Evening star., 1895-11-01
THINGS HEARD AND SEEN

THINGS HEARD AND SEEN
In downtown pool room last night I
saw a young ran scarcely of age. His ex-
pertness with the cue showed that he was
frequent visitor. AS he saw me he was
just completing game, and, hastily draw
ing on his coat, excused himself to his COM
panions and left the room. I was glad that
he did, for it showed that feeling was not
dead, and he knew how to be ashamed. He
is only one of a class, and yet the story
when told is pitiful one. Down in little
Alabama town lives white-haired lady
and her daughter in house that was once
mansion, but now it has so fallen into
decay that few rooms remain that are
habita BILE. Upon knoll near the house is
village cemetery, and there the mother
and daughter go every Sunday to place
small town, and there are few opportuni-
| ties to make mercy. The lady keeps three
| be carders, all that can be obtained in the
| village, and those are kept at prices that
| sc arcely pay expenses for the two hard
VIC rking women. The daughter teaches
music. although pupils are scarce in the
out-cf-the-way place By denying them
| selves everything but the absolute neces-
| saries of life they have been able to send
the son and brother to Washington to OBJ
| tain an eCucation, and be fitted for pro-
| f6SSlOn. Every penny 1S lalQ away, LOT tne
young man must rave books and appear
| Well among his fellows. Every night they
| talk it all over, and three times a week
| they write and Urge him not to injure his
| health by studying too late at night, even
though it may take longer to complete his
| course. And this Is the boy l saw put up
| his cue and pay 81 for an evenings pleas
ure. with an air as though ne had for
| tune.
I was talking. to a lawyer, and he told
me story of wifely devotion that was to
| lin the most singular experience he ever
had. My friend had been appointed by the
court to defend a murderer named Joe Wal
| lace. The evidence was clear, and the man
va; hung in Marion county, Tenn. Wal
| lace lived in the mountains of Grundy
county, near the Alabama line, in a one
room log hut, where he had a wife and one
child This was about seventy miles from
the place where the man was tried. A few
days before the execution, a woman. with
| her shoes entirely worn out, appeared al
the Jail, and asked that she be allowed to
see Joe. 1t was Aiswife. Permission being
| granted she unwrapped from the folds of
her apron large, plug of tobacco. and
asked if she could give it to her husband.
saying: He KANT live but two days now.
You're all a-goiqg to hang i'm, an sol
all my chickens. the las things 1 had thet
I cud git a cent fur. They fotched me
| half-a-dollar. an I jess laid out quarter
fur the 'baccy, KNOWN Joe couldn die
comf'ble without It. nohow." The wife
! had tramped the entire distance over the
mountains, carrying her babe, that she
might bid her doomed husband goodbye,
and give him the tobacco. that would bring
solace during the last two days of his life
That night, after bidding him last fare
WELL she started on. her long tramp back to
the cherries cabin on the mountains.
1t seems as thotrgh there, should be some
| cnocia1 ~ tinn hy which voupg ma r.
ried couples should be guarded from all
calamites, at least during their wedding
tour, but some very distressing things oc.
cur. At one Of the leading hotels can be
| fC und the names of man and his wife on
the register, with their home place given as
a Maryland town. Their trunks were new
the bride had none but new dresses the
groom from the top of his silk hat to the
bottom of his patent leather shoes wore
new clothes. In fact, the newness was
SO plain that their presence was a per.
petual announcement that they had very
lecently been married. They went to the
Capitol, to the White House, to the museum
and had reached the new post Office build
irg. Here they ventured too far inside
when no one was looking, and suddenly g
handful of small pieces of brick fell. One
} struck the new silk hat squarely upon the
top Another removed small piece Of
, cuticle from the grooms chin. That ha
: |
and the bridge of his nose. After some ex
ertion, the bride succeeded in removing it
but there a place on the nose tina
looked as though a fight had occurred
They bought sticking plaster at drut
store and patched up the wounds, but thei
pleasure was gone. No one would believe
the story of how the injuries were inflicted
and for them to return home would eXcit,
. horrible suspicious of marital infelicity. T,
appear at table, where it was known, the!
, were bride and groom was out OF the ques
t ton, and now they take their meals il
their room, waiting until all traces OF tn
mishap are gone before venturing wher
they can be seen.
In southwestern Arizona can be found
rude board board upon which is inscribe
the words, Texas Dick. Starved 20 dealt
saving Others" That is all. A rancnma
} from the Panhandle of Texas old me tn
e story a few days ago. Texas Dick wa
well known about Abilene, Colorado City
o Ell Paso and Amarillo. Sometimes he herde
cattle, at other times he drove stage, bu
usually he could be found in the frontie
towns. drinking and carousing. Wild as a
! antelope, he avoided civilization and sough
: lawless communities. One day Dick wa
| going across the plains from Colorado Cit
| to Texline, intending to ride on to Dernine
| when he came to a canvas-covered wagor
. | where woman and several children wer
+ weeping over the body of the head Of tn
| 1amlly, VINO mad just died DICK felned II
his pony. took charge Of affairs, buried tn
man and, tying HIS pony to The wagor
e mounted the seat and drove They wer
I going to Southern California. across tn
burning sands of Arizona. 1t had not rain
ed for over year on the staked plains, an
there was no game, except a few jack rat
). bits and sage hens. Dick had his trust
, | rifle, but day after day passed when tier
, was neither wafer, nor food. Enough wa
= killed to support the widow and her children
! Dick cooking theffood for them and alway
= saying he had atialed a rabbit for 1imsel
q besides those he. gaFe to the hungry strar
gers In New Mexico they Jared little be-
II ter, but when they started across the sand
= of Arizona it seemed that the drought ha
O destroyed every living thing. Dick woul
q go with his gun, and nothing that breae The
was allowed to- escape. Even sage hen
were luxuries, and seldom day passed tha
|. the hunters protegees did not have foo,
But one day Dick grew delirious and talke
of his boyhood home, back in the east; hi
mind dwelt upon che bread his mother use
to bake and the water in the spring. erai
of wagons caught up with the starving pee
:, pie and then therz> was plenty Of food. Die
came to consciousness long enough to be
for bread and wate1 moaning pteousiy ths
he had not tasteif either for three week
e | They were furnished but too late He die