The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-07-13
HORACE COMPLIED.
He Was Requested to Put His Foot
Down. and Did So.


From the Detroit Free Press.
Anecdotes of Horace Greeley are a
trife out of date, 1 know" SAID an old
time acquaintance of the late founder of
the New York Tribune, but some OF the
best of them have not yet been told. If
there ever was a philosopher, Horace
Greeley was one. I was pretty well &C
quainted with him when he was in the
zenith of his career, and l couldn't help
noticing that there was a decidedly orig
nal and philosophical streak in his COM
position. And there was another thing l
used to notice about Horace: When he put
his foot down'-his boot was No. 10, by
the wayne planked 1t down with con-
siderable emphasis and with the intention
of having 1t remain right there until he
chose to remove II.
Il was present on one occasion when he
put It down Mr.. and Mrs. Greeley were
in Peeksklll spending the day at my
house, in company with several other in
vited guests, and as Horace seemed to
be even more careless than usual OF his
appearance that day, Mrs. G., who also
had her peculiarties, spent the most of
her time nagg!ng at him and trying to
make him toe the chalk-mark of conVen-
tionality, so to speak. Every few minutes
her stage whisper could be heard: Now,
Horace, see If you can do this or Now,
Horace, don't do THAR
"She objected 10 his perching his hat on
the backOf his head, made him wear both
legs of his trousers on the outside of his
ance and conduct generally like a hen
over a flock of ducks or an axious mother
over an irrepressible 4-year-old, and Hor-
ace bore II all meekly and did exactly
what he was told, as If he were a verita-
BILE boy and expected to be rewarded with
an extra slice OF cake at supper time.
Finally trip to Iona Island, near the
western shore of the Hudson, opposite
Peekskill, was proposed, and it was while
we were getting into a boat "a large
sized rowboat hired for the occasion) pre-
paratory to starting that Mrs. Greeley
piled the final straw on the back of the
patient and long-suffering camel as IL
were, and Horace put his foot down.
They We're the last couple to get
aboard. Mrs. G. stepped carefully into the
boat and, settling down comfortably in
the seat reserved for her and Mr.. Gree
ley placed her parasol alongside
ing on the seat and the other
on the bottom of the boat, and then glanc-
ing UP at her big-brained and carelessly-
philosophical husband. who was about TO
step aboard, she shrieked:
Now, Horace, be sure to step on this
parasolr
g All right responded Horace, cheer
fully, at the same time obediently plank
ing his foot down with all his weight on
the article in question, and then coolly
seating himself by the side of Mrs Gree
ley as If nothing unusual had occurred.
Mrs. G.. Gave one glance of mingled re-
proach and amazement at her blissfully
unconscious husband, and then. without a
word, picked up the wreck of her parasol
and tried vainly to smile with the rest of
the crowd-though I noticed that her
smile didn't have that beaming look in 1t
which indicates that one really enjoys the
joke.
But" concluded Mr.. Greeley's friend.
Il have never seen more congenial and
contented man than Horace was the rest
of the day. Philosophy and good humor
seemed to radiate from him in all direc-
uons, and. strange to say, Mrs. Greeley
didn't make the slightest effort to repress
their stay