Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1914-04-16
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ENGLISH FREAKS.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
From Pea rson,s Weeklx


From Pearson's Weekly.
Punctually at 10 o'clock every night.
as the men from one OF the largest
metropolitan police stations march out
on night duty mysterious looking
man stands still and erect az statue
with his hand at the salute until tho
last blue-clad figure has passed. Then
he goes home without speaking word.
He has carried out this strange pro-
| gram for years minus a break.
| When he was questioned, all the sat-
| isfaction a representative could obtain
| was that he thought the metropolitan
| police the finest body OF men in the
1 world, and this was the manner he
| chose to show his admiration. His
nightly vigil outside the police station
| is an obsession.
And in this he does not stand alone.
For there are numerous instances
which go to show that many other
people are tarred with the brush Of the
crank
What, for example, do you think of a
against railways. had his season ticket
photographed on postcards which he
supplied wholesale to the collectors
Such a man does exist. He has q
rooted objection to showing his season
ticket
Having found that according to Eng
lisn law that for which man has paid
cannot be taken away from him, an
other eccentric individual, who used
the Southwestern railway. refused to
give up his ticket. Not only did he
fight for his contention, but he proved
1t in court OF law. His victory re-
suited in modification of the bylaw.
Whenever the king and queen leave
Buckingham palace two well dressed
elderly ladies are always to be found
in the first row of spectators. Who
they are and whence they come nobody
seems to know But the police and
officials invariably treat them with
the utmost consideration and courtesy,
and a royal departure from the palace
seems incomplete without their pres
ence.
Then there is popular publican
carrying on business in Brentford who
loves law courts. There Is hardly a
barristcr practicing at the bar whose
pedigree he does not know. Whenever
he takes a half day off he hurries to
the law courts or one of the sessions
houses and sits an Interested spectator
until the judge rises
OF him the story is told that once
when famous X. c. shook hands and
spoke to him in the corridor by mis-
take. ne was so delighted that on
customer spend a single pennv In the
house all the evening. He stood the
racket himself
Few people outside coroners. report
ers and police can boast Of having at
tended over 500 inquests. And these.
of course. do it from necessity rather
than choice. Yet in one of the London
suburbs there is an old man of "a who
can claim this record. He Is quite
cranky ON inquests BY trade ne IS
baker and works at night. For years
he has scarcely missed an lnquest IN
tn, ,r,1i rh ia n.
and if by any chance is name is omltleo
he is quite angry.
He has helped to investigate every
Imaginable cause of death, from pru-
tai murder to the everything of newly
born infant, and the coroner AWAY
shake for his oldest retainer.
Rather pathetic is the story OF
once familiar figure at Clacton-on-Sea;
Tall, thin, lean. gaunt, but cuitureu
and of refined nature. ne resull li.y
walked along the front clad IN all1i ts
indescribably ragged garments lieu W
gether with string. ~,
Years ago. on his marriage morn nus
bride-to-be failed to appear. Ihe dls.
appointed groom was so Upset tiia. no W..
declared he would never wear any
other suit than the wedding one Whi my; !,
he had donned. He Kept nus vow vow. a.. nnG !;
the once Immaculate wedding SUIT was >
fnr years held together by pieces OIL
| string. -
| ing cranky on his favorite footpalt
| team. But it is rather difficult 70
This This however. is the astonishing
weakness" Of a visitor to Chelsea. Az Al.
ways wearing tall hat. he has not
missed a single match Of any descrlp-
ton, whether the first. second OF
strange teams have been playing SINCE
The .' rro,1nd was opened In fact. he
has become landmark Of the SIAM
ford Bridge Enclosure.