The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-07-06
THE WATERMELON AND ART.
Pictorial Uses to which II Is Put BY
New Workers.
From The New York sun.


tales OF the sights to be seen there, there
would be trouble, The Thompson street
contingent would rAe in a body and de-
scend upon the east side in quest of spons
and there would be such race war as
this generation has not seen; for, In Rlv-
ington and Delaney streets and others
enough like them to fool any one save the
residents, life at this season is one riot
Gus round of WATERMELON. Pushcarts and
fruit stands are loaded down with lus-
cious pink slices, and the proprietors carve
away steadily. i is a pleasant sound on
hot day, that crisp scrunch, as the knife
runs through the melon; but there isn't
tame for proper enjoyment OF the occupa-
ton for the demand is so brisk tpat it is
hard to satisfy H. IN
Every old lady in a jute wig a,AoSp
earrings who sits on a doorstep land tabRs
with her neighbors munches ntel@& be-
tween gossip. Every baby tllAt rolls
around the sidewalk clutches q Vet piult
chunk in IFS grimy hand. All 3 snlall
boys and girls who have pennies htGoniZe
the melon stands. and those wht haven,
the pennies hover around the bas9,of sup
ply with hungry eyes. Watermei<n rinds
pile up In the cutters and refuse Barrels
and are scattered over the sidewalk IN
wild profusion. incidentally, be it said,
a melon rind. If properly adjusted with
the slippery side up, Is almost as effective
as a banana peel in humbling the proud
and laying low the mighty. Any one VINO
walks along east side streets nowadays
should do 50 in a spirit of humility and
prayerful caution.
There Is only one correct way of eating
a watermelon, and that is the one in
vogue down town. One should grasp the
crescent shaped slice firmly at each end,
and, beginning exactly in the middle, eat
mt out to hn - ft.p tIaf ff,lf
tory move, individuality of taste may
have some scope, but not before. Some
amateurs favor nibbling along the edge
OF the Slice, and by slow degrees approach
ing the rind in a harmonious curve; but
that perncious practice should not be en-
couraged. II is an effete notion, probably
of uptown origin, and one cannot properly
saturaTe ones face with juice and dissolve
the dirt stucco to damp fresco unless one
boldly eats from the center to the rind at
the first attack
One RIyington street boy of artistic
tastes went through a terrible moral
struggle a few nights ago He knew how
melon should be eaten, but he went wrong
as Is natural to the artistic temperament
He nibbled al his slice carefully, calcuat-
ingly, until he had given the pink edge the
shape of a Hebrew profile, and the melon
slice bore a lively resemblance to a He
braic man In the new moon. A man who
CHANGED to be passing stopped and admir-
ed the work of arr and the boy beamed
Then he looked sad. He had suddenly re-
allied that In order to presrve his chef
doeuvre he musi give up eating the melon
This viii sound like an alcgory to the
noble army Of artists. They'll all run up
against similar situations, at one time or
another; and like the small boy they
probably ate the melon and let the mas
terpiece go hang The boy having eaten
as nearly as possible TO the rind, thereby
counting cholera morbus and early death
threw a liberal sop to his artistic con-
science. He took the melon rind, and
lures on the dusty sidewalk
The idea wasn't original with him Doz-
ems of boys were doing the same thing:
and if the pictures hadn't an inconsiderate
habit of eyaporating the sidewalks In
that part Of Town would be striking testi-
monials to the artistic talent of the street
urchn. They would testify, also. to his
war spirit, for nine-tenths Of the efforts
at art seem directed toward drawing sol
ders and guns and boats and Tags
The boy who had sacrificed the man in
the moon was evidently recognized as a
master spirit, for as soon as he got down
TO work an admlring crowd gathered
around him. BY way Of getting his hand
in he dashed off an American flag. Newt
age cap. Then, to show that his field
wasn't limited, he executed design which
the bystanders couldn't at first make
out.
What's that bee hive?" he asked.
"Eskimo's hut" replied the artist, with
laconlc contempt
Hes in grammar room. That's where
he learns such as that" said a little sirl
in an awe-struck whisper
where did you ever see a picture Of an
Eskimo's hut?" asked the bystander -
"Jogra ply" and the taciturn artist drew
an unmistakable parrot, which. apparent
ly, had small feather in it's mouth
Curiosity again got the better Of the ty-
stander.
What are those?" he inquired pointing
TO the dashes radiating from the birds
beak
"Cuss words"
Evidently the artist belonged to the
school of realists Just then an Italian
boy with mop Of black hair and prefer
naturally big eyes sauntered up 10 the
group. He looked at the picture with the
air which an artist wears when at the
salon he finds painting by his rival hung
on the line.
81 could kill that II had some melon"
he remarked tentatively The bystander
took the hint and handed over a penny
The challenger made quick work Of HE
edible part of the melon. Then he devoted
himself 10 art. From that time on there
was desperate rivalry. If one boy drew
a house, the other drew a bigger house
A plain soldier called out a dragon with
a waving plume in his helmet A dog in
spired an elephant The admiring crowd
took sides and cheered the contestants on.
Suddenly a howl arose.
You stole piece of my melon"
"Yere a liari
Art went to the wall instead Of the side
walk and the rivals made for each other
with gore in their eyes. Once more the
friends took sides, and there was material
for a very pretty scrap, but the bystander
quelied the storm. He proposed an adj
journmont TO the melon stand where with
reckless generosity he stood treat all
around and won for himself fame ana ef-
lection In Riyington street circles.