St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-12-27

When his wife asked him what was the
matter lie said he had been dreaming.
lie thought he WAS at the station, and
that the patrol wagon had been driven
10 the door. At another lime when he
had arisen 10 look after the fire he be-
came daZed for a moment, for in return
ing to his ped he saw the hand of his
child lying outside of the cradle. He
picked mp the child and looked at it.
lie turned about the room to see if the
book of certain label was at hand.
When he was called to consciousness he
put the little one back in its cradle.
He did not tell his wife what he
thought. but he told the old night re-
porter this: Il thought at first it was a
rounding. / had forgot | was in my
own home. 1t has been so long since l
slept at home Of a night. | was looking
for the book in which 10 make nv re-
port of the little one when Mary called
me. Then remembered that was at
home aud off the force"
1T he cOlOred the picture 1t was not his
fault. lie had seen many piece of
news which he had given out the night
before as inc0nsequential loom up in the
paper next morning. The old reporter
had taught him to paint.
Il never felt so lonesome in my life. -
he continued. Il shall have to get used
to 1t, but l expect some funny things
will happen before | will. expect |
VIII be goln' home some of these DAYS
and that Will see 4 gang of boys dom
what they should not, for that is a boy
all over, and | expect / will reprimand
them and they will give me the laugh.
expect that shall pull Mary's hair
some night, thinkin' it is the patrol
box l expect I'll be yellin' into her ear,
scarin' her all but to death, thinkin' it
IS the telephone. | expect some of these
times | will be tellin' the crowd on the
sidewalk TO move along. And they
will give me what the boys at the sta
tlon used tC call the ha-ha OF course,
man who has been on the force
twenty-five years must make enc
mics. know that 1 have.
know that when Mrs. Shaunnessy's
goat came over into my own yard and
eat my white vest that | used to wear
when | occasionally went to the matt
nee. l told Mrs. Shaunnessy that there
was an ordinance against lettin' goats
roam around. and she tied ND the poor
thing until it died from frettin'. 1t
would be like Mrs. ShaunneSsy to get
even now. 1t would be natural, too.
would not blame her. a policeman's
life is not like that of any other official.
lie has so many people to look out for
and so many to look out for him. Every
man Is friend of somebody else, and
that somebody elsa is solid with the
chief, and the chief is solid
with the mayor, and there YOU
are. Then there are people who
think that all policemen are eithre
crooked or brutes. And they do not
like 10 be seen talking with a police
man except when they get into trouble
themselves. / am not foolish about nv
age, but this retirin' policeman is a
sort of sign hung around his neck that
he is too old to do any work, ami is used
as an excuse by people who do not want
TO give him employment. | am good
for ten years yet. I am not askin' to
be kept on or taken back, and 1 guess
we ought TO be thankful that we are
penSioned. But | wish had Job. and
1t seems to me as if the city might have
arranged to give us enough to keep us
from mischief. l am thinkin' that some
men need sOmethin' of that kind the
same as boys. l have quit drinkin'
anything these ten years past. | was
never better in my life. | am better
now than | was fifteen years ago. That
Is what makes me think that ought to
be worth more to the force than | was.
Poor -" said Mary, the wife, to
the reporter who asked her how M
was doing since his retirement. He
sits about the house in the day time as
he used to. just the same, and plays the
flute while the little one dances. But
as soon as it gets dark in the sky it
seems to get dark in Ms poor heart.
He gets uneasy and walks the floor.
The other night when the wiud was
bowling so tiercely he kept going to the
window and kept looking out. He
couldn't sleep until he had put on his
old police uniform and gone down to
the lake. He had heard the waves
pounding the pier, and he said it seemed
to him that some one was calling for
help. He used to have so much of that
to do when he, vas travelling beat on the
South side when Mayor Colvin was in
Office. Can't the city be induced to
give the old retired men something to
dop', "