose allusion to the number of
ladies under the Senatorial wing. Then Mr.
Harrison shook hands with us ALL. He has a
nice way of shaking hands. 1t isn't the rather
fabby grasp which Mr.. Cleveland dealt out to
girls-I believe he gripped mans hand good
and hard-but nice, genial clasp and pressure
of the hand. noticed Mr.. Harrison's hands
are well-shaped and not very large.
Then for 20 minutes Mr.. Harrison and our
party talked about all sorts of things, about
Washington and St. Augustine, the weather
and strange to say about the Paris Exposition,
which Mr.. Harrison said he would have very
much liked to see. said-and l don't know
how dared to-: Mr President, will take
your place if you want to go to Paris this sum-
mer.'
"Mr. Harrison laughed heartily and replied:
I'm afraid should have much the best of the
bargain-but I'll lay the matter before the
Cabinet
'If you ask me what think of Mr.. Harri son
1 say that he's too nice for anythingT'
~
NEW NURSERY BALLAD.
There was a fine new President
Who tried with all his might
To serve his friends whene'er he could,
And pen the pigs in sight.
There were a dozen Senator's
All wise and worthy men,
Who said that Halstead was pig
Not fit for any pen.
Then Halstead,, who is called Murat
Uprose as large as ten,
And skewered every Senator
Upon his cruel pen.
A moral IS in this piteous tale:
''Ne'er fight porker when
He's after public Office, If
He owns private penl"
So
IT was such warm, CHEEKY weather yesterday
that the mocking bird was taken, cage and all,
from his cozy corner in the kitchen and given
a sun bath on the porch. The bird enjoyed his
nrsC outing 1Or the year immensely. For the
first ten minutes or so he amused himself trying
to catch few small gnats that buzzed rather
prematurely about lealess vine. Then he
began to whistle scraps of hymn tunes and
popular songs indiscriminately
Under tree near the porch an old hen had
gathered her brood of interesting balls of fluff
and promisory feathers, some day to be real
spring chickens Between the porch and the
tree under which the old hen was delivering
MONDAY lecture to iler 13 children, lay plump
and religious-looking cat She was not one of
your scampish, frisky, half-hedged cats; but
demure, old tabby, too well fed and perhaps
too moral to even look with evil eye upon the
sparrows in the bushes nearby She certainly
was at the time speak of-when the mocking
bird was making strange ditty out of "Hark!
Harkl My Soul" and Dem Golden Slippers
combined-as quiet and benevolent as a cat can
be.
After awhile the mocking bird stopped whist
ling, and apparently directed all his attention
to observing the scene before him. All at once
there came from the mocking birds cage the
shrill pipe of young chicken in pain. The old
hen heard the cry, and in an instant had left
her flock and flown with ruff1ed neck and wings
outspread upon the sleepy cat. The cat was
terror stricken by the suddenness of the as
sault, and received several sharp pecks and
scratches before she could get away. The old
hen kept up the pursuit till the cat fed into the
house.
The mocking bird, whose skillful imitation of
chickens cry had caused the disturbance,
cheerily whistled:
There's a land that is fairer than this"