The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-03-22
THE SUN, SUNDAY, MARCH 2e. 1908.

doabts,,i %bs4Ssr snv one In ths house
has succeeded In engaging him In pleasant
he is always alone, whether walking in
the halls, esting In the restaurant or read
ing In the courts. He never Joins IN the
Of the hundreds OF men about him. he
u absolutely alone In the midst Of crowd
and he insists on being left 90.
while was living in london,, con-
tinued the attendant. this man hsd iodg-
brother. the NJ p, used TO call on him fire.
Quently, and that Is why noticed him. for
the M. p. comes from my native town In
England.
"A few months ago while was standing
There was something about him that struck
me as being familiar. though l couldn't
remember where / had seen him before.
He had changed q good deal. Finally l
recognized him.
l tried to engage him in conversation ono
day, but met with such q chilly reception
that / haven't tried II since / believo
he 10 employed by some school OF CORE
spondence, but how II all came about 10
one Of the hundreds q q mysteries that We
There is probably no other place In the
world where the newspaper has 30 great
value as in the House OF the Gray Lives. The
men have been used TO subscribing to thetr
favorite Journals and reading It regularly.
q luxury. Still. the force OF habit 10 strong
upon them, and they still follow the news
a. closely "a they have ever done. though
In far different manner.
The transient boarder e the Newspaper
buyer. He has not been there long enough
to know that 1t is not necessary to pay for
tho news. So he buys his paper In the
morning and takes 1t into one OF the courts
No sooner has he opened the sheet than
the chair air. nearest to him. For half an hour
or more. the reader may sit there, but the
man who Is waiting has the patience OF
Job and all the time there Is. Months
Of experience have taught him what will
h. fSe tr.D.,en, will finish reading. sit
quietly a few minutes and then walk away,
throwing the paper into his vacated chair.
Then the other will pick 1t up and have an
hours comfort with his fsvorite Journal
d This thing hSpHSns ~ %ss r syssrs
Sunday paper often finds three or four
section, as he finishes with II. Even tie
advertising pages are eagerly devouieu'
for they help pass away the time, and that.
OF tho Gray Lives.
The taciturnity Of men who have fallen
to this level Of life il we'll illustrated BY
the case of man who left the hotel amply
because his own brillianoe caused people
to question him about his better year,. ..
he could speak many languages; just
how deep his learning was they did not
know until one day an immigrant. freshly
arrived from Europe, tried to make himself
understood to the hotel attendants and
that no one there had ever heard. =. .
several Of the gusets who had travelled
extensi vely and spoke the ordinary
European tongues tried to converse with
him. but all their efforts were useless.
called upon. As soon a. he had heard
the immigrant speak, they entered into
conversation and the difficulty. was solved.
what language In thAt7' asked guest
1T is q dialect replied the interpreter.
Il never heard it except in certain remove
Then he walked away and would say no
For hours he would sit and talk In French
with the librarian Of the hotel. Their con-
versation was usually OF books ana the
philosophers. and 90 deep did the strangers
learning prove to be that the librarian
asked ifhe had ever been to college.
ooh, yes. the man said. Il went through
Yale, oxford and Heidelberg
During all the months he was In the hotel,
With reference TO his own life, except onoe
when he confessed to having spent years IN
wandering In out-of-the-way corners OF
the earth
When he was asked whether it was for
business or pleasure, he simply smiled and
proposed game Of dominoes.
Finally the curiosity Of q group otoid
men became 90 great that they wayiaid
the linguist at all times OF the day and tried
to engage him In conversation In order TO
lead gradually up to personal question:
After ne had gone the old men began 70
compare notes and that Is how rather wild
story was set ahoat. They called TO mind
the fact that every language he spoke,
English included was spoken with slightly
foreign accent.
They were certain that he was not Ameri-
can. English. French. Spanish or Italian.
His accent had been noticed in all these
languages. Then his confession that he
had spent years wandering In out OF the
way corners Of the earth, coupled with his
knowIedge OF q siberian dialect. pointed.
according to this council Of old men. TO but
one conclusion. The man was . Russian
Nihilist who had escaped from . siberian
prsson and had been bounded over the earth
whether IL IL true or not that story win
have 20 stand undisputsd. Tor the man has
never been SEN since 81 tho hotel and not
Q man In the place even knows his name.
Walk into the reading room OF tins hotei
a almost any time Of day and you viii
And there an old man Who might have
possd for any Of the familiar paInunSs Of
Hebrew patrisrchs. He has hns old FACE.
full Of strong linss and the burrows OF d~ep
thought
a. he can e, you feel instinctivsly uhat he
should In the teacher of . congregation
and counsellor Of the undecid~d. Vet.
when he walks through the halls and comss
nearer he presents far dissnsnt appear
In his hand hs carries an old umbrella
stirk shorn 81 ns rib- and cover HE
cloth~s are old and worn and. worst ~ all.
nlthy. An old black ooai almoss M shr:ds.
hanss lamp aud crushed from his shoulder.
and an his h.Ad hs wears Q bIsct skull
Gao that " faT from Aitrastive
N~os u not fof the insdsnasDis stfcnkh
thai sl,oss ln the lines ~ hls lace oos might
slsnoss fancy thai hs cas- Q Efoduot ~ tbs
vorus esndilIohs ~ tbs siuins aud tbs
"a ~aly l,,indls the, be- issssisi,iy osfrsss
49,. ns,,sh ls ed ,o ti.si hnjss>si"n,
NJ ons hes ssss Lse., shls Ia sn1ADe
HAN Ia assses.stlsn, No ssesns ~ teks
sIs-slul~ly ~ Nstss.ss IA tbs NE sAsSst htn
sssa sstssl-ss I'll sdssna~s N . AsAs~s 'iass
H. tssss = s.. .as Ls.-. his 's'ls.