The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-01-01
BOUNDED BY BEGGARS.
A PARAGRAPH THAT HAS PER-
Picked DIR. PAXTON.

Picked DIR. PAXTON.
An Exhibit of the Manifold Woes That
May Lurk in the Penny-s-Liner's Ink
Bottle Beggars Ia Battalions- A
Gentleman Who Insisted on Having
Share OF the Charity Fund.
NEW York, Dec. S1.-Clergymen are
plentiful, but 1892 clergymen are not so
numerous John Il. Paxton. D. D., Is a
minister Of to-day, in the pulpit and out OF
1t. Not to have heard him Is to have failed
co hear one of the acutest thinkers and
most eloquent and logical preachers Of our
time. He never Learned TO frown over a
starched shirt front fertilization, and IL he
ever acquired clerical mannerisms they
were blown off in war time, for be has none
| now, and he was a union soldier as brave
in the field as he is in the church militant.
Meeting HIM at his own home the other day
| he told me an experience, epropos of the
| Christmas season, that is too amusing to be
| kept out Of print, although the amusen emit
| IL afforded him certainly had its counter
| balancing Affections. Five years ago
| well-known writer on the metropolitan
press heard-or, to be charitable, thought
! he heard-that Mr.. John d. Flagler, the
| of DR.. Paxton's church, had called on his
| pastor on Christmas morning and handed
| him a check for $100, 200, with the statement
that he recognized the obligations Of the
wealthy and fortunate to the poor and
| struggling into whose darkened lot Christ
mas brought no cheer, and earnestly re-
! quested that, as his own engagements left
! him without leisure, DR.. Paxton would kindly
| become his almoner. The paragraph contain
| ing this fascinating fiction appeared in coll
umn of material. doubtless equally reliable,
| spun from a brain so superheated by the
| rapidity OF it's inventions that hair has long
since ceased to grow above it. Indeed, the
wicked journalist responsible for it is quite
| bald and looks like composite picture of
| Shakespeare and Mephistopheles, with the
much more defined resemblance to the lat-
ter. It was In Sunday paper that his ale
Turing announcement appeared Christmas
| having occurred in the previous week., but
the doctor knew nothing about it until after
| morning service. Then one Of his church
officers spoke to him In praise of Brother
| Flagler's munihcence.
Eyes" said the doctor, innocently and
interrogatively, "what has he been doing
nowF
Nothing more than handing you that
check for hundred thousand l read about
| this morning"
"Handing me check $780, OOs" said the
| astonished dominic: II do not understand
MIR. Flagler has given ME no money"
Explanations followed, and gloom settled
heavily upon DIR. Paxtonis spirit as he
| family forecast the inevitable sequel. A
lipe OF meudicants and imposters seemed to
stretch out before his imagination to LIES
latest hour. As he walked TO his home the
| sky appeared to be hung with coffin cloth,
spangled with millions of 10-cent pieces
His dinner was excellent, but appetite was
gone, aud he wore a faraway, dreamy, sor-
1 A,,I l. za Ill 81
! the heaven dropping dimes and himself as
the dispensing angel who was TO spend
existence in distributing them TO gaunt and
olsmorous applicants.
II had immunity that day." said the doc
tor, but the next morning my door bell
began to ring and may truthfully say it
has not ceased ringing yet. as almost every
wretohed paragraph
At first the experience was simply awful.
AT the door Of she doctors pleasant home Is
stationed bis valet, colored man OF pleas
ant features and polite bearing. Shortly
after o'clock on Monday morning the pro-
cession OF the impecunious began. 1t moved
directly on the doomed domicile. By 8
o'clock the sidewalk was crowded and as
the door opened a score or more pressed for
admission at once.
The bewildered valet sought his masters
apartment.
"Foah de good Lor'. DR.. Paxton,
b1eevs dis yeah city's been struck wifi
famin'. De whole east side am down stairs
Use used to 'em In twos an frees, but
Dress yo' soul. doctor, des heah by de f'ou-
sandio ''t -
The doctor arose and looked from bis
window, and saw in front of his house a
motley company, such as an alarm of fire
| might have conRregated. The nondescript
| OF every nation and kindred and tribe had
come together. There were more women
than men, and many Of them held In their
hands little slips, clippings FROM the paper
of that atrocious paragraph by the wretched
journalist. 10 was in vain that the valet
sought to explain to them the mistake. He
| finally found it necessary to seek the aid of
| a policeman, who uuceremoniously dispersed
| them. But they continued TO come, sinRly
and in pairs, TO such an extent that she
| doctors door was for days almost continu-
ously open. They included the lame the
halt, the blind and the manned, the beat,
the hummer and the destitute.
These were not the only Glasses, however.
Far from IL. The pompouS Professor
the man shout town, the impecuDious in
ventor. the wsnt-to-go- young man :,
| the broken down broker, the demure lutte
widow the blonde girl with the brother to
| support. the woman with the large family,
all starving for sewing machine; the dark
| haired dreamy girl with the long lashes and
destitute parents-these, and scores Of 9TH
eTs, in the course of a few weeks. sent in
cards or made such pathetic representations
! as secured them an interview.
| In vain De. Paxton assured them that the
story they had read was wholly fictitious.
| They treated bis assurances with fncredul-
ity, and left with a slow and injured air
that made the good man feel very sad. Some
were irnpertinent and some demonstrative
week or two after the publication the bell
rang and when the valet opened the door he
saw standing in the vestibule a tall and
| rather handsome southerner, with dark hair
! falling over his coat collar, a waved mus
tache ENDS ike brad avis and goatee that
| chung to his chin like a nervous black cater
pillar wiggling in sympathy with the move
ment OF his under Jaw. He wore a broad
sombrero on three-fourths Of his head and
had a dazzling expsnse Of shirt 'front.' He
wanted to see DR.. Paxton.
''Yo' name. sahT inquired the valet.
"a gentleman from South Kaw'lins,
sab"
my ordahs are to get 20 name, sah.n
II want you to understand, sab, that I'm
gentleman, sab, from South Kaw'ina,
| sab, and I allow no copah collared niggah
20 talk ordahs to me, sab You tell your
master / want to see him, sahi"
As he spoke he tossed his locks to either
side and gazed at the colored man with su-
| preme dIsdsiu. The latter, who was bis
! fob S4b~ L