Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1905-05-18
SOME FORMS OF BEGGING.
Two, Once Familiar, Now Seldom
Heard and One That Is
Perennial.


doubt" said Mr.. BlinkintOn, according
to the New York Sun, Gust as there
are in all things They come and go.
"a fashion that prevailed not so many
years ago started with this formula:
Mister, don't want any money, net
n cent, but I'm hungry. l want some
thing to eat. Take me to some restaur-
ant and gi' me something to eat. Don't
give me the money; you pay for it your
self. Only gl' me something to eat
"The theory of the inventor of this
form of begging was the that first IT
would appeal by its apparent sincerity;
and, secondly, that the person thus
asked for a meal wouldn't have time to
turn aside from mis- business to take the
beggar to a restaurant. and so If he were
impressed would give the beggar mon
sy; which. of course, was what the beg
gar wanted,
"Thls form of begging was very pop
ular and successful for time. 1t even
came to have quite a literature.
There was. for instance, the story OF
the hardy ard able man who, held up
with this appeal. dragged the beggar to
A restaurant and there compelled him
to eat. standing over him with club.
and, though the beggar had already
eaten four breakfasts, forcing him to
keep on eating until he begged for
mercy.
"And there was the story Of the beg
gar told by himself in beggar's joint
of how in one short afternoon he had
been compelled by seven stingy eivers
to eat in quick succession seven meals
Of doughnuts and sinkers. Thus the
stories ran. l had one actual expert
of my own:
I'm no Judge of beggars, I FRANKLY
confess; | can't always tell by AIRY
means whether beggar Is worthy or
not. But once, whe0 this form Of bes-
ging was common, | met tall, slim
young man who stopped me and said to
me: Mister, I'm hungry, can't you 81
me something to eat?' | took chance
and took the young man to a restaurant
81 couldn't tell whether he was Just
a. beggar who had learned the patter
or whether that request had just cone
up out of him spontaneously, but the
instant had said Come along l felt
sure he was all right; for that instant
he stopped being a beggar and smiled
I'D and walked along with me, not cring-
ing, but as If was his friend.
"And was he really hungry? Well,
you should have seen him eat.
"Son,' says to him, when we got to
the restaurant, there's the bill of fare.
Feed Yourself and he did
81 think he must have been II days
in an open boat without food, or some
thing of that sort; but certainly he was
of tubular construction inside, hollow
all the way down, for his storage capac-
ity was something stupendous.
Eat? ! never saw a man eat so In
my life. and I never saw man enjoy a
meal so much. I like to eat myself and
have been hungry at times, but | don't
suppose I ever ate anything that tasted
so good to me as that meal did to him.
LUCKY it was a cheap restaurant, for
I only had about dollar and a half
with me. His check was $1.25, but /
never begrudged him the money.
"But the 'Mister-I-don' t-want-any-
money-but-I-do-yant-something-to-eat
form of begging, once so common, has
now gone almost wholly out of fashion;
It is now comparatively seldom en-
ployed.
Another fashion in begging that In a
more limited way and for briefer time
prevailed and which also was celebrated
in It's day, was that which consisted in
asking a man, not for food, but for
money for drink.
"Mister says this beggar picking