The Washington herald., 1908-03-16

New York, March 1a-"Lets have a
drink! What?"
The speaker was none other than
young man standing near the Fourth
avenue back door Of Madison Square
Garden this afternoon. wearing a suit OF
large spring clothes.
Well. have a cigar, If you're keeping
Lent He led the way across Fourth
avenue 20 certain place. and he spoke
of the JOY OF one when one sees one
robin scampering across the shopworn
park lawns. and how suddenly one
awakens to the fact that spring has
come when the south wind blows from
Lethe.
But the boss has just looked over the
nrst sheet Of copy, and wants TO know
whether this is a story Of Barnum's s
animals getting 10 town. or isn't it. and,
If so. why not? SO. to return to the
young man:
But always to me-" the young man.
who is stil talking. is saying, the first
real sign of spring is the great twenty
four-sheet posters in three. colors spread
along Main street in red lights swinging
across the blue sky. with the elepha=ts
far below, and millions OF people rie-
tured inside the big top trying 10 appla-d
In quantity sufficient to compensate Lor
the pleasure that the greatest show on
earth is Offering them.
Aha, Press Agent, Yes.
Now, from the absence of ALTERATION.
you may not recognize who am. Ait
Grafton is old stuff Let me remark that
am none other than Dexter Fellows. Be
lieve or not, as you see nit, but 1 am
press agent Let US recross the avenue.
bundling these cigars in your pocket
carefully before you 90 hence, and see
the baby elephant"
So that your feelings might not be
sacrificed, you tried not to see them, but
there. just outside the well-guarded door.
stood a small boy and a distinguished
author. both seeming 10 gaze VistfuIIv
toward the guarded door longing 10
break into the happiness Of the gloomy
garden.
The author was Wells Hawks. who
wrote the Red Wagon Stories and
other books that have 10 do with the
sawdust ring, and who tries 10 throw out
The bluff that he was once a canvasman.
Let US pause outside the door Of Fairy
land long enough however, 10 state au-
thoritatively that Mr.. Hawks never was
canvasman ia his life and that even
If he did stay up all night Saturday 10
help stall the elephants for the Barnum
show. he didn't get a cent for doing il,
and 50 is an amateur.
Baby Elephant Next.
First Of all. we shall take a look at
our new baby elephant, Abraham Lin
coin, suggested Dexter Fellows. speak
ing in the tones Of a proud mother
Into the twilight Of the garden YOU
went then. and headed toward the eIe-
plant founding ward Of the circus TO
pinch the baby's plump little cheeks.
All around We're scenes Of the activity in
arranging FOR the opening.
How old is the baby?" asked Mr.. Eel
lows Of Harry Mooney who. in the eIe-
plant world. corresponds to the president
of a railroad or the managing editor Of a
newspaper.
Three weeks replied Mr.. Mooney.
Tell the ladies and gentlemen how old
the baby kangaroo is repeated Mr.. Eel
lows
Three weeks" replied Mr.. Mooney.
just as promptly as before. And so it
went.
Has Such Voice.
Little Abe, the baby elephant. has a
voice that half tempted the circus people
TO call him Plancon for a while. AIseady
he can say "Goo-goo" and Dada but
happily hasn't learned as yet TO awake
in the middle Of the night and say ~Jink-
o-wawa-da-da." and it's more than a
week since Jay Rial has had TO walk the
floor with him at nights.
He sticks out trunk like a toothpick
az you. and you stroke il and are sur
shave Saturday night Three times a
day he takes rice and sweet potatoes
from the bottle.
Altogether little Abe is much more So
ciable than tiny Scissors. the baby kan
garoO. who is named after his rear legs
and who also was thoughtful enough 10
be born in winter quarters the day be-
fore the hrst press agent got in Park
Row.
Scissors is a bali OF gray-5rown fuzz
at the end of two legs. and is Just a
handful. and so shyly babyish that
when he was approached he bashfuIy
stole into mothers pouch and hid his
face and everything except the slender
legs that stood out into the world like
the triI2med shanks Of a half portion Of
French lamb chops.
Below stairs, in the dim light, made
DINNER by the wads of small boys that
were glued to the gratings of the base
ment windows. you could spend all day
listening to Harry Mooney telling the
life story Of each OF his elephants that
swung to and fro in a line that stretched
into darkness.