Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-03-28
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 THE MAN WHO LAUGHS.
If in Wall Street It May Not Mean That Fl
 Feels Safe and HRpuys


 Feels Safe and Happy.
 In the interval between the morning and afternoon sessions of the Stock Ex- change the speculators and operators sat in the brokers office studying the quotations as they had been marked up on the blackboard by junior clerk They spoke but little. Some were malx- ing mental calculations, some were l building air castles, few were hug ging themselves with delight because fortune was in their favor, and others looked grim and endeavored to conceal their chagrin and regrets at losses by | the operations of the morning. Not a few were wrestling with Bassanio's problem, considering whether another arrow would discover that already lost. | In gambling the hope that another | fling at fortune will bring her down, | never fades; but those who gamble daily recognize that such reasoning is not sound and where, as in Wall street. all the investments are based upon theorizing as to cause and effect, some thing more than unreasoning faith in fortune's favor is necessary to open the | purse-strings of it's followers. These men were veterans, and the gamblers pas sion was subordinated to cold calcula- | tionS
 An old but gay and sprightly man came upon the scene. He was the pro | prietor of the office, a big broker, widely known, and very popular. He was reputed to be the possessor of great | wealth. Upon his favor depended the l fortunes of some of the men in the chairs. Should he withdraw it at a critical moment they might sink out of \ sight, overwhelmed by ruin, wrecks to be pointed out by the curious in after | days as some of the has-beens of Wall street. He addressed them on the ques- tion of gold shipments, arguing from his own view points as to their effects \ upon the prosperity of the community. He had the manners and voice of a ! stump speaker. He interlarded his re- marks with jokes and "reminiscences, and talked volubly. A handsome, gray haired man, with smooth face and erect | figure, watched him and the others | closely. When the broker had finished and disappeared into his private office this man said quietly to the friend, 8 visitor, who sat beside him:
 II know now just about how all of these men stand. Did you observe them while Jones was talking? Did you no tice how some laughed loudly at his jokes, while others only smiled, and still others remained impassive? Did you see how those who laughed loudest strove to catch his eye, as though to say: See me; appreciate your humor, I am impressed with your remarks; the others here may not follow you, but am all earsr And the meaning of all that is that they want to curry favor with him and win his personal good will, so as to bank against it should they need his financial assistance.
 'I always pay attention to the crowd ! when he talks, for by observing them can tell how much margin each is trad
 ing on. The man who laughs loudest and is most obsequious is very close to
 sinking. He fears he may go under
 any moment, and his laughter is a des-
 perate appeal to save him. It rings in
 my ears like the cry of the drowning
 wretch who yells: Save me! Save me!
 can almost see him struggling in the
 waves and tearing his finger nails on
 the glassy sides of the rocks against
 which he is dashed, in his attempts tc
 pull himself into safety. Every time
 that man roars at one of Jones' jokes,
 and holds his sides as though they
 would split, I feel throb of sympathy | for him, for know his case is very des ! perate. The man who laughs moder I ately, looks knowing, and has a fairly ' contented expression, has a fair margin
 up and feels safe. But the man who
 looks at Jones with an air of indiffer
 ence, or has the courage to frown upor
 him, is the object of my deepest envy | That man repoSes upon a financial rocl
 so high and solid that an earthquakt
 would recoil from it And, depend ! upon it, every other man in this plac,
 envies him, too If they dared they
 would stroke his coat and rub shoulder. with him in the hope of gaining lucl , thereby
 'I will never forget the sensation caused once by man getting up herr : and calling Jones loudly by his frs , | name. That William still rings in my : ears. There was dead silence for fully a minute after it had been uttered Every one of us expected to see thu
 rash man struck by thunderbolt ol
 consumed by the whitening scorn o , ! Jones' lightning glance. I felt m.
 blood congeal with horror, and severa I of the others told me afterward tha c they losked for something awful Bu , Jones looked as sweet as an angel, an'
 we could all have worshiped the dar n ing one on the spot He received
 dozen invitations to drink within ter c minutes, and was overwhelmed witt 5 offers of cigars. His margin, after q ward discovered, was 10 per cent. Ther
 is report that another man called
 Jones BlP some years ago, but don
 believe it If anybody did that it wa - an outsider. No customer with prope n consideration of the possibilities of tn
 future could so far forget himself, ever A though his immediate conditions wer n most prosperous "-N. Y. Sun
 H GirdIe Bags.
 Nothing is more charming with an in t door dress than the dainty bag of tn $ same material as dress, suspended b l- ribbons from the waist like the old r fashioned reticule. Have you anon