The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-02-18
AS TO KNOCKING.
A Victim of Neighborly Gossip Frees
 @ His Mind. ~

A Victim of Neighboriy Gosslp ffees ., His Mind.
 The big, thicket, quiet looking com muter from East Orange had just set tied himself in his seat in the smoker of the up train and spread out his paper the other morning when an ac- uuaintance with a loose, garrulous looking mouth, an indeterminate chin and a continuous performance grin took the seat beside him.
 Morning" said the man with the loose mouth to the thickset man. "Nippy weather, ..s ......:5.. s+s .5 ..Kind O." said the big man. | The newcomer squirmed around in his seat, moistened his lips with his tongue. added crease or so to his foolish grin and began: LA.
 Say, did your ears burn you any last night?"
 Not so's | could notice it" replied the big man. "Why?"
 The loose fifouthed man wriggied about some more in his seat, wet ms 1 lips again several times and kept on grinning foolishly. : "Oh. nothing" he said finally, at tempting an off-hand tone. Heard some people roasting you last night, that's all." gs-; l Did, eh?" said the big man, not be- trayjng any excessive amount of inter est. Handed it out to me pretty strong. eh?" .....s That's right" answered the loose mouthed one Threw it into you right hot and no mistake" <,-
 That's kind O queer,' said the big man, refiectively. q didn't know had any enemies in this town or any where else, for that natter | "Oh,'' said the other, q don't spose they were actual enemies, like you say it, y know--they just passed you out few, that's all"
 "Uh, hub" said the big man. What did they have to say?" q | "Oh, slathers of things" said the garrulous one. Said that you were playing the ponies g. lot in the New York pool-rooms and that they'd got you in a hole, for one thing
 "Hm,'' commented the big man l Come again.
 "Oh, there was a lot O stuff like that They said you were so sore over. youl losses that you went on a big toot be- fore New Years and more than paint ed up the town,' went on the loose mouthed one.
 "Uh, huh" said the big man, Lets have another" 'Oh, I can't remember 'em all They said you were so smashed on yourself that there's talk about widening the street that you live in sos you car push through it without breaking oth- CT folks windows with your elbows"
 That was d cute little rap. Let's have some more"
 Well, one of 'em kind O hinted around that you were a whole lot. sci entific in handling the pasteboards in little games of draw with your friends -un stand?'
 Yep, I see. That was a tidy little jolt, too. Spin another now" ! oh, they said that you'd got to be a rum-eater all right, and that youtoted your little package home with you reg ularly from New York every evening" '
 Queer that manage to duck big heads of mornings, then. Keep Ter a going"
 Well, I'm only telling you what they ] said, now, remember One of the wo- men spoke up then and said she saw one of your boys on his way to school the other day and that the youngsters feet were on the ground for the need oi shoes.''
 That's one sad enough to need a pa- per snow-storm and q cello obligato Nextn'
 l "Of course, don't take any stock iI all such stuff, but one of 'en1-anotheI of the women, I guess-said that there was chattel mortgage on your piano and all the rest of your furniture
 Alarming, if true. Anything else?'
 The man with the loose mouth ant