The Columbus journal. (Columbus, Neb.) 1874-1911, July 24, 1907, Image 3

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' CHAPTER X)C Continued.
I tooked hp speechless. Robinson
Locke met my startled glance with
cool contempt.
"That you saved my life?" repeated
Helena, in wonder.
"Have I robbed my gallant country
man of your gratitude. Miss Brett?"
lie demanded carelessly.
"Then it was you who rushed down
the stairway?" I stammered, my face
Lot with shame.
"Yes. sir," he said, sternly, "it was
I. It is not a pleasant duty to expose
the cowardice of an acquaintance.
Miss Brett I could have forgiven him
his terror. But that he should mas
querade as a hero while I was vainly
attempting to pursue the blackguard
who tried to murder you that Is a
little too much."
I confronted him, my hands clench
ed in my rage. But I did not speak.
A defense was Impossible. I stared at
him in silence.
"I am afraid," he sneered, "that you
are rather fond of wearing the lion's
skin. I believe I had an appointment
with you this morning at ten o'clock."
"With me!" I cried, hotly. "No!"
"Then you did not receive the note
placed on your pillow last night? Ah,
so you did receive it, after all, Sir
Mortimer I beg your pardon, Mr.
Haddon."
I turned from him; I looked at
Helena. Our eyes met I did not say
one word; I did not beseech even by
a look. I had asked' her to trust mo,
but I had not looked for a situation
like this. Her eyes fell before mine
and they had told me nothing.
"I shall leave you to your interview
with Mr. Locke," she said quietly.
CHAPTER XXI.
I Am Trusted Until Midnight.
"Now, Haddon, what is the game?"
Locke had seated himself. He had
selected with care a cigar from his
case (which he did not offer to me),
and was regarding me with the brutal
amusement of one who has come
across a snake sunning in the white
road, and who heads off its desperate
attempt to escape with a walking
stick.
I was silent. I refused to be cate
chised like a schoolboy. Had I met
Locke, his mind still unprejudiced
against me. I should gladly have told
him everything, even at the risk of
making myself ridiculous in his eyes.
But his mind was so evidently made
up regarding me, his interference had
been so fatally ill-timed, that I could
not bring myself to the humiliating
position of one who beseeches of one
who explains, only to be doubted after
all.
The episode in the porter's lodge
was even new far from clear. I have
already said that I knew that Helena's
escajMi was not due to any heroism of
mine.
Dr. Starva had concealed himself be
hind the glass partition of the porter's
lodge in the landing. Unobserved. I
hail stood flat against the wall, watch
ing him.
I had seen Helena coming up the
stairs: I had seen Dr. Starva level his
revolver at her; I had heard the crash
of glass and the report of a revolver.
I had supposed that Starva had fired
and missed.
Now it appeared that Locke's shot
had shattered the glass of the lodge,
while Starva had not fired at all. But
why Locke should have been in the
Stairway why he should have been
concealed there was not so clear.
Certainly Ihad no intention of humil
iating myself further by asking for an
explanation.
"Come; I'm waiting," he cried
sharply.
"You are waiting for what?" I de
manded withukn assurance I did not
feel. I was playing for time. Should
I, or should I net. try to make all
clear to Locke? That was the ques
tion I was asking myself over and
over.
"You remember I warned you. I
told you you were a pawn in the
clever hands of Countess Sarahoff. I
prefer to think that you are her tool
rather than her accomplice. But if
you have been fool enough to allow
yourself to be caught in the net of her
intrigue, if you have made your inter
ests at one with hers, you must expect
to pay the piper as well as she."
"I see. You are Nemesis dogging
me to justice?"
I had decided. No matter what hap
pened I would keep my own counsel
for the present I was not to be bul
lied into a confession.
"So you admit that the law has its
terrors for you," cried Locke quickly.
"And are you Justice or the Law in
disguise? By heaven, you are assum
ing a rather high-handed manner.
What the devil is your right to play
the part of inquisitor?"
"Gently gently. I said nothing about
my right"
"Then I might ask what is your
game?"
"I make no pretense to any right
I happen to hold the cards. That's
all."
"By that you mean, I suppose, that
you have put two and two together
and made the sum of five. Well, per
haps I say your arithmetic is at fault
and perhaps I don't choose to Cater
into an argument to enlighten you."
"We shall see," said Locke quietly.
"Now, Haddon, don't think that I am
simply amusing myself. I am only
too willing to give you every benefit of
the doubt Tou are an American; you
have been at the same university as
myself; you have suffered from an
unpleasant notoriety the past week or
two. I went to your hotel at Lucerne
aad offered you my friendship "
"And you come as a friend aow?
Scarcely, you. will admit that"
"I offered yoa my friendship. I
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showed my sincerity by taking- yon
.store or lens Into my confidence. I
gave yon a chance to confide in me In
return. I had seen you fascinated by
a woman whom I knew to be a dan
gerous companion. When I warned
you, you were clever enough to affect
a disingenlous innocence."
"What shrewd observers you news
paper men are!"
"That very evening," continued'
Locke, frowning, "you dine with her
and her accomplice not openly in the
restaurant, but in her own sitting
room. Late that evening, in company
of Dr. Starva, you take the boat for
Vitznau. You install yourself with
him in the suite of Sir Mortimer Brett
You assume his character; more than
that you don his very cloak and hat
As Sir Mortimer, then, you have access
to his rooms."
"Let me compliment you on the ad
mirable manner In which you have
played the spy. Yeu traced me, then,
from the hotel to the boat and thence
to the hotel?"
"Not at all. I preferred to keep an
eye on the big fish in the puddle. It
was Madame de Varnler, alias the
Countess Sarahoff, whom I was watch
ing. I knew that the moth would fol
low the flame. When I had assured'
'zts' y
"What the Devil Is Your Right to
myself that our beautiful adventuress
had retired to her room across the
corridor from Sir Mortimer's suite, I
had nothing to do but await the ar
rival of the poor little moth, en
sconced in a comfortable chair with
my cigarette. Allow me to return the
compliment and congratulate you on
your perfect success In masquerading
as the sick Sir Mortimer. It was a de
lightful little bit of comedy."
Had Locke taken the boat in the
company of. Dr. Starva and myself he
would doubtless have observed the
episode of the brandy, and drawn his
conclusions. His attitude toward me
would then have been very different.
He would have seen for himself that
the comedy I enacted was for the
benefit of Dr. Starva. If I ignored
Locke's suspicions of me 'even now, if
I gave to him my confidence at this
late date, would he believe that? Im
possible! I raged at the network of chance
that enmeshed me, but I did not at
tempt to extricate myself. I had lain
passive too long. I was trusting
blindly to fortune. More than ever I
was determined to wait my own time
before I made my position clear. If
I carried my plans to a successful
conclusion, the result would justify
my actions; if I failed, I should at
least have held to my purpose.
"Having seen Dr. Starva 'and your
self safely landed in Sir Mortimer's
rooms." continued Locke, "I am free
to Join my acquaintance. Captain
Forbes, in the garden, meanwhile
keeping an inquisitive eye cocked to
ward the shutters of Sir Mortimer's
salon. And Captain Forbes, as well
as myself, has bis own interests in
the" missing Sir Mortimer. Presently
he sees the light shining through
those shutters. He is overjoyed .to
observe that Sir Mortimer is returned,
and more than overjoyed that he can
at last rid himself of the burden of
his dispatches. You know how he did
that, even better than myself."
"And you are waiting "for me to en
lighten you?"
"All in good time, my dear Mr. Had
don. But I have not yet shown you
all my hand. Were I to call your
game now, yon might think I had a
couple of aces at the most I am go
ing to show you that I have a royal
flush."
"It is hard to beat a royal flush, ,1
admit" I naid lightly.
"I await developments, then, in the
garden. My vigilance is soon' reward
ed. Shutters are thrown stealthily
back; my classmate Haddon tiptoes
onto the balcony; he listens outside'
the shutters of the baton."
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"Ann doM It tint- setvi tn von straiten
that, the partner of Madame? 4e,yar-
the extent of spying on her move
ments?" Locke pulled at his cigar thought
fully. I awaited his answer :not with
out interest
"It did indeed raise the faint hope
in my braest? he, returned, cynically;
"that my friend Haddon perhaps -was
not so guilty as the tfrcantstsaces had
proved hint to he. Bat when I went
ber that Captain Forbes was Insisting
on his .right to see Sir Mortimer. I
could understand that .my quondam
friend Haddon was anxious for his
teslng to the futile attempts of the
adveaturers to deny Captain Forbes
admission to the bedchamber of the
psuedo Sir Mortimer."
"You have an answer for every
question.'
"Tcan put-two and two together
and make four," returned Locke com,
placently.
"But if one of those numbers is x,
the unknown quantity? The addition
is then not quite so simple."
"And the American tourist, Mr. Had
don, is the great unknown quantity, I
suppose." ,
He looked at me with cool, level
eyes. ' A big man, in body, brain and
heart Locke had both the virtues of
bigness and its faults. To crush ob
stacles that was his method. Finesse
he despised. He went to the end in
view in a direct line, ruthlessly throw
ing aside any obstruction, physical or
moral, that hindered.
Such a man arrives Invariably. He
is not to be denied. But he blunders
often. He arouses in some natures an
instinctive antagonism a latent ob
stinacy that arrays itself against him
quietly hut determinedly. He makes
an enemy when he might have made
a friend.
For example, Locke has made up his
Play the Part of Inquisitor?"
mind that an American, a man of his
own university, could not in the nature
of things be a coward. Very well, he
offers him his friendship in blind
faith. But presently this man inter
feres with his plans goes his way
without consulting the newly acquired
friend. When, therefore, circumstances
place this acquaintance in an ugly
light he is quite as ready to believe
the bad as he had been ready to be
lieve the good.
In a word, Locke imagined that he
had done more-than his duty in offer
ing - his friendship and confidence.
When he made up his mind that this
friendship and confidence was not re-,
turned, his friendship turned to in
tense dislike. There was no middle
course for him. He enjoyed a fight
quite as much as a love feast perhaps
belter.
"To resume my narrative," drawled
Locke, "you disappear within the
chamber. My friend Forbes Is having
his little interview with you. But
presently I'see you again at the win
dow, packet in hand. You lean far
out; you toss the packet into the ba
sin of an empty fountain. The shut
ters are closed. Your work is finished
for the night And so is mine that
is, after I have rescued from the
empty fountain the packet
"Which you promptly returned to
Captain Forbes, no doubt"
To An Audience of One
And Hs Was the Janitor ef the Opera
House.
"I never see it' snow but I am re
minded of one night in Colorado," said
Jess.B. Fulton, of the Fulton Stock
company, a few days ago, as he watch
ed the white falling flakes. "We were
playing in Colorado one night stands,
and we struck a small town In the
mining country- It snowed all day,
and at night you could not see a foot
ahead for the blinding storm. Some
how the members of the. company
reached- the theater and then waited
for the audience to come. In about an
hour a man entered and took a seat
near the door. A consultation was
held back of the scenes, and I was se-
"
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"Who has a greater right to it?"
returned Locke coolly.
But he had not- returned it to
Forbes; I was sure, of that Locke
was a newspaper man trained in the
school of modern -journalism He had
determined on n grand jaoup for his
paper., - If the sealed dispatch" prom;,
ised.to be of assistance to him he
would break the seal. .-,. .
That would not suit me at aU. My
task was to hush up, the scandal of i
Sir Mortimer Brett and his mistress.
I Locke was determined to give It tho
fullest publicity. Our ends were utter
ly at variance. Every sentence of his
recital made .me see that more dearly.
I saw. too, that the object of his
story was to overwhelm me with the
certainty that I must make a full con
fession to him or suffer those conse
quences. My one hope was to avert
those consequences until my inter
view with Madame 'de Varnler. I
hoped everything from that
For the present I need fear nothing
from Forbes. Helena had given me
her word that she would trust me until
midnight But the silence of Helena
and Forbes was useless unless Locke
also was silent I awaited the rest of
bis narrative with anxious concern.
"The next morning I bestir .myself
early, you may be sure of that Cap
tain Forbes' rest had been equally
perturbed. Together we discover the
startling fact that, early as we. had
aroused ourselves, our patient with
his nurse and physician had been even
more energetic. But my discovery is
of a nature more dramatic than that of
the king's messenger. He imagines
that it is Sir Mortimer who has fled.
I am forced to tha reluctant conclu
sion that it is Mr. Ernest Haddon,
American tourist, masquerading as
the diplomatist Sir Mortimer Brett
Te it naMauin that T entor tntn -
I planatlons for this discovery, or shall
i p talro tho fact for eranted?"
"Take it for granted by all means,
since you have already taken so much
for granted."
"I shall not bore you much longer.
Captain Forbes and myself join
forces. I needed but one argument to
persuade him to do that I knew
where Madame de Varnler and her fel
low conspirators were bound; Captain
Forbes did not."
"And Mrsand Miss Brett did you
reveal your suspicions to them?"
"So far," Locke looked at me sig
nificantly, "I have revealed them to no
one. We arrive at Alterhoffen, then,
the four of us. Captain Forbes insists
on storming the chateau. With what
result you know better than I. As for
myself, I prefer to keep my counsel,
and, first of all, to give my friend
Haddon a friendly hint. I bribe one of
the servants at the castle to convey a
note to him requesting the honor of
an interview at ten this morning. Xy
friend Haddon denies me the honor of
an interview. Then if the mountain
will not come to Mohammed, Moham
med must go to the mountain.
"I am directed to the castle by the
stairway that leads to the village
street I have not descended a dozen
steps of the gloomy stairway when I
hear some one coming up them In fu
rious haste. Naturally. I pause; and
quite as naturally I take the precau
tion of placing my hand on the revol
ver in my hip pocket,which I carry
with me, remembering' the fate of my
acquaintance, Captain Forbes.
"To my surprise the person in this
extraordinary haste conceals himself
in the little glass-covered room at the
angle of the stairs. I descend the
steps cautiously and curiously. There
are other surprises in store for me.
First of all I see a second figure stand
ing flat against 'the wall. As my eyes
become accustomed to the darkness
I am startled to discover that the man
concealed in the lodge has a revolver
in his hand. For the moment I think
he is lying in wait for myself. But
almost immediately I hear steps from
below. There is a click as the trigger
is cocked. I am averse to bloodshed
even the killing of a would-be mur
derer. I fire, not at him, but to shat
ter the pane of glass and divert his
aim.
"Now for my last surprise.. The as
sassin, rather tardily I must say, has
been grappled with by the man who
had concealed himself against the
wall and was apparently awaiting de
velopments. But the would-be assas
sin has succeeded in freeing himself
from this very faint-hearted assailant
I pursue the assassin; he eludes cap
ture; I return ruefully to the hotel to
find my friend Haddon receiving the
warm thanks of the heroine for saving
her life."
"A great deal of this is ancient his
tory," I said, my voice trembling with
shame and rage, "such of it as is not
fiction. You return, then, to unmask
the would-be hero. And now, what?"
"And now," said Locke in a deep
voice, his face thrust close to mine,
"I want to know this: Why were yoa
hiding in that stairway? Why did you
stand there passively while the man
was committing the act of murder be
fore your eyes? Why did you pretend
to struggle with the assassin, pretend
to struggle, I say?" - V
"Even a coward will fight I suppose,
when he is cornered." I said bitterly.
CSO BE CONTINUKTX)
lected to go out and explain the situa
j tion to the audience. I stepped in
front of the curtain and, clearing my
throat, said:
"Sir, I am glad to see that the storm
did not keep you away. We have de
cided to leave to you the question of
whether we will have the show or not
You are the only man here, and to
morrow night we must make the next
stand. We will give the play just as
billed., if you ask it, but if you have
no obj "
"Say, pardner," interrupted the man,
"I wish you .would cut put that flow
of gab, and let, me shut up this here
house. Don't you suppose the janitor
wants to go home some time? When
there ain't nobody comin' let me lock
up, will you?" Kansas City Star.
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OLD DATS W
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i.voT 3V ?A
FAMOUS FIFTH
AVENUE HOTEL
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Within If VWraftfc Wails,
Natmmal raumdal mid
HuSmry f Grtmt
tod Emtum
United Statm Ha iWn
Than
HAS SHELTERED
WORLD'S GREATEST
Seme Interesting Gleanings from Ho
tel Scrap Books Relating Character-
isuc incioenzs or .ceieoratea .men
Who Were Guests of the, Hospitable
New York Edifice, That la Soen to
Be Demolished In Its Day the Most
Famous of American Hotels.
New York. "President Buchanan
was seemingly very much pleased
over a plate of fine fried mush, made
from Kentucky com meal, which the
chief of the cuisine department of the
magnificent Fifth Avenue hotel had
prepared for his breakfast while he
was in the city last week."
The above paragraph In a publica
tion devoted to men and affairs, called
The Independent, was but very little
different from thousands of others of
the same nature that have been print
ed in the stretch of time from Presi
dent James. Buchanan to President
Theodore Roosevelt, all of them re
cording some incident In connection
with important public men and events
and the historic Fifth Avenue hotel, nt
Twenty-third street and Broadway",
Conkling Put on the Gloves with Der
ravan and Broke His Nose.
which will in all probability, be 'torn
down a year from now to make way
for a building with more renting space
in it, which is necessary to secure in
terest on the $7,250,000 which a syn
dicate has just paid the Enos estate
for the property.
The Fifth Avenue hotel was built
by Paran Stevens, who had become
rich in Boston as the owner of the
Tremont house. He was looked upon
as the leading hotel man of the north.
He leased the ground from John Enos,
and when the hotel was finished it
began business under the direction of
the firm of Hitchcock, Darling &, Co.
That was in 1859, and the firm name
has never been changed.
Hitchcock was a hotel man from
New Orleans, and Darling had been
identified with hotels in New England.
The "Co." was the Stevens interest
Hitchcock died but a few years ago,
and a son of the original Darling is
the Darling of the present firm.
Hotel Hermit Furlong.
Gen. Charles E. Furlong is the
holder of the record for continuous
guests, having lived there for 31 years,
except the times he had been in Eu
rope. Maj. Whitman comes next with
29 years, and there are several who
have been there for 20 years and
lesser double figures.
"Tom" Gay, the head waiter, whom
Millionaire Moffat took to Europe and
later presented with a stock ranch in
Colorado, has been there for 30 years;
"Jim" Gray has dispensed cheer from
one corner of its famous bar for 26
years. But the "tip-topper," in point
of association, is John Sehreiber, the
barber, he of the majestic mien and
the white, flowing locks and well-kept
beard. Sehreiber .has been "there"
since the day the house was opervsd,
although in these later years he has
given most of his time to dealing in
art, which he buys and sells to the
amount of thousands of dollars yearly.
These men are ail notable in their
way and are known to thousands of
men and women who have been or
who are prominent in the affairs of
the world, and who have been guests
at the hotel at some time or another.
Southern Leaders There.
Not half, by far, of the interesting
things that have happened there fill
five big scrapbooks in the possession
of Mr. Vilas, and they do not cover
the period between 1859 and 1870, and.
It was during that period that many
big things happened. It was the meeting-place
of the wise men of the south
who met in 1859 soon after the hotel
was opened and discussed with the
leaders of certain financial interests
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SIDE LIGHTS OF CIRCUS.
Curious Features That the Public
Neither Sees Nor Hers of.
Before a storm the animals with a
tented show become nervous aad ex
cited; the lions emit a continuous
coughing roar, the cat tribe paces
.restlessly to, and fro, monkeys take to
the highest perch in their cage and
huddle tremblingly in the shadows, if
the coming storm is. to be a severe
one, and the elephants sway from side
to side more violently than usual, feel
ing the air with nervous trunks as if
in search of something, says a writer
in Spare. Moments. Under these con
ditions the wise menagerie superin
tendent keeps one eye on the weather
and the other on his charges. He fre
quently finds it necessary to put the
side pieces on the cages to darken
their interiors and quiet the beasts,
and then shortens the chains with
which the elephants are tethered.
These .animal weather prophets fre
quently give their storm warning
hours before the storm breaks, aad
ilv.r - t. -
-y
of 'the; Sort' 'how: ?to deal with' the
question Uhac later :was thrashed out
WiUl CMUIUH UU UNUU, UU 11 IS W
corded that at this meeting:
"Mr. Webster Clay, of Tennessee, a
fine;- ndUtary-looklar man, 'toft: the
meeting .in high am
and in the magnificent lobby he
clared.that the northern people
cbht flnpJecks apt; weren't wort
. During the nays, of the civil
the Fiftl Avenue hotel was the
center-of sentiment and a
place tor an sera
stirred to unusual effort by the events
that were nrrerrmc had "it was only
by the use of the moot masterly ef-.
forts of the mmmgessent that a riot
was prevented yesterday, "mhrn a
tipsy person shouted out In the lobby
of the Fifth Avenue hotel that the
army was a tot of leeches.' - " '
When the Prince of ' Wales, now
Hamilton
Fish Conferred
State Leaders.
with Un-
King Edward of England, visited this
country In 1860 he stayed at the .Fifth
Avenue hotel, "where many social
functions attended by the elite of the
city were held, and after that there
were many social affairs of great im
portance held in its parlors. One occurring-during--war
time was presided
over by Mrs. Fish (which Mrs. Ftoh is
not stated), whereat a collection was
taken up for the amelioration of cer-'
tain women who had been left 'desti
tute by their bread-winners who had
left them for this reason or that, and
the amount subscribed reached a
grand total of $700. Some of the'
ladies' gowns must have cost not less
than $500."
Army officers of note made it their
home when in the city, 'and one night
in the barroom a number of officers
who' had been having a merry time
got -into a dispute over the never set
tled argument of Gen. McClellan's
treatment and John Knox, a hot-headed
captain, drew a gun and emptied it
at another member of the party, and
although the room was. crowded not a
person was wounded. Knox resigned
from the army. The incident made a
great sensation at the time.
Mysterious Woman Guest.
It was at about this time that a
beautiful woman from some European
country appeared at the Fifth Avenue
hotel' and took sumptuous rooms. She
drove out daily, always heavily veiled,
and soon became a mysterious and in
teresting person. She was very charit
able; and gave alms freely to all men
dicants she saw. and made liberal con-
Prince of Wales, Now King Edward,
Being Introduced to the American
Cocktail.
tributions to churches. One day she
suddenly disappeared. Government
agents from Mexico bad arrived look
ing for the beautiful aad mysterious
lady. She was, it appeared, the head
of a powerful band of criminals, who
were duplicating Mexico's, govern
mental papers and gold.
She was known in Spain and -Mexico
as Rosn&io La Heine des Voleuses,
which means in plain English the
queen of crooks, and was said to be
worth $1,M0,0M.
It was at a dinner, referred to as
the famous "Peabody" dinner, in the
hotel that the boom for Gen. Grant
for president was started. That
marked an epoch in the history of the
place.
Gen'. Grant and the Minister.
One of the stories told of Gen. Grant
and his association with the hotel is
that he was standing at the entrance
to the bar one evening when a minis
ter whom he knew well came by and
said to him: "General, that is certain
ly a cheerful looking place la there."
"How do you know; have you been
in there?" queried the general as he
lit a new cigar. The story is usually
told to illustrate his soldierly way of
dealing with people who did not im
mediately concern him and to show
his indifference to what people said
they are heeded by the showman; for
he dreads a windstorm.
With every circus one finds an In
teresting collection of babies, babies
whose mothers and fathers, astonish
the spectators, every afternoon aad
evening with their daring aerial
flights. And they are much' like other
babies, save that they are more lusty
than- the ordinary youngster, with
bronzed cheeks and supple bodies, the
latter usually an inheritance from a
long line of' circus' ancestors.
The circus queen is a good mother,
who loves her offspring just as fondly
and! cares for it as tenderly, if not
more rationally, than her sisters in
other walks of life. All her spare mo
ments are spent in doing for the little
one, making its clothes,- embroidering
a dress for it or exercising its little
limbs that it too, may in time grow
up to do and dare. When the mother
goes into the ring for her perilous act
some other performer, who is waiting
her turn to go on. entertaias the little
one by standing her on her head, do
ing high stands, leaps and hand
springs; usually' to the Intense delight
of the Uttle one.
topping
aad kinds ef gov-
idmen-Who were
... VX tfHTAKj? ,--
about)fmr time m) spent tit ,tadt'
fortahle part of the hotel.
Jared RogersS- up state? pohrtolnn.
met Got. Xux in the lohsy of the hotel
and said some Insulting -words
hlW-wfetoupesf the governor turned- '
to' Mr. Hitchcock, the ntopilefr. who '
wis standing near, aad saM: "Thorn
are two things that; wfojit JnjnjL
-' -
nasi a ta-ve.
tot's go wp'te
t
Of PWWonl:
the senior of
tin Fifth A
was.the man who
a few things If the preaktout
After Arthur became president he
Cenkhag mot In the Tlffh
hotel to plan fishing trips
Frank Derraven was u-young eto
who had .brains, mono:
mussle. He was a boxer-ef no. i
ability, aad was, a member of the
coterie that hungv out, at the Fifth.
"Avenue with Coukllng.
One night at a party In Conklings
rooms, he was talking- of his prowess
and Conkling bantered him to put on
the gloves. The gloves were sent for
and the reception-room of the suite was
cleared. 'Conkling and Derraven
stripped to the buff, and went at it
Conkling got n bloody nose and Derra
ven had his nose broken. When the
people in the neighboring rooms com
plained to the management about the
row Mr. Conkling apologized personal
ly to the complaining ones aad prom
ised the management that the rooms
would be used only for purposes of
state; thereafter.
The Whole Honos for Pamell. .
Charles Stewart Pamell. the Irish
patriot, was a guest at the hotel in '89
aad enthusiastic Irishmen held forth
in the lobbies day and night, causing
the general' guests some trouble. One '
day Tarnell told them that the hotel
would charge them for wear and tear,
whereupon a patriotic Irishman pro
Patti Sang $500 Worth of "Home,
Sweet Home" for Nothing at the
Request of a Little Girl.
posed to close up the hotel to all ex
cept Parnell while he was there.
Adeliha Patti was staying in the
hotel in the early 80's, and at the re
quest of a little girl sang 'Home,
Sweet Home" for those in. the dining
room the night before she sailed away.
Billy Florence,-the actor; got out an
elaborate poster when he lived at the
hotel advertising it as the home of the
"Hon. Bardwell Slote," and many re
quests, were made by 'strangers to .bo
shown the rooms by Mr. Slote.
The famous words, "Rum, Roman
ism and Rebellion," that are popularly
supposed to have defeated 'James G.
Blaine for the presidency were spoken
in the parlor of the Fifth Avenue
hotel, where Blaine for years had dis
pensed political power.
"Croesus from the West"
A California millionaire who occu
pied a suite of rooms with his family
and paid $60 a day in '84 was written
about as "the Croesus from the west"
In honor of President Cleveland and
his cabinet the biggest political din
ner that had ever been given in Amer
ica up to the time, was held in the
large dining-room.
For a long time the house was fa
mous for its "Amen Corner," where
Senator Piatt sat for years on Sunday
and saw up-state politicians, who at
that time exclaimed "Amen" to every
thing said. Out of that grew an organ-
The Mysterious and Beautiful Philan
thropist. Who Turned Out to Bo
Spain's "Queen of the Crooks."
ization composed of newspaper men
formed for the sole purpose of giving
a dinner annually, to be known and
recorded as the "Amen Corner din
ner." If there has been any man of
prominence in the last 49 years who
has not trod the marble of the Fifth
Avenue lobby nt some time or another
he has yet to be discovered.
A girl who fishes with
knows a lot about bait
flattery
"One of the most frequent causes of
loss of animals in a circus menagerie
is suicide, of which there sre numer
ous well authenticated cases. la
speaking of this characteristic. George
Conklln, who has beea constantly as
sociated with wild beasts for more
than 40 years, says: "The Instinct for
selfrdestructloa is common among nil
kinds of animals, and the causes are,
in many Instances, the same as usual
ly impel a man or woman to take his
or her life. Probably the most pro
nounced of these-causes are loneli
ness, homesickness; loss of compan
ions or progeny, and ill health. There
are animals that periodically have a
return of the suicidal mania, and that
can be saved from se-destructioa
only by the most intelligent and care
ful treatment As a rule, however,
when the animal has made up its
mind, so to speak, to commit suicide,
nothing can prevent it and the keep
er, not only for reason of humanity,
but also because aa animal la that
condition is extremely dangerous,
often is compelled to end Its 'suffer
ings by hastening Its death." - -
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