The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1907-08-14

| had an aunt who posed in front OF
one of those things once. and all of 4
sudden there was Il tizz-bang. and all
| they found of her was one rib and
scream of terror
| When Mr.. Bowser passed through
! the house Mrs. Bowser asked where
| he was going. He replied that be
would take little wander around the
| streets to catch some character studies.
| He did not have to go far to find them.
| On the corner two blocks down stood
| three old tramps waiting to strike some
pedestrian for lodgings money. They
represented one of the types he was
after. Before he had reached them he
had decided to label their pictures am
bition," perseverance" and "1ntegri-
ty" respectively.
! "Boys," he began, "I'm an artist,
| and this is q kodak. Have you any OBJ
jections to my taking fashlight pic
ture of the group?'
"If you will come down 81 apiece
all around" answered Ambition.
Nonsense. You ought to be proud
| to be taken for nothing
ooh, we had, and the police wanting
us! It's So or nothing
"Then you'll get together. and II
can put the police on Ill do 1t"
That was an unfortunate remark for
| Mr.. Bowser. One of the three grabbed
| his hat. another gave him q cuff, and
| the third made grab and just missed
his nose as they ran away. Mr.. Bow
ser looked around for statue Of Lib
erty to tear down; but, not finding any
handy. he cooled off after time and
went his bareheaded way. he had
thought TO return home after another
headpiece, but he suddenly remem-
bered that great artists always Wenc
around the streets bareheaded and
thus got a name for eccentricity. Three
blocks farther along he came upon
short, squat woman carrying bundle
Of kindlings on her shoulder and talk
ing to herself about the high price or
diamonds She was the type he want
ed for 'Hope On. Hope Ever" and ne
accosted her with:
Madam, can I speak with you
moment?"
"Can you speak with me?" she re-
peated as she stood and looked at him.
"You can, sir, but let me tell you that
if YOU utter one single word that an
unborn babe oughtG't to hear I'll be
the death of you. I'm lone woman,
c;,. ]ona yyOm9O'-
eyes, yes, but all I want is to take
a picture of you. I'm all artist, you
/ know"
81 know nothing of the kind. You
may have come from the zoo for all l
know. A picture of me! Never! NO
true lady will allow man to take her
picture and be showing it around in
saloons. Sir, you pass on
Rebuffed by Woman.
~But, ma'am, you misapprehend the
situation. am making some studies
from life. I am taking pictures OF
cats, dogs, trampS and''-
"And I'm to 60 along with cats and
dogs and tramps, am I? Sir, you are
W
ceed to mop you all over the street
| for insulting a lady who is carrying
home bundle Of kindlinSs to her
starving family. Take that, you old
baldheadn'
And she gave Mr.. Bowser a tre-
| mendous kick on the knee and turned
her back on him to pursue her way.
| He arrived home in limping condi-
ton, and when asked to explain he said
| that he had fallen over. a barrel Of
sand on the sidewalk. His wife didn't
press the matter, and the next morn
ing he took his only proof down to
a photographer to be developed The
proof came back by mail day later.
| Mrs. Bowser opened the letter and
looked at it and then saved it to hand
to him when he came home. The proof
| showed a beer bottle sitting OF the
| fence, with cats head where the
cork ought to be.
! woman, what does this mean?" de-
manded Mr.. Bowser as he turned pale
and his chin trembled.
'Its the fashlight picture you took
| the other night"
"Never! Never in all this wor!d!'
"But here is the letter from the de-
veloper saying that the thing is unique
and asking if the rest Of the cat is in
| the bottle"
Mr.. Bowser walked to the closet
where the kodak was kept on a shelf,
and, reaching it down, he raised it
| aloft in both hands and dashed it to
the floor with blood curdling "Ha"
and then turned to Mrs. Bowser and
said:
SIT is early in the evening yet. We
can telephone to our respective law
yers to come over, and we can doubt
less arrange about the divorce and ali
mony 50 that you can leave for your
mothers on the first train in the morn
ing. This is too, too much. You have
| reached the dead line at last"
! NJ. QUAD.
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