e
cents. I believe it must have been the manner of bestowal which
impressed him rather than the size of the _pourboire_ itself, for he
examined it with lively marks of interest and appreciation and then told
me, with rather a waggish air, I thought, that he did not intend to
fritter it away upon riotous living but would take it home and show it
to his little ones. To which I responded in all seriousness that I was
glad he did not contemplate expending it upon strong drink, such as grog
or rum. As though instantly sobered by my tone, he promised me that
whatever be the purpose to which he might ultimately devote it, he would
never use my gift for the purchasing of ardent spirits. I do not
undertake here to reproduce his exact phraseology but only the sense of
what he sought to convey to my understanding.

So saying, we parted. Snugly ensconced in my taxicab, being entirely
surrounded and in part quite covered up or obscured from the casual gaze
by my many articles of luggage, I proceeded to the pier, meanwhile
subconsciously marvelling at the multitudinous life and activity
displayed upon the thoroughfares of our national metropolis at even so
early an hour as seven-forty-five to eight-fifteen A. M. In numbers
amounting to a vast multitude the dwellers of this great beehive of
industry were already abroad, moving hither and yon, intent each one
upon his or her affairs, as the case might be. Especially was I
impressed by the engrossed faces and the hurried bodily movements of the
component atoms of the throng as viewed through the handles of my small
black leather valise, which with other impedimenta I held upon my knees,
balancing it so that the leather loops were practically upon a level
with my range of vision.

To me, humanity in the mass has ever presented a most absorbing study
notwithstanding that almost invariably I find myself in a flurried, not
to say confused, state of mind upon being thrust physically into the
crowded throng. However, affairs of a more pressing and a more personal
nature as well soon claimed me. Upon reaching the appointed destination,
my attention was directed to the fact that the metre-device attached to
the taxicab registered no less a total than two dollars and seventy-five
cents.

A search of my patent coin purse revealed that I did not have about me
the exact amount requisite to discharge this obligation. Accordingly I
handed the driver a ten-dollar national bank note. Immediately he