The Critic and record., 1891-04-11
THE CRITIC ABROAD


In the equine contingent Of Fire En-
gine Company No. 8. in West Washing
ton, is beautiful scal.brown horse who
has done the state some service On the
rolls Of the department he is known as
40. n. But among his familiar acuuaint-
anccs be is called Jerry He Is a veteran
of many fires, now is years of age, and
has been q member Of the Fire Depart
mcnt for q matter Of twelve years, hay-
ing Joined the service December %, 1879.
lie comes Of good old Pennsylvania stock
and has n dash of Morgan blood i'm his
veins. Like most fire horses his intimate
association with men has developed in
him an ardent appreciation Of human
companionship. With his great bulk of
body modelled I'm one of natures kindliest
moods on trim clean. limbs and with
agrcat neck and chest whose symmctri-
cal lines form am ideal combination OF
strength and beauty, Jerry in ancient
times would have been pre-eminently ht
to drag the chariot of king.
Foreman Kurt, in illustration Of his
intelligence, will tell you that Jerry has
made no false start since the first hour of
his service as a iirc.horse. having graspcd
the situation with as little training as
would be required i'm the case of most
men. OF course, he smollcth the fire
iend aiar on. And, naturally, he grows
impatient at the enforced idleuess which
his long service has made necessary, and
gives eloquent horse signs of horse dis
gust when he hears the Clang and clatter
of departure i'm hot haste to battle with
the flames i'm which he may not Jon.
For he is only allowed TO enjoy active
service in case of emergency.
As is the case with most heroes, human
or equine Jerry's eocentricitieg, such as
4 LII. q
very heroic reason that his namo is Jerry.
While he will allow the harness to be
dropped on him in his private stall mt the
rear OF the engine-house, he peremptorily
refuses to be harnessed in any part of the
cngincroom except that to which he has
always been accustomed, and any attempt
to make him relax this prejudice arouses
in the old hero the stubborn resistance of
the plcbcian mule, reinforced by fiery
play of heels and general eccentricity of
movement that could hardly be excelled
as an able and conclusive protest by q
railroad locomotive on big drunk. It
may be added that If ever horse gave
outward signs of thorough appreciation
of his own Importance he is that horse.
II is needless TO say that Foreman Kurtz
and his men are proud of Jerry, and they
might well be proud of less distinguished
steed.
\ man shot around the corner of q cor
ridor in the PostoiiiCe Department the
other dav flew down the steps with an
airy, elastic tread knocking up against a
fat, red-facCd female, who was toihpg
wceHiy up the marble staircase with
much putting and groaning.
Beg pardon, madame; beg pardon,
exclaimed the hurrying one, lifting a
shiny silk hat and rushing out the door
to the street with a rapidity that made
the watChman forget his usual salute.
The lady on the stairs turned back i'm
her ascension, and exclaimed.
BLESS my heart, did you ever see such
impudence2 Well, | never. I'll Just tell
Mr.. WannYmaker bout it,"
The good lady, who was from remote
interior settlements, did not know that
the clean-shaven, well.dressed, broad
shouldered, kindly.faced gentleman that
had made her an apology was the Post
master General
Mr.. Wanamaker is the hardest worked
and gentlest-mannered man in official life.
Yet he always has time to speak cour-
teous word in response to the Inquiries Of
the many visitors he receives daily.
Mr.. Wanamaier is very fond of chill
dren. No baby ever called on him without
receiving some souvenir of the visit. One
thoughtful thing he does is to cut from
the numerous official letters he receives
the autograph Of the writer, and when
some boy or girl asks him for his sigma
ture, he will hand them, with his own
autograph, one of these clippings. 1t may
be that of q cabinet officer, foreign minis
ter, or indeed the President himself.
One day n man high in official life visi-
| ted the Postmaster-General. He found
| that gentleman with q darling sunny
haired pet of 3 years perched on his knee,
one chubby hand around the firm, well-set
neck and the other investigating the mys-
| teries of a gold chronometer.
"One moment, Governor" said Mr..
Wanamaker. He eiinished the fairy story,
| tossed the child high in the air, caught
| her in his arms and bestowing q kiss on
the dimpled mouth handed the baby over
to her nurse who stood near by swelling
| with pride at the conquest of her charge.
| The next moment Mr.. Wanamaker and
| his visitor were in a deep official question.
Heisto-day the most popular of his
Department and employees all find his ear
a willing one TO give heed TO their woes
| And those who have dealings with the
Department find him plain spoken but
| pplrtantIg ht1ginace