Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-04-27

visible anywhere. Once in long while the
old man gets glimpse of an old newspaper
by some accident, and it is startling to hear
him announce, as a bit of late news, some
thing which he has Just read, and which
the rest of the world has quite forgotten.
He washes himself and combs his hair on
Sunday, and that does for the week. His
heavy boots OF cowhide are never replaced
by any neater footwear-on week days at
least-and don't think that the legs Of his
tronsers have ever appeared outside of them.
He works hard, he eats, he sleeps, he
makes money, and he saves il. But what
for? In the wise economy of nature what is
the use of such q man on the face of the
earth? In certain sort he also is conf
bination Of labor and capital; but what a
difference in the two sorts of combinations!
1t is curious what surprising impressions
transient visitors in Pittsburg receive. They
are as various as the moods and predictions
of those who receive them. There was
Ralph Waldo Emerson, for instance. Many
years ago he visited the city to deliver a
lecture, and he seemed to pay but very
slight attention to the smoke, the noise. the
fiery illumination, the iron statistics or any
thing else that interest most people. But
grave and venerable gentleman was intro
duced to him. Emerson discovered that
this Pittsburger was a scholar, and shortly
he declared that he should always remem-
Der Pittsburg with delight, because it had
revealed to him an Orientalist who was rich
beyond measure in Eastern lore. That one
fact was of signal value to the visiting phil
osopher.
A SINGERS IMPRESSIONS.
The oldest and most mistaken impression
imaginable was that which oppressed
Parepa, the glorious singer whom all Pitts
burgers SO loved to honor. In conf
Dental moment she declared that she
always appeared before a Pittsburg audi
euce with fear and trembling, apprehensive
that the verdict should be against her.
True, the people had always been kind, but
she feared that an unhappy moment would
come when she would forfeit their favor.
She could not account for the feeling, and
she could not Danish it. think she bet
tered her impressions at last.
But perhaps the most startling impress
slons received were those described, not by
any visiting stranger, but by native OF
Pittsburg whom met not very long since.
He had grown up in the city, and had
lived there for time after the war. Then
he went away. and through varied stress of
circumstances he has remained away ever
since until the year 1890. met him after
his visit to the old home. and he seemed
disappointed and i'll at ease in his mind.
1t was not so much that there had been
changes; he expected to find changes. 1t
was not so much that the place had grown;
that also was to be expected. He had
known, of course, about natural gas, and
was quite prepared to accept all the maryels
resulting from it. But it was the unexpected
changes, those that he had not prepared
his mind for that unsettled him; and it was
fairly pathetic to hear him lament the dis
tresses that had come upon him. And what
do you suppose was the change which had
most stunned him with surprise?
"Why" he said to me with very long
face, they've moved the Mayors oficel
suppose heard about it at the time, but
Ia forgotten it, and it just knocked the
breath out of meF'
1t is not difficult to imagine what must
have been the general effect of the present
Pittsburg upon an old resident who ex-
pected to find the present Mayors court
still sitting in the Wilkins building on
Fourth avenue! JAMES c. PURDY.