New-York tribune., 1896-01-05


color. santa Claus had evidently passed them
by in his flying trip. but for the docks 1t was
grand affair Behind thesc and leaning againS'
the dwelling wreaths OF evergreen win
bright hunchea ~ holly berries placed here ana
ther- The work. the arrangement. the real
brightness and beauty u the place. were fairly
respondent I'm the sordl surroundings. ON one
side was the home with rs Christmas halo OF
color. In the centre was what Is supposed To De
Thirteenth-ave.. torn up, utterly Useless as
roadway. and an eyesorc t. all who see It: and
on the other side the piers as clean and neat
d the deck OF man -Of-war
When the reporter arrived. the wire man
was brewing his coffee fOr dinner and with
great po!tencss he consented 10 tell part OF his
story His name IS William Reid. He was born
In Carroll County. Md. In February. lsiS lie
received a good education at home. and when he
was twenty years old H. went To- Washingtn,
where he served his apprenticeship as clerk in
a drugstore. In 1867 he came 10 Ncw-fork. and
since then he has worked In pharmacies In this
city. in Long Bran h. Ashury Park. Jersey CRY
and several other New-Jcrscy towns. He says
that In 1850 he was appointed to cicrkship in
the Census Bureau By Carl Schurz who was
then Secretary II the Interior This position
he held for four years But irink was his curse
II drove him from bad l. worse. and finally.
about "A year ago left him IN the hospital When
h" came out he was In many ways broken
down man. and drifted to his present home
For two years he has not touched drop Of
liquor. and he manages II gain enough money
to buy him his food by helping the wives OF
friendly policemen at house-cleaning. moving and
chopping wood
GALVIN'S TERRIBLE OATH
The other member OF this arlstocracy Is
n Zoe to any sort Of manual labor His name is
John Calvin. and he lives In "the stone castle"
About two years ago Calvin was fireman in
the gashousc in Eighteenth-si. Trouble arose
between him and his brother-in-law; there were
high words and Calvin gave up his job. and
"sworc Off" working for evermore. Never since
that day has he done stroke OF work except
I'm the building OF his home. according To the
people OF the ncighborhood. But besides for
swearing all manual labor. he has other pecul-
iarties. He has never been known IL accept n
cent Of money. Time and again people. seeing
his condition and plying him. have offered him
ten cents a quarter. but the profered coin has
always been contemptuously refused. 81 don't
need money In my business" Is the invariable
reply.
belonging to the Department Of Public Works,
was dumped south OF S!xteenth-st.. and be-
tween Tenth and Thirteenth aves These have
long remained here undisturbed an eyesore 10
all who see them. When Calvin decided to
leave the homes OF men and take up his hermit
life he made tracks" for the stones and went
busily to work Carefully he piled up the rocks
and built an obong structure. rhcn with Old
sheets Of tin he made his roof. keeping ii In
place with more rocks. ON the side nearest the
pile he left hole In the roof large enough for
man to slide down into the interior Al the , nnt-
tom OF the hole he made a rude cot covered with
horse blankets and barely large enough FOR a
man t. stretch out on.
In spite Of the difficulties and imperfections Of
his home Calvin seems happy. Where he spends
his time during the day no one seems to know.
but about o'clock he turns up at the castle
Lighting "A small fire In the street near by. he
warns himself thoroughly and then rctircs Tor
the night Mounting the pile. he looks around
cautiously. then, evidently satisfied that he VIII
not be surprised by night attack. he slides
down on to his cot and pulls n piece of tin over
the entrance, completely shutting himself In.
The buns" say that "he hides behind himself
and pulls down the blinds" Here he stays
until about in the morning. when he once
more starts for parts unknown
Those who know the mans habits say that ne
must have an iron constitution. During the
dreadful cold OF the storm In the latter part OF
last February Calvin did not change his pro-
gramme In the least. Every evening he would
SIT for a while beside his little fire. rubbing his
hands and warming himself. and then. utterly
dlsregarding the cold, would retire to his
"downy couch" In the stones.
Both Of these men. Reid and CALVIN, nave a
profound contempt for the "sitters" and squat
ters" and other 'hoboes" who frequent the
neighborhood. Reid despises them because they
will not work; Calvin. because he Is afraid that
they would lat a pinch" Reid lives life as
respectable as possible under the circumstances;
Calvin lives the life OF dog. eating what he
can find In ash barrels and swapping at any
one who disturbs him. Reid Is waiting and
watching for more chance TO get back into
the world; Calvin Is afraid that the world VIII
interfere with him. But utterly different as
they are. they comprise the real aristocracy OF
the region.