The Washington herald., 1913-03-16

New York. March 15.--Charles NJ. Frey.
the Harlem ratcatcher, to whom Mayor
Gaynor once wrote that sooner than
have the city overrun with rats and
everything eaten up by them i would
rather have you relieved Of jury duty"
has sent his valedictory to the city that
kept him sitting on juries when he would
fain be expelling rats and quoting Virgil,
Omar. Confucius. and other quotable
persons with the Mayor. Frey has gone
to Los Angeles. Presumably, he has
gone there to try his hand at California
rats. He has builded himself dwelling
place. and the name OF the corner stone
of that house is Good Cheer, and the
| telephone number. Home cs2u6.
To New York, by mail, came to-day
three pink sheets bearing Frey's classic
letterhead. "Audaces fortuna juvat," and
extending the ratcatcher's farewell to
| friends and foes of the days of my
early trials and disappointments. and Of
my late endeavors and successes" Some
day. Frey writes. he may make a book.
and the name of the book shall be. THE
Ratcatcher's Impressions of Men and
| Things. or Crude Thoughts of a Crude
Fellow"
The valedictory begins thus. POLITICALLY:
And in your Joyous GRAND reach the Spot
Among the Guests. s,ar-sclttered on the Grass.
And In your Joyous GRAND reach the Spot
Where I made One-turn down an empty Glass
with the ntcatchers apologies TO the tertmAker)
That Observation-Disclosures of New
York has hied himself away to the glor-
ious land Of sunshine. flowers, and claret.
and-alas-he returneth not. In so much
as have been n publics character. more
or less. during my last few years resi-
dence in New York City. consider it
fit and proper to take public leave of
my many friends as well as of my few
enemies God bless them). and with that
object In view this epistle is written.
Gaynor and MaIik shah.
Il should consider myself guilty of
| base ingratitude were to allow this op-
portunity to pass by to express my
heartfelt thanks to the Chief Magistrate
Of New York City. Mayor Gaynor. for
his kindness to me. As the tentmaker
of Naishapur thrived and grew great in
mind. by the aid and under the protec-
| ton Of the benign Malik Shah at Merv.
SO did Mayor Gaynor's recognition of the
| humble ratcatcher from Switzerland
pave that individuals way to greater,
usefulness in the L. S. A. Every time
/ ascend a lecture platform to speak on
the subject to which l have devoted all
my time and energy for the last twenty
one years. my heart goes out in gratitude
words raised me from obscurity and
made 1t possible for me to serve my fel-
low-men in the capacity for which
am best fitted.
The tentmaker had the best of me in
that he became great: but / have one
on him in that / am still alive; poor
Omar is dead.
Il have many other things to thank
New York for: the fates have dealt gent
lv uytfh ma n af,,I oh
kind Providence for having thrown me in
contact with sa many good people there
by enabling me to preserve my optimistic
spirit, which is even more marked to-day
than It was when landed in New York a
poor emgrant, with much less knowledge
Of the ways Of rats and men than / row
possess. Some of my experiences since
then were harsh: more were pleasant
but the former did not succeed. as they
do in too many cases. in effacing or stul-
tifying the finer sensibilities of life. in
culcated in me by my mother and my
preceptors, in the days of my early
youth. For that I am truly thankful.
Did not the great Victor Hugo say.
when he was past eishtY: I have winter
on my head and eternal spring in my
heart?' And is it not the privilege of an
humble admirer of the creator of Jean
Vatican at least to try to emaulate the
master. even though the disciple-be minus
the silvery locks?
The Darker Drink.
Bearing in mind Confucius' admoni-
tion that there is always room for i'm
provement,' I hereby promise my former
fellow-citizens of the Twenty-fourth AS
sembly District and my brothers of Lodge
No. l. B. p. o. E., that 1 will try. by
doing still better. to reach the standard
which l have Set for myself. so as to
Q