Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-07-27
MURRAYS MUSINGS.
Bits of Human Nature That CFop Ont on
the IL, Rsnds-IIow Presidents Have
Treared Porters of Their Special Cars
rra~.s vr..tS a. I, .fosr,

useful than for the purpose designed. Iney
serve as trystihg places for young lovers, Tor
business appointments, for resting spots
where everybody is safe from personal annoy
ance, or evil remarks. There Is platform
directly opposite and on level with my office
windows. When young lady is seen saunter-
ing up and down, or occupies one Of the
benches demurely immersed in paper covered
novel you would scarcely notice her; and If you
did the supposition would be that she is wait
ing for srain. 1t is only the old gatekeeper
and ticket chopper on either side who know
better. They can see, if they care to Observe
which they usually don't-that she misses the
next train, the mex, the next, and so on. with
seeming indifference to the advantages Of
travel and the lapse of time. Passengers get
on and of, the gates are slammed the cord Is
yanked by the guard and the trains pull out
one after another. The busy world is too
much engrossed with itself to pay any atten-
tion to idlers
Pretty soon quick step is heard. 1tmust be
q peculiarly familiar one. or is it intuition?
For she is suddenly alert; quick, pleased
glance, lifted hat, extended arms. The pair
now disappear. either downstairs or by way Of
the next train. If below. they have paid 10
cents for the security the elevated grants. She
couldn't wait on corner with decency, Dor
nang about restaurant or hotel like man, SO
she blesses the elevated. Sometimes it is a
husband and wife-you can easily tell by the
greeting He may wish to 'see man" for a
few minutes and the elevated station is the
best place to rejoin his wife on the return
home. If it is one business man with another
the wait is never long. They hustle at once on
board and without ceremony, consulting their
watches usually to note the fault of time.
This goes on daily in front of my office window
amid the great roar of traffic and the rush of
commercial activity. once mentioned it In a
jocular way to an old gateman.
Too common to notice" said he, pumping
my ticket into the machine. Il know nearly
every race that passes this gate-an the
regulars There are a good many of
You can't see the same people every day,
twice and three and four times day, for sew
eral years without getting acquainted with 'ern.
Most people take the u at particular station
with the same regularity. I know men who are
punctual to the minute both ways. They live
like well-regulated clock. can put my hand
on the time in the morning when one OF them
ought to be on the stairs, can feel 'em-yes,
sir; feel 'ern coming in! There is an early hour
for certain long-ho set. porters office boys
and factory hands. They begin when the all
night birds are flying in and out. Then comes
half an hour later the tide of big business men,
merchants, brokers. bankers. lawyers, etc.. sets
in. Close on to them come the lady shoppers.
II know man who meets his pretty type
writer here every morning. She gets off a
HARLEM here and hangs around a few minutes
every morning, then he comes up and they
both go on together downtown. Let's see,
there's a black-haired girl in a, pink dress
she's due Wednesdays. And the red-haired
lady with diamonds" enumerating on his fn-
gers, shes on hand Tuesdays and Saturdays
to meet the tall Cuban. There's the widow
in fact, there are several widows or middle
agedladies IN black-they're the most per-
sistent and patient. These are regulars on my
platform. The irregulars are mostly young
girls. There Is no law against q girl being a
fool, you know"
hBut perhaps he's the fool" I suggested.
"Oh, no; it's the fool who waits. And no
tice II is usually the woman who waits. can tell
the man fool by his hanging around. No, in
deed; its usually the woman. It's the woman
who waits"
With this BIT of philosophy on his lips this
student OF human nature fell to pumping an
excursion party through the gate and relapsed
into his usually morose condition.
Wealthy Mems Taxes.
IT ought to be next to impossible for a man in
the United States to accumulate So 0O0. 600
in 10 years. 1t ought to be absolutely impossi-
BILE for one man to hold s4O.OO00O0. The reason
it is possible is the fact that the ratio of taxa
tion decreases in proportion to increased
wealth of the individual. Reverse this and, in
my opinion. we would have an hundred or so
less of the extremely rich, and q million less Of
the extremely poor.
A Reformed Burglars Woe.
0THE general public has but little conception
of the difficulties that are continually being
placed in the way Of a man. who having once
been guilty of transgressing the law. has re-
formed and done everything in his power to
lead an honest life" The speaker was
burglar who now travels with THE Stowaway'
Company and cracks safe in that play
nightly with the neatness and dispatch born Of
long experience. Mr. Hennessy Is righteousy
indignant because his name was mentioned in
yidiously in connection with the alleged rob-
berry of Mrs. Paran Stevens diamonds.
Il think my case affords pretty fair exam
pie of, the truth of what say" continued the
cracksman. when the story was first pub
lshed that Mrs Stevens had been so untortun-
ate as to lose her jewelry again, a careful sur
vey was made of the prominent members Of
the profession to which am sorry to say L
formerly belonged, and simply because was
in the East at the time lot OF vealy headed
detectives jumped to the conclusion that 1
must have had hand in the swiping of those
sparklets."
Spike beaved sigh and went on plaintively:
snow, don't you think that it is tough on
fellow who for a long time, has been dead
straight, and who, II do say it myself, Is
gradually coming to be looked upon as one OF
the brightest ornaments of the theatrical pro-
fessionf Why. Inspector Byrnes, my managers,
and, in fact everyone who knows anything at
all about me are well aware that am now as
honest and upright man as can be found IN
these bloody United States. Then why should
lot of rural chumps IN Newport make in-in
say, what's that word?-Dh, yes; make In
yourwindows about me and try to blacken the
fair fame have now acquiredf Many good
man has been bounded either back into the
evil ways he had forsaken or into suicides
grave in this way. 1t makes me laugh when
think of those jay detectives who couldn't
detect limburger cheese if 1t was stickin' on
their noses chasing around after Mrs. Stevens
6iqn.nn6G 10 fHnn w
ing snugly in that truly u fortunate lady's bed.
Speaking Of the hard luck that she always
seems to have with her valuables, 1t seems to
me that lot Of these society danes are as
thirsty for newspaper nOtoriety concerning
their ornaments as any prima donna or emo
tional actress who has pleasing custom Of
losing her diamonds &C regular intervals"
Some Curious Old volunes.
IN the window of Broadway secondhand
bookstore Is curious old leather-covered
volume bound In BRASS It IS about two feet
square. and the corner pieces of brass are
studded with Drass-headed nails, while brass
plate in the center bears a coat Of arms of the
sixteenth century. The book is "Psalterium
Romanum," printed in red and black Latln
characters half an inch or more in size. with
initial letters about two inches SQUARE, In 1856
1t was used in one Of the ancient monasteries,
to which 1t was presented, according to the in
scriptions in, the corner pieces by I'D. D.
Thomas ct Joannes, De Guido tbs Fratres,
Lberatissame donant, Capuciani, Reg
something, the engraving being worn out. 1t
has 467 pages or leaves, and is indexed by little
coloted tags of ribbon in q curious manner.
The volume was bought by collector in a
Junk shop in Munich for 10 francs. The then
owner was offered l75 francs in Strasbourg for
his purchase, but rightly OWNED that it would
be worth more in America, and Shipped it
home.
In this same little shop on Broadway are vol
umes still older, one-a bible-illuminated by
hand. the text being too fine for the naked eye.
When asked whether there was much demand
for such works here the collector replied: ~
not1ld nat Glnn for fn,,r nf the first Nav Ynrk