Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-07-06
ECHOES OF THE FOURTH.

Mr.. simpkins of 10th street went over to
Baltimtre the other day, and when he re-
turned a mysterious box followed him.
Mrs. simpkins and the young simpkinses
were simply expanded with curiosity to
know what was in it, but to all inquiries
Mr.. Smpkins returned something about
layovers to catch meddlers. Saturday
| morning Mrs. Simpkins suggested that Mr..
Simpkins had better get some firecrackers
and fireworks to please the children with
Monday.
You'd better get them before you come
home from Office" she remarked, because
| by Monday they'll all be gone"
| Mr.. Simpkins smiled a smile of manly
| superiority.
Don't you bother about independence
day." he remarked, loftily Your Algernon
| has attended to all that"
Early Monday morning Mr. SlmpkinS
| arose and pursued his trusty claw-hammer.
| Finding this, he took the mysterious box
| down in the cellar and proceeded to open
| it. OF course. all the other simpkinses
were there.
Il have always maintained said Mr..
Simpkins, prying off board; that Wash
irgton people can buy things cheaper in
Baltimore than they can here. And
taking another grip-"when 1 was in the
monumental city last week laid in sup
| ply of pyrotechnics and noise-makers with
| which Charlie, Tommy and Isabel could
| institutions of freedom are founded. And
| here they are Ard l got them cheap.
The last piece of top was removed, and
the excelsior which hid the contents was
thrown aside.
"Oh-h-h-h!' chorused the little Simp-
kin ses.
What wise head you have! remarked
Mrs Simpkins, in admiration.
The treasures were drawn forth: Thirty
packs of firecrackers, twenty bundles OF
| torpedoes, twenty Roman candles, fifteen
pin wheels, fifteen devil chasers, a dozen
skyrockets, ten boxes of colored fires and
ten great big frecrackers.
They'll SCUM like regular cannons!" ejac-
Clated Tommy, with glee.
The children were given the firecrackers
and torpcdoeS with the usual parental in
functions about care and not letting their
clothes catch fire. and sailed forth for the
! daylight celebration. Mr. and Mrs. Simp-
kins watched them from the front porch.
| The firecrackers displayed a singular per-
| tinacity to simply siss their insides out:
the torpedoes when thrown had about the
| So me patriotic effect as wad of tory
paper would have. The other boys and girls
| gally laughed at the Simpkins children
while their own firecrackers exploded and
! their torpedoes scared every horse within a
block
Never mind" said Mr.. Simpkins, at din
ner, Il might have been fooled on those
| exploding things, but wait till night comes
| and Wen make 10th street crazy" Night
came. Mr.. Simpkns put an apron on and
| carried the step-ladder out front The first
| rocket went up ten feet and struck the
| concrete with sickly thud The first Ro-
| man candle emitted a weak splutter of
sparks and then blue ball shot upward
and came down at as acute angle as
| drunken man makes rounding a corner.
! The pin wheel only went round when Mr.
| Simpkins tickled 1t earnestly with the sky
rocket stick, and the devil chaser laid dor
| mart. The cololed light looked like a tai
! low candle. And as it was with one so it
| was with all the others Of the species
enumerated.
Seems to me you might have bought
| 'em on It'll street." suggested Mrs. Simp-
| kins, when the failure was complete.
Simpkins said nothing. But all night he
| wondered who it was who had told him
| about the advantages of trading in Balti
more.
Two neatly dressed colored boys about
| twelve years old came gaily up 10Th street
| between Q and r yesterday evening about
| Z o'clock. There is an alley running west
midway Of the block, and at it's junction
| with the street is sewer opening covered
| with an iron grating. AS the boys reached
! the alley one tossed a fifty-cent piece in
| the air to the other. 1t struck his hands.
| bounced out and down through the grating
| it went. There was solemn conference
| between the boys. Independence day to
| them had suddenly taken on the tinge of a
| rainy Sunday. Then they went down on
| grating
There was discolored water and street
| refuse placdly reposing four feet below
| There was another consultation, and the
| boys attacked the grating. 1t was all they
| could do to pull it up, but they did, and as
| they were moving it one side 1t slipped and
| went down in the opening to join the fifty
| cent piece The larger boy shucked his
| coat, and while the smaller one held his
| legs, he fished for the fifty-cent piece 1t
| was buried I'm the water and mud at the
| bottom of which he could only reach the
| surface. crowd began to gather, mostly
| Juvenile. Then John F. Waggaman's good
| natured old colored man Jimmy came over
! He went down on his capacious avoirdu-
| pois and strived for the coin. Then he en-
! deavored to pull up the grating. He was
| unsuccessful In both, but look of deter
| mination settled on his face. Resuming an
| Ell ect position, he walked back to the Wag-
| geman house and secured a broom a piece
| Of rope and a piece of bagging. AS he was
| coming across the street another amiable
DIRE ssed in hts holiday clothes. He had a
| hook handled umbrella. When Informed of
| the difficulty. he inserted the handle of the
| umbrella in the grating and endeavored to
| pull the latter up. The handle of the UNI
brella came of and Joined the lost coin
| also.
| There was another consultation between
| the Juveniles and the man whose umbrel-
| Ia was injured and Jimmy. Suddenly one
| of the boys rushed up the alley and re-
/ turned with piece Of iron pipe five or
| SIX feet long. Using this as a ,crowbar
| the umbrella man pried the grating out
| from where 1t was caught under the side
| OF the opening and Jimmy tied the rope
the umbrella handle, and more important
4 N %