Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-03-07
THE TOPICAL TALKER,
A Timekeeper CongratuIated-Stamps ut
Half Price-sIippery Streets and Pretty

A Timekeeper OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES N
Half Price-SIfppery Streets and Pretty
Poor sIeighing.
CONGRATULATIONS to the City Hall clock on
having recovered the use of its hands are
in order. The recovery is timely. Order and
| morality will be benefited, and the venerable
keeper of the city's time regains at once the
| confidence of the thousands who look it in the
| face dozen times day.
The clock may congratulate itself that it is
above the reach of human law. Had it been a
citizen and a voter, writ of habeas corpus
might have been necessary to restore it to its
high estate.
THE beautiful trust and childlike confidence
which some people put in the Republican
party is happily illustrated by veracious
story W hich reaches me.
In the hill district of the city there lives a
colored man who keeps small stationery and
news store He also hugs close to his bosom
faith broad and deep in the Republican party.
AS matter of convenience to the neighbor-
hood he sells stamps. When Mr.. Mexican was
made postmaster our hero on the hill an
nounced that the millennium was approaching;
that there was to be fatness and much merri-
ment in his abode.
But few days after this announcement q
change came over the scene. In the meanwhile
the stationer on the hill had seen MIR. Mexican
and had tried to make deal with him. He
only wanted to get three 2cent stamps for a
nicKel-that was what he understood the Re-
publican party had proposed to do for its sup
porters when il got into power. Mr. Mexican
was sorry he could not comply with the request.
and the interview ended there.
Now 1 am told you can buy two 2-cent stamps
for nickel in certain little news store on the
hill. Il must make somethin' out of Uncle
SAM" the storekeeper says.
THE slippery streets for the last two days
have been novelty with which most of us
would dispense. There does not appear to be a
general appreciation of the obligation which
rests upon every storekeeper to keep the pave
ment in front of his place of business in safe
condition for pedestrians. The consequence is
that very large portion of the city sidewalks
are in dangerous state. especially when, as
happened yesterday. partial thaw by day is
succeeded by hard frost at night
TALKING of slippery pavements, good
story is told to the effect that one icy night
in Boston the late Charlotte Cushman and
Lawrence Barrett came out of the theater
together. The steps were dangerously slippery,
and it was with difficulty that they kept their
footing at all.
AS they totteringly descended. the great act
tress said to her companion, quite in her Lady
Macbeth manner: Take a good grip of my
arm, Lawrence, and if Slip hold on like grim
death; but if you slip in the name of Heaven,
let gor'
Lucky for them both he did not slip and
they reached the bottom in safety together.
#sh
A LTHoUGH the livery stables had no difficulty
in letting out all the cutters, sleighs, bob
sleds, and in fact everything that was equipped
with runners, not great many gentlemen who
own their sleighs cared about rsklng them, or
themselves in them, over such a very thin
layer of snow. The roughness of the roads in
the country prevented sleighing from being at
all pleasant exercise There were too many
bumps to the square inch.