Evening star., 1907-11-16
BITTER TRUTH

10 De square with H1mseiI Dg telilnS tHe
whole truth and nothing but the truth
to all hands. and failed at that difficult
undertaking, made another stab at 1t one
day last week.
Ono try doesn't make an attempt, any
more than one snowbird makes a bl!z-
zard." the way he mused about it.
Anyhow. maybe I was teo brash that
| last time. At any rate. I've just natur-
ally got to live up to mysel' and tell the
| truth-not fizgig around uttertng lies
! just to make folks feel good
| So he went forth from his dwelling
| bound officeward.
| First man he met was a neighbor. who
seemed to be proud OF new pair OF
rather ornate tan shoes which he'd
bought the day before.
Bully kicks. eh?" said the neighbor.
Like em?''
No" promptly replied the truth teller.
Il do not Ike them"
| Don't, hey?' was the somewhat huffy
| observation of the neighbor with the
new tan shoees. whats the matter
| with 'em?"
| Well" replied the man who was ex-
perimenting with the truth. Il think
| the sho s are too much embellished, are
| of too striking a color and are rather too
youth rul in general effect for man OF
your age"
Gee. that's a hot one to get right after
| breakfast" said the neighbor most man
| ifestly miffed. and he picked up his feet
and hurried SO as to get away from the
| truth teller. =
Next person met up with by the man
| who was ambitious to be square with
| himself was a woman friend employed
in one of the departments. He drew a
| seat alongside o, her in the car. AS
usual, she began at once about her daugh-
| ter.
her class at the high school. as usual,
and everybody is predicting great things
for her. On, no. no. she will not become
a bluestockins-I shall guard against that.
of course-but 1T is comforting to know
that the dear is extraordinarily
clever. Have you ever met a more clever
girl Of her age than Agnes?"
The truth teller hated to do 1t, but he
had to do it to be consistent.
Yes" he replied. Il have met quite a
number of young women whom 1 con-
sidered brighter than Miss Agnes. I do
not say this with any idea of speaking
derogatoriiy of Miss Agnes intelligence.
but I merely express fact in reply to
your undodgable question"
WhereupOn. Of course, the depart
mental woman, mother of the remarkable
Miss Agnes, took on a flustery exterior
that caused her to look like the hen
with one chicken that sees a hawk cir
cling only u short distance above the
| meadow.
Leaving the car himself. the truth
| teller came upon an old and rather fussy
friend. This old and rather fussy friend,
q day or so before had written to mot
for) a newspaper a half-coumn letter
upon some local question. and, like all
persons who write letters to newspapers
and have them published. he imagined
that the whole town was excitediy buZ-
zing about the brillance and depth OF
that letter
| "Eh-d'je see that little thing of mine
in the paper--that letter. signed with my
name, about ta-ra-ra and sich-and-sich?'
inquired the old friend, naming the char
acter of his remarkable letter.
| Yes" replied the truth teller, Il read
It,"
Did eh?" said the old friend, obviously
pleased and flushed up over his achieve
ment. "How'd'je find it-ail right?"
| Il cannot say that l did, was the re-
ply of the truth teller.
'Wha- -wha-what. You didn't like it?"
inquired the old friend. acutely chagEned,
as could be told from his expression o;
| countenance.
| NO., said the truth teller, Il did not
| care much for it."
| "Er-would you-er-be good-enough to
l-um-inform me- stif4iy and some what
fiabbergastedly asked the old friend.
what you found in connection with that
published letter of mine-a letter which
all of my friends have mentioned to
me In terms of approval. If not Of praise
| would you mind stating, sir. what you
| found in that letter that was objection
| able?"
Nothing at all Objectionable" replied
the truth teller. Nothing like that at
ALL
Then, sir. what allied the letter.
| WELL since you press me as to that
point, found it dull, uninteresting, rath-
er overwritten, bit pompous, and gen.
orally mediocre
| The old friends face was purple, and
| his mouth was twitching in torment o.
! inexDreSsible wrath when the truth teller
moved on his way, dceming 1t unwisa and
| perhaps unkind to remain longer.
| During the noon hour that day. while
walking from his luncheon place to his
office, the truth teller came upon rather
garrulous and enthusiastic little elderly
emerging from a photograph gallery.
why. howde-do?" said the garrulous
little woman friend. I've just been
getting my niece's photographs. Here, l
| must show you One, and she fishad a
packet of photographs out of her reticule
| and showed one of them to the truth
| teller. The photograph represented a
young person with rather snu5by nose
| and more or less invisible eyebrows and
tho peevish expression OF Countenance
| which some of the young female persons
of the present day imagine to be Glib
sonish and Valeska-Surratish and fetch
ing and chic and all like those.
| Now, isn't Myrtle the most splendidly
| bee-yu-tful creature in the whole wide
world?" rapturousiy inquired the garru-
lous little old woman friend, holding the
| photograph up before the truth teller s
view.
He tried to evade the question by re-
naming silent as he examined the pic
ture. But she wouldn't stand for that
silence.
Isn't She. persisted the little old
woman friend. 1.-The most noble looking.
the most triumphantly beautiful girl you
ever saw in your born days?' and she
looked square at the man with the truth
full bug.
well. no. couldn't say that" he re-
piled. cornered. Really. 1 could not In
justice go so far as that"
Howe" snapped the garrulous woman
friend. You don't consider my niece
Myrtle pretty?"
II did not say that, believe" said the
truth teller. II said that l did not con-
| slider her the most triumphantly beauti-
full girl that ever saw in my born days. y
well, you certainly are becoming in
tOlerable as you grow older. and deed
| should hate to be your wife-hoW l do
pity the poor woman!' snapped the little
old dried up woman friend, chuckfng the
pictures of the niece back in her reticule
and she went her way. talking to her
self. and her eyes a-gleam with anger.
On his way home that evening in the
car he caught a seat alongside neigh
Dor who pays great attention to the ma
tional political situation.
'"They can knock Bryan all they want
to- said this neighbor when he got
SWINGING on his favorte tonic. "but he's