The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1891-07-11
A MODERN ELIJAH.

R
He was small and black-a child of an
inferior race. There was nothing in his
appearance to suggest the hero, and if
you had told him that he was hero he
would scarcely have known what you
meant An unschooled, illiterate, ugly,
bullet headed negro, he had neverthe-
Less been baptized by the same spirit
which had caused the face of St Stephen
10 shine as the face of an angel
One winter day-almost a year before
the event which gave him a chance to
show the stuff that was in him-he
came into the hotel looking for a job.
The Office was brilliantly lighted and
filed with a crowd of handsomely
dressed men. There were politicians,
club men, men about town, reporters,
many members of the sporting frater-
nifty, the usual loungers and hangers
on, an occasional hayseed-all forming
a very startling background for the
rags and filth of the poor. shivering,
half starved little darkey. 1t was no
easy matter for him to steer his course
to the desk. and when he got there the
splendor Of the man behind it dazed him
SO that his voice almost failed him. He
had, however, even at his early age,
reached the point where he had to work
or starve. So his necessities made him
eloquent His eloquence prevailed He
was on the ext day placed on the pay
roll of the great hotel.
= AS bell boy he was not a success.
fear l must confess that he was lazy.
People liked him-I do not know why
and for some reason or other he was
favorite with his employers. If he had
not been they would have dismissed him
before his first week was out Instead
OF doing that, they concluded to find
more congenial work for him, so they
put him in charge of one of the eleva-
tons.
Among the passengers who used to
ride up and down with the boy was
Little fve-year-old girl, the daughter of
family living in the hotel. She was as
perfect type of her race as he was of
hiA With her fair, white skin, golden
hair, deep blue eyes and pretty womanly
ways, the child was a general favorite.
Every one knew her: every one loved
her.
Between her and the boy a great
friendship had sprung up He was de-
vOt1on itself. and his attentions to the
little Caucasian were SO grotesquely
chivalrous AS to be almost pathetic. She
accepted them all with a dignity and
grace that were charming Her family
lived on the top floor of the house, and
A abe always rode in his elevator when
she could manage to do so. the boy and
girl saw much Of each other. Once she
was ill The medicine that helped her
most was a wretched little bouquet sent
her by her dusky friend.
1t was winter again. The evening of
which write was very cold and clear
The stars were diamondlike in their
br1lllancy. Everything was frozen up
the wheels creaked on the snow.
The hotel was crowded with guests.
Not more than two or three of the hun
dreds of rooms were unoccupied. A be-
Lated traveller, who had been on q wealth
az bound train, came in ut / o'clock,
tired and cold. He ordered a fire in his
room and then went to the bar for a
drink. A few minutes later he stepped
into the boys elevator and was carried
to the top floor.
The great house was quiet. Most of
tho lights in the Office had been extin-
gu1shed. Two night owls were talking
IN Low tones on one of the settees which
lined the walls of the lobby. The bell
boys were most Of them asleep. The
clerk was browsing.
Two o'clock! The night owls got ur
and walked out into the cold air. 4
drunken man poked his nose in the door.
The sleeping porter seemed to scent him
for he hustled the poor fellow out.
Z The quiet deepened till it became al.
most oppressive. The air was heavy
with it.
! Suddenly, without a note Of warning
the cry of "Fire!" rang through the
house. There was life enough now.
Scantily clad people were scurryng
wildly through the smoke filled CORR
dors. They came plunging down the
stairs to the Office, and 80 out into the
freezing night Shrieks and curses and
tgroans and prayers-it was Babel broken
loose. All the bells in the house were
ringing. The smoke grew denser. II
seemed to come from everywhere
md below. Great black volumes rolled
fhroogh the long halla Outside, the
snnees were jammed with people. The
R1a with thedF changing gongs, hur.