Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-08-24
IN SEARCH OF A TRAMP.
A Ragged Wandcrer Who Was Eager
ly Sought For.

A Ragged Wanderer Who Was Eager
ly Sought For.
A Houston. Tex, dispatch to the Philadel-
phia Times says:
That all rules have an exception was
never proved more conclusively than here a
few days ago, when a tramp was being
sought. out as something rare and desirable
The story that goes with this seeking is one
that all found amusing except the man that
had to hustle to overtake Weary Wraggles.
Some weeks ago a gentleman Of the third
ward was paid long-standing debt. of
which he had despaired. and. wishing to
surprise his wife with the unexpected gift
at Christmas. said nothing to her of it, but
got mis- sister to sew it up I'm an old coat of
his. Now the wife. having had some work
done on her shrubbery, gave the man who
took it home but it proved to be too small
for him, SO with a mind on thrift bent he
sold it to an old clothes shop.
Here it stayed for several days, when a
Eegro coachman purchased II and took IL
home. but after a week or so the coachman
got into monetary difficulties and sold the
coat to a friend. This friend in turn gave IL
to his brother, living at Sandy Point about
thirty miles from this city, and the adven-
turous coat went thither. In another week
tin peddler came along exchanging new
tinware for old clothes. and. in the absence
of her husband, the wife Of the owner of the
tin plates and pail.
bought for n Tramp.
The peddler carried the coat back to Hous-
ton and once more it saw the interior of the
old-clothes shop. During the day a tramp
accosted a gentleman. asking for food and
the wherewith to purchase him clothing, his
rags being no longer sufficient to keep out
the biting breath of the Texas norther. The
merchant he spoke to saw this for himself,
.1xsv.fl
unfortunate to the nearest ''slop shop and
bought the coat referred to for him.
BY this time the original owner of the
coat bethought MIN to inquire about the
garment into which he had sewn 5000, and
nearly tainted when his wife told him of
her disposal of it. There was still chance
however, that the money had not been dis
covered. and SO IN hot haste the anxious
financier set of. But the chase had Just
begun, he found. and down TO Sandy Point
he traced the garment, then back to Hous-
ton, then to the slop-shop, where the trail
grew SO faint that he nearly despaired of
success but 1t happened that he told the
gruesOme tale to a friend, who, thinking It
over. fell to wondering IL that, by any
chance, could be the coat he had presented
to Weary Wraggles. He strained his
memory to recall how that coat looked, and
described IT to the owner. who cried out
that that was the Identical thing.
On Its Track.
Now began the search. Luck again
favored the mourner OF his folly in keeping
the money at home instead of in a bank,
and one morning a tramp called on Mrs
b. with the request for a breakfast An
inspiration came to the lady. and setting
his trampship down to a meal that opened
his eyes, she telephoned for the philanthro-
pist, who had given a tramp that coat to
call at once. He came, and the moment
he looked a the man, said that this was in
deed he. With much diplomacy, so as not
to give the fellow a hint of the importance
of the question, he was asked what had
become of the garment He declared at
first that none such had ever been given
Rim, but, persuaded by a half dollar finally
recalled the fact that being thirsty soon
after he had possession of the coat he had
pawned 1t for the price of five beers
On to the pawnshop went the distracted
man minus his money, to see Haunting
gaiy in front of the establishment the
coveted garment But here again diplomacy
had to be exercised, and a negro was hired
to stroll carelessly into the shop, and, after
some haggling, to purchase the coat This
done, the passersby were much edited TO
see dignified, respectable citizen sit quiet
ly down on the sidewalk and rip open a
ragged old coat, redolent of a thousand un-
savcry odors, then leap to his feet with a
loud, "Hurrah, it's here still.'
His wife says that evil always comes Of n
mans having secrets from his wife