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Show HIS LAST JOKE. The Danbary News Man Was a PhU-nnthro plat as Well as a Humorist. The Danbury News man made fur. almost everywhere and all the time tc the end of his life. He was just as funnj in his office and at homo as he ever was in the funniest copy of his newspaper. It was quiet, unexpected, quaint, homelike funmaking on his part, with nothine strained or pedantic or pretentious at natural and spontaneous as a sunbean: or the rippling of a hillside brook. Like sunshine, too, his jollity cheered, warmed, warm-ed, delighted every one and wounded none. Everybody was his friend, and he was everj'where beloved. He was the life and light of every gathering, but wa never forward or obtrusive. He was also a philanthropist. Every year he gave away a 6mall fortune to thf unfortunate and unhappy, to vagrant? and the most notorious tramps and beats. Every tramp who drifted into Danbury wandered into Bailey's office eventually and none ever failed to get a pecuniary lift there to help him on his thorny path in life. One of the worst of professional bum mers, accosting Bailey on the street net long ago, said, with the 6elf assurance of a friend addressing another: "Ten cents, Mr. Bailey, please. I wan to get a drink with it." "What do you say?" was the quick re ply. "You mean to get a drink? Ustt, don t you try to deceive me. You to tend to buy sandwiches with it." The Danbury News man's last quip was unique and pungent. He had been ill of pneumonia, but rallied temporarily and visited his office one day about thres weeks ago. An office employee greeted him as he came in, looking wan and feeble, with: "Well, how are you today, Mr. Bailey?" "Oh, I am very much better. I was able to get lown town today in one hack." |