The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1921-01-03
A Bird of
Bagdad

1~C6~A0&
COPYRIGHT, 1880. bv Doubleday. Page
Il 90. 4. published bv special arrange
mont ,tfh the Whceisr
svrdtoafo. fna
without doubt much OF the spirit
and genius 81 tho caiiph IIRrun Al
Rashid descended TO the Mnrrrnve
August Michael won pauiscn Quigg.
Qulgy's restaurant In In Fourth
avcr--that street that tho city seems
20 have forgotten In It's growth
Fourth ave.-born and bred in the
Bowory- atiggorH northward fun Of
good resolutions.
Where II crosses 18th ri. II struts
for n brief moment proudly Ia tho
glare OF tho museums and cheap
theatres IL may yet become q ut
mate for its high born sister bouie-
ward To tho west. or it's roaring.
polygiot. broad.wainted cousin 10 the
EAST. IL passes Union square. and
hero tho hoofs OF tho drlsy horses
seem 10 thunder In unison. recalling
| the tread Of marching horts-iIoorayl
But now come the silent and ter
rlbls buildings square as
fortA high as tho clouds. shutting
out the sky. wharu thousands Of
slaves bend over desks all day. On
tho ground floors are only little fruit
shops and iaundrica and book shops.
wher. you see copies Of ''Littsll's
Living Agu- and G. w. NJ. Reynolds
novels In the windows. And noxt-
poor Fourth ave---th. street Tiidcs
into a mediaavai solitude on each
sido ar, tho nhopa devoted 20
"Antiauer-
Lot ur say n n night Men IN
rusty aIrnor stand In the windows
and mensr, tho hurrying cars with
raised. rusty iron gauntlsts. Uau.
t~rkn. ana helms. hlundsrbusses.
cromwcliian hreaaipiaieA match.
/ locks. cre~Wen. and the swords and
daggcrs OF an army OF dead and gone
7 Kailanta gie.arn duly In the ghostiy
light Here and there from corner
saloon dit with Jack o'ianterns or
! phoaphorusl sthgRar forth shudder.
ing. home bound citizens. n"rved by
tho tankardn within 10 their fe1rrome
! journey adowu that eidrleh avenue
1 lined with the blood stained weapons
/ OF IN. fighting dead What street
/ could live Enclosed by thess mortuary
relics and tru-i by th-s~e spectral cit
ixsns I'm whose snnk~n hearts scarce
one good whoop or tra-iala re
mainedT
No; Fourth ave. No, after the tin.
sci but culivenine siorics OF tho Lit
tie Itialto-not after the echosng
drum-boats Of Union square. There
nerd be no tear. ladie. and gentle
/ men; It's but the suicide Of a street
With a shriek and a crash Fourth
ave. dives hoadionR into the tunnel
at atth and " neser seen again
! Near tho mad eczema Of tho usoro-
farv's dissolution ssood the modest
restaurant Of Quigg. II stands there
yet " you care TO viow is crgrnbling
red brick front its show window
heap~d with oranges. tomatoes. layer
cAk-s. pies. canned asparngus--ltr
paps~r machs lobster and two Mal.
t~so kittens asleep on a bunch of
Iottuc--f you care TO cit at one Of
tho little tables upon whose cloth has
bern trao,~d In the yciiowcrt OF cot.
fen stains tho tran of tho japanese
advance--so ris there with one eye
on your umbrella and the other upon
the bogus bottle from which you
drop tho counterfeit sauce fotsted
upon US by the cursed chariatan who
assumes 90 be our dear old lord and
friend. the "Sohleman In India
QuiggH title came thru his mother
one Of her ancestors was a NRrEra-
vino Of Saxony. His father was
Tanmany brave. on account Of the
diiuiion of his hercdity he found that
he couA neither become reiEning
potcnihis nor get "a Job In tho city
ball. 80 ho opened a restaurant He
was a man fun Of thought and read
ing. The business gave him Nv.
ing. tho he gave II little attention.
One sid. OF his house beaueathed to
him poetic and romantic nature.
The other gave him the restless
spirit that made him Geek adventure
by day he was QuigE, the rcs,ap/
ratsur by night he was the Mar
rravc--she Caliph--the Prince Of
Bohcmia--roing about the city IN
search Of the odd, tho mysterious.
the inoxpiicabIe. the reconcile.
one night at .. at which hour the
restaurant closed. QuigR set forth
upon HIS quest There was ming.
ling OF the foreign. tho military and
the artistic In his appearance as he
buttoned his coat high up under his
short-trimmcd brown and gray beard
and turned westward toward the
more central life conduits OF the city
In his pocket he had stored an as
sortment OF cards. written upon.
without which he never stirred out
OF doors. Each of those cards was
good at his own restaurant for its
face value. Some called simply for
"A bowl OF soup or sandwiches and
coffee: others entitled their bearers
to ono, two, three or more days Of
fun meals; few were for single
regular meals: a very few were. In
effect. meal tickets good for week
OF riches and power Margravo
ouigg had none; but he had n
Caiiph's heart--it may be forgiven
him II his head fell short of the
measure OF Harun Al Rashid's. Per.
haps some OF the gold pieces In Bag.
dad had put less warmth and hope
into the complainants among the
bazaars than had Quigg's beef stew