St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-08-26
THE GOSSIPER.

The Y. M. C. A. of this city has now
developed into a very fourishing con-
Germ, and if the present aggressive
mode. of working is kept up it will be
more flourishing still. Nearly every
corner on Wabasha and Seventh streets
on Sunday boasts of n or more young
workers, who stand there and hand u
small slips of yellow paper with Come
up for an hour or so" printed on, to every
male passerby, Any Il who cared to
saunter up and down the W streets
would find that when through Saunter-
ing that he had a fist full of these yell
low souvenirs. Yesterday afternoon a
drunken man came staggering down
Wabasha. When he got in front OF the
Y. NJ. c. A. building a young mar
handed him a yellow slip. When he
got to the other corner he was handed
another slip with the same Come up
for an hour or so" on it. In front
of the market house another
young man slipped a piece OF
paper in his hand, and when
he reached the other side of the street,
he was given still another one. He
thought this rather funny, and leaning
up againsto one of the buildings he began
to count the yellow slips. Il mush be
d-drunk," he mutteredt to himself. Then
he read each slip carefully and said:
''Wonder # there's anything to drink up
there?" Finally Chinaman came along
with his pigtail floating in the breeze.
Mr.. Drunken Man thought this was a
good opportunity to get rid of the
''b-blarSted' Things, so he Steadied him
self and handed them all to the China
man, who tucked them under the folds
Of bic iooIat onI ualEad off Tho othnp
chuckied in a maudlin way to himself,
and sat down in the doorway and fell
asleep.
Nearly every Sunday afternoon an
old gray-haired and ~bald-headed re-
ligious fanatic can be see standing,
bare-headed, by the market house on
Seventh street, singing and preaching
to whatever crowd happens to gather
about him. His preaching is of the old
orthodox kind, and his hearers hair
generally stands Oh end at the pictures
of fire and birthstone that he draws for
their edification. Yesterday there were
a number of young hoodlums in the
crowd, and the remarks they passed
about him were, to say the least, de-
cidedly uncomplimentary. One of them
said to the others, as he held his fingers
to his nose: ''WheW! can't yer smell
him, boys?" and another very kindly
asked if he couldn't be allowed to daily
with his whiskerS if he would do it in a
gentle manner. But the old man didn't
mind them, but occasionally got back at
them by telling of a certain class of
people who were sure to SiZzle in the
by and by.
A number of workers also go to the
county jail every Sunday afternoon and
labor with the prisoners. A regular
service is gone through with and the
corridors of the jail resound with pray
erS and singing. 1t is stated that a
great deal of good is accomplished by
this method, and a great many converts
have been secured.
~
There is an eccentric individual in the
city who eve goes to church. 1t is
stated On his own authority that he has
not been inside of a church for yer
forty years. 1.-The ministers never do
anything but discuss the Bible" said
he M day. land there is no religion in
the discussion. We can read the Bible
and discuss it ourselves, so what is the
use of going to listen to them. Then
at the end of every service they
take up a collection to buy
red shirts and fine combs for the
heather. What do they need of red
shirts? They never wear any clothes.
What do they need of fine combs? They
never wash themselves nor comb their
hair. Better begin and do missionary
work at home, l think. There is a large
enough field for it,"
-
There is another old gentleman in the
city who is somewhat eccentric where
religion is concerned. He is a Catholic,
but never goes to a Catholic church. But
on Sunday he can be found in the back
seats of II of the Protestant churches
in the city, listening very attentively to
what the minister's saying. Whenever
anything is said that conflicts with the
doctrines of the Catholic church he turns
to whoever may be sitting near him and
launches out in an argument on the sub
ject. He does this right in the middle
of the services, generally disturbing the
whole audience and embarrassing his
immediate neighborS. ItSeems that his
whole object i'll going to a Protestant
church is to discover some difference in
doctrine which will give him basis for
an argument.