The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-03-09
In HOTEL LOBBIES
AND ELSEWHERE

spent nearly his Whole lie navigating inc
Alabama river and its tributaries. Captain
Quill is the most noted steamboat man
east of the Mississippi, and he knows per-
sonally a sufficient number of men to
change the result of presidential election,
should they all of them vote one way. The
captain Is not an old man, but for forty
years he has voyaged up and down the
Alabama, between Montgomery and Mo-
bile, and no man living is so familiar with
that great river as he. The good captain
is pilot who never runs his boat ashore
or aground. He knows every shoal, every
sandbank, every shallow every crook and
turn of the Alabama from the head OF
navigation to the sea. He has guided his
boats through all sorts of weather, in all
stages of water, and under all possible con-
ditions. Personally he is a man of most
delightfully."- frank and friendly manners.
He is a thick-set, sturdy man of nerve;
with a very rosy face, very grey beard,
very penetrating, resonant, jolly voice-a
sort of Alabama Viking, whom nobody
would hesitate to take voyage with around
the world. A right rare and right good
fellow is this grizzled veteran Of the broad
Alabama!
Mention of Captain Quill brings to mind
another famous river captain of Alabama,
Owen Finnegan, of Mobile. There are
thousand stories told about Owen Finne-
gan, and every story Is good. One of these
the good Hannis Taylor delights to tell
as illustrating in some measure the downs
and ups of life. Owen F1nnegan, right
brave-hearted son of Erin, began life ac-
lively as deck hand on an Alabama river
steamer In the palniy days of steamboat
ing, before the railroads removed most of
those picturesque and comfortable craft
from the inland waters. Ffnnegan de-
clared, according to Hannis Taylor, that
when he was a deck hand, the steamboat
cook, who was also an Irishman, would
call to him, 'Ah, there, Finnegan, We
BLACKBOARD, come and eat! And be in a
hurry, ye spapeen!' Finnegan would
hurry forward to get his humble dinner.
Finally Finnegan got to be an officer OF
the boat, and the cooks tone changed to
Mr. Ffnnegan, dinner ready!' In the full
ness of time, Finnegan became captain,
and the cooks speech underwent another
change: Captain Finnegan, yer honor. Will
YOU please take your tay?' That was the
cooks way of acknowledging that Finne-
gan had reached the top of the ladder. And
the story the good Hannis" tells bristles
with that worldly wisdom that comes OF
human experience.
There was a man in Mobile many years
ago, so the story goes, who had notable
personal resemblance to Finnegan. This
man was noted for contracting debts and
never paying them, for thriftless habits
generally, and for partaking at times OF
too much strong drink. A visitor to Mobile
approached this man one night in Royal
street and asked him, Aren't you Owen
Finnegan?
81 dunno, I dunno" answered the poor
fellow in a wandering way. Il am OWN
everybody else. 1 reckon l am OWN Fin
negan, tool!
1.-THE cheapest dinner ever paid for and
enjoyed was at Randolph station, in Bib
county, said a leading Birmingham law
yer. 1T cost me five cents l had been
attending court in Centreville and left that
county town about II o'clock to drive
to drive to Randolph, sixteen miles away,
to catch train by which 1 would reach
Birmingham that night, changing at
Caera. I reached the station sometime in
the afternoon as hungry wolf. At the
village hotel they could give me nothing
to eat; and SO l went to a grocery store
and asked for box of sardines~ and some
crackers. The proprietor very politely
served me, and 1 made an excellent meal.
Five cents was his charge. They were
American sardines, and some of our do
mestic sardines are quite good as the
French. Twenty years ago l was a clerk
in country store, and we sold sardines at
thirty-ive cents for small box, such as l
got, with crackers, for a nickle. The
American sardine industry has been in ex-
and French sardines are almost driven out
of the home market"
DIR. r. A. Moseley, consul-general of the
United States for Singapore. whose return
from Washington was noted in yesterdays
Age-Herald. hopes to leave Birmingham
for the east within four or five weeks. He
will travel by way of San Francisco.
Hawaii, Japan and China, and will make
considerably more than half the circuit of
the globe. He has already arranged for his
steamship passage. The consul-general
having qualified, is now on the pay roll of
the public service, and is required to leave
for Singapore within thirty days, or as
soon thereafter as practicable. That is a
matter at the pleasure of the secretary of
state, as the secretary can at pleasure ex-
tend the time specified DR.. Moseley has
been advised by the department of state
not to take clerical assistance with him,
and therefore he will be accompanied by
Mrs. Moseley only. The consul general will
require several weeks in which to settle
his private business affairs in Birmingham.
Hon. W. c. Fits, of Tuscaloosa, late at
torneygeneral of Alabama, and one of the
best lawyers and ablest young democrats
In the state, was in the city yesterday. Mr..
Fits is a candidate for delegate to the
constitutional convention, and Tuscaloosa
would honor itself and do great service to
the state by selecting him as delegate. For