Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1906-09-28
Her POcketbook.

An YAK PARK man 1Ounu WON
ans pocketbook, and Immediately
advertised his find in the news
papers.
Two women called upon him, iden-
tilted Il. and claimed IL. He was
about TO hand down a decision which
would have done credit to Solomon,
when his wife. whom he had mis-
takenly neglected to consult in the
first place. learned OF the matter,
and proceeded at once to prove that
she was the real owner
II will be as well to pass speedily
over the little unpleasantness which
ensued, and which grew out OF the
Wife claim that her husband should
have known her pocketbook the
moment he glanced at It. IL was
nothing serious, even though, per-
haps, for a moment or two the hus-
band was tempted, as any man
might have been, to make a remark
about women's pocketbooks In gem
eral.
The average man will not, unless
acting under fit OF abstraction,
and then In the most mechanical
way, have anything to do with a
woman's pocketbook. He Is afraid OF
II, Even in his own handling It, and
he bushes with conscious guilt when
he catches himself looking at II.
There Is to him something un-
canny about II, II multlplles under
his gaze, and II recalls To his startled
vision all the women's pocketbooks
he has ever seen lying upon wom-
ems laps In the streetcars. the rail-
road trains. Rn the tables In res
tagrants. on the shelves of ticket
Offices. and everywhere else where
anything may be laid and left or lost
Il recalls to him the fact that
perhaps a score of times In HIS life
he has seen an excltable woman try
Ing 10 stop the car of the train, rush-
Ing into the restaurant and overturn-
ing the things on the table. or ac-
onsing all the bystanders around a
railroad station or theater lobby OF
conduct unbecoming gentlemen. lie
Is reminded by the sight of Il OF the
time when woman's pocketboolS
was found under HIS hat, or under
the napkin In front of him. or under
his chair, or suspiclously close TO
his hand In the waiting room.
lie recalls with tremor the time
when the tail lady In black came In
with the policeman and pointed him
out as the man who sat opposite
her ON the trolley car, and who was
the only person who could possibly
have picked up her pocketbook.
which, on further thought. she re-
mombered she had left nthe chif.
fonier at homo,
No living man can distinguish his
wife's poeketbook from any other OF |,
the thousands OF women's pocket.
books he sees lying loosely around Ia |
the course OF year. and which to
all appearances anybody could pick |
up and walk away with. II is all he
can do at times to refrain from pick
ing up one here and there aud hand.
Ing IL TO the supposed owner. The
only thing that prevents him from
doing Il "a the knowledge born OF ex-
perlenoe that he viii In an probabn-
ty hand Il 60 the wroug woman and /
hereby get himself into serious
Irouhle,
There are few things about
women that man has not yet been
'ble 70 understand. He has never
been able 20 had her pocket. lie
las never been able to fathom Why
Ter purse should be called her pock-
'tbook. since was never known 10
AIRY Il In her pocket. III
And he has never been able TO
xplain TO his own satisfaction how
he average woman eau tell her pocA-
lbook from the thousands OF other
'omen's pockelbooks that are strewnI
4 over the basement floor and the
.sement counter on bargain day.