The Critic and record., 1891-05-13
THE CRITIC
EBROED.

X ROR u.
Pick" Russell of the firm of Russell,
Morgan Il Co., the big Cincinnati printers,
was warm personal friend Of the late
President Garfield. On the day of the
latter's inauguration Russell was here IN
company with Billy Rice and Billy Emer-
son, the Ministries, and Pete Conklin, the
circus clown. They secured a window At
the Imperial Hotel from which to view
the parade.
How are your lungs, boys? ?' said Rus
SELL turning TO the three fun. makers.
"All right" they responded in chorus.
"l'll put up case of champagne If
you fellows will yell low bridge when
the Presidents carriage passes this point. e"
The proposition was accepted and just
as the carriage containing the President
and party passed the hotel the leather
lunged trio sent up mighty yell of low
bridge"
Garfield looked in the direction of the
hotel, smiled, took of his hat and bowed
to the party
Low bridge" was quite familiar to
President Garfield. He got used TO II in
the days when he drove mules on a canal.
A tall, thin man. bearing in his face
heroic lines of self-sacriiice regarding the
consumption of food, walked into an
Avenue saloon the other night, with a
noiseless tread, rendered still softer by his
heelless shoes. Glorious autumnal sun
sets of Titanic red would have paled in
the fierce cardinal light that illumined
his pudgy nose and beamed from his
angular cheeks clean to where his large
ears Topped in the winds of the electric
fans. One solitary button fastened the
froCk coat, shiny as a suit of mail, around
his unfed form. A collar, whitened with
chalk swiped from poo-room, gauded
| the long yellow dromedary-like neck.
One hand clasped with statesman-like
| clutch last years newspaper. The re-
manning five digits were thrust in the ca
| pacious nothingncss of his inside pocket.
| Advancing to the bar he addressed the
| dapper young person behind il with an
air of authority:
whisky, drop of lemon and sugar.
Got the price,"
''Sir ~
Fifteen cents to pay for the stuff ?"
| Yes"
''Show up then"
The thirsty man went down in his pants
pocket, and after struggle of some five
minutes yanked out three nickles which
he threw on the bar in kingly fashion.
| The bartender banged the bottle on the
mahogany and watched the thin man
curiously, expecting TO see the glass filed
to the brim with red liquor. The thin
man poised the bottle delicately between
his thumb and forefnger, letting the
whisky fall in the glass with slow driL
that seemed to afford him intense delight
When the glass was one-third full he
drained the contents, wiping his mouth
lightly ON towel.
"Young man, you imagined that woult
take what is vulgarly known as Russian
bath drink, he exclaimed to the bar
tender.
81 was betting long odds you would.n
MY son, because my attire is somewha
time and care-worn do not imagine tina
the heart and soul of a gentlemen is ab
sent from the body clothed SO humbly
Beg your. pardon, Governor. No Of
fense meant"
BoNing haughtily, the heart aud SOU
of gentleman condescended to nOtic
the apology. Then walking to the free
lunch counter he laid the h. and 5. a
aforesaid aside, and before the barkeepe
could quit his post the customer empdel
the contents of salad dish, into n capa
cious pocket, and swung himself through
the s.orm doors.
Every man in Washington whom busi
ness or pleasure keeps mp after midnigh
paused q moment or two, if he happene
TO be passing up Twelfth street mort
of the Avenue yesterday TO watch tn
workmen engaged in pulling down littl
brick house that for many years stoo
back from the street. To the man abou
town the sight awakened many memories
and ghosts of good times gone Dy stake
about the yard where the mortar sole
bricks were beng piled The place fo
many years was known as The Inn, an
its reputation was not confined to th
District but extended over the Who'll
country.
For a long time il was the only place i
town where the wanderer could get an
liquid refreshments after the hour of |
had struck. After that hour one coul
find picturesque crowd of men standin
before the bar in the front room, or sittin
around the tables in the rear. There wei
prize fighters, allround sports, politicians
editors, reporters chiefs of bureaus, occ;
sional Congressman; in short, all kline
and conditions of men. They were yer
, democratic and every one met on a
equal footing, brought into temporar
association by the conditions that close
| every other saloon in town. Often th
rosy dawn of day would find the crow
still there, more or less the worse fl
wear, but daylight is an enemy to pleasul
of this kind, and ii would not be lor
before the crowd betook themselves
their divers homes. But the glories of *
. place have long since departed and whe
, The workmen have finished with it, thel
: will be only memory and the ground LEI