Waterbury Democrat., 1901-02-23
AS YOU LIKE IT
Some Stray Leaves from a Reporters ] Note Book.

Some Stray Leaves 1rom a heporter ; ] Note Book.
 l A fellow was telling q friend this
 morning about Magician kellar going (about the hall yesterday treating peo- ( pie to wine and water out of the same decanter and after explaining how ! the magician did it he wanted to know
 if anybody ever heard of such trick
 before. The man he was talking to
 made nothing of it and dismissed the
 subject with the remark that his gro
 cery man sells cider and vinegar out
 of the same barrel.
 'I heard a story on Riley when
 was in Indianapolis the last time that Is good one" said man quoted by the St Louis Globe-Democrat. Riley
 used to have fondness for dogs, and always. in his younger days. had Etle at his heels. One day in Indianapolis he came across a magnificent coach dog and induced it to follow him away
 from the place 1t had been left by the owner. Riley took the dog down to
 the Journal office and tied ir to the leg of his table. where he was doing some
 work. Along in the afternoon the owner of the dog came in with an ad- Nertisement in which he offered a re- ward for the return of his prize coach dog. Riley'S explanations did not go, and only the intervention of other members of the staff saved the poet from getting a trouncing at the hands / of the irate owner of the dog. The story got out and Riley was joked Il | good deal about il. He usually turned the matter to account by using the
 story to prove that it paid to adver- tise"
 The attempt of one of the Irish mem- bers of parliament to address the house of commons in Gaelic has set many people talking of the occasion when O'Connell fooled q few of the crown stenographers years ago at public meeting in Ireland by delivering his speech in Irish. thus shutting out all the reporters from being able to get a word of what he said with the eX- ception of stephen J. Meany. vino knew his mothers tongue as well as English. and was in his glory jotting down what the speaker was saying while the government scribeS sat look ing at each other and wondering what it was all about. This is how Meany came to be called O'Connclls reporter
 and it was one of the many incidents in his checquered career that he all ways liked to talk of. In those days stenography was not studied as gen erally as it is to-day and young men who had T practical knowledge of the business were in big demand. and Meany being an adept at it. and know ing 1riSh it was but natural that he should have been sought after by con- mitteeS who were preparing banGuets at which men were expected to make q few remarks pertinent to the times without letting everybody into the se- be- came such an annovance to the peel CTS that 1t was almost as much as ones life was worth to be heard talk ing in the language of the hated Celt.' It was q great scheme and worked like q charm in more than one place. No wonder that the Eng fish government has wholesome dread of the threat to revive the study of the native tongue in Ireland. This would put the creatures of the tyrant in an awkward position i'll more ways than one. Every Scotland yard detn,.- tive, land agent. police officer. bailifT | process server. rent collector. StiDrntii- ary magistrate and all the other fel- lows that stand prepared to prey upon | the people would have to be Irish Schol- j ars. and this would cause no end of confusion. The Englishman who said that he would rather hear that the Irish were forming companies with q view to trying their chances at another paSsage of arms with the government than learn that they had decided to take up the study of the language of their fathers. knew what he was talk ing about. O'Donnell ought to feel thankful that the speaker of the house | did not order the sergeant-at-arms ! to shoot him. The Danalty would not l have been greater than was meted out i to other 1rishmen by England for s l similar offense within the memory of 1 men who are still in the flesh.
 Here is little story I heard during the present week about our distin- guiShed townsman, F. c. Lewis: 1t is over twenty years ago. said Sani- tary Inspector Harry Moses, to q few friends, since l first set ny eyes on Judge Lewis. I was on my way home : one night and had reached a point near the corner of South Main and Clay streets. when 1 saw a man leaning against one of the old lamp posts. He was q big, tall fellow and the minute I got a look at him 1 knew he was full. While l was standing there , small man came, along and went over to the drunken man and asked him what was the matter, but received no answer. The little man seemed to ! take in the situation at q glance and , kept asking the fellow questions until he found out where he lived. Then he got the big fellow on his back and started to carry him down the street. The judge had a high hat which he held in one hand, while he endeavored to balance his load with the other but ! the man was so big and helpless he kept rolling off every once in while, and, seeing the predicament of the good Samaritan, I concluded to give him a hand, and stepped over and asked If he didn't want some help. He accepted my offer with thanks. and we carried the man to the house at the corner of Dover and South Main streets, where he boarded, and after turning him over to the family, we separated, the little man turning to- wards the center. while continued on the other way. 1 didn't know the feI- low that was drunk nor the little man with the high hat at the time. was