The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-02-13

where In the neighborhood of 10 o'clock in
the morning, takes a seat in an obscure
corner of the lobby and sits there for
hours, twiddling a heavy stick, and taking
in the passing panorama of men. Him I
have figured out to be one of the men
there are a lot of them-who has a wife
running a boarding house somewhere or
other, and who is eXiled for the day by the
wife in order that he may be kept out Of
the sight of the boarders.
'sThe hoverer, who, twenty times during
the day and night, portily approaches the
desk, solemnly pulls his glasses from the
faded cases, adjusts them to his nose with
a flourish hauls the register around and
proceeds to examine the names of the new
arrivals with a critical eye, also belongs to
the sad lot. Never have l seen one of this
type discern the name of any arrival he
knew; I'd know you see, because he would
send up his card, or, upon meeting any
of the new arrivals in the lobby. make
himself known, and permit himself to be
shaken by the hand.
There is a rather Objectionable type of
hoverer of a similar character He is, in
all cases, man considerably beyond
middle age. When he scans the register
and discovers the name of some man from
the same state and town which the how
erer left behind him-pernaps not for the
state and towns ill-many years ago, ne
asks the clerk how old man the new ar
rival is If told that he is quite an elderly
or even middle aged man he leaves him
alone But if the clerk informs him that
the new arrival from the hoverer's own
state and town is quite a young man he
Immediately sends up his card, and in nine
cases out of ten is cordially received in
spite of his shabby appearance.
you can guess the rest The hoverer
moderately certain that the young man
al4x.r. fla Of man
who left his place a great many years ago
probably before he was born-makes all
manner of inquiries as to the descendants
of former friends back in the old place,
and generally ingratiates himself into the
young mans confidence; does the reduced
old gentleman's game in short. After he
has worked up his case he makes his
strike, and in ninety-nine cases in hum
dred he gets it. Really, it is nothing more
than con game although perhaps it
would not come under the definition legal
w. Whenever we get next to one of this
sort of hoverers he no longer has the free
dom of our premises.
'Slews of the regular hoverers we have
around this hotel are old chaps that We
really do know something about. They
are simply the hgh-class indigents OF the
community, men who at one time or an
other in their lives have really been fair
ly high or even quite high on the ladder
of life, and who have gotten down to the
hotel lowering stage through rum, gen
orally, but often through no fault of their
own Many of them have in their better
days been frst-rate patrons of this very
house. and these we often send upstairs to
dinner. One of the hoverers who sits sad
" around here for hours every day is a
man who has spent thousands of dollars
in his day at the bar of this house. He
never goes into the bar, but he simply sits
and watches with rather pathetic express
sion the young man who pass through the
swinging doors TO the hotel bar. j guess
If he had the whole game TO play over
again he would have given that bar the
go-by with a vengeance.
fThen there are a heap of hoverers who
have lost government jobs through one
reason or another-generally change OF
administration-who are. of course re-
duced TO the necessity of lowering. Some
of 'em, if they degenerate TO the condition
Of mere hangers-On for booze, remain
hoverers, until one day Wen happen TO
notice that he hasn't been around for
few days. whereupon we idly conjure up
a little picture Of potter's field and the
hoverer is remembered no more. Others
of the thrown-out- their-jobs hoVerers
keep ND a first-rate front in some mys-
FERROUS way. and the first thing we know
we hear that they have gotten their jobs
back or better ones.
",rhe hoverer who is an eX-business man
and who. very rummily, fancies that he is
a 'nromoter,' is not an uncommon type
arolnd the hotels of the town. He is
Of course. Just as much of promoter
a. me aunt in Ireland. as that Swan
noodle boys say, but he Thinks he is, and
he figures out gross and net earnings
dividends, and all mat sort OF thlng on
~ hocp of an old worn out envelope,
IRON, morning to night Sometimes,
,,o,,ob he becomes objectionable-whe
he acquires mysteriously rather more than
,is,,aI IF his lag. and then begins to tackle
,,,onevei guests OF the house wirh prop
nejfions for the sale Of stock for some
imaginary, sailed or abandoned oofaN
.in,,.da. factory, all laid out plainly on pa
,,or win gigantic brick buildings, and all
NAT when we hear offhe promoter hoy
erer irving to get in his work In TINS