Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-04-09

kept my nose to the grindstone to pay for
two evenings week, and drives me to my
dive upstairs.
When it's not his evening, however
the neiehbors continue to drop in. The
man two doors on my left is paying for
couple CT lots somewhere out in the
woods, and he spends a frequent half hour
with me in telling me that I'm missing
the chance of lifetime in not investing
in land right alongside of his. I've had
TO tell this man that I've undergone an
examination for heart disease. and that
it would therefore be pure foolishneSs for
me to begin to acquire any property what
soever, as / expect to go off at any minute,
and after my death my family wouldn't
be able to continue the payments. Ny
neighbor in the next block, VINO wants me
to join his building and loan association,
hammers me for about an hour each week,
and l tell him. too, that 1 feel my end
to be near. This, however 1 find, starts
him off on tho subject of religion-he calls
himself a man of liberal views on relig-
ion'-and so I'm generally really grateful
when the two eldery spinsters from the
house across the way come in. bonnets,
wraps, gloves and all. for a visit of state
In the parlor. / do the best / can in con-
tributing my share to the entertainment
of these woman, but it's very plain 10 be
seen that they don't regard me favorably.
L fancy they've set me down as boorish
and vulgar because / smoke downstairs.
/ can't get any talk out of 'em at all. My
wife spreads herself to amuse them, for
they are influential personaPes on the
block, and 1t is known, besides, for obvious
reasons, that IL is polite to keep on the
good side of them. Nevertheless. there are
dismal lapses in the conversation, and '
can see that the elderly spinsters consider
the pictures on the parlor walls to be in
the very height of execrable taste and
are mentally setting us down as extreme
ly uHderbred people.
Evening Parties.
Then, we have the regular exchange of
: evening parties in my neighborhood. The
women folks prepare for these things a
couple of weeks in advance. They lay
themselves out in the devising of eatables,
and everybody has to stun himself. All CT
my men neighbors and have to- tog out
and sit around for three four hours lis
tening TO little girls sing Let Me Like
Soldier FALL to men that think they've
got voices sing The Palms to badly
instructed young women play The In
vitation to the Dance on the piano, TO
the little digs our women folks give each
other with beatifcally smiling oountenances
and to each others worked-over jokes
about eating the hostess out of house and
home and so On.
II haven't made any mention of the doz-
en- or so of evening visits month we have
from various kindly ladies in the neigh
borhood. who drop In in duos and trios to
inform my wife how the sick folks in tho
neighbornood are getting on. They de-
scribe at great length and with minute de-
tail the symptoms of the man who's got
rheumatism over the way, and they often
drag my wife out to see the little girl in
the next block who's got bad heart from
jumping rope too much.
II suppose you've made up your mind
by this time that I'm a mean man. Well,
] think 80 myself"