Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-04-04
TOLD AT THE CLUB.
Two Experiences That Were Of a
Startling Character.
EXCHANGING Condolences
The Effect a Foggy Night and Melancholy
Work Produces-TwO Strange Tales Told by
Two Gloomy Fellows-A Tragic Clipping
and an Interesting Message.

LONE NIGHT RECENTLY AT A LATE
" hour two middle-aged gentlemen strolled
into the rooms Of the newly incorporated Press
Club. They had just concluded writing up the
fullest details of the funeral of one Of the
country's great men and were tagged out.
After lighting cigars they took couple of
chairs and drew them toward q window over
looking the street below. The weather out
side was distinctly Washington weather, neither
cold nor warm, but Of the penetrating foggy
kind common for this season Of the year that
causes SILVER quicker than il the mercury
was close to the zero mark. The murky
weather and melancholy work had made them
decidedly gloomy and for fully half an hour
they gazed into the street in silence. A stu.
dent in phonetics was seated at table near
by and was mechanically penciling the different
Characters Of that study upon slips of paper
scattered over the table. Suddenly the silence
was broken by one Of the loungers in front Of
the window and he began to tell his companion
a story Of his younger day. The photographer
was startled out of his reverie, and, becoming
interested, began following the tale with his
| mystic characters.
WHAT THE PHOTOGRAPHIC SLIPS TOLD.
reporter Of The STAR strolled into the club
room the next morning and, being an expert
stenographer, the characters on the numerous
slips of paper caught his eve. Gathering them
| together they we're confiscated the reporter
easing his mind over the theft by mentally as
surfing himself that they were public property.
| The writer of the phonetic characters must
have been professor of the art, for he has not
| only taken down the words of the gentlemen
| before the window, but even their movements
are chronicled. The reporter Strengthened out
the notes and the following is the result:
So lao old h<x~ II hlv~n tilt l.
time before receive another assignment on q
| funeral. Its business, of course, but the work
Is dispiriting. The blues are nothing along
side of what I've got"
Its the same with me. This life is too short
| to be gloomy in it and abhor funerals Never
| theless they furnish q curious and mighty in
teresting study. A funeral always recalls to
| my mind a peculiar incident happening some
| years back when / was in my twenties The
impressions of q funeral and this incident were
| both alike-depressing.
BROUGHT TO A POLICE STATION.
Il was doing newspaper work upon a small
sheet in an interior town OF Pennsylvania.
The life led and the husting done has no
| place in this story. While making my rounds
| one day ran against one of the tinest-looking
young men l ever saw and although dressed in
rags they couldn't destroy the effects OF a per-
feet profile, pair of jet-blaek eyes and hair of
the same hue. He had just been brought into
| tue pOAice sduOu from the railroad YARD Tor
| stealing ride. His brooding face, which bore
/ indications Of Q half-famished condition, was
| SO turned that his gaze fell upon the floor at
| his feet. His hands were in his trousers pOck-
| cts and his elbows formed sharp angles. He
| seemed endeavoring to huddle into as small a
space as possible, as if to withdraw into him.
| self and thus escape the observation Of the &C.
| cupants OF the room. l was favorably i'm
pressed by his looks and going to the mayor
secured his release upon promise that would
see that he left the town. Having an eye to
business ana seeming an item In the prospec-
| tive, took him to restaurant and after a
wash and brushing up placed him before a nice
| substantial meal. The poor fellow was almost
| famlshed and the edibles quickly disappeared.
| He could hardly thank me nough and although
at first averse TO telling me any Of his life s
history. he finally relaxed and under my adroit
questioning unfoided quite an interesting story.
AN AUSTRIAN TELEGRAPHER.
HE spoke mixture Of German and English
but was easily understood. His name was
Frederic Strushi, q native of Austria. He had
| been employed at an important telegraph relay
| station between Paris and Vienna and had been
| married but SIX months prior to his sailing for
this country. His wife accepted his suit in
| preference to that of the chief official ut the
| relay station. She being the belle OF the town,
/ and very pretty. his rejection made him an
enemy of Struski's. Immediately after their
marriage this official inaugurated a system of
| PcttS tStlIst HIS LUCKY r1Nal ana al
last forced him out of the office America at
tracted him, and. leaving his wife in his father s
| household, he came to this country resolved to
| send for her as soon as he obtained perma-
| nent situation. He told me he was dumb
| founded when he discovered the fact that the
| telegraph code OF this country different
from that OF his native land that it completely
debarred him from making a living in that
profession. Luckily for him he had been "a
| very fair machinist before securing the govern
4
| capacity when l ran across him. He had knocked
around New York for month doing odd Jobs,
his money ran out and at last he decided to seek
work In the country.
he HELPED THE MAN.
'The thought struck me that Altoona with
| its immense shops and many nationalities was
| just the place for him, and after giving him
| directions how to reach that city scraped to-
gether enough money out of my meager store
| to pay his passage to Harrisburg or about half
| the distance. He had made his way from New
York to the town / was In upon freight trains
| and by walking and he felt confident he could
| manage the distance from Harrisburg to AL
| toona In the same way. His manner was SO re-
| fined and diflident that my heart warmed to-
ward him, and when he boarded the train |
gave him hearty handshake with well wishes
| He said he would never forget me and prom
| ised to let me know how he made out when he
i reached his destination. Just as the train
| pulled out he pressed upon me plain gold
| ring that had belonged to his wife as token OF
\ his appreciation.
| Heres a clipping cut out Of a newspaper
| the next morning and have carried it ever
since as remembrance Of that meeting and
| conversation"
| THE TRAGIC ENDING.
| Jack hands a slip Of paper to his friend and
the latter in an awed voice reads the following
| STRUCK BY THE FAST LINE AND KILLED
| By Telegraph.
Mifiin, Pa. March 2l-As fast line east last night
was PASSING point about two below this place,
and runnin1 at the rate OF ty miles an hour man
asleep. The whistle was blown. which awakened tbs
sleeper. bus IN stupor ne wandered ON the tracs
again and was instantly killed bein- thrown fully
twenty -nse ieet- Letters his p-rson fed him
as being Frederic Strusk late eInploye of the Aus
tran telegraph service Sufficen; money was founi
in s pockets to deiray the expense of sending tue
body 20 that country Tue company was exonerated
''Poor fellow, what shock II must have been
10 his wife and parents when the news reached
| them"
Yes, the results Of the accident were quite
dramatic wrote letter to his wife detailing
his last conversation with me, and in reply
| received letter from Struskis father thanking
me for my kindness and telling me that the
shock from the terrible news had killed the
young wife,"
STORY OF TELEGRAPH MESSENGER.
| LET me tell You story that is q DIT compan-
ion for yours, one that have never told, but
the impression made upon me was SO vivid and
l linz hat v.,iI l..