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Our Man About Town

Our Man About Town image
Parent Issue
Day
31
Month
August
Year
1888
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

It has been accidentally discoverd that celery causes an irresistible desire to sing. A distinguished foreign gentleman recently partook of it quite freely and the very same evening he filled tiie air with melody. It waa observed that such frienda as smelled his breath were similarly impelled to involuntary warbling- owing to the fumes of the celery, of course! I see by a New York paper that during a rain storm in that city recently, four large firea were caused by the rain alaoking the lime in unfinished buildings. In going about this town I have often noticed that workmen are sometimes oareless in leaving new buildings for the night and over Sunday, barrels of lime being frequently uncoverod. Some day there will be a firc in Aun Arbor caused by this kind of carelessnuss. In all likelihood this will explain many "mysterious" blazes, which we read about in the daily papers . I think now as sohool reopens Monday and the common counoil mects the same evening that it is well to suggest a truant oflicer be appointed. One is oertainly needed here as upon our streets and in the postoffice are boys congregated during school hours who ought to be in school, and if we have such an officer thiu would be broken up. Parents oannot always know where their obildren are but having someone to look after these truant boys, and girls too, would in my opinión be a good thing. Other cities have a truant officer why should not Ann Arbor have one, espccially as one ia needed. An amusing sight ocourred npon Main street one evening last week. A carriage waa stopped by a man upon the sidewalk with the remark, " Well, I have found you, get out," and the occupants of the vebicle alighted which proved to be a man with a satchel and a woman with a child. After indulging in considerable loud talk, whicb.of course, drew a crowd aroundthem, the man who had compelled the couple to alight, jumped into the buggy and drove hurnedly away. The womnn took her child íd her arms and spoke appealingly to the man who had been with her, but who after he was discovered took up his satchel and with an oath walked briskly up the street. Our Man about Town ia unfortunately a bachelor, but he is getting weary of it, 'Cause why.' Well, going along Main utreet, he saw another of Mr. Krueger's composite photographs, and now he just hankers to be the "hoad of a family." The charming picture that made him so "tired" of celibacy is that, of a wee, winsome child- a cherub iu muslin -who has been eating some biscuits, and in so doing had strewn tho ground about her with fragmenta. These a small Üock of saucy sparrows are greedily devouring and the child has stretched forth an arm to disperse them. The picture is an idyl without words, and one of the triumphs of "instantaneous' photography. As a bit of art it is worthy of a place on any parlor wall; to the happy parents of the child it is a delicious memento that must grow dearer f rom day to day; to bachelors it is a seductive temptation; to Mr. Krueger an enviable triumph. Our Alan about Townswears that Krueger shall photograph his first baby- a little later in the season ! It was m the tull glare of midday tbat our Man about Town, looking along the busy and dusty street for items, saw three buggies and a hack in a line, slowly wending up east Huron street. The first of the prosession was a worn and rusty buggy, and in it sat a olergyman and he who drove it. Then followed a shabby hack, and in it were a youngish man and wife, and an elderly woman- evidently the mother of one of those with whom she was riding.! On the man's knces was a little coffiin, and on one end of it a home made wreath of white flowers. This tiny casket was so slight that, with all its burden, it must have sat but lightly on his knees, and yet as one looked in that father's face it was plain to see that it pressed full heavily on his breast. The remaining two buggies contained each a man nnd wife. It was at once the smallest and the humblest funeral that our Man about Town had ever seen, and as it moved along towards our quiet oity of the dead it did not hu'sh the din of worldly traffio for an inBtant. It was only a baby, and e poor man's at that. Of httle account: only a bud that had never blossomed; a freeh young flower that found its only fragranoe in a raother's memor) ; an insiniücant Httle eatray, "having had no other business in the world but to be born that it niight be able to díe." Able lo die- Hush weepíng mother; the little one has accomp'.ished all that the greyest-haired philosopher can. He, too, is only ble to die. He has had his three score and ten yeare oí catk and oare, of desires and dissappointmente, of high aims and bitter failures, and after all these still remained for him the great problem - as inscru'.able to him as to the babe. And on that hot and dusty day the trafile of meu never halted, and yet there had passed through their midst a manumitted little one who had gone out into the great darkness alone and had solvod the problem that bas vexed the ages.

Article

Subjects
Old News
Ann Arbor Democrat