The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-08-13
vou would have been moro surpri..A !.
Ind tkij bartender reading Herbert A.

mo '1lI Dartenonr rcaoing Herbert Spsn.
ITO tho worlu Of such writer's he devo,..
his leisure moments at the quiet lt ttH'C o.H
OF an apartment hotel. Personally, Ssams
never felt my own ignorance as keeniv y.
when In this mans presence.
He had all the standard works Of Ma
tory and philosophy. fiction and the drama
and appreciated what he read. Il ~.
not only a pleasure but an education =
converse with him. Except an inbo,~~
desire to improve his mind, he had no n.
oentive to gain this knowledge.
His schooling had been been limited to-.
carne to delye into the cIasdos / nsyss
found out. No pecuniary profit ATTACHED
to II, OF course, but he was paid, I ianc,
for a weekly letter OF gossip and commsnt.
that he contributed TO a newspaper in an
OF The larger v., Western fnns ,af is,.,d
who had never sailed on anything hra ,s
than an oyster scow, but whose hobby
was the science Of navigation. He ",
wretchedly poor and had large family
but somehow he Ind managed 10 gathr
quite a library Of books on seamanship,
sHe could talk glibly of tho currents h
tho Indian Ocean and considered himself
capable of navigating a battloehip or =
In . way, this pursuit OF a knowledge that
could never be Of value to him
down shack that housed him and his .' brood
OF twelve I have seen the old man bent
over q table spread with books and chart.
no doubt taking the South Pacific squadron
On . cruise to the Straits Of Magellan.
Applicant fos positions on the police
Of astronomy, but If they were a police
man whose post when I knew him was ID
The Bronx could have answered any.
thing in that line an examining board might
have asked. used to meet him on my
way home, and a his beat lay my way
sOn starry nights he would unfold tho
story Of the heavens with an enthusiasm
possible only in ono who loved his subject,
He had been miner In Alaska in the days
before the Kondike rush, and he was fun
OF stories Of the wonderful nights near tho
Arctic Circle, when the stars shone in an
their glory and seemed 30 near one could
almost touch them.
'Over on the East Side there is a shoe.
maker who has Bible study for a hobby.
he has q large annotated Bible OF his own
making. The pages are pasted on large
the walls Of his shop are hung with
largo placards on which the shoemaksr
has printed bis favorite texts and comments
upon them The texts are mostly warnings
OF eternal damnation. and to encountsE
them suddenly is somewhat Of . shock.
He Is . pleasant old fellow With no thought
except for his last and his 4ble.
AT q picture exhibition one day found
IN old 1rishwoman who took caro- Of my
rooms for me. It was famous collectiol
that was on exhibition and my scrubwoma1
viewed 1t With q critical eye and expressed
doubts Of the genuinenees Of certain 70.
puted old masters. She couldn't afford a
original, but had gathered quito IN array
OF prints Of worthy pictures.
Il remember also grocery clerk WIZ
studied Shakespeare and would recite from
him to any ono whom he could corner as ~
audience; Q stage carpenter who carved
marvellous beds and houses and animall
out Of peach pits and who liked Ice cream
soda instead Of beer and Chocolate creanl
instead Of chewing tobacco, and a Pix
county, Pa, farmer who had never been
within . hundred miles Of New York, bu
who was . bureau Of information Regard
Ing The city, 30 closely had be studied map
and guides to the motropolis.