The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1898-03-05
RUNNING IN PUBLIC PLACES
Men, More Often Thnn Women, ARE
GuIItY of the M"iademeanor.

Men, More OFTEN Thnn women are
Guilty of the Misdenieanor.
(Which is it, men or women, who are
most given to singing?" queried the
woman.
"Of course, I do not mean to ask
whether there are more men or women
musicians. No one cares anything
about that. AS long as the piece of
humanity which claims to be a mu-
.ician is one. the lover of music does not
care whether 1t wears trousers or
skirts.
"But the singer l mean is that indi-
vidual you sit beside in the cars or pass
In the street who Is humming a tune.
Physicians, l believe, have proved that
such little idiosyncrasies show a weak
ness of the brain in certain directions,
but if it Is so it Is of such a delicately
superficial nature that other mortals,
who have other like minute weaknesses
In other directions, would never know
the difference. Yet the street singer is
funny. unless you happen TO be tired or
cross. Then he Is m~addening.
81 sat beside one Of these singers In
the surface car the other day. l no.
ticed him casually as l sat down, think
ing, without putting the thought into
words, that he was a hne-looking man.
/ had a view of his profile later. and that
confirmed my first impression.
HE was rather past middle age, just
reaching the iron1gray age Of a well
preserved man. He was portly. we'll
dressed. and evidently a gentleman.
he had a dignified air, and his face
wa almost stern. This expression was
emphasized by the mouth, which had
thin lips pressed closely together and
dropping a little at the corners.
II should never have thought of him
again If l had not heard, as sat looking
through my shopping list, n strange
sound, which seemed to come from be-
side me. 1t was a peculiar sound, COM
ing at regular intervals, something be-
tween the sound of a saw and the purr-
ing of a b~ass-voiced cat. I turned in
voluntarily to look at the man. The
sound certainly proceeded from his
throat, but there was not the CULVER
Of q single feature. and the stern mouth
was as immovabIe as before.
II was fascinated. l looked away,
and with studied care.esspess locked
back again, again looked away, and
again looked back. The same buzzsaw
sound was coming from the same di-
rectton, and there was still that stern,
smile;ess face.
II should almost have thought my
ears had deceived me If those deep
bass notes, which, it seems, must have
been o prelude, had not suddenly
changed to tum, tidy dun, did-y DUN,
x5,,r, Jrra rirI-r n~l faI'1np u tha
most lively fashion, though there was
no tune which I could recognize. Evil
IDENTIFY my neighbor was not a musi-
clan in the accepted sense of the word.
But there was no mistakiug the fact
that the singing, such as it was. pro-
ceeded from his vocal organs though
there was never once while l sat there,
as far as ! could see, the movement Of a
muscle Of thatimperturbab.e face.
THAT Is one of the symptoms of the
street singer. / have seen q sad, de-
jected-looking mar coming toward me
on the street, one who looked as If he
had lost the last friend he had in the
world, and, as he passed, had waited to
me the lively cadences of 'There'll Be
a Hot time In the Old Town Tonight
OF something equally remote from met
ancholy thoughts.
"You wiz find a orlan tumming &C.
~casionally, though not SO often. She
huns in q steady monotone, Gndia more
likely to show outward and visible signs
Of it. and | don't think | ever passed u
woman in the street who was hunmirg.
Why is it? / don't know, l am sure,
un.ese It Is another evidence OF sex in
ray matter.n-S. !. Times.