How the Landlord Collected His Rents

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Grimes is positive that his agents are incompetent and that the collecting of rents is a ridiculously simple proposition. To demonstrate his convictions he takes the monthly receipt book and starts out on a tour of his properties. His experiences prove that Grimes is no exception to the general rule of the proposition, but it is possible that the demonstration would not be so complete and decisive were it not for the fact that Grimes is an entire stranger to his tenants. His first call is made upon an able-bodied wash woman who receives him with a demonstration that is lacking in nothing except hospitality. It is amateurish, however, to that accorded him at the home of the prize fighter, who is assisted in receiving (?) by several strenuous friends. His appearance after these two encounters is such that the grocery man and tailor may be pardoned for being skeptical of his assertions that he is the owner of the buildings in which they conduct business. His protests to that effect convince them that he is suffering from some mild form of insanity and they do not take him seriously. He is unable to collect rents from them; on the contrary, he is obliged to expend money at the tailor's to replenish a much damaged wardrobe. After this is done he is so satisfied with his personal appearance that when the coquettish daughter of his best tenant smiles on him and invites him to a seat on the porch beside her he flatters himself with the thought that she has a real personal interest in him, and departs without stating the object of his visit. On his way to the next tenement Grimes awakens to the realization that so far he has accomplished nothing and determines that his last call shall not be fruitless; but when he enters the building and finds himself face to face with poverty and sickness his kindly nature asserts itself, and he voluntarily resigns his last chance of making a collection. We then suddenly forget that his experiences up to this time have been productive of laughter, and tears unconsciously spring to our eyes as we see him slip a roll of bills into the hand of one of the poor woman's children and gently steal from the scene. There is a deal of human nature in the incidents of this story, comedy and pathos being admirably blended: and in the acting and scenic environments the story runs true to life.