The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1909-08-26
A COSMOPOL|TE
IN A CAFE.
An Incident That Proves All Men
Have Patriotism.
BY O. HENRY.
copyright, 1906, by Mcclure, Phillips &
Col -

Copyright 1906, by Mcclure, Phillips &
Col
At midnight the cafe was crowded.
By some chance the little table at
which I sat had escaped the eye Of in
corners, and two vacant chairs at it
extended their arms with venal hos
pitality to the influx Of patrons.
And then a cosmopolite sat in one of
them, and I was glad, for held a
theory that since Adam no true citizen
of the world has existed. We hear of
them, and we see foreign labels Oh
much luggage, but we find travellers
instead Of cosmopolites.
I invoke your consideration of the
scene-the marble topped tables, the
range of leather upholstered wall
seats, the gay company, the ladies
dressed in demi-state toilets, speaking
in an exquisite visible chorus Of TASTE
economy, opulence or art; the sedulous
and largess loving garcons, the music
wisely catering to all with it's raids
upon the composers; the melange of
talk and laughter-and, if you WILL
the WurZburger in the tall glass
cones that bend to your lips as ripe
cherry sWays on it's branch to the
beak of robber jay. was told by a
sculptor from Mauch Chunk that the
scene was truly Partisan.
My cosmopolite was named E. Rush
more Coglan, and he will be heard
from next summer at Coney Island.
He is to establish a new ATTRACTION
there, he Informed me, offering kingly
diversion. And then his conversation
rang along parallels Of latitude and
longitude. He took the great round
world in his hand, so to speak, famil-
darly, contemptuously, and it seemed
no larger than the seed Of a maraschi-
no cherry in table d'hote grapefruit
He spoke disrespectfully Of the equa-
tor, he skipped from continent to con-
tinent, he derided the zones, he mop
ped up the high seas with his napkin.
With wave Of his hand he would
speak of certain bazaar in Haidara.
bad. Whit! He would have you on
skees in Lapland. Zip! Now you rode
the breakers with the Kanakas at Kea.
laikahiki. Presto! He dragged you
through an Arkansas post oak swamp,
Jet you dry for a moment on the alkali
plains Of his Idaho ranch, then whirl-
ed you into the society Of Viennese
,archdukes. Anon he would be telling
you Of cold he acquired in Chicago
lake breeze and how old Escamila
cured It in Buenos Aires with a hot
infusion Of the chuchula weed. You
Would have addressed letter to az.
Rushmore Coglan, Esq, the Earth,
Solar System, the Universe" and have
mailed it, feeling confident that it
would be delivered to him.
was sure that I had found at last
the one true cosmopolite since Adam,
and I listened to his worldwide dis
course fearful lest should discover in
it the local note of the mere globe
trotter. But his opinions never fut-
tered or dropped. He was as impartial
to cities, countries and continents as
the winds or gravitation
And as e. Rushmore Coglan prattled
Of this little planet I thought with
glee of great almost cosmopolite who
wrote for the whole world and dedi-
Gated himself to Bombay. In poem
he has to say that there are pride and
rivalry between the cities Of the
earth and that "the men that breed
from them, they traffic up and down,
but cling to their cities hem as child
to the mothers gown" And when
ever they walk 'by roaring streets un-
known" they remember their native
city, "most faithful, foolish, fond, max
ing her mere breathed name their
bond upon their bond" And my glee