Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-10-11


- Eons and cons have
passed since Pandora's Gu
riosity caused her to peep
into the little box which
had been intrusted to her keeping, ana
thereby released the hundreds OF httle
winged creatures known as trouDles.
Rut these evil sprites were long-hVeo
lot and the years which have follower
hove marked their continual multlpllca~
ton and increase.
Since their release they have scattered
.ride,v and have taken many and various
forms. according to their different natioh-
aIities and environments; but they nave
ALWAYS been the same In at least one
narticular-they play no favorites "Rlcn
man. poor man, beggar man or tnleI'
male or female, aristocrat or pieoelan'
they are all one and the same TO these
imps of misfortune. which are so minutes
NAL In size as to defy detection unoer the
most powerful microscope, yet so invarl-
ably effective as to break through the
stoutest barriers Of apparent ease ana
content.
Not a person lives. or ever has lived. for
that matter. who has not at some time
in his or her career encountered these
tiny demons in a pitched battle and who
has not come out Of the struggle very
chad second best.
When engaged in such combat these
sprites may appear in the guise OF busl-
ness troubles. unfortunate affairs OF the
heart Or III countless other forms. oul
no matter what the particular instance
NAV be, the result of their handiwork IS
commonly described by every one in these
United States with the one expression:
Hard luck.
1t is not a beautiful phrase You will
not find it in any Of the dictionaries, nor
may it justly be termed anything except
inelegant but for all that 1t nts II Is
slangy in the extreme. yet 1t differs from
most slang in that where other express
sions are apt to be coiloqulal ana uhoeI
stood only in certain sections OF the coun-
try, this one is known and used every
where and by all classes.
You may hear it hundreds of times any
day here in Washington Denilehs vi lne
workhouse invariably use 1t to explain
the why-for of their presence In oura
vile The tramp makes 1t the basis OF ms
appeal to your sympathies and your pock-
etbook 1t issues unconsciously from inc
mouths of 1.-The fans" when the nome
team loses, and it is the great phrase OF
coincidence employed by the army OF gov
eminent clerks when one OF their nuhoer
receives a slip informing \him that ms
services are no longer required NOT
an official or statesman, not the most
nrospero1s of business men, not even
member of that most peacefui OF voca-
TONS the clergy, but that has his pet IN
stance of some bygone 'hard luck eA-
perience Sometimes they TEEN with
pathos, but more often. viewed through
the tinted glasses OF present pros
perity. they are apt TO pc miloiy huiioi
Gus.
There are those that claim washington
to be the champion hard-luck city OF the
country. They base their arguments on
dents Of this city are here seeking leg1s-
lation or other favors necessltafed
through hard luck. They also claim that
here. in greater numbers tnan IN any
other two cities combined. exist members
of aristocratic and one-time wealthy fami-
lies who have little left but their name
and the remembrance of former greatness
This may or may not be true. AT any
rate here are a few stories told by
Washin gtonianS about Westinghouse
which deal with hard luck, but which will
hardly settle the dispute
The Poor Little Perch.
f1NNY life teens with sad experiences.
1V4 said an official of the census
bureau last week: but of all sad words
of tongue or pen the saddest of all have
10 do with a little semi-tamed fish which
once knew and loved
In my younger days / was a great
fisherman. didn't know anything about
the expensive reels or bamboo rods or
multi-colored flies. or any other expen-
sive apparatus of today, but 1 usually
managed to carry home pretty heavy
string for all that.
Well. one day pulled up a little perch
too small to make a single mouthful
This fact. added to appealing look
in his eyes. caused me 10 drop him gen
tly back into the water. Believe me- it
wasn't ten minutes before l had caught
him again. and later in the afternoon, a
third time dropping him gently back into
the water every time. The next day the
experience was duplicated. and SO on, I'M
til. at the end of the week. had hook ed
and released him thrty-two times
When the third-third time came l took
him In my hand. looked at him. and
wondered if he knew me as we'll as 1
thoughts aloud. for that fish actually
waseed his tail, and seemed to be doing
his best to say yes.
Now said /, when / noticed that.
IL Won have sense enough to understand
mo YOU ought to feel some gratitude
toward me for sparing your life. You
might repay me by pointing out good
places for me to throw my hne. WIN you
do ito And again my fish wagged his tail
in affirmation.
..He was as good as his word, too. for
the next day he was waiting for me. ana
swan slowly along in the shallow water
mill he came to q certain spot, Wnere
he disappeared I threw in my line ana
caught 1872 fish in less than an hour.
chummy, that fish and /. and things were
going beautifully when 1t all came to an
end. can hardly bear TO describe IT,,
but the fact Is that one day, as We were
crossing the stream by means of foot
log, my fish lost his balance, slipped, fell