Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-09-20

USUAL IHtN dt pliIS were dill
smiles and compaisance.
A MONG the sparrows known as
Gentleman John, on account of the i'm
maculate condition of his feathers. He never
fought if he could avoid it, and most of his
time was spent in preening his feathers and
watching through the corners of his eyes to see
how many were admiring him. The men
scoffed him openly, and declared that he was
no true sparrow: and until within the last few
timated that the sole reason of Gentleman
John not fighting was because he was afraid.
But the girls thought differently. Gentle
man John was not modest in his talk. and the
brave things that he would do should occasion
arise made profound impression upon them.
They believed that he was too gentlemanly In
his instincts for mere brawling. and though
most of the girls indulg ed in it themselves,
they thought all the more of him for keeping
aloof. even though he had to eat poorer seeds
for his self restraint. That the highest
type of bravery, they declared to one another,
And besides, Gentleman John such big
handsome. well groomed fellow. and so polite !!
During the last few days Tuffruf had under
gone remarkable change Hitherto he had
scoffed at Gentleman John; now he treated
him with marked consideration, and used his
influence to induce the other men to do the
same Naturally, they were astonished and
Gentleman John the most of all, But not for
long: for that would have been against the
nature OF the DfagSafC INSIDE OF tWenty-fOur
hours he was Boosting as loudly to Tuffruf as
he had ever done to the girls; and Tuffruf
by the mightiest effort of his life, restrained
himself and listened
THE why of it was this: There was one girl
whom Tufruf never scoffed at or jeered
though he never for single instant sought her
company He had known Miss Britannia all
her life ever since she had lifted her tiny bill
over the edge of an adjoining nest for food.
Perhaps it was this long acquaintance that
made his eyes single her out occasionally when
there were a lot of sparrows together; perhaps
it was because she was different from the other
girls Miss Britannia never wrangled. She
went straight to the seeds she wanted. or the
fruit she desired, and she held her own. And
when she had something to say. or to demand
she said it in a few quick chirps, looking
Squarely into the others eyes. A girl like that
was something worth while She was not a
brawler, and she was not coward; and
Tuffruf did not believe that he could say that
of single other girl in the whole sparrow
neighborhood
But of this Miss Britannia herself knew
nothing. She had long admired Tuffruf as a
hero, sparrow that was above fear; but
she believed that he despised her. as he despised
all girls. So when Gentleman John sought her
company, she did not repulse him she might
have done. 1t was drearily lonesome for a
sparrow girl to feel that she was all by herself.
Tutfruf was looking in their direction when
Gentleman John made his first approach with
his bill dropped in low bow and the fighter
threw up his head and wings with savage
fiercenesS that would have made the next few
minutes hard ones for the intruder, only at
that moment Miss Britannia returned the bow
with a pleased air. Tuffruf saw, and all his
tierceness vanished in chirp of dsmay.
After that he watched more closely. and