Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-06-02
/ NICE RESTPUL DAY

This overworked man decided that be
wouldn't GO anywhere on Decoration day.
A long. iolIinE ioafing day for him at
home-if that second STORY front room Of
g boarding house can truthfully be called q
home.
He would duck the crowds on the cars
and boats. and just dope around his room
and rest himself.
He read the newspapers and magazines
and smoked many pipes during the fore
noon enjoying every minute OF the loaf.
Then, after luncheon unusually heavy
for him. he returned to his second-story
front and. after cigar. began to cast
dreamy, heavy-lidded chances Ut the big.
soft couch pulled up at the foot OF the bed
He could hardly finish his cigar, he was so
sleepy. And he was glad he was sleepy.
WELL he unused, II guess won't do a
solitary, single thing to that couch thing
not airy thing. I'm a-going to hit It
welt for about four hours that'H push 1t
down SO deep that the springs'n never be
any good again. Oh, suppose it's q mis-
take to think that Tn going to pound my
ear-yeh, mistake. Watch me-"
He peeled of his coat and vest and coll
lar and tie and cuffs, loosened his shirt.
and shock of his shoes.
Then he pulled down the dark blue shades.
so as not to leave even a chfnk of light
into the room.
Then he took a long gup of ice water.
couch, and Topped on to 1t. with deep
drawn sigh and "Oh. / suppose this Is
perfectly miserable"
He figured that he, would be asleep in just
one minute and forty-four seconds, and he
was pretty close to his handicapping fig
ures, at that.
He was just on the borderland, and large
blonde lady wearing a purple sailor hat
was about to hand him a gunnysack filled
with yellow gilt money. when
Street piano No. / began.
The violent. racking, wheezy. clattery,
screechy, tinny, slam-bang nuisance was
unreeling FAN I Get Is Sympathy for a
starter.
The overworked man quickly retreated
from the borderland of slumber. The lady
in the gauzy costume promptly picked up
her skirts and beat 1t at a racing clip The
overworked man was wide awake, and
thinking
The raison d'etre Of that street piano
across the street was the first thing that
occurred to him, He knew why that street
piano and many others played In front of
the big, rich house across the street, to the
intense disgust OF the neighbors of the
occupants OF the big, rich house, every
day.
The wealthy young mistress of the big.
rich house directly across the street from
the boarding house liked street plano music
for It's own sake. In addition to her liking
for 1t, she had two-year- old baby-her
frst-that also joyed and reyeled in street
piano music. And every time one of the
Sicilian street pianists pulled UP in front
of the big, rich house two-bit piece was
tossed out OF the window at him. The tip
got out long ago among the street pianists
and at least a dozen of them pull up in
front Of that house and uncoil their entire
repertores at least twice over every day.
All of this passed through the tired and
disturbed mind of the overworked man as
he rolled from side to side of the soft couch,
sleep edging away from him with every rev.
olution of his thinking apparatus. The
street piano passed on to the horribly hack
neyed Dukes song" from "Eigoletto,"
and from that swept into the unspeakable
mischance of 'Wait Till the Sun Shines
Nellie" than which, from the dawn Of his
tory, nothing more atrocious in the way of
organized sounds has ever been perpetrated
upon an afflicted world.
Nothing for it'll just have to stand
for 1t till the burned thing goes anyway
from there" reflected the overworked man
who'd been looking forward to a long
dreamful afternoons couch snooze.
So he tossed around and punched the pill
lows until. the street pianos coll having
been unreeled twice over in compliment for
the quarter slung out of the window of the
rich house across the street, the slight
rumbling sound indicated that the dago was
beating it up the streets
well, that's over-guess I can put away
some of that slumber thing yet said the
overwurled man to himself and once more
he settled himself on the couch His lids
fell again, and brownie with two suit
cases filled with large diamonds and rubies
and emeralds was just sinking into a beau
tfful cave filed with hanging crystal sta
lactites when the overworked man with this
fancifuf picture In his dreaming brain sat
up with start. His first thought was that
1t was an earthquake, but 1t was only
couple of tons of hard coal sliding down
an iron chute right In front of his boarding
house. The overworked man sat on the
edge of the couch with his chin In his
hands and waited for the coal to finish rat
Ting down the chute He hoped there
would be no dinge handy to put the coal
in for the landlady. This hope was real
lied. The coal wagon drove away, and
there fell another silence
The man who'd been looking forward to
and afternoons sleep once more rolled on
to the couch and found that slumber was
still within his grasp.
He was dancing upon an asphodei-littered
sward with radiant queen of the wood
nymphs. who was whispering into his ear
that she had it in mind to have him adopt
ed into her tribe when
Gr-r-r-r-rki Wou-ou-ou-ouch, Il-il-il-iikl
Er-er-er-erki Nice little Williei Soak him!
Nice little Wiliei Soak himr
1t was the parrot belonging to the SPIN
ster mistress of the abode next door to the
boarding house. The parrots cage had just
been placed In the bay window of that
abode to give the bird the benefit of the
sun.
The overworked man tottered to his feet
walked over to his DESK and filled pipe
Then he sat on the edge of the couch, the
room still darkened, and smoked for fifteen
minutes or so, hoping that the parrot might
subside. The parrot did tire of recommend
ing that nice little Willie be soaked after
about twenty minutes, and then the over
worked man knocked the ashes out of his
pipe and Topped back on the couch once
again.
The cumbersome effect OF the heavy
luncheon was still upon him, he found and
he was glad to perceive that there remained
at least chance of his getting in q piece
of that sleep, anyhow. He had arrived at
that day when he was retiring from bust
ness after having accumulated large for
tune, and he was just about to make a
neat little speech In which he meant to
present his business plant to his faithful
employees tor their own use and profit.
when
A dinge who'd been grabbed by the land
lady as he passed by began to put In those
two tons of coal, using large copper4bot-
toned boiler for receptacle. And at the
same time another street plano that had
pulled up In front of the big, rich house
across the street started In to creak NO