Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-05-03
AROUND THE CITY

An unusual sort of woman was about to
leave a car. ..
1t was such a new car that its yellow
body and white roof was as fresh as
custard merngue And the polished seats
were so high in the air that as the pas
sengers climbed up to them their individ-
ual charts would have made star fea-
ture in a comic supplement sheet.
The unusual sort of woman made elab-
crate preparations for her departure
First. she caught the attention of the
conductor. Then she pressed button
long and hard. Then she stood up in her
seat. raised her hand and turned slowly
around. Then she called out with loud
imperatveness that commanded the IN
terest of everybody in the car:
II want you people to take notice be-
cause I may need you on the witness
stand before I'm Throughout, motor
man! Do you hear me-"
AS the car had come to a stop and the
man at the crank was as motionless as II
he were blue granite instead of blue CLOTH
the unusual sort of woman must nave
taken it to mean that he heard, for she
continued:
IF you start this car before 1 get off
I'll sue you for damages and prove 1t by
the folks here. / want you to understand
that I'm no daddy longlegs.'
She landed in safety. to the hilarious
enjoyment of the passengers. and when
she had waved permission for the car to
resume Its duties and was trudging TO-
ward the curb woman on one OF the
polished seats high in the air said to the
lazy looking man with her:
Honest. there ought to be stepladders
to 60 with these cars. oughn't there?'
The lazy looking mans answer was a
grin that came near being a yawn.
Still. it pays for the climb. It's so
much breezier than in the old cars-llke
being on the elevated, isn't II?
The lazy-looking man responded with
probably the most overworked grunt in
the American language:
"Uhhuh!'
She had tired blue eyes and the pallor
that comes Of half lifetime of office
work, and she was telling somebody's
fortune with tea leaves.
Another woman who sat beside her at
the cafe table listened while the small
performance was going on, and when the
amateur seeress had put her cup back
in its saucer, and the "sitter" had gone
off chucklfng, she said:
THAT was a rosy future you were
dealing out. 1 know now why we call it
the cup that cheers. 1t isn't the tea. It's
the good fortune in the leaves"
The seeress laughed with girlishness
that freShened up the tired blue eyes ana
resurrected a dimple:
"Oh, always make up my fortunes as
I go along. That's why they are always
pleasant. Still-they say I happen to
strike it true sometimes. Want me to
tell yours?'
but any bit of fun is welcome after a
long day of body and brain flag. so the
second woman ordered pot of tea. and
when the cup was drained except for its
leaves the fortune-teller turned it around
and gazed prophetically into its dregs
It was an astonishing amount of good
luck for SO small a cup to hold. There
were unexpected millions. proposal.
long wished-for letter. and journey
across seas with happy ending.
Then the seeress left the high road of
good fortune and turned into a bride
path Of the to-be. Her voice leveled
itself to a lifeless monotone and there was
an inscrutable something I'm the tired
blue eyes as she revealed just one small.
vital thing that no. soul on earth could
know but the woman whose fortune was
being told.
She had only happened to strike it
true" of course. still
AS the second woman went out into the
rainy dusk she said to herself. because
there was no one else convenient to say
it to:
III I, could only understand half the
things come across in this world, what
a wise old owl would be"' So,
Two tourists ofrthe way f-yonder wa
riety paused before government reser-
walton to watch a gardener who was go
ing over the grass with a. BROOM !,
81 'spose that chap gifts his thousands
and thousands a year ruinin' good
brooms." said the man in the Illuminating
voice that belongs to our. brother: of the
pillow; come along. ma, before he gifts to
usin' dust brush" -
Ma fingered. IS
Looks like he don't know no better.
Don't you think. pa. we'd. ought to tell
him that what grass needs.is .rake?'
No. we'd ought to do. nothin'' OF the
kind. I'm goin' to tend to my business
an you are gcin' to tend to your'n. an
we're both goin' to let him tend to hisn."'
And the wise man moved on.
A man in q buggy was driving down
the Avenue. AS his horse clipped over
the ground people on the pavement
grinned, and some of them turned to
stare. Strange men called out laughing
exclamatiOns to each other in passing.
and a half dozen or more bicyclists fol-
lowed the buggy in line.
And this gust of excitement was raised
Just because one wheel of the buggy had
come of and the driver. having placed
1t in the vehicle, was making for the
nearest stable on the other wheel and an
axle end!
Which tiny incident helps to show that
Puck knew his little book when he said:
What fools these mortals be!''
------o