Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-11-04
THESIXTH"REGULAR"
By e. o. Leland.

used to drop In at Henry's quite often
OF a night on my way home from MEDICAL
lectures. Henry's sign read: Heinrich
Loeb, restaurant Imported and domestic
Deer. oysters in season." Henry himself
was clean, fresh, red-cheeked German
and he kept a clean, fresh little place With
talented old negro cook from Baltimore,
VINO understood the oyster as do only Bal
timore cooks
1t was not long before began to notice
the frequenters OF the place and found
tnat could count on seeing the same half
dozen faces any night in the week between
III and II O'Clock. There was also a float
ing and changeable custom-the very young
men with their assumption Of the dissi-
pated air, drinking down their beer at q
gulp-the belated married men who dropped
IN Tor the propitiatory dozen fried in a
pox TO carry home TO tired and waiting
wives-an occasional colored man, treated
with scant courtesy, however well be-
naVed-and, rarely, an old rounder or two.
Inc coming and going OF these transients,
however. had no effect on the regulars ex-
cept to give five OF them once in a while
topic for talk. There the five sat. even
ing after evening, slipping an occasional
mug OF beer. eating an occasional pretzel
or cheese sandwich and talking politics
ana religion and the news in the evening
paper L say five of them, for the sixth
never talked. He sat apart. tasting a glass
OF white wine, sometimes reading a paper.
oftener gazing at the wall and slowly smok-
ing good cigar. He was a well-dressed
prosperous looking man, a little beyond
middle age and with a rather refined face.
Very naturally 1 assumed that this soli-
tary habit on the part Of number six was
self chosen-that his exclusiveness was the
result Of self-esteem, and that such a man
should have no better place to spend his
evenings piqued my curiosity. 1 made no
inquiries because there was no one of whom
could inquire. 1 did not wish to know
the other regulars and Henry did not seem
| to know his name
one Saturday night, however. the nttle
place was full. 1 was tired and hungry as
bear and not at all inclined to 20 further
UP the street. where / wasn't sure of the
COOK AS L stood looking for a seat the
unknown and silent regular took his over
coat from the chair beside him and beckoned
me to take it. i thanked him, accepted and
naturally made remark about the unusual
ihiiux OF transients. Instead of the gentle
manly but rather stiff reply which 1 expect
ed, the man beamed and answered in the
most friendly manner and a little incon-
sequential chat followed. He seemed rer-
fectly avid to talk, but at the same tins
listened well, and there was even a touch
OF me aeierential in his manner which was
oehghtfully new TO me in a man of his age
ana rather imposing appearance.
fingered over my pan roast that night
anu even drank glass of his favorite hook
with him, and finally went home a half hour
later than usual, much pleased and san
more curious about him
Inc acquaintance progressed. Whenever
my oyster appetite turned me in at Henry's
uoor; 1 came habitually TO seat myself at
n nraa
penings and a little history and literarrr.
with Mr. Legros. He gave me his card on
our second meeting, and on my remarking
Sts ms evident French origin. judging from
ms name ne replied that his parents were
french colonists in the West Indies. and
changed the subject 1 found him TO be a
man Q, wide reading and Of highly cult
waited taste in books. He seemed we'll in
formed in whatever direction the CONVEX
sauon took, and yet / never found him
IRVING TO lead the talk toward any particu-
lar topic.
One night in the late winter a. b.nn.,as
that the i've regulars at the other table
We're discussing a poisoning case renorfad
"a .ne evening paper. and Legros asked me
Mnether l. had ever taken any interest iu
loAicoioSy. 1t CHANGED that just at thar
, ,llhe 1 was doing the ordinary medical col
zee laboratory work in that important
pranch, and We drifted into QUITE an ami
mated discussion. He showed the Same ~
inarkable depth of information as on other
topics, ana finally, after a moments hest,
t tseion' suggested that IL would step around
one corner with him to his rooms he would
snow me very interesting atlas of TROPICAL
PoISohous pants. l accepted with plea sure
ont we put on our overcoats and started
He mouse which We entered with his latch
Key was handsome brick and the in,erior
ehhpse was prepossessing As we passed
UP tne stairs a door opened below and a
.sn n. voice said; oh! Is it you Mr.. Le-
sros! glanced down and saw that IL
was handsome colored woman, well dress
Gu ana evidently the mistress of the house
was dumfounded, and as we entered
Legros bachelor quarters on the second
moor 1 could not keep back the extremely
impolite question, And are you living In
house with family of negroes?'
he turned toward me and there was a
strange logged look I'm his face Why.
SIR. ne said, Il myself am what you would
call a negro.''
1 fairly gasped for breath. glanced
around the scholarly book-lined room 1
looked again at the clear-cut features and
white skin of the man who stood somewhat
dehantly before me. started to apologize.
saw how utterly futile as well as unmean-
ing an apology would be. stammered start
ed to leave the room, stopped and sat down
overwhelmed.
and there came over me with a rush a deep
sense Of the injustice of this mans evident
prescription. His thin trace Of negro blood
must have been known TO others and his
isolation from white companionship must
have been due to this knowledge. His iso-
lation from the society of blacks was EVIL
IDENTIFY due to his own choice. And why
should IL not have been so? Here was a
cultivated. well-read man whose blood was
nineteen-twentieths Caucasian and whose
tastes and mental characteristics were all
Caucasian, forced TO associate with a peo-
pie to whom he was related by only the
slightest bond or 10 live alone.
1 stayed with him until late that night
and he told me of his life; how. born slave
in Mauritius. he had been sold into this
country when a boy. Set free by the war,
he had gone north and tried to conceal the
fact OF his tainted blood 1t was found out.
however, and, cut TO the quick by the con-
tempt with which he was regarded by those
who had considered him their equal. he had
fed the town, only to undergo the same ex-
perience elsewhere.
At first his ambition was almost crushed.
and he thought OF accepting the situation
and seeking associates among the negroes
with whom he was thus arbitrarily and un-
Justly classed. But his distaste for the
race, inherited from a long line OF white
ancestors, restrained him, and he had
finally schooled himself to a Quasi-content
in a solitary life.
His rooms he rented from wealthy ne
gro family because he could get none else
where but his life that OF recluse.
His Office occupied his days and his books
his evenings, except for the hour which ne
spent at Henry's slipping his lonesome glass
OF wine and watching the coming and
going of the varied types of humanity
y