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

curb and who fingered to watch the black
| wagon fade into a black blur. 'he walked
| right in without even being helped and
| was sure they'd have to put him on
| stretcher.''
And we standin' here wastin' time
| for nothin'. Come along, Blanche, l gotter
| hustle
In the voices of Lii and Blanche there
We're streaks of disappointment, wide and
! deep, and on their faces was the righteous
| wrath of victims who have been imposed
on and yet both looked to be wholesome,
| honest-hearted women who took f1rst-class
| care of their home folks and who. indi-
vidually, wouldn't harm fly for the mere
| cruelty of the thing.
1t was very small incident, but it helped
| to show that De Maupassant knew what he
was about when he wrote his little essay
! on crowds.
| Two women started to open the bundles
! they had just bid in at the dead letter sale.
| I'm so afraid I'll be disappointed l
| dasnt break the string!' gasped the pudgy
one, who looked as if she hadn't a nerve in
! her bory.
"G'long with you"' laughed the why one
/ in spectacles. Here goes for mine-Whew!
! look at all these handkerchiefs! That's
| real drawn work, too. The very things l
was going to get for Sue and Emily
mas gifts" interrupted the pudgy woman.
who was tearing peephole in the side Of
! her bundle.
80 do l. but they are splendid to give
away: and look. will you, at this apron!
It's the very thing for Elias little Floss
| Elias little Floss was to be afflicted with
turkeyred affair, piped with white linen
and adorned with china buttons big as
| poker chips. Then the woman took from
| her lapfW of stuff a home-knit comfort, a
couple of aluminium thimbles. a crocheted
| collar paper of horn studs, a job lot of
pins, string of blue glass beads and
| burnt-wood match box, carved to represent
a miniature fortress, with a fairly good
bust of Napoleon guard. The woman
| was evidently not up in history art,
for she he'd it out for inspection.
What do you suppose this thing is?'
| Il don't know the name, but it's one of
those what you call ems that Catholics
keep their holy water in. My cooks got
one nailed the inside of her door,
Sure! There's the church, and L reckon
that's the head of some saint. III give it
to Catherine. She'll be tickled to death
and look at all this red ribbon, will you!
Must be ten yards; let's see.' and the wo-
man put one end of the ribbon to her chin
and stretched her arm into yard stick
Just seven and a quarter. I'd had to
pay the 20 cents for the ribbon alone
But you haven't got any use for REQ
| ribbon" reminded the pudgy woman who
was fooling with the tied ends Of her
| bundle.
| well, that's so, but 1 can cut 1t into
| belts and hair ribbons to give around. Say
| woman. why don't you open that bundle
| and see what you got?"
Because l know I'm going to be dis
appointed. / wish I'd had the sense to
| spend my sixty cents something l knew
1 was getting instead of buying pig in
| poke"
after me. and after me- to come here with
you, and now you take on like this. Say,
If you amt satisfied I'll give you back
your sixty cents and take the bundle.
like the surprise of the thing
Indeed, you shan't, Them fared the
pudgy woman. hugging her mysterious be-
longing to her raincoat bosom. IF you
want bundles, go bid EN- in and stop try
| n other OeOnle-yOu
| thing, your
Which small incident shows that, even in
SO trifing a matter as dead letter SALE
human nature must needs stick her finger
| in the pie.
AS they passed:
you know how 1t is in Washington. A
single woman always belongs to the young
set until she marries or dies Of old age"
why. I wouldn't dream of giving Jim
Christmas gift out of the house money
earned every cent this year making
waists for the Blank girls
And man who was walking behind said
| to his companion:
IF 1 had wife like that, I'd frame her.
II wouldn't want her at any price; she's
me out Of every cent she can lay her hands
on. I'm used to 1t. It's one of the rules Of
the ring"
And the spinster who overheard Won
dered what Jim would have to say about it.
He was a man who felt that he ought to
be chvalrous. but was too lazy to live up
| to the contract. When the first woman
caught at the strap before his seat in the
car, he pretended he didn't see her. When
the second entered. he looked out Of the
window. When the third came in, he went
through trying ordeal with himself, and
| finally got up and offered his seat to the
woman who came in first. She refused.
The second woman refused The third
| woman refused. Then the first woman said
to the others:
1.-The effort was too great"
And the man who felt that he ought to
be chivalrous had to pretend he didn't hear.