The Topeka state journal., 1908-09-18
KANSAS COAAENT
a DEADLY HIrMoR

A DEADLY HUMoR.
- mere IS sad old song that is sung
~ many languages, one verse of which
runs as follows: 80 had the land mr.
sea but takeHshiln from me. would
NOT tnese sad tears be weeping, but
nope ned comes once more, and love
.i'o as peIore, and say, Cease weeninr
eny zone watch Keeping"
u1It'sis Is fair young damsel in
washington who is crooninr that
dreary refrain NOWADAYS. and insistir~
enae sne VIII never smile again. And
. week ago she was as happy as the
oAros IN the trees, and she was given
pIayrui jests, and mods and becks
ea 1nu "reatned smiles. Had it not been
Tor her weakness for playful tests she
would not these sad tears be 'veeniy1sr
me deadly feminine hunaor which no
her undoinR -
The girl had lover, a sober, in
oustrious, ambitious young man, who
saved his money and never did any-
thing foolish. Their wedding dav was
appointed, and she was preparing her
prldal nnery, and there wasn't a cloud
On the norlzon, when the young man
caiied at her home the other evening,
10 ten her that he had to go to Balti-
more for a few days, on business. In
spired by her fatal sense of humor
sne pretended to have Jealous fears;
she insisted that he was going to Bal
tlrno1e to see another girl; she knew
tnat such an idea had never entered
MS head. but she saw that he was dis
tressed and embarrassed, and so she
thought 1t amusing to insist that the
charge was true; of course it was all
in fun-girl fun; she fully intended to
explain everything before he went
away. and they'd have a good laugh
over it.
But this strange young man was of
deadly serious mould; he had no
understanding of frivolity, and white
lie looked to him as dark as a black
one. and so the girls explanation
didn't explain anything to him. She
believed that he was faithless; that
was the only thing he could under
stand; and so, sadly and with some
pride, he said goodbye to her, and
went away. He went to his room, and
wrote out a will, leaving all that he
owned to the girl; also a note saying
that her doubts of his faith had brok-
en- his heart. Then he went down to
the broad and placid Potomac and
ended life's fitful fever.
Doubtless he was fool, yet there
was something dignihed, even noble,
in his folly. Doubtless. you will say,
the girl was a fool, but she wasn't;
she was true to the nature that the
Creator gave her and it wasn't her
fault il her lover couldn't follow the
windings of her ioyfal moods. Through
the long years to come, she's bewail
the folly that wasn't folly, and hope
he'll come once more, and love her as
before.
II We all understood each other
there would be fewer tragedies; but
there would be nothing but monotony
in life.-Emporia Gazette.
A CHERRYvALE NUISANCE.
over at Cherryvale, the real estate
men who maintain offices seem to be
willing to tax themselves in order to
drive out a class of parasites on the
business who are commonly known as
''curbstone brokerssfA The office men
propose to have an occupation tax es-
tablished. believing the ''curbstone
brokers" will not paysit and will there
fore have to quit. Our sympathies are
all with the Office men but we doubt If
they can accomplish their purpose this
way. If not we hope they will devise
other methods that will be more sue
cessful in suppressing the nuisance.
Surely the Office men are entitled to
some protection. They spend their cash
in advertising their cities and bring
stoner" spends nothing but merely
stands in wait like vulture trying to
capture the customer brought to the
city by the more enterprising dealer
If a city had to depend upon curb
stoners" for its advertising 1t would
never be known beyond the group of
loafers on the street corner in the CEN
ter of whom the "curb'' man is gem
orally found. The men who think
enough of their city to proclaim its
merits far and wide and of their busi-
ness to dignity it with Office rooms are
entitled to all the protection that any
council can give them.-Coffeyville
Journal.