Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-03-18
AROUND THE CITY AFTER DARK.

He was a Tammany gentleman. He was very
drunk, but not SO drunk but that he thought he
could still play pool. They were playing pool
for the drinks. There were two other men in
the game, but he had taken such . good start
on them that as the evening progressed he kept
just that much drunken than the rest and he
continued to pay for the liquor.
He was not vet maudlin. He could still see.
The only trouble with him WAS that whenever
he looked at a ball on the table he invariably
saw two balls. Then he would aim, nine times out
Of ten. at the wrong ball and he would be very
| much surprised when he failed to hit ANYTHING
but the cushion. Finally he got an easy one
The fifteen ball was just in front of the pocket
in such a way that it could hardly be missed.
| He chalked his cue and eyed the shot with
that dignity and hauteur that only drunken
| man can assume. Then he walked around the
table and eyed it from another point of view
| Then he chalked his cue. Another sip from
| the top OF a long glass. once more around the
table. a little more chalk and he was ready to
| make the shot. With all the soemnity of the
! great Napoleon as he gazed off the rock of St.
! Helena at the green waters beyond the Tam
many gentleman eyed the possibilities on the
! green baize. He held ms cue with the dignity
of a baton and remarkst. TO the interested by
ISLANDERS in a sort of stained glass voice:
~. SHAY. that's jamesdandy. I'm corker.
FL make tha' shot I'm better'n Schaeffer
Hives. FL ma-hic tina shot L en- gemmv hat
all Uncovered. co-hic-overed all over wi laurl
wreathes. just cove'd'th laur'l. Whoop! Corn
ball in tn red pocket. Missed, b gum, m vet
shot at ball. swear did, nth ball wasn't there
VIVA III yhaye. boys! Gameshon me. Salri'."
Standing on an avenue corner a few nights
ago was a great big co.ored man, with a voice
on him like the sound Of fog-horn coming
from the windward. He was selling comic
songs that were printed on big posters about
three feet square, a couple of dozen to the
sheet. What he said was some thing like this:
Ladies and gentlemen, l have all the latest
songs OF the day. have all the popular songs,
comic ard sentimental. / have that world IA
nous song. Mother. I've Come Home to Die
You're a Liar, You've Come Home to Eat
Also The Man that Stole the Bank at Mounty
Cslo.' All for cents"
"Say, my pa certainly is a sarcastic man."
said a young sprig of Washingtons nobility to
The STAR reporter. you know the other after
noon was telling him how he ought to run his
business, for Of course 1 have so much to do
in society that have no time to stay in his
Office. What do you think he said to me? Why.
he just looked at me in the most serious
way and then he said: Willy. wish you would
spend an afternoon some time talking into
photograph and then reverse things and listen
to yourself talk while. think if you only find
OUT wnata ID fool you are you won t talk quite
SO much OF course l got awfully angry, but
what else could you expect me to do?'
There is one feature in connection with win.
ter racing at Ivy City that seems to have es-
capped the notice of good many people. One
has grown to be familiar by this time with the
headline in the daily papers, ''Bookies Keep the
Money" Coming at this stage of the new adj
ministration. however, this state of things has
an alarming significance. How long will the
Office seekers be able to stand this addi-
tional strain on their finances? "you see
it's this way" said frequenter of
bar rooms. of uncertain income but certain
habits. these blokes that are here after soft
Jobs are very free i'll their invitations to the
crowd 70 step up and have some thing, and that's
one request they make that don't get turned
down. They don't get the fat offices right away,
but still they're good for something. They
generally manage to hang around town until
well toward the fall. though it's sad case of
comedown from wine TO beer. Still they re good
steady buyers just the same. But here where the
trouble comes in. The beer season has come on
several months ahead Of its proper time.
March lis still mere. It's only two weeks off
from the Inauguration and yet there's a terrible
strlngency in the money market already. And
it's all on account of those plaguey races.
They re getting all the money. Why, unless
their luck changes, some of those Office seekers
won't be able to hang on through the balmy
month Of April even. and We fellows don't like
1t. The authorities ought to put a stop to
winter racing. It's demoralizing and works
against the best interests Of the turf"