Williston graphic. (Williston, Williams County, N.D.) 1895-1919, 1902-03-06
How William
Strengthened His
Memory
MIR. WILLIAM THoTLEss is q

MIR. WILLIAM THOTLEss is .
Iv pleasant, anna BILE, rather absent
minded man, with chronic tendency
toward forgetting to mail his wife's
letters. If that was as far as his for
getfulness extended he might have
borne it with humility. But when it
reached the degree Of making him ridi-
culous he began to despair.
1t was such an insane thing to have
q man ask him where his hat was, only
to discover he had ben walking for
blocks without it, or to take his wife
out her-forgetting, in fact, all about
her. That was dreadful day for Mr..
Thotless, and it took him weeks to
live it down.
But the crisis came all in one even
ing. They had pretty, comforta BILE
home on Sixtieth street, about three
blocks from the elevated. It was rain
ing, and Mr.. Thotless conceived the
happy idea of pleasing his wife by in
vesting in some fine hot rolls at the
bakery, . few blocks from his home.
He smiled as he lowered his UNI
brella to climb the elevated steps, and
continued to smile as he bought his
ticket. When the train came to a
standstill he gallantly allowed a lady
precedence and then politely boarded
the train, first trying to raise his UNI
brella, with the absent-minded smile
still on his face. But instead of rails
ing the umbrella he knocked off the
hat of stout German, poked an elder
~ lady in the ribs, and got all tangled
up in the blonde hair of the lady stand
ing just ahead Of him.
There was general look of aston
ishment on the faces Of the other pas
sengers, which turned into laugh,
and Mr.. Thotless suddenly awoke to
the fact that he was making himself
ridiculous.
But the rolls were still uppermost in
his mind. On the corner stood drug
store and beside it the bakery shop he
sought. He marched cheerfrlly into
the first door he came to, and, ad-
dressing superior-looking young
man behind soda water counter,
said:
'sGive me half a dozen fresh rolls,
please, and I want them very hot"
The young man looked puzzled. He
had heard of good many drinks in
his day, but this one was entirely new
to him.
..Would you mind repeating your or
der?" he asked. II didn't quite catch
It,"
"RoNs, man, rolls!" shouted Mr..
Thotless testify. Don't you know
what rolls are? Bread! Hot bread"
The young man resumed his superior
attitude. "Oh," he said, airily, 1--WE
don't make them here. We leave that
to the bakery next door"
Then Mr.. Thotless awoke from his
trance to realize for the first time that
he was in the drug store. He meekly
apologized and went out. But when
did his misfortunes ever come singly?
He walked in the next door and again
gave his order for rolls, this time to
a pert young woman behind wire
screen.
"Say, mister, this is drug store"
she giggled. 1--WE don't sell hot rolls;
we sell the cure for the indigestion
you get after eating them" and she
laughed again joyful]y at her own
wit.
As~Mr. Thotless made his hasty
egress he heard the voice of the SUI
perior young man say: THAT dern
fool has just been in this door ask
ing for those same rolls" and their
jeering laughter followed him all the
way home.
But his troubles were not yet over.
Armed with the rolls at last, he
walked peacefully on until he reached
Sixty-frst street. There was one
thing he never forgot to do; that was
in order to avert any tendency to-
ward mistakes, for he was well
aware of his weakness. It was the
right number, SO he pulled out his
key and thought of the rolls so hot
and snug under his arm and Of Ma
ria's pleasure, and chuckled indul-
gently to himself.
It occurred to him that the hall
looked queer and that he had never
seen that hat rack before, but his
wife had always been a great hand at
changing things about. But he could
have taken his oath that that paper
always had been red. Strange" he
thought, show little man can really
be relied upon to remember these de-
tails"
"Narie!" he called gleefully.
"Where are you, pet?'
"An' who be you, to be addressing
me thus?" came q voice from the
basement.
"a new girl" sighed Mr.. 1hotless.
He remembered now that Maggie had
given notice.