Evening star., 1905-05-14
SHORT SKETCHES
OF CITY LIFE

| An incident worth remembering occurred
| at the funeral of Gen Lee. just after the
| services were concluded at the church.
| Lieut.. U. S. Grant, adjutant OF the pa
rade. was stationed before the church door,
/ and. from his horse. directed the honorary
pallbearers to their places in the double
line through which the casket was to be
/ borne to the caisson. Among this escort OF
| civilians were several old confederate
veterans wearing the uniform in which
| the dead general won his fame as a soldier.
These officers wore on their collars the in
sigma that in the confederate service in
| dicated the rank of captain. Immediately,
| in accordance with the military training
| which requires junior officer to dismouut
| before addressing his superior, the young
lieutenant sprang from his horse and. on
| foot, assigned Lees old comrades TO posi-
| ton.
| The action possessed no military value.
1t was simply an inherited respect for the
Army of Gray Shadows. But those who re-
membered the magnanimity of tho boys
grandfather at Appomattox must have been
| touched by this second coming together OF
| Grant and Lee.
| batch of tourists were doing the White
| House Two women members who plainly
came from part of the country where the
| straight 'front.' cuts no figure had reached
| the terrace entrance on their way out and
| were waiting for the others OF the party.
| IF were the United States" remarked
| the elder, Il would charge ten cents. a
head to get in this White House. and sink
| the national debt
| Ten cents,' interrupted the other woman
| in the voice of born critic. while yo,s
are about it, why don't you fix a proper
price? tell you, It's a great privilege for
the American people TO get inside the Presi-
| dents mansion, and to see the east room
where the receptions are, and the likenesses
of all the Presidents in the ehtryway, and
| the china cupboards and
We'll, fifteen, then," amended the first
woman generously.
Every cent of it"
And having settled Secretary Shaw's
financial worries for him, they went out
| and enjoyed the fish pond.
| Another party of eXcursionsts, who
| looked like round trippers with no stop-over
! privileges, were being personally conducted
| through the Monument grounds by a man
| with n sky-blue badge. An oldish. farmer
| like memper of the crowd Jagged behind in
| the dead lstless way of the average agri-
| cultural brother, who after saving up for
| his outing spends the time wishing he were
| home again.
| At last. however, something caught his
interest. His body Strengthened like
lathe and his eyes leaped into life. He had
seen something that made him feel that he
| was getting the worth of his money
| Say, ma" he called excitedly to fat
| little person about ten yards ahead of him.
The fat little person turned and showed
countenance that suggested that she
| wouldn't mind being home herself.
For goodness sake, pa! What's struck
| you all. of sudden?"
| why, ma! Look at them burned little
| robins in the grass
| well, now! Amt that grand sight, pa
| But you better ketch up and hear this gen
| tleman talk about the monerment. You can
| see plenty robins at home"
| But pa refused to ketch up. He just
| dawdled along with his eyes feastng on
| couple of red-breasted worm-fat birds
| strutting in the grass as II they owned it
| while did her duty by the sky-blue
| badge.
| The widowy looking woman who plays the
violin at street corners was fiddling out
| Home, Sweet Home" Another woman.
| with dramatic instinct for situations"
| stopped before a convenient shop window
| to watch sentimental results
| Perhaps some world-worn magnate. In his
| mad rush to add a multi to his million.
| would be brought to saving stop by the
| old tune, freighted with its memories OF
the past! Perhaps. again, some wayward
| village belle would turn back. ere 1t be too
| late. and go home TO her aged parents who
always kept the light burning in the win
dow for her. Perhaps, still further
| But 1t didn't happen to be the occasion
| for that class of customers. A young man.
| of the earth, earthly type, showed his ap-
probation with some change and a smile
| God love him-and' another musically-in-
| clined person stopped long enough to look
| in her bag to find that she had nothing
| small enough to give.
This latter attempt at patronage that
| died a-borning so appealed to the woman
! with the dramatic instinct that she paid
| tribute with the nickel she had intended
| for carfare, and walked home.
| girl of the pigtan age skipped toward
another little girl last Friday afternoon.
| Her eyes danced with excitement and her
cheeks were as pink as roses on bush.
| Oh, Oracle, you ought to been heret
| Why-er"-and she commenced to tell in Il
breathless tremor of interest all about the
runaway horse that stabbed another with
its shaft at 14th and G streets The other
| little girl turned the color of candle wax
and her whole body quivered with nervous
| ness as she cried out:
| please don't tell me any more, Katie!
| Please don't! 1t makes me sick indeed
| Ii does
But Katie kept on. She was enjoying
| herself too much to stop. And the woman
who overheard wondered whether th-t
blood-morbid child meant to grow up into
| fend of woman. or was simply develop
| ing the trained nurse instinct through some
surgeon ancestor.
You never tell.
A common little dog trotted across g
| Treasury plaza, shifted around the entrdne,.
md hon ID hnc 70 Ln