The evening times., 1899-06-20
.POuTESf PAUPER
In BEGGAR RECORDS
Refined and Soft-Spoken, aud
of Princely Mien.
SOlicits Aims by Notes Written on
Fashionable Paper.
Tries His Art Once Too often and
Lands I'm StntiOnhOuse-Hfs
Business-likc style.

1 N,
gars" is locked up in the West Street
station. He has been there for twenty
| four hours. This title, given to him by
the police of the West Side. is well earned.
The Prince of Beggars' by his dress
would not be taken for anything less than
a gentleman. He is young, well attired.
has made good living at his profession.
and has had plenty OF leisure and good
| time generally.
| One evening about 4 month ago ring
came at the door of the big grey-stone
house of Gilbert Colgate. No. 3O6 West
| Seventy-sixth street. The butler saw
standing on the step a boy about eighteen
He was genteely clad and did not betray
the slightest sign of embarrassment.
Please take this TO Mrs. Colgate" he
said. as he handed the butier a square
envelope.
The envelope was entirely as it should
be. 1t was made of heavy white paper.
1t looked for all the world like note from
some friend of the Colgate family. Such
the butler believed it to be when he de-
livered it to Mrs. Colgate. Inside, on a
sheet OF fine white paper. was written:
Lady: Please can you give poor boy some-
| thing to eat, as l had nothing to eat all day?
HARRY LAWSON.
Mr.. Colgate went downstairs and inter-
| viewed the bearer of the note. He was
so much of a gentleman. he expressed so
much humiliation at being compelled to
ask for charity, and altogethertold such a
splendid hard luck tale that he won MIR.
| Colgate in a very few minutes.
Not only did Mr.. Colgate give him all
he wanted to eat, but he promised him q
position if he would call next day at his
Office at No. SO John Street.
Mr.. Colgate is one of the chiefs of the
millionaire soap manufacturing concern of
| that name. An opportunity to enter his
employ is thing that many rich young
men would jump at.
| Thank you, very much, sir," said the
beggar TO Mr.. Colgate. Il will be at your
| Office at o'clock in the morning"
He never came and Mr.. Colgate was still
| on the lookout for him when he went to
| dinner last Sunday evening at the house of
his brother-in- law. John Putnam, at No.
| PIG West Seventeen Street. Harvey W.
Putnam was also present. His home is in
Buffalo, and he is one of the State COM
missioners of charity. He has had some
| experience with all sorts and conditions of
professional criminals.
| Mr.. and Mrs. Putnam, with their guests
were in the drawing-room upstairs when
the maid handed note in a square white
envelope to Mrs. Putnam.
It's from a nice-looking man at the
| door" she said.
This must be a case of real Distress"
\ said Mrs. Putnam, as she read. Here is
| a young man named Harry Lawson. who
says he hasn't had anything to eat all day.
| How much misery there must be in New
York;
| Mr.. Colgate took up the note as she laid
| ii down.
Il know that man." he said I'm look
| ing for him. He's rascal and ought to be
| in Jail"
| Mr.. Colgate stood by while Lawson re-
| peated to Mrs. Putnam the same tale of
woe that he had heard from the same
source a month before. When Harvey
Putnam learned how Mr.. Colgate had been
duped, he said quietly to the beggar: Il
think you had better tell that story to a
| policeman.
The young mans face grew very pale.
and he trembled a little. "Oh, there is no
need OF doing that he said. The police
have no regard for poor unfortunates like
myself"
But Detective John Kennel came from
the West Sixty-eighth Street Station and
put some pointed questions to the gentle
manly beggar. He denied that he had
ever seen Mr.. Colgate before and contra
dicted himself a good many times.
Il guess you had better come with me-
said the officer, as he put his hand on his
shoulder.
Taking his Alpine hat in his hand, the
young man bowed to the three men who
had caused his arrest and said with the
utmost dignity:
Gentlemen, trust that you are pleased
with your work"
Then, with a martyr-like expression. he
accompanied the policeman to the station.
There they searched him. The question
able memoranda which they found in his
pocket are keeping the detectives of the
West Sixty eighth Street Station busy as
they have not been before for weeks.
Besides number of transfer slips from
almost every street railroad in New York.
and newspaper clipping containing an ac-
count of the recent incendiary fire on Ran
dall's Island, the police found twenty let
ters, with as many envelopes, all of them
duplicates of the ones which had been re-
ceived by Mrs. Colgate and Mrs. Putnam.
In his waistcoat pocket was narrow men,
crandum book containing about fifty
names and addresses.
Nearly all of the names are Of men
well known in New York. After many of
them is entered a commentary by the writ
er. At the top of one of the pages are the
words:
Governor Flower. res, No. Sol Fifth Avenue;
bus, No. 45 Broadway.
Another entry is as follows:
$3.50 year a cap.
n. Croker, Ill Broadway.
Under the word Positive" is entered the
following: Shepherd, Knapp & Co., Sixth
Avenue and Thirteenth Street"
No. 30S West Sixtyninth Street is mark
ed: Shy" One item in the strange little
book reads: - houses near Grants Tomb
near 109th Street are some" Then follows
this list of merely routine comment:
152 West Sevcnty-sxth Street-excellent.
4s9 West End Avenue-fair.
sos West End Avenue, 30 Rivererside Drive
bad.
- West Ffty-sixth Street-N. G.
1Sl Fifth Ayenuc-good.
800 West Nineteth Street-good.
155 West Seventy eighth Strect-good.
2G6 West Nncty-third Strect-good.
525 West End Avenue-fair.
50 West Forty-seventh Street-N. G.. |
When the desk sergeant questioned |
Lawson as to the meaning Of the memo |
randa. he said. with the utmost nonchal- |
ance:
"Oh, those are merely houses where I |