Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-05-17

A certain Washington lady has recently been
| in great state OF mental perturbation con-
| corning her only son, youth of eighteen,
who went out to New Mexico a few months ago
for the purpose of seeking his fortune His
| communications with her since his departure
have been mostly by postal cards, some of them
rather alarming by reason of their brevity.
The first missIve he sent, some days
| after his arrival, announced that he liked
1t out there very much now that he
! had got soft hat his high silk one having been
shot off his head by rude men with revolvers
three times during the first week of his resi-
| dence. Next. about month later. came pos
tai card saying simply: Il am going to fight the
Indians. Start tonight"
| His mother spent the next week in bed. i'll
| from sheer alarm. A fortnight afterward she
| got another postals, saying: Didn't find any
! Indians. Hope to send you a scalp some other
time. Everything OK. Landlord unpleasant;
| skip down cash lively" Hardly had money
| order for $50 been sent before long letter
| came detailing the circumstances which led up
| to his acceptance of the
| EDIToRIALsHIP OF AN INFLUENTIAL JOURNAL
| in the town where he had located He said
that, incidentally to his duties. he edited the
| paper, did all the local reporting. wrote the
| editorials and the correspondence from abroad
order that he might be able to get out the usual
| weekly edition Oh those periodical occasions
when the solitary printer FELT il necessary to go
| on spree for few days at time. The pro-
prletor Of the paper, he explained, had
| u similar weakness for intoxicants though
| ne, instead of going occasional toots,
| stayed drunk practically all the
| time. This unfortunate habit kept the young
editor busy during all his leisure time looking
| up his employer from saloon to saloon. fishing
i'm mt of ONT tar from
shops, where he had put himself into pawn for
| drinks. and taking him home. From time to
| time he would have fits of delrium tremens
| during which he would be locked up, bowling, in
| room adjoining the newspaper office, while
the editor saw to the business and preparation
OF the paper on the other side of the partition.
HE FALLS IN LOVE.
However interesting this account might be
1t did not serve to relieve the anXicties of the
anxious mother. During the next two months
postal cards dropped III occasionally from New
Mexico in response to her long and carefully COM
posed letters of maternal advice, though moth
ing very definite could be learned from them
as to the welfare, moral and physical of the
writer. Then, at length, came compare
lively long communication from the youth
telling how be he was going to marry per-
fectly lovely young woman, who was as beau
tiful as she good, like the princess in the
fairy tale-sO replete with charms, in fact that
none of the other women IN the town would
speak to her, simply because OF their jealousy.
be incloseda photograph OF her, which appeared
to his mother to be that of rather common
looking woman about forty years of age.
postscript was added to the effect that he was
publishing weekly installments of a continued
romance by the young lady, of which he HIM
self was made the hero and she the
heroine. He was waiting anxiously, he
said, TO see If the heroine married the hero at
the end OF the tale, because, in case such was
found to be the fact. 1t was his intention 70
propose matrimony at once. The last chapter
he had received, to he printed in the next
weeks edition but one, disclosed a love pas
sage in a grave yard. during which the hero
ventured without encounterng serious remon-
STRANGE, to encircle the herone's waist with his
manly arm. So he was In very good hopes of .
successful issue to his suit.
THE PRoDIGAL's RETURN.
This letter sent the poor lady to bed for
another week. Having dispatched letter of
fearful and beseeching remonstrance to her
son on the subject of his amatory scheme she
spent fortnight of intense anxiety concern
ing the matter without getting any response
Rather more than two weeks had passed, when
one night at about 10 o'clock she was startled
to learn from alarmed servant
that a dreadful-looking tramp was
at the front door, demanding admittance
There was no man IN the house and she and
the maid went together to investigate. The
intruder had got past the front door but the
he was standing outside rapping at the glass;
why, ma" she heard him shout aren't
you going to let me inl It's me-Jimmy!"
There was no installing that voice. The
door was quickly opened and embrace very
fearful on the mothers side followed. Then
came questions on her part as to why he was
In such a dreadful cond!tion--his clothes shabby
to raggedness and pair of top boots several
sizes too large pulled up over mis- trousers
HIS explanation was brief and to the point.
WHY HE CAME HOME
"a man was killed out in our town and thew
thought did it, though 1 didn't. He was
very popular. because he had killed fourteen
persons III the last ten years. and SO they were
going TO lynch me. But for some reason thew
told me that they would let me go, on con.
dition that got out and never came back snv
more. SO / sold most Of my clothes and eyerv
thing else had to get here and I'm yerv
hungry. haven't any baggage, except two
blankets, which would advise YOU not 10
take into the house, and this vaiise here think
l have got enough OF the west"
His mother thinks so, too, and doesn't pro-
pose to let him go away from Washington any
more. As for the valise. it was found to con-
tain some old copies of the paper he had
edited, with installments of the love story of
which he was the hero, the skull and thigh
bones OF an Indian and some pieces of Indian
pottery.
A SnObbish Custom.