St. Paul daily globe., 1892-06-18
GOOD WASHINGTON YARNS.
Special to the Globe.

Special to the Globe.
WASHINGTON, June 16.-Of course, on the
whole nobody pretends to say that our ma
tive land is not immeasurably superior to any
OF the countries across the water, but they
do hit on a custom now and then over there
that we would do well TO adopt over in
France they have the Institute, which is
something our civilization Is bowling for. We
need somebody or something to tell US when
word Is to be used or not. In Paris word
is French or 1t isn't French. With us it's
slang or English. and we can't tell which,
having no Immortals to pass upon it. Just
now there's word being largely used in
Washington. You go down to the White house
lot and see society roll by in its carriages. Now
and then comes man who lops over as he
sits, crosses his legs or leans an arm on the
outer rim of the carriage. He wears his hat
tilted little to the side, and his necktie is
trifie ionder in tone than the ties the men one
knows wear. lie isn't a tough" by any
means. He isn't even sport" He may
or may not be nouveau richie. but the Wash
ington term for him is q ''slob." 1t isn't elo-
quent. but it is expressive. ana 1t conveys
shade of meaning that no other word quite
indicates. ''slob'' will talk of pants" and
lady friends and contracts lis not to
''ain't." The type is unmistakabie. and the
word-well. the word is vivid. and inasmuch
as we have no higher power to tell US what
is or is not good English, it looks very much
rs if it would wear way for itself into our
dictionaries finally.
The artists have revived among themselves
an antiquated slang objective, and that is
''bully" No matter how much a critic. with
half closed eyes and head aslant, may talk
of atmosphere or distance, or feeling or
ha To nf hn
else artistic merit of the creation till you've
heard, an artist say its lawfully bully
Slang? Why, of course, it's slang. 1t is not
quite the slang laymen use for an artist
would be heart-broken if he fancied for q
moment he was being like rational people,
but it is wonderfully expressive. and has the
great advantage of brevity.
IT.
There was an amusing scene in the house
the other night, when the electric lights were
faring and the galleries doomed up bare and
empty. 1t was Buck Kiigore who played
the leading role. Mr. Kilgore is not an or
dinary man. He is comet flung across the
conservative star-studded sky, and when the
guide points him out 1t is always as That's
Buck Kilgore, the man who kicked open the
door of the house when Reed had ordered a
call of the house." But to resume. Mr..
Kilgore rose and asked of Mr.. Dockery. who
was in the chair, how long he could have the
| floor. IAN hour replied the chairman.
| and turned his attention to the completion of
| the forty ninth chapter of a serial tale
| of adventure he was working on at
J odd moments in the chair. The
| bill Mr.. Kilgore had to urge was private.
| claim. Presently Mr.. Docnery heard roars
| of laughter. but as it is not the duty of q
! chairman TO take notice of what goes on on
| the floor, he went on writing. Finally the
| noise grew to such proportions that he felt
| called upon to notice it. There on the floor
| stood Mr.. Klgore gesticulating madly. paw
| ing the air and tossing his head. but utterly
| no sound. The chair. horitied by such leVity,
| called him to order. ''Well," said Mr.. Kill
| gore, you said nigh: have an hour. No
body cares what 1 say about the bill, and
| this way saves my voice and doesn't disturb
| anybody" Of course it was undignifed, but
the force of the argument is shown in the
fact that the bill passed without any objec-
| ton whatever.
1t is very hot in Washington. The horses
founder and stick in the pavements like flies
| on fly paper. The solid asphalt rolls along
| In the cutters, and even congressman earn
| their livings by the sweat of their profes-
! sional brows. Every man you meet has an
| infalible recipe for keeping cool, and in i'm
| minent danger of sunstroke stops to tell you
of u.s. Sometimes he heats himself up with
cold water plunges. Sometimes he drinks
| quarts of ice water. Sometimes he wears
impossible clothes, but at all times he is
| damply, rediy, awfully hot. The wise man,
| who in this matter is almost invariably
/ "a woman. for where clever woman can't
| keep cool. humanity may prepare to fry
| doesn't pretend to be cool. He isn't and
| he knows he can't be. He simply doesn't
| mind the heat. He wears low-cut collars
and thi nclothes. He carries a sun umbrella.
He bathes often i'll warm water. He drinks
! cold, but not iced, lemonade. He brushes his
/ hair off his forehead. use the pronoun gener-
ically. He goes out without gloves He knows
| he IS hot, and he makes up his mind to be
hot and not say anything about it. calm
mind is. the coolest thing in town. but there
are two other things that help to make life
| endurable. One is the cool breeze that al
| ways blows through the porch Of the capital
| and the other is the watermelon which has
| just come to town. If you want to enjoy life,
| buy you watermelon, put it on ice, and,
| rising in the dead of night attired as best
suits solitude and the hour. take your prize
| to corner where no one can see how you
eat, and revel i'll unnamed. savage satsfac-
ton. If you never were happy before, you
will be then, and you wont at all mind the
| antics of the thermometer.
| -
But speaking of the dead of might, do you
know what certain Northwestern congress-
| man did last night? Well, listen. 1t was so
| hot that the solder dropped from the tin
roofs. He ordered himself great block of
| ice. This he had laid in his bath tub, and
with clear conscience and a tale of arctic
explorations, he sat beside that ice and
| enjoyed himself 1t was unique scheme,
but it goes to show what a man from the
Northwest can do at pinch.
| ~
| Senator Hansbrough is the first of the
| Northwestern crew to return from Min
| neapolis. He looks well and hearty. and
| looks forward to an early announcement
| T.. K.