St. Paul daily globe., 1891-05-10
SIGNS OF SUMNER.

Asbalmy summerreturns the lawn sprinkler
leaves its winter lair and stalks abroad in the
land. st. Paul is justly proud of its velvety
lawns, but those same sprinklers have caused
unending anguish Of spirit. The house owner
takes off his coat after dinner and sprinkles
the lawn in calm, Scientific manner. with
critical eye on every patch of withered grass.
The small boy some times manipulates the
hose. to the terror of everybody in the block.
He waves it to and fro and up and down.
He turns it Unexpectedly and grins de-
risiye1y when a sudden stream of more
than usually wet water accidental
ly lands on your fiower-decked hat
or bran new light gown. He soaks himself
from head to foot, and when he has finished
there are two inches of water on the side
walk, puddle in the street. miniature lake
on the front steps pools on the window sills,
and here and there an unavoidable damp
spot on the grass. He couldn't do it any
other way, because he is small boy. The
summer girl some times tries to water the
grass and make people think she isn't afraid
of the hose. She is afraid. just the same, and
the hose does just as it pleases, spoils her
clothes, takes the curl out of her bangs, and
acts just as mean as it can. 1t is an inani-
mate thing. and inanimate things are always
hopelessly depraved
Another MOTTO be mistaken evidence of
summer is the evening gathering on the
front gallery and steps. The actress who ap-
pears before an audience is protected by the
footlights, and knows exactly what she in
tends to do. The poor woman who walks
past an audience on the front porch is with
out protection and has only the vaguest idea
imaginable of what she wants to do. The
T. L
talking; it glues its respective and several
eyes to her. She suddenly becomes aware
that her. hair is dragging down over her
ears, and that her hat is on crooked. Her
feet begin to grow unmanageable. and she
feels quite sure her dress says dreadfully.
She can't decide on the proper expression to
wear, and ends by looking idiotic. Her arms
get in her way, and it seems weeks before
she gets past. Even then her back is un-
comfortable, with the agony of back that
is being stared at And the audience on the
porch discusses her, and turns its batteries
on the next helpless passer-by.
There are butter scotch and hot scotch and
highland Scotch. and now the sidewalks are
decorated with the diagrams of hop scotch.
Hop scotch is a game that originated nobody
knows when or where, but every body has
played it. 1t is played on diagram marked
with chalk. The width of the diagram de-
pends on the width of the sidewalk and the
pleasuresof the players. 1t is divided in to
eight or nine compartments, and one called
the kitchen. The hop scotch implement is a
small stone or block of wood. The player,
drops it into the first com partment. and hop
ping in after it proceeds to kick 1t out. Kick
ing in itself is not an especially difficult feat
but to stand duck fashion on one foot and
e
able skill. If the block stops on a line, or the
hopper's foot touches on a line, the next
player takes his turn. OF course there dre
great many rules and regulations in the
game, but taking it all in all, it is fully as
scientific and as much a game of skill as
tennis
On one of the uptown avenues, the OF her
afternoon, l watched some little girls play
ing a most entertaining and elaborate game.
They were all little girls who will be the
bellies of st. Paul in a few years, but they
were having jollier time with their game
that afternoon than they will ever have at an
afternoon tea or german by and by. One
little girl, busily engaged in looking at sup
posed fire of sticks, was the old witch;
another little girl was the old hen, and be-
hind her, each holding fast to the girl in
front of her, was long string of little girls.
The hen and chickens chanted a formula
that, as they gave it, sounded like
''Chickame, chickame. crany crow.
l went to the well to wash my big toe;
When got there the water was gone.
What time is it. old witch:n
The old witch gave various replies, till
finally she answered: Ten O'Clock" The
old hen began dancing from SIDE to side with
outstretched arms, to prevent the witch
from stealing chicken. Finally her frantic
jerks threw the hindmost chicken into the
very clutches of the enemy, and after awhile
the whole flock were captured. Then the
old witch put the chickens on to cook, and
invited the old hen TO eat dinner She took
the old hen from child to child, saying:
Now taste my strawberry shortcake,'' or
Have some of my mince pie or something
of that kind. The old hen obediently tasted
each, saying: why, this tastes like. my
Ethel" or whoever it happaned to be.
Finally she asked the old witch for some
thing not on the bill of fare. The witch
offered to go down cellar and get it, and the
instant ber back was turned the hen gath
cred her chickens together and ran home
Then the game began over again. 1t was
evidently affording great amusement to the
players, and l remembered the mothers Of
some of those little girls had played the very
SAINT game Wnen ~. raul WAS OILY q Village.
Jumping rope is perennially popular and
wherever a rope is skipped. little girls tell
the awful story of a little girl who jumped
rope till she fell down dead-really and
truly dead. Jumping rope is science, and
the indescribaple spring jumpers give be-
tween jumps is distinctively feminine
movement, for no boy ever skipped rope, ex-
cept i'll clumsy, flat-footed jumps. There is
running in front door and back door"
Front door, is the easier. The jumper
stands at the left of the girl who is turning
the rope from right to left. and runs in under
the rope. Back door is jumped from the
opposite side, and unless the jumper springs
over the rope as it strikes the ground. she
will strike it and stop its turning Every little
girl can jump Coffee MILL IN which she
jumps around the girl who jumps in one place,
Reading the Bible.'' in which two girls run
arm in arm, turning the rope as they skipIt;
baking bread in which one drops block
and picks it up again without ceasing to
jump; fox and geese and thread the
needle are other fancy skippings, apd bit
ter eEmities have been engendered in child
ish breasts because the skipper who ran in
and called the others in one by one sighted
somebody, or because Lucy would insist that
Mamie stopped it, when all Mamie's friends
we're quite sure that Susie stopped it.
The funniest thing in ST. Paul is. the sum-
mer girl at ball game. She knows it ali,
for the girl was never yet born who would
frankly and freely confess her Ignorance
She wants to know how many runs it takes
to bring man in, and why the umpire calls
strike wnen the batsman didn't strike ut it
at all. And the other day heard her say
when the ball had landed with bang against
some mans arm, "Oh, no, it isn't really
broken, but it, awfully loose"
THREE CONCERTS.