Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-10-26
THINGS HEARD AND SEEN

met man on f street yesterday. There
was something about him that seemed
familiar. and yet was certain that had
| never seen him. His shoulders were bent
and he walked with listless step. As we
approached more nearly he held out his
hand and called me by name. Then knew
BIN, or rather knew what he used to be-
for there is Bug little in common between
the present and the past Of this mans
life. He told A& that he was govern
| ment clerk; 1AS:parry services had been
remarked, andsUie reward had taken the
elasticity from his step, the brightness
from his eyes and had hushed the clear.
ringing laugh that had made him the most
popular young man in the little western
town where We were raised, for We went
to school together. He had studied law,
ana remember well how proud we all
were OF him, reading the praises the news
papers bestowed upon him when he won
the prizes for oratory and for the best
prlet at the law school. Instead of enter
iIg into the practice at once, he went into
pontics and was elected to the legislature
When ne had but barely attained his ma
1orlty. Then he went to Washington, and
used to wonder how soon he would be
appointed to cabinet position. Yesterday
For fifteen years he has sat at the same
oesk until he seems like part of the fur
niture of the office. His fellow clerks know
MIN by name, and the census enumefators
pect nothing, hope nothing, think of moth
>iEg, except that under civil service rules
ne may retain the desk where. for a bare
livelihood he has buried his talents.
In the Center market yesterday I saw an
Old man, smooth shaven, with firm lips,
proudly set. His suit was OF broadcloth,
but very old, cut in the style worn before
the war. His linen was Immediately
clean. but there was a lack of gloss, which
showed that it had been washed at home
Close behind him was colored boy, per-
heps eight or ten years old. He went to a
meat stall and ordered 5 cents worth of
STEAK, then fumbled in his vest pocket for
! the money. A flush of shame spread over
his face, and in an embarrassed way that
| was pitiful he said: II did have a dime"
Then he found the coin, and, receiving the
nickel IN change, he handed his purchase
to the boy. who trotted behind his master
carrying the meat. The old man had once
owned large plantation and had plenty
OIL money at his disposal He had never
been able to reconcile himself to the new
core alton OF affairs, when the close of the
war found him bankrupt and now far
beyond the three score and ten in years.
ne cannot forget that he is an old Virginia
gentleman. even though he must suffer
from hunger in order to keep up the Gus
| toms of his ancestors.
LII washington there IS doll hospital,
| and the little mothers take their inanimate
darlinss to have the sick made well and the
MANNED healed. 1t is beautiful thing, the
instinct Of motherhood. implanted in little
girls. They cannot be deceived as to their
dolls any more than a grown mother can as
to her babies. and when their favorite doll
Is broken 1t Is NO consolation to them that
better one is bought Sometimes the dolls
when they are not broken, and they are
taken to the hospital, but usually they have
met with an accident, and it requires the
services of surgeon. There are not many
cheapness oflnew dolls is considered it
speaks volumes for the natural tendencies
and motherly care of little girls that they
are successful where established.
was talking to a well-known numismatic
the other day about the dollar of 1904. for
good specimens Of which such fabulous
prices are paid by collectors. and he gave me
some interesting information. The reason
the dollars of 1SO4 are so scarce Is that none
were coined that year, there being an excess
Of coins of that denominatio in circulation.
In 1903. as Is always done. the dies were
made for the succeeding year, but none were
coined until 1886, when Director Pollock of
the mint found the old die of 1904 at Phila-
delphia, and in order to complete his own
collection, offered to exchange with numis-
mates. How many were struck off is not
known, but one of these belonging to ex-Di-
rector Lindeman was sold at auction in New
York for $40. Upon the early dollars coined
around the rim of the coin was cut the words
Unit one hundred cents" This is termed
the collar" by numismatics, and there is
no collar upon these re-strikes. Hence, it is
useless to look among the old dollars that
were in circulation for one bearing the date
Of 1904.
One of the most vivid pictures of abject
grief ever saw was an old Indian at Ar
kansas City, Kan, before the Cherokee
strip was opened and when there were
more Indians and fewer white men there
than are to be seen now. 1t was the Gus
tom Of the Indians to shoot their arrows
at nickels placed in crotched sticks. If
they hit the coin it was theirs, and they
Immediately invested it in whisky so mean
that 1t served only to create an Unsuitable
desire for more. while 1t so unnerved them
that they could not shoot. The old Indian
had hit two or three nickels early in the
morning and then he could hit no more.
He stood bareheaded in the hot sun and
shot arrow after arrow, but they sped
wide of the mark. For hours, goaded al
most to desperation, he tried in vain. and
when I saw him about the middle of the
afternoon, he would walk up to the line
from which he was to shoot. take aim with
grim determir alton, and when he missed.
stoical no longer, the old man would sit
on the curbstone and cry like child, beat
ing his breast and wailing. Then he would
arise, wrap his blanket about him and
shoot again. I have seen Indians face
danger without fincfing. and it Is seldom
that they cry, but the grief of the old man
literally burning up with thirst was too
great for him to stand, when the arrows
did not hit the coins that would have
brought him oblivion. Finally three nfckels
were given him, and an hour later the old
Indian was sleeping in fence corner, with
happy smile upon his lips.
was talking to a well-inown author
the other day, when he complained that
there were no titles to distinguish his pro-
fession. at seems strange" he said "that
the highest office in the land and the high
est profession, rightly considered, are with
out distinguishing titles. If man has
ever been an officer in the army he is cap
TAIN" colonel" major or general
throughout his life. If he has occupied a
position on the bench, he is always saluted
as Judge" If he has been Senator he
is so called; If a governor, the name clngs
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