The age-herald., 1900-09-18
SKETCHES FROM
 EVERYDAY LIFE

as Shakespeare remarks with some show of truth. As I knew that Lawrence was utterly incapable of either treason, strate- gems or spells, I reached the conclusion, by kind of Baeonesque induction process, that I had learned at school. that he must be fond of music. This idea was confirmed by seeing him one day in crowd listening to the metallic and nasal squeak of pho nograph. The crowd was composed of Lawrence. some eountrymen and few "eoons." The man exhibiting the machine was extolling its merits. ''The next piece" he said, will be coon song by the great Iseickman of Chicago, who can make a nigger ashamed of himself" Here the cur rent was turned on, and the machine turned on a series of sounds which would have sent musical artist into fits.
 I had slipped into the rear of the crowd to watch Lawrence. He was taking it all in, in evident enjoyment. l said noth- ing to him, but from this time began to watch him. He never passed the place without dropping in to enjoy the music, which was free. Lawrence only made fifty dollars month, so he couldn't afford grand opera. -s=z...t
 In all the barrooms and some other places in the city there are diabolical ma chimes, so-called musical apparatus It would be hard to designate them otherwise than by the word apparatus. This is a re- suit of the American mechanical genius which will undertake to play the piano, the banjo, and, in fact, whole orchestra by machinery. Most of these inventions are nickel-in-the-slot machines. You drop nickel in the slot and have your nerves racked five cents worth.
 This was all music to Lawrence, however AS say, he could not afford grand opera and five cents worth of this music gave him as much enjoyment, perhaps, as five dollars worth of opera. l have seen him with five cents in his pocket walk into a barroom as if he was going for a beer go up to the slot machine, drop in his nickel. see a banjo played by machinery and slip out minus both beer and nickel, but with joy in his heart.
 No one can crticise him. He was but exercising his inalienable right as an American citizen-the pursuit of happiness
 One hundred and twenty-four years ago Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. This immortal document
 
 as whole had never conceived before and yet so clear were they to Jefferson that he wrote: We hold these truths to be self-evdent: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Gre ator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pur- suit of happiness" These are grand ideas It Is good for all workers and tolers to tbar,o good, although you know they don't apply to you. It will be noticed that Jefferson did not claim the right to happiness, but only the right to pursue 1t. For one hum dred and twenty-four years millions of our fellow-citizens have been pursuing happi- ness. How many have found 1t?
 School boys have a game called "tag" One boy takes a ball and endeavors to touch another with 1t, and if he succeeds the boy who is tagged has to take the ball and touch someone else. It always happens that the boy with the ball is slow runner, and the other boys tease him him allowing him to nearly reach them, and then run off and leave him. This to them is the pursuit of happiness. Happi- ness sometimes treats them pursuing her the same way.
 
 A beggar stood on Second avenue turning the crank of a hand organ, which ground out "Because I Love You" "a beautiful song, yet more suggestive of beauty than really beautiful. It was not beautiful on the hand organ. An air run through hand organ comes out as devoid of beauty as a diaphanous summer gown run through a mangle. The beggar had on pair of heay- d xYa e,.r aarJ ta,,,,or on his chest, which informed the public that he was blind. A tin cup for the re- ceptacle of riches sat on top of the hand organ. It was late in the evening, and few people were on the streets, yet the doleful sounds from the organ continued The mans appearance was wretched. stepped up to give him a nickel, when remarkable thing happened The beggar smiled and nodded. He had not noticed me, but was looking across the street. I followed hls glance, and on the opposite side was man waving his hand to him!
 Did you ever see a beggar smile? There never was a smile more sinuous, diabolical, sneaky, willy and consciously guilty than this one
 This man should be deprived of his un- alienable right of liberty.
 "There is feeling of fall in the air" re- marked the workman as he fell from the fifth story window.
 Should it become necessary at any time to remove an objectionable neighbor, the matter can be readily accomplished by placing an order with the Italian anar- chists. These people seem almost to be born with a knife in their hands. They take to blood as a duck to water, or tramp to beer They have as much pride in pune turing you successfully under the fifth rib as a marksman in hitting the bulps-ey Their prices, too are reasonable, consider ing their busness-ranging from ten dol lars up. Of course cases are on record where a man has been killed for dollar or two, but these are exceptionable, and usually done under the influence of excite