The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-10-21

let out Sucn q SUCCESSION OF roiIlcE ing
brays that we all had to edge IN and
chuckle a bit. seedy as We felt
""Ha! the vaunted hospitality CT IT,
Southland said the huge man when he
had got through laughing. The latch
strings that are always out-the well
ON given to wayfareIs' he looked
very much Disguised indeed, and pinned
the Brewton caravans2-y proprietor
with his eye.
II desire you to max ready, and at
once said he. sternly. to the hotel man.
the very best rooms IN this house for
the reception of these ladies and gentle
men, who are struggling TO implant a
knowledge of the dramatic art in this
benighted region Furthermore. I de-
sire that their demands for food and
drink, in hours or out OF hours, shall be
considered my orders, AMI that they be
attended to with the same celebrity as if
L had actually given the orders. That
that may be no fear IN your bosom,
sirrah, that you will no. be paid, be
good enough to subtract $50 from this,
n render me the change
The huge man with the sid ,rs had
reached into his frock-Coat pocket and
produced a fine large black wallet. He
reached into one of the compartments.
ran his finger over a number of the yell
low papers and the one that he jerked
out between his thumb tcre finger
had $500 stamped on it. When the
hotel person gingerly took hold of the
bill his chart was a sight. He looked
the huge man over as Il he were some
weird sort of Dachyderm. He was al
most all out of talk, bit he managed
to articulate:
Smallest yo' alTs got, subj
THE smallest replied the man with
the siders, briefly, sticking his fingers
into his vest pocket AMI pulling out a
wad of ones and twoS and fiveS and
running over them. 'He.e is but a mat
ter of $50, and, at any rate, ] want the
bill broken
The Brewton hotel person. walking
like a nan just out OF a poppy shop
with yen-hok trimmings. went over to
the old-fashioned safe behind the hotel
desk. fumbled with the combination for
4 while, and pulled out Il dirty canvas
bag stuffed with notes OF all denomina-
tons up to fifties. Meanwhile the huge
man addressed the manager.
Will you do me the honor to present
me to the ladies and gentlemen of your
organizations? he said, with a sweep of
the arm toward us, and a minute or so
later we found ourselves pumping the fin
of George j. FitZ-James of Philadel-
phia, wandering about this wretched re-
gion seeking Investments certain1y not
in search of comfort or hospitality as
Mr.. FftZ-James put the matter, shak-
ing us all cordially by the mitt and
pressing his silk hat against his bosom
when he came to the ladies. He simply
waved the manG"ar off the earth when
the manager trie.l to tell him that his
generosity in con .ng to the front would
never be forgottcn, and that the finan-
cial end of the obligation would be
liQuidated on the morrow.
"Desist. I beg you, said the huge
man, ~deprecatingly. The pleasure is
entirely mine, l assure you. OF what
possible use were the possession of a
competency if portions IF the same be
not applied on occasions such as this to
relieve the temporary embarrassments
of fellow beings?'
Delivering himself of which hot and
noble sentiment, he demanded to know
of the hotel man, who approached hin
to count out his $3.50 change, if there
were any champagne in the house. The
hotel man proudly produced the four
bottles that he'd had on exhibition in
the bar ever since he'd opened the place,
and in the parlor upstairs the bunch of
us did things to that quarIette of quarts
that made even the c~ontiGuity of Brew
ton, Escambia County, Alabama, tenn
porarily tolerable. When the Pniladel-
phia ph~ilanthropist extracted from us
the fact that the whole end and aim or
our republican outfit was an eventual
landing in New York. his bosom heaved
as he declared:
Your ambition. ladies and gentlemen,
to once more repair to the Genes of
your former histrionic triumphS IS but
natural. 1 shall do myself the honor to
assist you to your destination
He slipped a $50 note to the manager
and went on:
81 am to AXE the early morning
train, n l shall see the ticket-Seller at
the station in YOU interest before de-
parting. Seeing that your dramatic
venture is not-er-prospering beyond
the dreams of avarice, perhaps you
would desire to repair imediately to
New York
LAS he aid that. did we look as if we
had that sort of a desire:
Therefore he went on, grandly, !
suggest that you call at the ticket office
of the station on the morrow morning
to see if anything happens to DC waiting
for o there. Tut. tut now. my dear
friends do not put me out of couHten-
ance with thanks. IF however, you fine
yourself in opulence later IN. and this
trivial little obligation rests heavily
upon you, o may communicate will
me toward its liquidation - only for ycur
own satisfaction, mind-in care O. the
Union League Club, in Philadelphia
linen ne made his adieuX with his
hand on his heart, and was shoEa to his
| room by the o~bsequious hotel man.
He was gone the mex. morning. So
were we. along toward noon. There
! were twelve tickets for New York wait
/ ing for us in an envelope at the station
ticket window when we followed ths
huge mans Instructions and Inquired
there. He had paid for the tickets out
of a $500 bill.
Well, I've been keeping my lamps OF
the newspapers pretty regularly eve
since. but L haven't observed that
they've got the phiianthropic Fitz.
James yet, although the secret service
people were put wise to him the day
after we left Brewton for New York
The Brewton hotel man had scr.t his
little Surplusage to mis- Montgomery
bank, and Philanthropist Fitz-3anes's
$500 made the cashier laugh out rea'
u The ticket seller had likewise
forwarded the $500 that d-ifted his way
for our New York ticke,s to his mair
office, and got some words by wire IRON
the company's cashier that burnt hin
some. We read all about it in the pa
perS on the day we hit New York. AT