Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-11-30

assigned to collect the mails from the
letter boxes in a number of the big office
buildings in the financial district. One
evening was just about to open the
patent lock of one OIL the big boxes when
hve or six letters tumbled down the chute
which connects the box with the floors
above. AS the letters landed l heard a
succession Of sharp little squeaks from
the interior Of the box. and then a tiny
| scratching sound. Mystfied' as to the
origin of the noises, l threw open the
little door quickly. l peered into the
aperture just in time to see some small
animal scurry into a corner of the box
and disappear.
II carefully removed all the letters in,
| the box to my leather mail pouch, and
then 1 proceeded to investigate. In the
that the green cushion with which the
bottom Of the box was lined was slightly
raised In one corner On putting my
hand in a tremendous squeaking ensued.
and feeling under the cushion I drew
forth one after the other pair Of white
mice.
well, that surprised me some, but
when I looked further and found that
the mice had followed out nest by re-
moving the padding from the corner Of
the cushion i wondered what they had
dofie with the superfuous padding.
knew they wouldn't eat 1t, and that they
must have gotten rid of 1t somehow.
Then I saw that when I had rudely
were engaged In gnawing a tunnel
through the wall in the back of the box
The squeaks were caused by some of the
falling letters hitting one of the mice.
which seems to have gone for stroll.
couldn't account for the presence of white
mice in the box, but 1 took them home
and gave them to my little girl as pets.
1.-THE next day 1 was surprised to find
lot Of cheese and crackers in the box.
I removed the stuff and told the elevator
starter in the building about it. He
kept watcnful eye and so did the ele-
vator men, to catch the culprit. Every
day for a week 1 removed cheese and
crackers from the box. and finally we
down the chute. 1t was one of the Office
boys in the building. He confessed that
he had dropped the mice down the chute
in a spirit of mischief a few weeks be-
fore, and that he felt remorseful at the
thought of the two helpless animals
starving to death. SO every noontime he
brought cheese and crackers in from his
lunch and dropped them down the chute,
*
There is. little Washington girl who
is very fond of the family's old-time
negro cook. The cooks name is Sally,
and because of her size she is known as
big SAL the little girl. however, calling
her "Biggie."
(. One day the little girls mother took
her to the National Museum, where,
among other things, there were some
stuffed, apimals. Ethel was greatly in
iterested. and for many. days she did not
week later. at the supper table, after a
preoccupied silence she said:
. Mamma, when Biggie dies I'm not
going. to have her buried; I'm going to
have her stuffed"'
/ *x
AZ.
looking out Of the window, why all those
street sweepers and men similarly en-
ployed work their way around to this cor
ner very day about noontime?"
$50 they can find out. without any
trouble, just what time it u.s." said the
man. There is a clock that strikes on
this corner. 1t can be heard a block
away. II the men are within hearing
distance they can throw down their show
els and their brooms on the stroke of II
and SO avoid the mistake of working
minute overtime
X x x X
Talk about commercialism, said a
Washington man who has Travelled ex-
tensively, New York city has every
thing in the world beaten on that score"
Then he related a story about visitor
from abroad who. after seeing the
jamestown exposition, went up to do
New York
According to the curious fashion of
New York, the visitor was then taken to
visit the cemeteries in the vicinity. Near
the entrance to one of them florist does
a thriving trade. Entering here the WIS.,
itor and his escort were conducted through
a wilderness of blooms by polite sales
man to a department in the rear, where.
to the visitors establishment, was row
of miniature graves decorated In differ
sire. This" said the polite salesman,
lis myrtle: this ivy and this is the plain
greed sod" The visitor gazed in wonder
while he declared 1t had been truly said
America carried commercialism even to
the grave.