Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-11
AROUND THE CITY

IL was d ltSSS iuoIHiHS dllci Il rainy
night and the pavements were drenched AS
a woman went up 18th street she happened
to see on one of the wet fiagstones in front
of her wonderful thing, which she stopped
to pick up. First, she put it on the soft,
happy cuff Of her coat sleeves and shielded
1t from the cold with her boa. Then she
breathed on it and presently the wonderful
thing f1uttered out two brown wings, spot
ted and trimmed with black and fiecked with
dusky gold.
The last rose of summer, in the garden of
song, doesn't begin to compare in ~pathos to
the last butterfly stranded on a wet pave
ment, at the tail end of October, SO the
woman carried it gently until the brown
wings opened wide and the threads of legs
stretched out in solid comfort. Then she
took time to notice that people were staring
at her they passed. One real pretty girl
looked at her man companion, ana on her
lips was the side curl that only the AFRO
gance of youth can achieve. The butterfly
woman couldn't catch what the man an
swered but it was most likely to the ef-
feet that she was neither young nor at
tractive enough to be calling attention 10
herself. And the man was perfectly rlSht.
Then batch of school children came
along. piled down. with books enough to
start a circulating library.
"Oh, lady please gimme that butterfly!
What do you want with it!
The little girl who asked wasn't prepared
To saw what she wanted with it. She was
simply acquiring it on general principles
IF you stick pin in the middle 1t would
keen beautiful" announced another little
girl 'They's got 'em at the children
room over to the Smithsonian, all glued on
white paper in glass frame ana lhey iooh
'Zactly like real. ,
I'D hatch out young ones. If 1t as me,
spoke. up the one boy in the flock II you
keep 'em careful and feed EN- on mulberry
leaves they'll lay eggs and hatch out teeney,
butt
Howdy did that time he broke his leg
II likes lightnin bugs bes': ketches EN-
ev'y timev' lisped small thing, whose
pudgy person was coated In red cloth ana
topped with a woody red tam crowded
over very light and very skinny curls. The
children and the woman laughed together,
and then they parted the butterfly sun re
manning on the woman's cuff. A business
person however, can't afford to spend her
time in rescuing butterflies foolish enough
to outlive their season. so she Went IN
store where she hoped to buy something
she wanted, and where she was waited on
by a man with kindly eyes. He didn't keep
the thing she asked for but he did agree
to keep the butterfly. The woman told MIN
that she was leaving it with him because
the bit of thing might just as we'll live
out it's few hours in comfort as to be
drowned, frozen or crushed In the street
And as he put the atom of God making
in a bright spot on the counter, the kindly
eyes of the store man beamed as pleasantly
as if the woman had bought every camera
in his shop and paid him spot cash.
1t may be that the butterfly had still fur
Their adventures, but the woman does not
know Of them.
Ask the man.
spare elderly and scholarly-looking
man poked his cane into mound of leaves
that the street cleaners had piled near the
curb When he had burrowed a hole in the
middle he took something from his pocket,
dropped it in the hole and went on.
well, that's queer!" said one Of two
young men who We're going along on the
opposite side of the street wonder what
that old chap hid under those leaves? Let's
go over and see.'
"Oh, come along. You're no sleuth." pro-
tested the other, who seemed to be in a
hurry, and who. moreover, looked like the
sort Of person who confined himself TO MS
own affairs.
way. You don't know what tragedy we may
uncover
The man In search of thrills crossed the
asphalt in advance and, having no cane.
kicked the leaves from the thing the old
man had hid. 1t wasn't dramatic find. at
first glimpse; just bit of newspaper
crushed into a bal. You never can tell,
however, SO the young man who wasn't a
sleuth but would love to be- picked up the
ball, unwrapped it and found a few crumbs
of dried crust and small tangle of bologna
skins.
1t was a tragedy. after all.
A nice man was blowing along in the
windy dusk. AS he reached a corner black
lettered sign was blown from its post Of
duty over a tailor's shop and struck him
on the shoulder. Before he knew what had
happened to him the proprietor of the shop |
a bony little man with tape measure over |
his coat. was on the scene with the meek
est of apologies.
The woman who was blowing along be-
hind knew the man was a nice man, for !
when he saw the distressed look of the lit |
tie tailor he smiled and rubbed his arm.
That's all right. 1t wasn't a big board (
and I'm pretty tough. Good reminder for |
me, too ] want thicker vest"
And the two went into the shop.
Electric lights starred the dusk Cars |
flashed up and down Pennsylvania avenue |
like SO many green and yellow iIlumipa-
tons, and the automobiles whizzed Hike |
devil-chasers with eyes of~golden fame. |
There was a tumble of footsteps on the
pavement, wheels in the street, and news
boy cries from every direction and above
all the noises there f1oated across the
asphalt the voice of street singer on the
Post Office side sof the way.
THAT old fellow has had a dandy voice
in his day." said one Of three men who
were standing together by the entrance of
the Raleigh Hotel.
Yes, poor chap. Must be hard lines to
come down like that. Takes some notes
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