Evening star., 1901-09-28

SfcN cApcT1euCeu SINCE I06 Qay my QaQ
stole up behind me with q club when. as
small boy, was stealing a smoke on the
butt Of one of his cigars. came drifting
along my way last week." remarked
Washington professional man upon his re-
turn from trip to New York the other
day. I'm order to fetch out the force of
the thing, however. I'll have to start in at
the beginning of 1t.
My room mate and chief chum when
was at Harvard was a studious and re-
markably clever young fellow from Ten
nessee He did not go In for athletics or
sports or monkeyshines of any sort, but,
while by no means a prfg he stuck to his
books and was one of the leading honor
men at the finish. He had me double dis
counted at the studies, for 1 was generally
fooling around the gymnasium or on the
field. but he always gave me a lift at the
head work when I asked him to, and we
got along famously.
When he took his degree he went to
New York to hunt for job in the literary
line. kept track of him there for num-
Der OF years, and saw him every time L
went over. He went to work as reporter
on one of the sensational newspapers,
made success of it and was getting along
all right, when he keeled over with typhoid
or something, and when he got out of bed
the medical men told him that newspaper
reporting in New York was too swift a
game for him. and that he'd better seek
some uuieter field.
So he got position as reader for big
publishing firm. That's quiet enough work
for anybody even If 1t is trying and pa
t1ence-exhausting, and he made a fine in
come without having to kill himself at the
work. He devoted his spare time to liter
airy work on his own hook. He was the
editor of splendid edition of BaIzac, for
which he wrote all of the comm entaries.
He took winter off and went to Egypt
and Greece to pursue some special archae-
CT iaof fl,oth hAr3 n,
and when he got back he published a gen.
timely scholarly book on the result of his
Investigations. which was highly spoken of
by eminent archaeologists and had a large
sale for a work of its character. Then he
became interested in ceramics, went after
information on that subject with his Gus
tomary enthusiasm and energy, and before
long he was contributing papers on that
difficult subject to periodicals devoted to
Its purposes. He went in for the oriental
languages, mastered a number of them and
brought out translation of the Persian
poets, not including Omar Khayyam, that
received deserved recognition. From all Of
these sources, including his position with
the publishing firm, he made a pretty neat
income for moderately successful literary
man of this day-Something like $l25
week. say. Unlike most literary men,
however. as understand it, he lived pretty
luxuriously, kept swagger bachelor apart
ments and blew in his money on works OF
art and trif1es of that sort as soon as he
drew it,
Il lost track of him about five years ago.
Went over to his apartments about that
time, and found him gone. Went to his
publishing firm and found that he had
given up his position about three months
previously, and that they didn't know
where he had gone. I made inquiries
everywhere around New York for him, but
couldn't find out a word to his where
abouts. l concluded that he had chucked
up New York to go abroad or to return to
his people down in Tennessee, and gradu-
ally, after that, he went out of my mind
as of man to be looked up, although 1
occasionally wondered over his mysterious
dropping out of the game in New York.
We'll, last week was up in Harlem one
afternoon to visit a man L know out in
that direction. and after paying the visit
I strolled through one of the main Harlem
streets to the elevated station. This was
business street, and l found myself at
tracted by the splendid appearance of a
huge butcher shop not far from the ele-
waited station. The butcher shop was 50
ornate, with it's tiled floor, onyx counters,
and all that sort of thing, that l stopped
to peer in at the windows. Then my eyes
wandered to the sign above the door, and
blamed If the sign didn't bear the name, a
very unusual one, of my former chum at
Harvard of whom l had lost track for half
decade. l had never heard his surname
before, and indeed he had often told me
that he was the only one with his full
name in the country that he knew of, yet
L couldn't bring myself to believe that
this scholarly man was the proprietor Of a
meat emporium. Nevertheless, / went in
side and inquired of the neatly y-uniformed
cashier behind the cashiers platform If
the proprietor of the plant was in. No,
the cashier said, the proprietor was down
town at the main store. He said that the
store l was In was only branch of the
main esta ablishment, which was a whole
sale meat establishment and that there
were fifteen others under the same pro-
prietorship in New York, Philadelphia and
Boston. l didn't ask any further ques-
1,,% ha frain
right down to the main establishment.
Two minutes after I walked in l was shak-
ing hands with my old friend. From a
stoop-shouldered man of about 140 pounds
In weight, he was grown into a giant who
doesn't weigh an ounce under 235, and he
had a hearty laugh that rumbled the floor
under our feet. He had his working togs
on and was busily engaged In superin-
tending a big force of men, but he went
into a private room. rugged himself out
for the street. and We went and had din
ner. He told me that he had become
weary of literary work all on sudden
five years previously-that he had con-
cluded there was nothing in it; that he
found he was spending all Of his income
cluded to drop it and go in for something
in which he had a chance to make money.
So, with thousand dollars or so that he
had saved. he started butcher shop
along novel lines In Harlem, got a big
trade, studied the meat business with all
of the enthusiasm with which he had for
merly studied pottery or languages, and had
found some new kinks in 1t which offered
him a chance to make large moneys. And
there he was He had extended his busi-
ness into three cities. had married and
settled down in a beautiful home on Madi-
son avenue was making a net income of
between $4,000 and 100000 a year-.And
I'm pretty well contented with my lot,
thanks, old man. said he. smiling nmiabiy
at me over his glass. And don't. for that
matter, see why he shouldn't be contented.
nor why he didn't do exactly right when
he abandoned his scribbiing for a career
of big money making. Nevertheless. from
archaeology to pork chops. from ceramics
to sausage, from Hafiz to frankfuerters-
we'll isn't that calculated to turn fel-
low around bit?'
When the Moon Shines.
From the Grand Rapids Herald.
"My boy" said the old man kindly. as he
poked his head through the back parlor
doorway about IL pm, where his prospect
i've son-in-laW Charles sat counting Eliza,