Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1897-10-23
4 SAD AFFAIR At our FRIEND
O'CONNOR,S BANQUET.

O'CONNOR,S BANQUET.
Whenever nn undcservcd cmbarrass-
ment befnlls man II II matter for the
pity and sympathy Of his friends.
The Eagle. acting on this principle.
therefore begs to tender to the Hon.
Maurice NJ. O'COnnor. gns inspector Of
the city Of Chicago. Its condolences
over an unlocked for contretemrs nris-
ing out of somebody's mismnnngcncnt
ut a recent social function held In his
honor.
That II should have occurred on such
an occasion is all the more to be re-
grettcd from the fact that among the
assembled guests were some Of the
brightest lights of the Democratic par.
~. ns well ns Of Chlcago's most es-
tccmed citizens.
This. II may bc mentioned passingly.
was only az II should le, for Maurice
O'COnnOr In his public. ns well ns his
private. capacity is flrst.class gentle.
man. u credit to the Democratic party.
the land Of his adoption and his birth,
and well worthy of the biggest pow
WOW that could be rendered him. but
all this only goes to show. however.
that the most sacred precincts may be
invaded by the foot Of the van,lnl and
the mnrauder through the blunders Of
the stupid. or the malfcasance Of the
pervcrsc.
That there was somebody slipping or
scleming to turn the feast Of reason
and flow of soul planned for this AUS.
piciOus cOnvivial gathering into nn o..
cnsiOn for weeping and gnnshing Of
teeth. instead Of rejoicing and sulbs''-
| Q,ient rest and brOmO seltxer, the sequel
will show.
Most Of the guests were Of that high
order Of culture and refinement which
IL usually brought together on such Oc.
casiOns. The Mayor was there for u
few moments. and sO were such war
horses Of Democracy ~ Robert r..
Burke. James McAndrcws. Vim. MalO.
ney. Felix SEMI. Capt. Farrell. Chns.
Thornton, Michael Kennn. John Pow.
crs. Chas. Walters. James Quinn. Pat.
sey King. AID. Brennan, Black HIT Nc.
Cnrthy, Eddie NOvnk, Dennis COnsi-
dine nnd about two hundred others, In.
Guiding city officers. Aldermen, ex-Al-
derncn. county committeeman. street
fOrcmcu. paving inspectors, members
OF certain political organizations and u
few clergymen. Many wore full dress,
nearly everybody wore dark clothes
/ In, MI
wore. ut their arrival at the banquet
hall. very excellent hcadgear. The
gentlemen who wore the best hats were
those who felt most nggrievcd after the
pleasant evening had terminated In
| the small hours of the following morn.
Ing. ana here IL where the story comes
IT,.
The night had been spent pleasantly
over tempting viantls, the bowl had
circled merrily ana freely around the
hOspitable board. and amid OrltOry and
song the hours had sped bravrly. Al
last the hour for breaking up arrived
and the guests began TO prepare fO,
their departure. One of the first Of
these was the Hon. John Brennan. who
by the way. having recently returned
to this country himself by way of Lon,
don, had brought back, among other
curlOs. one Of the very latest Prince OF
Wales brand of English derby, which
article of apparel he had proudly worn
to the banquet hall. Mr.. Brennan had
not disappeared In the recesses of til,
dressing-rOOm more than II few mo
mcnts when the company was startled
by u succession of loud explosive notes
of human wrath. The voice was speed
ily recognized as that of AID. Brennan
who presently appeared upon the scene
and exclaimed I'm the foreign draw
which he has lately acquired, but witt
all the vchemencc which Is pccnliarl,
his: "Gents, fawncy some snide g'l,
has stolen me brand-new Prince o
Wales hat. II cost just fifteen bucks
see? and I'm blawstcd II ! don't get i
II Ripley, Setback ana Shea can find i
on the North, South or West Side. Yes
an the - who took II will get thu
bloomin' jug, too, II can do 1t, blaws
me bloody eyes II he don't
Talk about Banquo's ghost and Bel
shazzar's warning producing cOnstcrna
tiOn feast; II was as nothing to th'
effect of Aid. Brennan's disclosure OI
the purl0ining of his hat.
\ reverend gentleman who had worn
II particularly new and elegantly
shaped silk tile to the reunion imme
dlately felt Il desire to go home, but M
sooner did he reach the peg WHEREOF
he had hung his headwear than groai
of dismay, which burst from him, near
ly caused Jim McAndrews TO fall on
of his chair. The'peg was there, 10
the hat-oh, where was II? This cau' I
several other gentlemen TO make /
move for the hat racks. Exclamation
after exclamation of dismay came from
the cloak room, and soon II was known
to all that doOrmat ana sneak-thieve'
had been at work. At first n few of the
desp0iled thought 1t was u hoax, bu
Nthe cruel fact became apparent at last