The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-06-11
A LITTLE COMEDY IN A PARK.
walking I'm q Swallowed grove,
Near silver streams fair gliding,
Where trees in ranks did grace those banks.
And nymphs had their abiding"
-IlahridRac0rrt RalchiaP
BY ROBERTSON HOWARD JR.

Where trees in ranks did grace those banks.
And nymphs had their abiding"
-Dabridgecourt Belchier.
park is a very good place to study human be-
cause on warm summer evening all kinds and
conditions of people come to park to cool off and
hear the fountains play.
The park in this story hardly deserves the
of park at ALL 1t Is very small piece of ground
with only one fountain and few flower beds and
some trees. But the grass is always green and It
Is situated upon high bluff in fashionable neigh
borhood. the most fashionable in town and we can
look down at the city lights and the river sheer
low. and then up at the brown stone mansions that
line the avenues stretching miles away.
And this park is also the finest place in the
girls You can hear one "chippn' and 'chantin' her
speech IN way the servant has O. their own" as
a certain Tommy Atkins says and which young
man like Private Fearoyds dog, very often only
"bides it by reason O. his breedin" Then another
girl will impress you by her well bred air. And
there are some who strike you being decidedly
fresh, and whom it will take great deal Of time
and trouble and expense to tone down and refine;
and there are others that you know can never be
refined and turned into young ladies' These girls
nave vulgar way that passes in cases for
dash and chic and they do not seem to be ashamed
OF their vulgarity even in the presence of webred
people. but carry it with much nonchalance as
a French field marshal does his war medals There
was one girl Of this type that used to see every
night for long time who must have studied her
slang writer Of dialect stories does the language
of the people he describes.
The night picked up this story had come to
the park with a package Of cubebs. l had firmly
made up my mind to stop smoking cigarettes ana
was going to let myself down easy with these Bur
had no desire to make people unhappy, not even
the girl with the wonderful knowledge Of slang So
went on all alone to a bench in clump of little
trees away from the rest Of the people and lit one
There were two men leaning against the iron
fence rail in front Of me- but 1 had an idea they
would go away when they discovered 1 was smok-
Ing cubeb. However the wind was from the
south. and they evidently not ANNOYED I
hadn't smoked three before girl came over and
either of the men. but from the manner in which
she acted and from the way of the men acted
knew at once that they thought they knew each
other out We're not sure account of the darkness
They leaned against the rail for about i've min
utes in silence looking at each other whenever one
thought the other not looking Then the man
said very politely without the least trace of inso-
lence in his tone.
Don't you think its a very warm evening Miss
The girl looked up very haughtily and then turn
ed her back on him saying something didn't catch.
Inc man raised his hat and offered an apology
Tor having spoken At this she turned her back
more fully upon him. and looked at the other man.
who had on a white yachting cap as though seek
Ing sympathy or protection. This was entirely un-
necessary and assumed. rudeness had been
offered intended.
The man with the yachting cap crossed over to
her side and with wave of his hand in the drec-
ton Of the other said:
+" WAS he annoying you?
This brought the girl back to earth and she
stammered some inadequate reply and the other
man who had walked off few PAGES and was In
the act of lighting cigar, turned and came back
and the two men stood on each side of the girl and
surveyed each other. The man in the yachting cap
took a step nearer. but the girl waved him back
with frightened gesture and the other man struck
the match he already held in his hand and lit his
cigar and then lifted it high enough to let the light
without any show of braggadocio but with n deter-
mlnat1on to see his way out of the unfortunate af
lalf. lie looked like man who wouldn't enjoy that
sort of thing and wondered then what their little
secret and why she had taken this occasion TO
cut him publicly, for he was much better bred
person than the girl
The light gave the girl her chance, and she cried
with a forced note of surprise in her voice:
'Why, it's Mr.. --w
There moments silence and then the man
In the yachting cap said, II beg your pardon and
beth men raised their hats, and the girl laughed
Historically and thought that she had fooled them
nicely But in this she was mistaken for they both
bowed to her. and raised their hats again and trrr
ed away, and the girl sank Imply back against the
iron fence
Perhaps l shouldn't have told this story for no
one ever supposed was there In the shrubbery ana
the three think that they did their little acting with
cut an audience. But only tell it as warming TO
other girls.
sat out that night until long after the park was
empty of people and smoked all the cubebs ana
half package of cigarettes that were made of real
tobacco but could arrive at no conclusion excep,
that can never stop smoking cigarettes which has
nothing whatever to do with this story
LIGHTNING HITS A SHINING MARK
Chicago Times Herald.
August Blowers peacock roasted too high lasr
night for his own comfort. He was asleep on the
roof at 3345 North Clark street. when the storm came