The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-10-13
TIE PENKNIFE HABIT.
It AFFECTS Over HaH the Pc pplo in
the World.


| That the Whstrea.g Eie.d L.
| AbDssA in the LseA Re-,
| mantle D.t kainsaa
0ne1haif tho world 10 adlicte,f with
the Psnknife habR and.on tina. ceeunt
the poor world prsseuss = mos mutt
lated. soa<red-aHa b.tdhered asI eet-
Watch the penknaSe aend IT, work.
BE he's just spisd . fresh .cvt bench
in the park Everything fresh md new
il his own especiahFeey. He Ora ~S back
and rivets his eyes upon it. strrtlej a
FIRST BY the suddenly oovery Of another
vdOean- Then he ppar.ces upo it, ike
the hawk upon the mid gray field
mouse. and WHIPPING cut his many
bladed knife, he higgins 10 carefully,
maliciousay engrave his mama, the date
Of his birth. his Pr eseat address, hia
past occupation, and MrioaA other inn
portant details all owe rsthatsvirRin BARK
bench.
Criminal! He has :hs,sther eccupa,
ton He was born ~ the ku43s, for
the knife. It 10 useles , for him 70 try
20 be otherwise. He iSs iii,ald, ire
sponsible nuisance. q n seaa, retty, re-
lentless destroyer Of eve ~ smooth ssr.
face that crosses his pat,N
Whole walls have bee D. covered -
him with fancifM grou pings Of the
alphabet Beautifully car ksd staircsses
and porches have been t'bs subjects Of
his attacks. Young TX - have been
killed by his incsssent dis tging into the
bark with his pearl-han hisd weapon.
He invsdes marble halls slnd scratches
his name On beautiful Italian mar.
Bile; he penesrates e1avsyaras and
perp<tuates his memory sHongSias that
Of the numberless dead.
He never ventures aAH@t wieAout his
penknife. Whole hours are spent by
him baslSing in thesun. ltsaninSa9linst
some soft pine pillar. scrving Il down
10 suit his fancy. md gut2nsring'a lirtle
forest of chips about hs feet Large
public buildings SUN his purpose best.
The city hall has s2ways been q Joy
to his soul. EspedaNT about ths,Dain
entrances, WHERE he IL permitted to
loiter. he has cut and engraved until
tho massive wallsAand- doors look Ike
ancient Egyptiaa tablets, . mass Of
illegible heiroelyphes. He complains
because the old post ed1cs, once . rich
field for his zeal, IL nowc1osed foreysp
against his industrious fingers. But
the various railway stations still &ford
him hunting ground. Tho North
western and the Union depot.. with
their large and crowdAd ~ ting X Issns.
are particularly favorahle to the .culii-
vation Of the practice. Il
And the man with the.penlnsfe flabft
Is never caught. APpaFently he " prks
in the dead CT night whe1 al the world
Is mapping, for he u seldom &nco~ srsd
in brood daylight. He wogln a. the
ant works, perxisssut2y. h1esiously.
doing just q little each day. But the
sum total is enormous- Ths danage
which he does to valuable property
reaches the Thousands.
It Is hard to fling away the seDti-
ment that onoe surrounded the lovers
twain, the yielding sapkng and the
keen-edged knife. When Hennan and
Dorothea rise before our mental vision
it is always under tho noble oh Urea.
standing together. and oaxvaAg their |
names deep into the heart ef <he forest !
giant, to be an everlasting evf6snoe Of
their everlasting k~e- RosA16nA aaA
Orlando in the forest e Arden carved |
true lovers signs and M-sAapedAaarts
here, there and everyvAase 10 issd ti.cir
footsteps together. Coming DOWN 70
fact and the end Of the eeutuFy, Il 10
still the poetical practice Of Al the senai.
mental and romantic.
But there is no romGnce about the |
thoroughbred perkuifer. He wants
glory, and he spares ID pains to obtain
1t. He works with the dessNedfntcr
and impYessible persistency tAst proves
the existence Of one great proleninat
ing idea
Psychologists say that tbs ppnkn6fs
habit is allied to that universal human
desire called notoriety. Il h an Oh.
spring OF the love for faxDe. Sonettnss
by accident the penkn1ter discpsess
himself abroad without bis tssstg kocs
IN the hot pursuit for publicity, and
be resorts 10 ths pencil Then be IN
scribes his nane on painted waAs.r on
pictures and in borrowed bool0 tn 60
down the ages. an ever
lasting eyesore to posterity. SHINE
times his weapon takes the form Of .
rubber stamp. Armed with that, be
gees abroad and stabs steveTyavaiIsbis
object within his reach. - Chicago