The Delta independent., 1899-06-02
ROUND A HAT.

popular success. and this particular
night the theater was crowded Every
seat in every part Of the house was oc-
cupicd-every eeat. that ia. but one.
and that one in the pit This was all
the more remarkable a. this seat looked
. good sea,-well mp forward. nearly II
the center. quite rs advantageous. ~
pit people are won't to hypocrize. as ten
and si1pence wasted on stall And
yet tho seat WAS ell the same. undenia-
bly, vacant
It was not being kept" either. The
young man on tho other side Of It al
ready had his Young lady with him. !.
on this side. did not have . young lady
at all and did not expect one. either.
That seat was neither reserved nor tall
en-. There was q mystery about it-a
mystery was acquainted with. mys-
tory you will get to know. too. II you
have the courage to go on.
Yea may be curious why did not
move up into this excellcntly good seat
There is another mystery in the matter.
and. Just as in the case where two mega
tivcs. we are eTroneously assured. con-
stituto y positive affirmative. SO these
two mysteries. being explained. nnnul
one another. As matter Of fact. I had
moved into that scat on entering and
then Lai hastily moved back again.
while had the chance. for Immediate
ly in front was n stylish young lady
what is generally catalosucd smart
girl-young. good looking. very nice.
in the height Of fashion. acd-necd ]
say it-with hat.
There you have it-not tho hat. which
Is probably in the sano possession un-
less. of course. the fashions have again
changed. as il to bs cxpccted. consider
ing the incident took place nearly .
week ngo-Sot the hat. but the olucida-
tion: for the luckless individual who
paid to come in and took up his station.
sitting down. behind that hat would
have absolutely no return for his moncy
but . gratuitous and highly exaspcras-
ing view Of ribbons and dead birds thne
Regent street glori5ss into ''crca-
ton
We knew. you know. We had tried
It. the first end the quickest and then
tho other men. who. wandering in late
aAd thanking their lucky stars for their
great. good fortune. bounced into that
scat with o wide smile on their faces
remained perplexed and fdgety for sew
eral minutes. frowncd and coughed and
shuflied their feet where the floor
sounded loudcss and then finally depart
ed somewhere into the back witt, inar-
ticulate niuttarirys and much painfully
suppressed emotion.
An old gentleman as tbs back Of mo
r., 10 do hOh 90 vx,sC
thropy and allowed none OF his fellow
creatures sadness to pass without
proper mcrrimaE.. was spending .
most enjoyable evening in consequence
The world to him was good deal more
than q stage. and he would certainly
have been content TO wait all night for
tine rising OF the curtain. provided the
fun in frcpt went on 50 uninterrupted
~. When somebody from the renr made
a move for this scat. his face bcanici
with the gratitude Of thanksgiving. As
the somebody sat down there be seemed
to let OF . profound chuckle. When the
somebody faced the hat and fijgctcd
his sides shook and his double chin
trsnhled I did not approve Of this
gloa:iny. and rs often ns possible with
ont creating conversational friction ]
leaned baci: suddenly and Let one Of my
shoulders fall on 70 his nose. That gave
him pause and breathing time. but he
used it only TO get ready to enjoy the
nest victim.
Just as the lights went down and the
curtin went up young man. tho
youngest Of them nll mp to now. pushed
his way in from the side and tumblc.l
,vHx fxuv s,fA e1v- <.1 L.
silk ''tilo" and put IL under the scat.
punched himself mp into that prepon-
derant attitude that In necessary for
proper receptivencas. pcercd eagerly
forward ana saw bcautifully-all th,
blncknc-s of tie !ady's hat Then en-
sued the usgial ranton mic dcmonst.a-
tion of foilcd cxpectation-corsils and
discomforting. because very sincere.
growls The old gentleman Mt the rear
seemed TO be in danger Of bursting
blood vessel. and tine breaths Of his en-
joyr.ont came into tho nGpe Of my neck
warm and fr.Pucat and vigorous
WHAT WIS most remarkable. howeves.
was iilst this young man did not sban.
don the position. like his predecessor
bet held cn and stuck there in forIorp
hore. :ouning himself st intervals to
piv1t ronnd ON his vertebeal column
and l.rcrife most alarming eonsortious
In rash attempts to get his head. and
more particularly his eyes. into some
ZOO: or ctcvicc where the stage wss not
coa,pi-i..iy cfiaccd. then sinking down
in fai!are and despair and collap~inx
into unwilling resignation, ssmDescd
By ssaIlities a as0sA grusaS ed
the Old geaflenas bsAisA vs. sufvss-
tng WiaA eunvalAsO - ~, - thss
lcIl haeh - hin s0.in 81 ia hin
noss Dsssaal iaj1sy vtshsst, hov.
svus. DosA anapiAg - euast3e A.