Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-11-28
A NEW STUDY OF CHARACTER.


DroN WILLIAMS.
A NEW STUDY OF CHARACTER.
Men Toll What They Are by the Way They
Pay Car Fare.
From the Chicago Herald.
This thing Of character reading may be car
ried to an extreme. 1t is in great danger Of
becoming fad. One man tells character by
scanning the penmsnship. another by looking
at the ear. Still another by the walk. and
NTH BY manner Of wearing an overcast But
the chief clerk in one Of the railroad offices has
hit on an index quite ont of the ordinary. He
has been riding on street cars to and from his
work for the past fifteen years. and for a good
deal OF that time he has watched, in odd mo-
ments, the peculiar manner in which people
pay their fare.
One man presents a nickel to the conductor
in manner wholly Chesterfeldian; another
hands the nickel in a regretful manner.
watching it disappear down the leather-bushe,i
pocket OF the conductor. The first man is
drawing an ordinary salary, but is enjoying it,;
ne has hard enough work paying expenses and
occasionally breads to meet the rent man.
But he has the heart of a boy and his wife has
everything she wants if money will buy it,
The second man is getting rich on half the in
come.
One man sits with his arms settled and his
oyercoat fastened around him comfortably
weaged IN between people, and never makes a
move to ind car fare till the conductor stops
stu ana makes it personal matter. Another
gets his money ready and offers it three o. four
times. handing it past three or four people and
holding 1t up so all the cur can see it. The first
is n curmudgeon who browbeats the children,
makes his wife do the housework, quarrels with
the landlord and grieves profoundly whenever
be pays bill. If he had the whole seat to him
self he would occupy it. If he had to lie down.
he has grudge against everything in life.
The gas collector runs the risk of his life every
time he approaches and when he goes to pay
water rates the city hal! thinks an eclipse has
darkened the sun. He stands at The front of
the elevator and never budges till every one
mas crowded past him, in and out. and he finds
his level on the top floor. He never buys the
paper through the week, and while reading
borrowed copy--which he always does-tells
now newsboy made him mad one time. When
the cable stops with him on the car he makes
NE miserable to the conductor. His kind Of
man ID what makes people hate to have the
cable break. They don't care SO much for
loss OF time, or broken engagements, but the
chronic promoter of pedal gesticulations
wearies them into walking The man who
offers his fare before the conductor is ready is
the same man who talks constantly Of the as
sistance he has given to this Oh that successful
man or the blessings he has conferred on great
uSss' ne WAS tue uTSt one 10 Tell BOD BurQette
he could write. He introduced Blatchford
kavanaugh to Prof. Roney He suggested to
Chicago the bringing of Theodore Thomas.
There is the man who always drops his
nickel from between the very ends Of his finger
and thumb: II nothing happens the conductor
may catch II. III the car be in motion it falls
to the floor And there is the other man who
extends his palm with fat nickel in the center.
1t is not easy to get, and he never lessons the
difficulty; The first Of these is quick-tem-
pered fellow who cannot take care OF himself,
and yet he usually has large family for which
he ought to provide. He moves every May day
and wonders constantly what becomes Of the
furniture. He never aspires to anything better
than inferior wages and never saves any of
them The man with the open palm is the
dreamer OF dreams. He wants to hy high, but
does not quite reach it. He is full of great
plans that are never quite formed. II he had
all the money he wanted he would do some
thing startlingly original, and then live on the
recollection Of its failure to the end Of his pow
erty-stricken days.
The man who hands in more than the fare
and then waits for the change, with his hand
extended, il great raiser Of money for the
heather. He cannot find patience to consider
the claims Of Chicago's needy. but believes
tearfuiiy in the plan Of converting East Indians
to our religion or carrying the gospel to the
Africans, even though 1t involves the former
In the opium habit and teaches the latter q new
sort Of laziness. His reading is confined to
american Tract Society publications and his
devotons to such church as will oftenest per-
init him to make addresses.
Most women deposit their nickels in the
conductors palm from a thumb and finger
that hold the coin in suspension. They al
ways have the money ready, usually the exact
change, for they do not like to display their
wallets openly, to be seen Of men. But even
when the mode Of deposting is limited to that
one action there may be a variety of methods
employed. Some Of them seem TO lean back a
little as they extend their hand They are the
cold and distant sort who never chew gum be-
cause it costs an effort. They never thank a
clerk, no matter how obligine he may be-
They never say good word of any one, but
are bountiful in snappish. sarcastic sort Of
SANDER. The women who lean forward a little.
giving up the money with graceful recovery
OF pose, are the great-hesrted kind who make
our earth an Eden" They are courteous to
every one. good friends, delicious sweethearts,
forgiving wives. They like music and good
books. They like companionship. They are
the kind about whom no evil is spoken, because
every one admires them. No matter what they
do, the kind construction is placed upon il,
because they never say evil of others
The chief clerk is a bachelor, and for fifteen
years he has been looking for that kind of a
woman. When be finds her he will marry her.