Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-23
AROUND THE CITY

The car was so crowded that row of
women were standing, though every man
but one had given up his seat.
The one man was fair and scholarly look
ing. like the pictures of Heidelberg students
after they have done with stems and duelS
and settled down to hard work. With a
book on his knees and a cane in one hand
he stared out of an opposite window at
something he didn't see in the streets;
something so absorbing that he never bat
ted a lash. And while he stared he beat
ceaseless tattoo with his cane, using the
corrugated flooring for drum. He beat
every roll call, from reveile to taps; beat
them so persistently and with such beautiful
precision that the passengers began to
smile or frown. according to the state OF
their nerves. When the thing had become
a general nuisance, however, a fine fat
woman in broadcloth and mink, who took
up half of the seat that lawfully belonged
to the person on her left, turned to her and
said aloud, very much aloud:
Il think there ought to be a law against
unnecessary noises. don't you?
The person on her left was a tallow can
dle-faced woman with her hands doubled
under to keep the public from knowing that
her fingers were out of her gloves. She was
evidently not addicted to sharing spot lights
with fine fat women in broadcloth and
mink for her face changed from tallow to
beef red and her hands opened with con-
awful. Then she tried to stammer out the
opinion she didn't have concerning noises,
and while the passengers waited to hear
what it would be, the tattoo man filled in
the time with:
Tap tap, taptaptap. Taptaptappytappy-
taptaptapt
'There's nothing 1 enjoy more than a
good drum solo, a facetious gentleman
who was hanging to a strap announced
The tattoo man may have taken this re-
mark to himself, for he obligingly broke off
in the middle of ''cal to breakfast" start
ed fresh at reveille, and went through the
entire roll beat of the military day, wind
ing up solemny with lights out Then
he began all over again.
When the car stopped at the 18th street
junction the passengers who didn't get out
watched to see what the tattoo man would
do.
He didn't do thing but rat tat GUARD
| mount that would have done credit to that
imperishable young person, the Drummer
Boy of Prague.
It's long car ride that has no ending
| and the time came for the fine fat woman
| to touch button and vacate her seat and a
| half. Then the tallow candle woman let
herself out comfortably, but had to crumple
right up again to accommodate the facetious
| gentleman, who remarked as he settled him
self down:
Here's where face the music"
1t must have been choice utterance of its
kind, for every passenger snickered appro-
baton, except three. One was the tattoo
man. who kept on staring and drumming
another was middle-aged man in the fin
est suit tailor could make, and the third
was a woman who didn't count.
The snickering was barely over when the
| tattoo man stopped in the middle Of Come
all who are able and go to the stable" to
touch button and fairly rush out of the
car. And when he was good and gone a
dear old lady who had been sitting next to
him exclaimed aloud in her gratitude:
THANK goodness! l was just getting
ready n Wasn't 1T narfact1y dread
ful?'
She bestowed the last half of her remarks
on the middle-aged man as he took the
empty seat.
I'm afraid, madam, my sympathy is
with the poor fellow himself. He is under
some great mental strain and doubtless was
unconscious of what he was doing, further
than that it was sort of relief. Sometimes
| a little outlet like that saves a mans SAN
''Why, is that so? Poor dear. I'm glad
| kept quiet and didn't add to his troubles.
I'd stand anything for person like that"
| herself:
| Amen"
A man had fallen from a car and the
! usual crowd was swarming. 1t was a day
| of sniveling rain and slippery sidewalks,
but the crowd didn't mind. 1t nudged and
| elbowed itself into as close jam UNI
| brellas would permit, and its composite eye
was bulged on the man who was injured
and on the policeman who supported him
| against his fine blue chest Presently an
| other policeman came up and waved the
| inner circle off with his billy. This gave
| a sinister turn to the affair that made il
| doubly interesting. Maybe somebody
| around would do something to get himself
| arrested. AS this fascinating possibility
| began to impress itself on the composite
| face an ambulance was driven up, the mar
| was opened, the man who had fallen go'
| inside, the ambulance rolled off and the
| crowd. cheated of it's sensation, broke ur
| into human bits and drifted in every direc.
] ton.
'Why, ILL.," complained one of two wo
] men who had occupied fine locations on tht