Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-02-05


tation AZ . ecsapper. sSxfde that Il had often
thrashed plucked up courage after Jim pu<
1t on me, and / had 10 thrash 'sm all over
again to regain lost trestge. But never
succeeded in licking 3iIn.s Last time saw
him before going away TWAS in swimming
with gang O. boyDiat Tho Pennsyivania
railroad bridge over the Eastern branch l
was sitting ON the trestls ties when Jim
into the water. tied aildmy clothes into
knots and soaked the knots In water SO that
1t took me hours to uAfav8 'efn, and abused
me heap all around IGhad 1t fixed for
sure in my mind that Jim Tucker must
certainly have been hung before he at
tanned his majority. WelE you fellows all
know what kind Of ai.nane Jim has become
They tell me he's doing one of the biggest
hasn't he got below Of laugh! When
met him the other day We had more fun
than a bushel o. monkeys talking about the
way he used to do me up.
".Bet you can't do 1t now, jim, said I.
Meeting an Old Flame.
"'Bet you cam said he, and he let out
that laugh o, his that sounds like steam
calliope. jim dragged me OF up to his
house-and say, It's a beauty, isn't it?-
and not only made me stay to dinner, but
kept me in his den smoking and drinking
myself to death until the middle Of the
night. And say, when he introduced me to
his wife 1 like to have dropped. Kittie
Rogers. you know. Why, Jim cut me out
with Kittie only few months before
weEt away, but never thought this school
boy and girl business would develop into
matrimony. When kittie found out that
Jim could whale me she had no more use
for me, and transferred her affections to
Jim. remember her as a little, quiet girl
that never had word to say for herself.
Now, as you fellows of course know, she's
a big handsome, brilliant woman, and ev-
cry one Of her four boys is a dead ringer
for her.
Saw Mud Reilly on the street the other
day. Recollect what dirty, grimy,
slouchy-looking boy Mud used to be?
Why. my mother used to say to me when
I'd turn UP home with lot o dirt on my
knees ana knuckles from playing marbles,
Aren't you ashamed, boy, to get yourself
looking So much like Mud Reilly?' I'd
consider this deadly insult and nothingd
make me clean up quicker. Well, say,
what bowling swell and what a rafting
good-looker Mud is now! Looked like as if
he had just come out of handbook when
1 saw him, and the boys tell me that he's
got the biggest line O clothes in Washing
ton, and switches his whole rig-out three
or four times day.
Il hadn't hardly got through talking
with Mud before / met Burt Comstock
You fellows must remember what a dap
per, neat-looking boy Burt always was
and how the school girls thought he was
the only real thing on earth because he
turned up at school every day, rain or
shine, winter or summer, with a flower on
his coat? Well, talk about your slouches!
Positively, 1 felt cheap talking with Burt
on the avenue the other day, he looked so
much like longshoreman-and they say
he's got money to burn, too.
Look a-here. Burt I said to him-I
couldn't hold it in-'whats the matter with
you? Why, when you were kid you used
to be as natty as cadet all the time and
you kept US all guessing as to how we
stood with the girls, you were logged out
so splendiferously all the time? Why don't
you smoke up, anyhow?
Oh said Burt. got all over that kind
o foolishness long ago; too busy making
money and, of course, that settled it.
Can't Always Tell.
and say, the different Kind of businesses
the boys have gone into Ted Havelock,
whose mother was going to make a Metho-
dist minister of him, working on a news
paper; Nat Preston, who could never learn
Anything at school, one of the crack crimi-
nal lawyers in town. hear; 'Tubby' Mich
oils, who had head as hard as a mallet
and fell down on all of his examinations
developed into a rnineraogist, they tell
me; Bud Weevil, who was at the head of
his class all the time driving a horse car.
Alppy EDWARDS, who swore he'd never he
anything else when he grew up but a rail-
road brakeman, a government enprayer:
Icoil Hartman, who wanted to - west
ana XII lnjuns and things, running a
cahdy shop and deacon In the church; Fat
~ Rerrows! who wanted to be a profess
s1onat hail player and sport and ba1a-ad
practicing dentistry-well, of all the con-
tradictions!
Il dug up little Miss Whackem, who used
10 teach us kids in the fifth grade the
other day. 1 bet none of you fellows has
seen her since you left school! Well. I
fopnd her in a little old house over in
Miss and as nice AMI
interesting dried-up little woman as you'd
want to meet. Did she know me? Ger
tainly. she did!
1 remember all Of my boys she said.
but suppose they have all forgotten me
many years since Kind O. pathetic. |
thought 1t was. the way she said it. l had
to eat all kinds of cake and drink tea until
L was in pipe-trance with the nice little
oid lady; and had bully good afternoon
of 1t talking over the old game with her.
Some Of you chaps ought to be decent
CROUCH to look her up
Remember OLE Clubswing the fat COD
that made 1t so warm for us for playing
Skinny and hollering bloody murder on the
vacant lot on Sunday afternoons? Met hirn
up on Capitol Hill the other morning-just
as fat as ever and not day older looking
He's retired now. He didn't know me or
recall me at first, but he remembered my
folks.
" Come to think of it, said he after a
minute 1 believe there was brat at your
mousse tndt USED TO ShOot things at
through blow-pipe as passed along my
beat, and the Identification was COM
plete.
Die ever hear anything Of"
NO, said one of the men In the party
to the ex-Washingtonian. land we don't
want to- We all feel old enough as it is
without your coming along here and telling
us all about things that we forgot more'n
a hundred years ago."
And the club waiter did the rest.
Felt Acquainted.
From Harper's Bazar.