The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-07-14
NEW RAVENS FORMER BAR
 KEEPER.

lung after there was no union organi- zatlon of the gentlemen of the barn who practiced in the wine rooms, but
 1T major portion of those drawing peer to-day and handing out straight goods Were to find a ghostly host of the patrons of Rood, Charley Bradley l Billy BroWn's or Austin Allen returned rom the shades and lined up in front or them, they would falter at the ari- ety and complexity of the orders. students of Yale thought it was fun to annoy Ed Babcock at his Metropol- itan opposite the post office, or later at Billy Browns at the sign of the big Indian on Church street, by each indi- Vidual ordering the most intricate compound known to wet goods.
 Bao S" annoyance was only on the surface, nothing pleased him better than to exhibit his skill and dexterity, and every mixture was suited 10 "the queens taste" Babcock came from Whitneyvllle, Hamden town, and be- sides tending bar in New York for Jerry Thomas the greatest of all mix ologists of his time and inventor of many thirst-ticklers, he also was em- played by Sandy Spencer, of sporting and theatrical fame in Gotham for several seasons. "Bab" had also wan dered far and had manipulated the tumblers in the mining camps of Reno ana Virginia City, but so where he would, he would turn up again in New Haven with more diamonds, a larger and larger gold watch chain of the log chain variety, sold by the pound, but the real thing and no mistakes, but of respect to the civilizing atmosphere of the City of Elms and Yale, "Bab' would shed him sombrero of the from 1 tier and retail his new stories as he served with artistic flourish and dain- ty touch the fascinating gllbs of fury l which created htadaches that made the scones of the drinkers crack.
 Bao' mixed drinks in their beauty of color robed like rainbow of peace, put they intoxicated upon repetition. Ill the flush times of the civil war wine was drank at the bars more freely than water at the pump on the green, and at one time it came as high as seven dollars per bottle, with penty to reach 1t at that A new recruit or a bounty jumper scorned beer Ike a first row Chorus gir, and the New Haven sports ony knew what ager was by | heresay, Charey Bradley sold lager at ten cents a glass and was wroth when Alfred Hills launched the Teutonic tonic on Chapel street at five cents, with Jim Hill at the wooden faucet and a cake of ice on top of the keg.
 Bab was an excellent entertainer at the bar, a good conversationalist he held his customers with his tongue, and the discreet party who went in With the idea of taking one smile, smiled until the liquors run out of his ears. The star barkeeper was a wizard with the. dice and the house" | never lost round except when he per- mitted It, to keep the germ from being | disinteresting and 'all on one side like jug handle" Besides being a wiz- ard With the bones," Babcock was clever with feats of magic and the. manipulation of coins. This light fin gered gentleman though never short changed patron or mistook a ten greenhack for one or two ditto for twenty; that trick flourished in JJn- ion street with a money drawer ar- ranged to fool the kicker if he was so- Der enough to kick.
 If "Bab' had been consulted by his mixed dring patrons as to what to drink, if one must drink and contri- 6ute to the payment of the national debt, he would have frankly extolled the examples of the men of Reno and Virginia City, who took theirs straight" straight" do not make q man walk crooked so quickly, but the straits" was quickly enough whether you mix 1t or take 1t plain.
 When there was session of the leg islature On in New Haven some of the members spent more hours with "Bab" than they did in their seats in the State House on the upper green. The star barkeeper was once the cause of the defeat of an important measure in the legislature. It was not strictly party bill that was up, and certain parties were interested in it's defeat by a llttle cunning chinannery. The schemers enticed enough members to cause the defeat of the bill to come under the spell of "Bab's" magical mixtures and mixtures of magic. In- stead of saying aye to the act at the State House they said aye every time they were invited to imbibe and en- tirely forgot their legislative duties and own names and addresses. One of the legislators in going from the cor ner of Church and Chapel street to the Fontine declared that the hotel had been moved the distance being in- creased by his endeavors to walk on both sides of Church street at the same time
 Most of the gamblers, saloon keepers and barkeepers kept fast horses, all except Charley Bradley of the Flor ence House; his tastes did not take to horsefesh, and a ride on the road would be loss of just so much gossip of the town that was always on tap at the Florence. A party who had noted a Church street barkeeper speeding on the road with siren of silks and sat- ins at his side had the curiosity to in- quire of his employer:
 Is the barkeeper patron of yours?"
 The employer winked as ne an- swered We divide
 Ed and Alfred Hills succeeded Mans field on Church street. Ed was very Tat and was living sign of induce ment for the restaurant. Austin Al- len succeeded the Hills lat the old stand Allen iL r1as clafroad oo,,,1