The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-01-01
A BOX OF CIGARS.


those cigars. The top OF the box was
covered with gold TO such an extent that
! : thought at first that a gold mine must
| have turnbled on it. The seals were very
I impressive. Sample open boxes in the win
ocw showed a beautiful display Of grange
! coIored ribbon. The salesman smiled
seductive welcome from within There
/ were fifty in box. The price was .
cents l was pracI.cing economy at the
tine and figured out that 80 cigars would
! last me fifty days On the other hand,
could save s. cents in week ana
half by walking up and down town The
! elevated cars | argued TO myself, were
toe crowded and pedestrianism had ever
been d hobby Of mine. | bought the ci-
gSTs.
l thought l would begin saving car fare
the next day. 1t is good thing to be-
gin day right. So L took the elevated
that night and fortunately got seat
Here / refreshed myself, as is my wont.
by reading the light society verse appear
ing on the advertisements Ny box OF
regalias slipped from my lap and put
them behind me for safety
Buried in some profound thoughts
! which l have forgotten now, the train
very nearly carried me past 1oith street.
/ l jumped out just in time. And then L
remembered that L had forgotten those
cigars | stood there helpless. Here L
was losing % cents and was unable 70
| prevent it, Ny box Of cigars was being
carried away from me. Perhaps at that
very moment profane hands were clutch
ing them. l took the next train down.
town and filed a claim on the company
1 also stood on my rights as citizen ana
made them reimburse me for my car rare
| back uptown.
Two days passed. My cigars were still
missing. The clerks at the lost property
Office came TO look upon my presence as
a personal affront to them. | threatened
to bring suit and take the case to the
supreme court of the United States, II
| necessary l quoted from the Constitu-
ton that stirring passage about the pur-
suit of happiness. How can man pur-
sue happiness if a soulless elevated rail-
road carries off his cigars as fast as he
can buy them?
One day when ] went 10 the lost prop
erty office one of the clerks was smoking.
/ shifted critically. The aroma smelled
much as my cigars might have smelled-
Immediately wrote a sharp letter TO
the management representing that from
! a pecuniary point of view L was unable
TO buy cigars for their whole clerical
staff [ concluded by begging 70 enclose
my bill for % cents. They answered by
begging to return it. l came very near
deciding never TO ride on an elevated
train again.
The next night 1 was walking from the
trolley TO my house, disconsolate with
my loss. when a stranger tapped me on
the shoulder.
Pardon me- he said politely, 'but did
| you lose box of-er-
"Cigars?" / prompted eagerly.
| "Cigars?" he repeated, obviously. We'll,
| all right just for the sake of argument.
Did you lose a box of cigars on the L
last week?"
Il did" 1 replied.
Thank heaven I've found YOU he
said with a deep sigh of relief. Sir. 1t
was the first time in an otherwise blame
less career, and l have been deeply pun
ished, deeply punished. l glad
found you. Here they are Good night
wait a minute" l said. detainingly,
won't you have one on me?'
His pale emaciated face glistened
vierdly in the gaslight as he shivered an
incoherent but unmistakable refusal 4
have given up smoking he said, in con-
clusion Good night
/ proudly took home my box of cigars.
Life was sweet to me again. After all
there was virtue left in the world de-
| spite all that had ever been said TO the
! contrary. | cut the string and opened the
| parcel
The gold design on the box filed the
room with warm radiance. l opened the
box First the lid. then the yellow paper
| Then the imitation lace paper. Then the
| white paper. Then the tissue paper. Their
the tinfoii And, behold, Ny cigars. one
of them had been partly smoked. but the
unused part had been carefully put bach
in the box Evidently the stranger hao
| become stricken with remorse while IT
the middle of the cigar. I envied thai
| nan the strength of mind that had en-
abled his better self to gain the mastery
right in the midst of enjoyment. and
! moralizing thus upon the ever interesting
: triumph of mind over matter, L sank int
my easy chair lit a match, comforta bly,
stretched forth my legs and lit the cigar
1t is a scandalous fact that the fooC
served in some restaurants is far from
wholesome. The first puff of that ciga1
: reminded me of this fact. \ little mat
ter of pickles. eaten the day before. came
particularly 10 my mind. l shuddered as
thought of those reprehensible pickles
The simple thought of them completely
upset me ] wiped the clammy perspira
5 ton that was stanoing out on my fore
= head. | swallowed with extreme diff
Guilty | felt bilious. The room seemed 4
be tinged with a greenish yellow.
took a second puff on my cigar. Ugh
Again those pickles. / shuddered VIC
, lently. I had an incipient chill. Articles
o. furniture in my room. heretofore con
$ sidered stable. foated around me. | seem
| ec to he sitting in some strange plac
with my head in the clouds and my fee
in an ice pit | cid not feel like smok
| ing any more that evening In fact,
i ! decided that I wouldn't feel like smok
I ing for some time to come. | therefor
| carefully wrapped up the box and sent
| 70 nv old churn out In Pennsylvania
| That was three years ago.
Last Thursday | was sitting in my room
1 when Mrs Brown. my landlady. hroush
!. ! in a small parcel addressed 10 me, o.
which she had paid S1.25 express charges
/ / wondered what KIND friend had thu
| ureNpectediy remembered me | REIN
: ! bursed Mrs Brown for her advance an
Il carefully cut the string. I was box o
! cigars.
The top or the box was so respienden
with gold that II seemed to me a gol'
: mine must have been spilled on it. Wher
had met that box bcfore2 l opened II
First the lid. Then the yellow paper. III
imitation lace paper. the white paper. III
tissue raper and the tinfoil. \ wealth O
; / orange coiored ribbon met ny sight
! / Three cigars seemed TO b. missing
great light flooded my Intelligence. T
make sure. I lit one Of teh cigars ~
i r'iud immediately reverted to pickles
: That was enough.
Il : careful man always looks ahead.
ar wondering 70 whom I shall give thoS
cigars next Christmas--New York Even
:ns sun.
I Why He Had To.
f--r--4, ff-. baltimore. American