Evening star., 1901-12-07
Mz>;wYMn1u
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our prestige was due 1t happened when
a bright-faced, breezy little girl Of eighteen
who was wont to express her sentiments
without reserve, came to say goodbye.
Don't tell me you are going away she
negatively queried in a depressed tone OF
voice. and we began to feel that from her
we were to get the most genuine ex-
preston of regret of the colony.
Yes / replied, We have to go back
to the city now, but we live in the hope of
seeing our very dear friends up here again
in the near future.
oh she continued Il hate to have
yosI go, indeed, indeed l do, for we GER
tainly will miss your dog"
u x X x
Authorizations make up one Of the most
important elements in the career of the
telegraph operator. Abbreviated dispatches
are often sent in five minutes that would
require half an hours work If transmitted
IN full. But there Is operator out In
Pittsburg whose originality in inventing
substitutes for good English, surprise even
his work-mates. When the death of young
James S. Ayres was first sent over the
wires and the name of Mrs. Bonine was
first mentioned, one of the local operators
received a query from the Pittsburg man:
What sort of looking woman Is Mrs.
Bo9?' The Washington operators thought
steadily for moment and then sent back
Who do you mean?" Mrs BOB" When
him the local operator announced the
abbreviation to his associates and the name
has been sent all over the country as
Bog ever since
X x x X
"The Presidents in the Secretarys Of
fee" whispered an excited messenger to
the officials and clerks he met in the offices
and corridors of the Navy Department last
Tuesday morning. No President since Cen
eral Grant had visited any of the executive
departments and the messengers report
naturally caused some excitement among
the employees. All of them knew President
Roosevelt through his service assistant
secretary, and most of them made 1t con-
venient to drift into the Secretary's ante
room with a view of seeing the President.
They did not see him, however, because he
was not there. But they did see Represent
ative Moody, and the messengers mistake
was understood at once. Every President
has had a double, and Mr.. Moody is Presi,
dent Roosevelts. To those who know them
both Well, there are many points Of differ
ence in their appearance, but all other per-
sons might easily mistake one for the other
and it has often occurred outside of Wash
ington.
X X x X
The boyhood days of Assistant Secretary
Taylor of the Treasury Department were
spent in St. Lawrence county, N Y. Mr..
Taylor's grandfather was a prominent and
weil-to-do farmer of the county. In the
neighborhood in which the Taylors- lived
there was a weak-minded woman who was
dependent upon public or private charity.
The county authorities, desiring to find a
comfortable home for her, asked Mr.. Tay-
lor's grandfather to care for her at his
house at sum to be paid oy the county.
There were two large attic rooms in Mr..
nf
the poor woman, being well and comfort
ably furnished. The other was set aside as
room for young members of the Taylor
family who happened to visit their grand
parents. Assistant Secretary Taylor was
one of these children and when he went
to see mis- grandfather and spend the night
with him he was always given the room in
the attic opposite to that occupied by the
woman. Mr.. Taylor was telling story the
other day about how badly scared he used
to be when he heard strange noises in the
room opposite to his own. He had whole
some fear of that room and it's occupant,
and so one night when he had gone to
sleep in his room with queer ideas in his
mind he was not unprepared to make a
dash downstairs at any strange occurrence.
He says that along about midnight he
heard a furious rappng in the crazy wo
man S room, which he afterward discovered
was caused by the woman knocking on the
head of her bed. "Who comes there?" she
loudly asked, after she had knocked for
some time: Her own answer to the inquiry
was Julius Caesar" The woman pro-
ceeded to lecture Caesar upon his many
shortcomings. and after a few seconds of
quiet there was again a violent rapping,
followed by the usual inquiry to who it
was seeking admission. This time the an
swer was George Washington" Uncle
George was given a sound lecture by the
woman. By this time Mr.. Taylor, who was
young boy, was in a serious state of un-
rest. He had all along been in doubt about
spending q he
woman. and when she began to call up the
immortals of the past it was more than
he could stand. He had at first attempt ed
to cover his head with the quilt but he
now declares that the elevation of his hair
promptly removed the quilt. For the third
time there was a violent pounding on the
headboard of the woman's bed, followed by
interrega ton and the solemn answer
"Methuselah." This was the deciding point
with Mr. Taylor's disturbed mental condi-
ton, and. with a yell he rolled down the
attic steps, struck the second floor and in a
few seconds was in his grandfather's room
X x X
The assignment of Col. Jesse NJ Lee to
duty as inspector of small arms at head
quarters of the army has resulted in an
almost unprecedented state of affairs. Col
Lee was recently promoted to the command
of the Both Infantry, now in the Philip
pines Other officers of that regiment are
on detached service as follows: The lieuten-
ant colonel Is on duty at the Military Acad-
emy, the senior major is acting as collector
of customs at 1lOilO, the second major is on
recruiting service and the junior major,
who has just returned from service in Alas
ka, is at Vancouver barracks. Capt Frank
A Wilcox, the regimental adjutant is the
senior officer on duty with the regiment
and by virtue of that fact is in actual com
mand of 300 men. Never since the civil
war has a similar state of affairs existed
and there are very few instances in the
history of the army where the exlgencies
of the service have placed a captain in
command of regiment