The Washington herald., 1908-08-23
UMBRELLA EPISODE COMPLEX
Girl Explains Hypothesis to Prepare
Her Victim.
Caller Thought She Was Right
and Then Found an Excep-
tiOn TO Rule.

I want 10 put q hypothetical question
to you said the girl after the man had
picked out the most comfortable chair IN
the room and seated himself therein. ac-
cording 10 the New York Sun Tt is as
long and complicated as some OF the
questions propounded by lawyers in Grim
inal trials, bat I think you viii be able
10 follow its intricaCies-
Suppose you were a wOman-ne. for
eXample-an6 two other women visited
you the same evening They were stran-
gers and came and went separately
Suppose that after they had gone You
noticed an umbrella which had been left.
presumably BY one OF your callers Sup
pose that the next morning Miss a. tele-
phOned you and asked Il she had left her
umbrella az your house. that she had left
it some place. she couldn't just remem-
Der where. but she believed Il was at
your house Was it,
You said Il was. and Miss A said she
would send e boy around 70 get Il. that
she had Just learned that she would have
to leave the city for quite a while. and
would you kindly give the boy the UNI
brella.
Suppose the boy came and you gave
him the umbrella, and then a little later
Miss 3. came rushing IN and asked for
house the night before-her umbrella.
mind you. the very one you had Just sent
10 Miss A. but which Miss B. could posi-
lively prove TO be hers. You'd be in
something Of a pickle by that time,
wouldn't your
We'll, suppose that 20 clear the matter
Up you rushed around to Miss As, hop
ing to recover the umbrella, but found
that both Miss A. and the umbrella had
11--
home again and found Miss 3. pacing up
and down your room wondering what on
earth she should ever DO, because il was
beginning 10 rain cats and dogs and she
had dozens OF places 10 go that day and
would certainly get soaked 10 the skin
and maybe catch her death Of cold be-
cause she had no umbrella. because YOU
had given hers away TO somebody who
hadn't the shadow of a right 70 Il You'd
feel pretty desperate by that tine,
wouldn't you?
well, suppose that 70 relieve the sit
uation still further you offered TO replace
Miss BIS umbrella The substitution
wasn't your own umbrella, but one that
another friend had left at your house a
short while before-a most excellent UNI
breIla, best Of silk and beautiful handle:
much better. no doubt. than the one Miss
3. had lost
w OEiO IlaL Dc IalT- " OulQ YOU have
a moral right to square yourself with one
person whose umbrella you had given
away by giving her the umbrella that
had been left at your house by somebody
elseg
Would it be fair?" exclaimed the man.
Why. certainly An umbrella is CON-
mon property. The courts have decided
that If a man leaves an umbrella any
place he has no right to expect TO see It
again.
"Oh. am so glad-' nurmured the girl.
But what is the end Of ali this hypo-
theticai incCisitiol2' asked the man.
What is it leading I'd TOP
On, nothing" said the girl Let's
talk about something else
They did talk about something else for
three hours When the man started
home he said:
"Oh, by the way. where is my umbrel-
la? ! left it here the other night, didn't
r.
you did" said the girl sweetiy. 1T
was your umbrella with which squared
myself with Miss b