Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-05-15
SHE knew HIM ONCE
Purely Accidental That They
Lunched Together.
HE REGRETS IT NOW
DOMESTIC TROUBLE FOLLOWS
MODEST MEAL.
Kensington Mans Explanation Derid-
ed by His Friends-Wife Flees
to Mother, he to New York.

| The man who lives out Kensington way
climbed aboard Washington-bound car
| at Chevy Chase, slammed a corpulent suit
| case against the seat, threw his legs over
| 1t and scowled ferociously out of the win
| dow. Ordinarily. the man who lives out
| kensington way radiates sunshine and con-
versation from the lake to the loop, but
! on this particular occasion he was STEPPED
| in gloom profound.
| Horse sick?" ventured the treasury
clerk. as the car groaned up the first hill.
| Nope grunted the Kensingtonian saw
| agely, getting a fresh grip on his much
! chewed cigar.
Dogs off their feed?' asked the man in
the next seat, with every appearance of
| friendly interest.
| Nit replied the gloom pervaded COM
| muter, briefly. --.-.
! Rubber plant shriveling?" inquired the
| settled-looking citizen across the aisle.
NIX" answered the stricken one. even
more bitterly than before.
| wife i'll ?" suggested the treasury clerk,
| after an eloquent pause and an exchange of
| wondering glances with his fellow COM
| muters.
mo. only mad" responded the man from
| out kensington way, unbending a triie.
| Gone to her mothers for week or SO of
| weeps and divorce preliminaries. I'm for
| New York till the weather clears. if it ever
| does. Give me town where a man can
| take long breath or curve a high ball
! into his system without calling out the
| fire department, and where any free-born
| American citizen wobble his index digit
! without wrecking happy home" And the
| commuter from out beyond the lake slam
| med his chewed cigar on the floor of the
| car, stuck another one in the corner of his
face, and relapsed into gloom once more.
Suspicious City, Washington.
Been on little tooterine, eh?" chuckisd
| the settled citizen across the aisle. Better
| cut 'em out Bill. You're no spring chicken,
| and your time for reaping the untamed
grain has been over for whole basketful
| of harvest moons.
Suffering snakes" said the Kensing-
| tonian, showing signs of apoplexy IF I'd
| laid up a small jaglet to the good l wouldn't
| be so sore. I'd take my medicine like
| little man, put up for fine line of spring
millinery and look sad and chastened for
awhile But just at present I'm up against
a fine sample of the Washington knock, the
real national capital hammer the fine and
fancy village roast. I'm free to admit that
| in my time I've breezed under the wire all
| in, and that in those days my visiting list
| Of swell DANES had the average show girl
aggregation backed off the map, but that's
all in the dim and distant, and ever since
l galloped to the altar with my better half
I've been sticking to the straight and mar
| row. But tndl uOeSn IlSufe. ms game
I'm up against is the real thing, the Wash
ington knock, the village tremolo. Wash
| ington isn't city-its a burg, hamlet.
Every time man grins 1t goes down in
| the blue book as suspicious. and If he does
a quickstep for as much as block it's
announced by the town crier. Oh, it's
great, big, grand city for quick results.
The other day my wife mentioned at the
breakfast table that she'd some shopping to
do, and indicated that if l felt in a buy
ing mood, she's like to lunch at my eX-
pense. Far be 1t from me, she said or
words to that effect to stick YOU for the
price of swell ante-marrage layout, so
well go wherever you say. l haven't had
the pleasure for a long time. and I'd like to
insert little food into my system while
downtown with you. Consequently I'm not
real particular about where the thing is
pulled Off
Where the Trouble Began.
my dear said, I'd be tckled foolish
| to take you up most any time, but the fact
| is that today I've got business date with
! a friend from New York who's going to
| run over here to look at small chunk of
Washington real estate. He's rich as a
chorus girl and you take it from me that
he hasn't sense enough to pound sand. So
| if you pass over this lunch proposition and
walt till later, l may be able to buy you
a real nifty line of provender with the
shavinss off thousand so commission
on the deal
MY wife looked little mite disappoint-
| ed. but she's got quick head at figures.
and besides, she's been counting on an ad-
dition to the hen house for some time.
We'll, sir. drifted down town, and the
| first thing 1 did was to order a bang-up
lunch for two at the SWEETEST hotel in town.
My friends got an appetite like a farm
hand. and when he cuts into the grape for
awhile, he signs checks like Coal Oil John
n.y. so l figured on the fizzy stuff as a
mighty good investment Then 1 settled
down to work, thinking to give the rest of
the day up to my friend, after we'd alb
sorbed the lunch. You can bet was hot
around the neckband when 1 got q tele-
gram from him just about five minutes be-
fore eating time, saying it was all Off and
he'd postponed his trip till next week.
What could I do? I leave it to you, what
could l do? The grub was ordered, and it
was up to me to shell out, no matter whether
put 1t away or not And SO l slammed
on my hat and started off for a lonesome
meal.
well, sir, I was just about to turn in at
the door of this swell little joint I've men
toned when l felt real sassy tap on
the arm and voice remarked, We'll. If
here amt cid Bill. Ny, Bill, how you've
improved. II you amt the handsomest
thing at this present minute then I don't
know a man, which I think 1 do. 1 I'M
derstand you've settled down. Do you re-
member those little suppers We used to
have over in the real city7 I'll bet. though.
that you've forgotten. A man always does
Luncheon Was Dream.
"Suffice 1t to say I hadn't precisely for
gotten, which was not to my discredt, as
Gladys-I don't know what her name was
before she got in the show business-is a
sure enough dream, and In the five years
since I'd seen her last she hadn't gone
back. Not by a little bit. She had on the
finest line of art de novoes that I've been
close to in a week, and the diamonds and
things scattered over her made the sun look
like bulls-eye lantern. She always did
have a weakness for bottle glass. but her
hearts in the right place. If do say 1t as
shouldn't.
Where you going, Bill?' she asked after
we'd chinned a minute. Now, leave 1t to
YOU gentlemen, what could I do? Throw
out my chest, look insulted, leave Instantly
and pass up the grub? Certainly not. l
threw Pinkerton glance up and down the
street and invited her to lunch.
Well. sir. that lunch was a dream. and
versation. Cutting in on the grape at
four per cut is inclined to bring out the
| folly and frivolity In the human breast.
fr,a those shaded