The morning call., 1893-04-16

captain found out in an hour after coming
ashore thatit was stony desert, financially,
an Arabia Petraea. Ee made fuss about the
cheat, but Felix was used to such little
troubles. The only effect it had upon him
was that he settled his shiny beaver more
firmly on his head. and gave his gold
rlmmed speciacles an extra polish with
his pongee SO that he might see still fur
ther into his next victims milIstone.
O'Byrne hOvered about the editorial rooms
OF the newspapers of the period, borrowed
money right and left, WIS constantly asking
questions on lecondiIe subjects to give him
self the air OF cholarship and otherwise
made himself a general nuisance. / rec0l
lect one circumstance in this respect, and
cannot help laughing as l write while
recall il. The late Frank Soule was in the
throes Of editorial composition one even
ing. fully absorbed in his subject. OBvrne
thouGht he had an opportunity:
'Mr. Soule, if you please, one moment.
/ want your opinion on a Greek rnot -"
Mr.. Soule looked up from under the broad
green shade lie wore as protection to his
eyes, in which saw savage, glitter.
% your Greek rootp he almost
shouted. as this time TO come bothering
man with such questions? Go plan your
root and watch ill it sprouts. O'Byrne,
you're either fool or a knaYe- think The
latter You'll oblige me by taking walk"
Felix was not abashed. He made an
apology and departed, but he let Soule
alone in future.
O'Byrne obtained a commission in the
United States army in 1868 or thereabouts,
and took quarters at the PresidiO. The po-
Sitlon was obtained for him by we'll
known local politician, whose place was in
the vicinity of the Ivy Green, named Mike
Kenney, to whom be owed large amount
of borrowed money. 1t was common say
ing among the habitues of Mistress Ellen
Moons place and the Quidnunes OF Shark
alley that O'Byrne wore the uniform and
Nike KapuaU GrRxy fttp SoinTV When heliY
first pnt the uniform on his importance
knew no bounds; but he was soon faced to
the right about, and quit the service. Gen.
eral incompetence was assigned as the
cause. Alter q variety of misfortunes this
self-contained lrishman drilted East, and
the last heard of him was that he was in
business on Warren street, New York, az a
ticket drummer for the Panama Steamship
Company. But that was years ago.
Among the members OF the legal frater-
nifty at that time who basked In the light of
Mistress EIlen'S eyes and was never tired
of praising the excellence Of her wines was
smart young lawyer named ZabrisEie,
called ''Bilf' for shortness by his familiars.
He was fellow of push, go. cheek and
domiDancy and had the police court pretty
much all his own way. Roll, George knight
and Billy Foote into one and you have Bill
ZabriskiP. | cannot think of any one now
praeticlng law who Is as popular as was Bill
Zabriskie. His name WAS on every yb0dy's
II
were open to him. There is a dark shadow
that, unfortunately, follows these shining
privileges and il gradually closed up on
young Zabriskle till the light went out in
the darkness.
ConviYial habits that are but wreaths of
roses around one at first soon become like
bands of steel and so it was with the bril-
liant young lawyer. His fits of dipsOmania
became frequent. l recall a story that was
going the rounds about the time of an incl
.
seasons of retirement from business.
The nurse had left his patient for time,
and he, being meanwhile recovered and in =
patient of restraint, thought it a good
opportunity TO dress himself and take some
fresh air. But the nurse had provided for
just such contingency. He had secured
the body of well-deyeloped Shark alley
rat ana placed it in the bureau-drawer
where the lawyers linen was kept. When
the patient, therefore. still weak from his
illness, drew out the drawer in order TO get
a clean shirt, the first object that met his
eyes was the oulspread dead rodent. The
drawer was closed with bang.
"Got 'em again! Got 'em again." he cried,
as he tottered back TO bed and hid his head
under the clothes, where he remained Till
his nurse returned and eased his mind.
Zabriske died q good many years ago.
There were many possibilities for him In
the future, particularly in political way,
had he considered life worth living. lie
was one of the ruins over which the ivy
green has cIept.
Who comes next2 Oh, the dapper little
Harry Byrne, with his cprly black DOW and
his high counter tenor voice Byrne was
City and County Attorney of San Francisco
for many years, and his favorite loungng
place when free from official duty was this
Inn, with his back to the brass Tal OF the
bar. holding forth to a gro1p of listeners on
any question that might come uppermost.
He was full OF odd ideas, and WAS not very
polite in expressing them. For instance,
while enjoying office at the hands of the
Democratic party he instantly avOwed
himself an aristoerat-a political sentimen
which DIR. Gerry, Rhode Island American
through generations back almost to the time
of John Rogers, shared in common with
him. Some one said to Harry once in our
hearing:
"Byrne, don't you think you are some
what maladroit in the expression of your
political sentiments under the circum-
stances? Why don't you resign?"
Tut" he replied. why should throw
uD the office? Democracy gives me my
bread and butter, but that does not prevent
my being convinced of the fact that repub-
lican institutions are meHsuTably now and
eventually will be totally failure"
Give me your reason for such conclu-
sion.'
I'm give you a personal reason, and there
are many others who think with me if they
only dare so to express themselves.
And that reason is?"
~ am one of those who must be gov
erned, and such being the case l am an
arisioerat in feeling, because would rather
be governed by one gentleman than by a
thousand blackguards."
have heard DIR. Gerry express himself
almost in the same terms, but the doe:or
lost his Americanism during an early resi-
dence in that quasi-republic Chile, where the
Government is far more oligarchieal than 1t
is democratic. Byrne's reply was most un-
complimentary toward the 'unwashed and
unterrifed," and he was New York IRISH
man by birth, too.
The demo-aris tocratic little lawyer had a
great liking for terse, epigrammatic sen
tences, and used 10 polish them up for his
speeches on occasions. When it was
Byrne's hour in court, when an exceptional
speech was 10 be made to Mt an occasion, he
generally bad large audience. At other
times this habit also manifested itself He
was on the witness-stand once in case con-
corning Horace Hawes, the father of the
consolidation act for the city and county of