Evening star., 1900-10-27
A HOMEMADE ROORBACK.
Mr.. DOOdIesap Explains the Meaning
of the Term.

MIR. DOOdiesRp Explains the Meaning
of the Term.
From the Chicago Times Herald.
PA" said little Francis, what's a roor-
back?"
"Well,' Md. Doodlesap replied, II don't
know as 1 can explain it so you'll under
stand exactly, but may be you can get an
i6ea Of what it Is from a little story FL tell
you. About two weeks ago 1 received a
letter from lady who asked if 1 could get
her half-fare ticket a certain railroad.
Before answering her taking any steps in
the matter 1 thought 1 would tell your
mother about it. So, when I came home
from the office that evening l said to your
mother, says L:
Mamma, ! got letter from lady to-
day who wants me to get her half-rate
railroad ticket. She knows l have oppor-
tunities to do this and 1 suppose she
thought she might as we'll save the money
as not if 1 would help her.
"'Show me that letter, Tom Doodlesap.'
your mother demanded.
81 put 1t in a pigeon-hole in my desk,
I told her, or else l threw it in the waste
basket. l don't remember which,
well, Francis, your mother was not
amused. She informed me that the woman
who had written the letter was a brazen
thing, and wanted to know if l had ever
j
fact, l had known this woman before your
mother and I were married, Francis. Your
dear, fond mother jumped up and down
several times, and said things to me that l
am going to try to forget. l may not sue
ceed in doing this, but 1 am going to try.
She told me that if l had not encouraged
the woman in some way she never would
have dared to write to me as she did. l
protested that L had never, to my knowl-
edge, given her word of encouragement
at least not since your mamma and l have
been husband and wife. Before that l had
tried to be kind to her-had, in fact, done
all in my power to win her favor. l ad-
mitted this openly, but it did not seem to
strengthen or renew your mothers conf
dence in me. She denounced me as a sneak
and a decever. She said she didn't believe
| had told her half, and fatty informed me
that if l ever had any more to do with this
woman our happy home would go to smash
like a cold storage egg upon the cheek of
political candidate, or words to that ef-
feet.
but my dear 1 said to your mother
suppose that 1 get the ticket and you send
it to her? There would be nothing i'm
proper about that
What! your dear mother answered,
| would you pull your wife down to this
persons level! No! And you shall not get
the ticket. You bring that letter home to-
morrow, You know where it is, and you
know. too, that 1t hasn't been put in the
waste basket. Don't you come home to-
morrow without 1t"
And says 1 to your mother, you won t
reconsider about the ticket?'
81 will not repeat the answer I received,
Francis. Your mother was firm in her de-
cision that the lady must receive no further
consideration from me, and so the matter
was dropped until the next day, except
that l received some looks which were cal
culated to make my clothes great deal too
big for me.
well, Francis, the next evening 1
brought home the letter. 1t was from your
Grandma Paddeford, who wished to come
and pay us a visit, and thought l might
send her the half-rate ticket well as not.
When your mother had read the letter she
was up against about the nearest thing to
a roorback that am able to describe