Evening star., 1894-03-17
THINGS HEARD AND SEEN

mo, sir" said the colonel with a grandil-
oquent wave Of the hand. woman should
be the home maker and man the bread
winner" The colonel stood on the sunny
side Of the street, just Tar enough below
the entrance to the hotel bar to be beyond
the range Of suspicion. and yet in line for
an invitation. His coat was buttoned tight
ly up to his chin In military fashion. ana
was decorated down the front with spots.
souvenirs Of fcrays upon the free lunch
counter. There was a frayed fringe around
the lower rear flank Of his trousers, and
his shoes yawned with cracks like the
c,ayey banks Of a fallen stream In mid
summer
why, sir" he continued, IT think It is
a blot upon the civilization Of this day that
woman should have to mingle in the ordi-
nary business pursuits Of the day to earn
her living. 1t is a sad thing to see the
spirit Of old-time chivalry and gallantry
dying out in this way. Every year we see
woman being forced into new lines of work.
Sir, 1t grieves my heart when I remember
how different 1t was thirty years ago. when
it was the pride and delight Of q man to
care for and support the female portions
Of the family, no matter how distantly
related. All, me, how times have changed"
The colonel seemed really anected over
the thought. Here Is & type of the fine
chivalry Of gentleman Of the old regime.
cession Of clerks from the departments
passed on their way home. In the party
was a little woman dressed In dark col
o1ed dress. Once upon a time the drsss %
since faded into a dingy darkness The
little woman's face was faded. too, and
there were deep lines and sad ones IN It.
AS she glanced up, however, and saw the
ha aD1ilal- sweeping
and gallant doffing Of the soft felt hat the
colonel placed himself at her side, and they
soon were lost In the crowd.
The colonel is always gallant" remarked
The Star man.
Yes" said the other man, that was his
wife; she is a $500 clerk in the department.
and supports the colonel and their three
children"
Only one leg and riding a bicycle, such
was the figure. both amusing and pathetic.
that was seen coming along the street the
other day.
One sees many strange objects astride
the wheel nowadays. but this man pushing
his machine swiftly along with only one
leg, serenely unconscious Of the novelty OF
his position, drew all eyes toward him and
was the subject of some varied remarks
from the passersby. His wheel was not
the latest make, nor his clothes the latest
cut, and he had lost his left leg nearly at
the hip. but with his right he sent his
bicycle spinning along with perfect conf
dence and he got there just the same He
carried his crutches with him. too. They
were attached to . support on the handle
Of his wheel and stood straight up In the
air. making strange spectacle, taken all
in all.
Everybody turned and watched him. 1t
looked easy, perhaps. but 1t would have
been interesting to see him pushing up a
steep hill or getting on and of, and pos
1Nr 1nt oh frxv, Co. A
watched the rider as he disappeared down
the street. There was a smile on the lips
Of some, but nobody laughed and the un-
kempt and unbashful Arab Of the street
summed up the admiration of the crowd
for the crippled riders originality and
pluck by punching his companion in the
ribs and shouting with all his Unborn gusto
into his ear:
Say, Jimmy. hot stuff, amt he?''
There will be no bench show in Wash
ington this spring. the experience Of last
year having been sufficiently unpleasant to
prevent the gentlemen interested in such
matters from wishing to undergo a similar
one. 1t is the same old story of losing
money, but away back of 1t is the growing
public distaste for events wherein contests
for supremacy Of any sort are discounted
in advance by the superlative qualities Of
certain Of the participants. The great
American admission-paying people won't so
through the turnstile to see anything of
sporting character, where the result is a
foregone conclusion, and while a bench
show is a pretty interesting place to visit
when the kennels are full. the judges ring
which formerly used to be the central point
of interest to amateurs Is now scarcely
honored with as many spectators as there
are judges and handlers of entrie. inside of
it. No one cares to see, for instance. the
judging of a group of st. Bernards when
Sir Belvidere is there and is sure to be
awarded the first ribbon, and It is the same
in the other classes, where there is abso-
lutely no show for any dog outside of those
which are taken to every bench show teld
In the country, and whose owners make a
business of exhibiting them in such a man.
rer. In a word, bench shows of recent
years have become cut and dried affairs in
the public estimation, and are no longer
profitable outside of Madison Square Gar
den. The dog lovers here who lost money
on their last venture at Convention Hall
are wise in their generation for appreciat-
ing the lesson. When bench shows are so
managed that winners in the champion and
open classes for all sorts of dogs will be
barred from competing at subsequent
events, they will become popular again, and
keep the improvement of the various breeds
by holding out the probability that a good
dog may have a chance to get a ribbon
without being handicapped by famous Prize
winners.
There are hundreds of clerks in the va
rious departments here in Washington who
never receive promotions and claim they
are the victims of spite or jealousy on the
part Of those Immediately above them IN
authority" Thus spoke an old bureau chief
of a quarter of a centurys experience this
morning. Their records in their work arc
all right and their attendance &C office reg
ular, and they consequently put their lack
of recognition at the door of their chisfs
In almost every case II is that unruly MEN,
Der, the tongue, that is responsible for the
retention of a clerk in one grade. The talk
ative clerk may be able to do his own work.
but he interferes in that of others by dis
tracing their attention. Then a talkatiyc
person is usually critic, and clerks such
as l am speaking of take delight IN find
ing fault with the system under which they
work. and think it funny to hit off the per-
sonal eccentricities of all the peculiar peo-
pie in their section of the department. Let
a government clerk attend to his work
faithfully, keep his tongue between his
teeth on matters concerning the Business
personnel of the department he may be
employed in and he will find promotion
coming a great deal more quickly. Every
bureau chief of experience employed under
the government will tell you the same thing,
too"
In the farce of "Adonis" Henry Dixey
burlesques the clerk in millinery store