The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-05-20
LIES LITTLE IRONIES
STARTLING CONTRASTS SEEN IN HUM
DRUM DAILY EXISTENCE.
A story of Local Life that Smacks
Strongly Of Murger's "Bohemia"
and Famous Latin Quarter.

The daily life of a large city is so filled
with striking contrasts. opposing scenes
of joy and grief-''lifes little ironies,' some
one has termed them-that the average OBJ
server scarcely notices them. A striking
instance of these mingled "sharps and
flats" of citys streets witnessed on
Washington street yesterday morning. The
observer was stationed at a window in the
basement of the courthouse, eagerly await
ing the approach of Gentry's Juvenile cir
Gus parade. The procession was near at
hand for the air was heavy with music
emanating from the advance chariot. At
the exact instant the gorgeous pageant
came within the field of vision from the
west there appeared from the east flu
neral procession. BY an odd coincidence
the funeral was that of a child. The two
lines of marchers-one vibrant with excess
of gayety, the other tinged with the OPP
pressive coloring of death-passed along
side by side for several minutes. What
bitter contrast" remarked a bystander,
"a child's circus and child's funeral to-
getheri"
81 know that Henri Murgers famous
book, Scenes from the Life of Bohemia
is not exaggerated" declared a well-known
man about town in the lobby of the Deni-
son Hotel yesterday, 'for L could cite you
TO a man right here in Indianapolis whose
real life's story is just as pathetic and in
teresting as any of the incidents in Murg
erS novel. L shall not give you the man
name, but he is artist. Like many 9TH
erS of the craft he is too backward and
retiring for his own good. For ten years
or more he toiled along, piling up pictures
and reducing his little pile of dollars with
discouraging steadiness. The reward came
at last, and l can assure you it was none
too soon. Just how the artist found his
pot Of gold beneath the rainbow of his
hopes is a story that. to my mind, is as
picturesque and striking as anything L
ever read in a work of fiction.
Charles, as / will call the man, is
Spiritualist, although few of his friends
know this fact. One day last winter he
got in communication with his dead
brother. l speak of the occurrence as if it
were an actually, because it was so to
Charles, and if he was satisfied we need
not worry over it. Well, his brother made
this significant statement. or rather proph-
ecy: Things look pretty gloomy to you
now, Charles, but keep pegging away and
your reward will come In the spring,
when the leaves begin to appear, your luck
will take turn for the better
Il can't, of course, begin to describe the
struggles and priyations my friend en-,
dured through all those years of work and
anxious waiting, but l do know this, that
many a time he and his family have been
in actual want of the necessities of life.
The winter just passed was one of the
worst You know they say, 1T is always
darkest just before the dawn and so it
was with Charles. But a few weeks ago,
when Nature awoke from her long sleep
and the leaves began to peer forth timidly
into the still raw air of early spring and
the modest wild flowers made their first ap-
pearance in woods and dells, the prophecy
from the land of spirits was fulfilled. AS
suddenly as rain falls in a summer
shower, Charles's luck took a decided turn
for the better and he began selling pic
Of
OF my own knowledge, 1 know that in the
past five or six weeks he has sold close
to three thousand dollars worth of pic
lures The debts made necessary by years
of withheld recognition are all wiped out
and the future stretches rosily ahead of
my friend. By merely changing the loca-
ton this story would perfectly fit a narra-
tive of Bohemian life in the famous Latin
quarter of Paris"