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Show This Old Man Keeps Score. A famili.".r figure in a down town beanery, where one finds no more elaborate elab-orate monu than is comprised iu such utterances a9 "Ham and!" "Draw one!" and "Three sinkers!" is an old man with white hair and a certain something about him that suggests better days. This person generally makes his appearance ap-pearance in his favorite haunt about noon and sits there until 6 o'clock in tho afternoon. He always has a pencil in his hand and a piece of paper before him on the table, on which ho occasionally occasion-ally jots down a memorandum. Every now and then he chatters earnestly to himself. Many a customer has had his curiosity so far aroused that he has appealed ap-pealed to the proprietor for an explanation explana-tion of the old fellow's mysterious conduct. con-duct. He learns that the mysterious habitue is an old Bostonian whose children live in New York and support their father. The old man used to be wealthy, but lost his fortune and his mind togother some years ago. His favorite amusement is to sit all day, as described, noting the orders as they are given by the fiafrons of the restaurant. res-taurant. Every time "pork and Boston" Bos-ton" is the order he scores one for bia native town, and when the toothsome bean is ordered New York style ho also reluctantly jots down the fact. The proprietor says that he can always tell how the orders have run during the day, bocause when orders for "pork and Boston" have been in the majority the old man goes home with a satisfied air and a pleasant word at the desk, while when the case is reversed he goes out with a troubled face and muttering angrily an-grily to himself. New York Herald. |