The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-01-14

| tnc SOunO Oh CFancnInS Snc1ls-
Driven From Church and Clubs,
and Finally Lost His Bride That
Was to BE.
An uncomfortable, ever present passion
for Smelling peanuts has robbed Edwin
Levine Hollis. Of Philadelphia of a bride,
drove him from several swell clubs and
ostracized him from society He IS only
permitted to enter the theaters condition
ally. is invited to leave the trolley cars,
Is told that he Is not again wanted at a
church, and Is ordered out of the Sal
walton Army barracks. At several places
OF amusement he is fatty refused admis-
sion under any circumstances, and the
| park guards have orders to keep him
away from the monkey cages in the zoo,
and his queer penchant is compelling
him to close his cracker factory. But the
urchins love him for his peanuts "ready
shelled," and the newsboys follow him
| for squares when they see the left hand
! pocket of his overcoar pulging out, for
| they know that peanut feast Is in store
| for them.
| What makes his friends marvel still
| the more at his strange passion is the
| fact that Mr.. Hollis declares that he has
| never eaten a peanut in his life and cou
| not tell what they taste like. Mr. Hollis
| frankly admits that he has tried innumer-
| able schemes and contrivances suggested
| by his friends in vain endeavor to find
| a less conspicuous substitute for his un-
! explainable passion. But he loves the
music produced by the crunching, crack
ing and the dull thud of the peanut shell
| between his thumb and fingers, and con-
| fesses that he can find nothing to take It's
| place. Mr.. Hollis estimates that he shells
and gives away a full peck of peanuts
every day of his life.
ACQUIRED THE PASSION.
Mr.. Hollis is forty-two years of age
and possesses considerable wealth. Con-
| sequently he is not. in measure dis
turhed by the criticisms heaped upon him
because of his passion. Stranger than the
| passion is the Grange manner of acquir-
| Ing 1t. Some years ago MIR. Hollis con-
| Quoted cracker bakery in Philadelphia
| His factory produced the little hard,
brown crackers Sc frequently found on
| the table of the first-class oyster houses
| and cafes. A Yankee economist from
down East happened &long one day and
l suggested that the crackers Of q batch
that was so badly burned that it became
| mere waste, because its sale was impos-
sibie, might be turned into profit by
grinding it into cracker dust. Packed in
prettily labeled boxes, it will sell readily,
said the shrewd Yankee. And so from
this suggestion cracker dust became
household staple. Mr.. Hollis stood by
and watched the Yankee develop his sug-
/ gestion to utilize the waste, and ell day
/ long the crushing of the stone-hard
cracker would ring in his ears. Go where
he would and try as he would at night,
1 he says, the sound of the crunching OF
| the little brown cracker followed him.
| Money poured in upon him from the sale
of cracker dust, and soon improved ma
| chiEery took the place OF the wooden
/ hand roller. But not sound would it
produce. He had found difficulty in con-
tenting himself when away from the
music of the wooden roller at night, but
now that.eyen this was gene Mr.. Hollis
! craved the sound
/ AS lark someone at the club one night
suggested that the party attend the
opera from the peanut gallery" and the
cracker baker joined the party They took
/ seats amid G. group CT urchins who were
! crunching peanuts between yells. Mr..
| Hollis at first started, and when his
| friends inquired the cause the nervous
| cracker baker explained that the noise
| of the crunching of the peanuts was
/ music to his ears, because 1t reminded
| him Of the sound of the crunching Of the
| little brown cracker by the old wooden
| roller. For several successive nights fol-
! loving Mr.. Hollis was found in the pea
| nut gallery distributing peanuts to the
| urchins, simply that he might hear them
| crunched. His actions became noticeable
| and he was obliged to abandon the pea
nut gallery" and take to the peanuts
| himself And this he did with a ven
| geance
MADE HIMSELF POPULAR.
Have some peanuts?'' was his query
| to everyone he met, whether at the club,
in the church, on the street, at the hotel
| or in the cracker bakery. At first the
| club members did not decline the offer,
because Mr.. Hollis was exceedingly pop
| ular, the church folks took the peanuts
because they liked to eat them and the
| friends and acquaintance met on the
/ streets and elsewhere took the proffered
peanuts because they were ready shelled
| and toothsome. But it finally reached
/ the point that to meet Mr.. Hollis was
! equivalent to eating a pint or so of pea
! nuts, and as steady diet some folks OBJ
/ ject to peanuts. While the crunching and
cracking and dull thud were as music to
| the ears of Mr. Hollis, the incessant
crunching of the peanut shell became
| great annoyance to the members of the
| club. Mr.. Hollis was a regular nightly
/ visitor at the club. So were his peanuts.
At each visit he found his way into the
| whist room, but not since the first visit
| to the peanut gallery at the opera had
| he taken a hand of cards. Instead he
| would place himself behind a players
chair, and there would be a constant
crunching and cracking of the peanut,
/ much to the annoyance Of the members.
The steward would also be obliged to
| keep by his side, broom in hand, to
gather up the shells. Mr. Hollis and his
| peanut-shelling became a nuisance. At
length the Capital City club adopted reso-
lutions fixing a fine of Is cents upon any
one who crunched peanuts in the club.
| Mr.. Hollis paid it eagerly and crunched
! on The offense was then made punish
able by dismissal. Mr. Hollis fell under
| the ban and was dismissed from the
club. Other organizations followed suit.
SPOILED HIS MARRIAGE.
Upon his social calls Mr.. Hollis was
always accompanied by his pocket of
peanuts and while in the parlor his fin
4 gers would nervously crunch them. His
! friends would demonstrate, saying the
lady of the house objected to the shells
on the carpet, and he would promise not
! to offend again, only to break his prom
Use at the next call. Consequently his
invitations grew fewer and fewer and
not even his bachelor friends returned
! his calls Invitations were out for his
marriage last Christmas, but the we'd
ding did not take place, because Mr..
! Hollis was unable to shake off his desire
for crunching peanut shells, which was