The labor world., 1899-10-28
A TaIkatIve Family.

!
enviable reputation among his ac-
quaintances for his ability to keep w
his end of any conversation, but az
present he is able to swear to the
existence of one family on the West
side that baffled him completely.
He met the daughter Mabel at a
Sunday school picnic one day in Aug
ust and succeeded as usual in making
a very deep impression, so deep, in
! fact, that he was cordially invited to
call at his earliest opportunity, an in
vitation which he did not hesitate to
accept.
Thursday evening he arrayed himself
in his most attractive attire and
sought the abode of Mabel. He found
her awaiting him with smiles, and he
was ushered into the family sitting
room and introduced in turn to papa,
and mamma and little 14-year-old sis
ter Lily.
| Papa remarked that it was a cool
Ievening. Mrs. Sutherland acuuiesced
| in the statement and vouchsafed the
further information that the days were
getting preceptibly shorter.
] :" A1y, yCo, oGIu IHey
come much shorter after the autumnal
equinox I believe. The sun crossed
the line on the Goth Of September" +
ION the 21st, mamma, not the Goth
| according to the almanac I was look
ing in today" corrected Miss Mabel.
well, now you're both way off on
your astronomy volunteered papa,
"for T heard that very question argued
| in the office only yesterday. One of
our travelling men, came in and made
some sort of a crack about equal
days and nights, and they got up a
bet on it, and went and looked it up
and found that it was on the 22d. I
remember I took a cigar on it,
"That must have been the 22d of
March they .were looking up" said
Mabel, for I remember as we'll as
can be we were all out to Lizzie's
last year when it came around, and
I know it was just the day after Joe's
birthday, and Joe was born on the
Goth; you know that, I guess, don't
you?' 49,.
Mr.. Sutherland was becoming
alarmed and sought to change the
subject, so he broke in abruptly with,
II saw an exciting thing tonight on
my way over here. Right by the cor
ner of Halstad and Madison streets
there was a policeman chasing pick
pocket. The pickpocket slipped and
fell right in front of a grip car. The
gripman pulled up his lever and
stopped the car Just in time to save
running over the man, and this gave
the policeman chance ito catch up
and grab the pickpocket. By this
time an immense crowd had collected
and every one was yelling at the top
Of his voice. Il got off the car -"
''That reminds me-" said papa, "of
a little thing saw over on the North
side by Freiheit's garden one night"
''Why, no, pa, it was down by Lin
coin park" said mamma. "Don't you
remember we were just coming home
from the electric fountain?"
"No, that wasn't the night" said
Mabel. "The night we went to see the
electric fountain was the night that
got separated from the rest of you
when we transferred to the West side
cars. Papa means that time we went
to the concert, and that was right
there by the Academy of Science
Don't you remember, papa, we were
just talking about those stuffed
gorillas?"
"Well, anyway said papa, ave
were walking right along the side>
walk
"No, we weren't; we were walking
on the grass, else how could I have
hi Vino t1o III
in Mabel.
mabel, don't interrupt your pa when
he' is telling a story" said mamma.
"Go on, pa, Mr.. Sutherland wants to
hear about that experience I know"
Pater-"Well, we were walking along
as quietly as you please, talking about
one thing and another. It was "a dark
night and -"
Mamma-''Why, no, it wasn't so very
dark: there were plenty of electric
lights all around there I remember
Mabel and had just been saying how
funny our shadows looked in front or
us, hadn't we Mabel?"
Mabel-"Yes, I remember, only our
shadows were behind us, mamma, the
big arc lights were in front of us,
you know, and they cast our shadows
back of us. You remember ] thought
I heard some one calling me and looked
around to see who it, was and J. saw
how funny our shadows looked and
called your attention to it,
Mamma-"Maybe it was back of us.
Anyway I know it wasn't very dark
for we could see everything there was
going on all around us perfectly. Go
on, pa, why don't you tell your story?'
Papa-"Well, all of a sudden I heard
something running -'
Mamma-"No, it was Mabel heard
him first and she called your attention
to him and asked you what that man
was running for.'
Papa-"Yes, but that wasn't until
after I had heard him. OF course l
hadn't been paying any particular at
tention to him because most anybody
is likely to be running to catch car
or something of the kind, particularly
at that time of night. Well, he
Mabel-"At that time of night?
Why, it couldn't have been later than
1890 at the most"
Mamma-"Oh yes it was, Mabel; l
know it was after - when we got home
and it couldn't possibly have taken
us over an hour to get home, even al
lowing for the time we had to wait to
geSt a West side car. 1t must have