Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1890-08-28

along TO what. he hopes wiz prove his
tame sad fortune.
As the rag-picker is a legitimate
companion Of the old-clOthes man. so
music would seem the proper accom-
pan1ment for flowers. All large cities
abound IN professional street n1insfraTs
Many Of these are bearded men, quite
capable OF working for a living. whose
principal patronage IS found in saloons
which. they sereuRde, and whore. in
addition to a little money secured from
customers about the place, thew are
generally tIeated by the proprietor.
and are, IN consequence, maintained
IN condition for @murdering" the airs
they attempt to render.
Italians are natural and almost uni
yersal musicians, and it Is from their
ranks that the great majority of street
organ grinders, hddIers, and other
players are drawn. They often travel
IN sets, with a full complement of in
struments Of different sorts, and pro
duce quite tOlerable music. They ser
enade residences, and are often en-
ploYed TO furnish music for an unpre-
tending little party Of a social nature.
Small boys and girls often travel about
together and deliver concerts on harps,
flutes, and viOlins. Their music is not
always of the best, but their size makes
up for any deficiencies of that kind
and q trio of little ones viii often re-
turn home at night to their parents, or
"prOprietOrs, with more money than
could be earned by six strong labOrers.
Efforts have been made by the So
ciety for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Children" to abolish this latter phase
of street minstrelsy, but without any
very marked results.
To a close observer it is matter Of
wonder how an umbrella member man
ages to live. He is always tramping
his weary round with his kit of tools
and bundle Of old umbrellas to be
used in supplying missing parts. he
calls ct innumerabIe houses, from the
doorways Of all of which he seems to
be repulsed. OF course he secures an
occasional job, otherwise he would
abandon n business so Improbable,
but one viii watch long time before
he IS seen plying his trade. First cOu-
sin to him is the umbrella peddler,
ct is an i'll wind that blows nobody
any good, and the tempest that
comes accompanied by rain, and
makes light the hearts of ducks
and boys whose duty it is to.
drive sprinkling wagons through
dusty streets, is a God-send to the.
umbrella peddIer, who is then able 10.
ply his vocation with hopes of sub.
stantial results. He deals only in the
cheapest grade of goods, and when q
rain suddenly breaks out in q CITY, ap-.
pears as if by magic, with a number
OF umbrellas under his arm, and begins
crying his wares. With the cessation
of the "down-pour" or "Grizzle-droz-,
zIe, as the case may be, he disappears
from view to reappear upon the next
rainy day.
It must not, however, be supposed
that he depends upon the rain to bring
him his livelihood. He is generally 81
street pedd1er, or more properly, "fakir'
of some sort of goods, from patent sus-I
Pender buttons to clothes wringers,
who, for the nonce, drops his regular.
line of goods for the better-selling um-I
bveIla. At the doors of theatersi
when the performance is welI-nigh
over, she" may be seen in force. The.
young gallant who has come without
a thought of the rain which is
now falling, has the aIternativ Q.
presented Of paying two dollars for
carriage or fifty cents for q cotton um-
brella, and often to the chagrin of the
accompanying fair one, generally in
vests in the latter
The stroller through the streets Of
Chicago sees many peculiar ways Of
earning a livelihood besides those
enumerated above Indeed, but few
things in the way Of business are car
ried on within doors but find some sort
of an imitation In the streets. The
theater is mimicked by the Punch and
Judy show" the merchant by the fakir,
and the clergyman by the street
preacher and Salvation Army.
DWIGHT BALDWIN.
CHICAGO, Ill