The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-07-17

/ avoided. There must be no more pops
OF pTOmenades, no more dellcious-tete-
a-tetes or holding hands in obscure cor
ners. HenCeforth, stern duty claimed
him for its own Economy and unldS-
ging industry must be his Watchwords.
The first retreuCnmeEt which sus-
EeSts itself 20 the nTdin srV- Nsll-tcI
human BEING is that of food Why,
we ask ourselves on top OF 5000
breakfast or dinner, should We waste
s." much money ia pandtJlnS 20 our
greedy appetiteS? and We remind cur
selves of philosophers OF whom @e nave
heard who claim TO SuDsist comfortably
OII one simple meal "a day
Tom was no exception 10 The general
rule. lie quit he dining hail which ne
had been patronlllHg, and provided
himself with a scent box OF crackc.s
ana a little tin cOfiee pot. which could
be heated over the sas Jet IN his room.
Then, fired with Ills good resolutions.
ne flung unread into the waste basket a
half dozen enticinS- Hooking "ctcs, which
had arrived IN tI9 morning mail, hung
sign on his door, ''i his Is lnT Uusy
day and sat down to pore over his
neglected books.
Three days OF this plain living and
high thinking followed. Tom dug un-
Iemlttingly away, munched his dly
crackers slipped his muddy coffee and
u!ed not 10 heed the growing revolt
Of his outraged stomach.
At last. though, came an evening"
raw cold. rainy eVening-When nature
eNaeted her revenge. Wrapped in the
DedClOtheS in q fTuitleSS effort to keep
warm. som sat in his cherries ballroom
and tried 10 fix his attention on the page
Of tormulae and calculations before him.
But II was in vain. His head swan
round and round Tie as and his
ana X s and US upon which he was
attempting to concentrate his faculties
might have been so many Egyptian
hieroglyphs for all the sense he could
make out of them. The only thing of
"a h.. .f-,-u- #l,s,
aching void in his stomach.
Remembering that he had tasted
nothing since morning, he got down the
cracker box and filled the little tin
coffee pot. But the very thought OF
crackers and coffee sickened him, and
he had 10 put the things away.
His whole soul yeaTned for the grOan-
ing board of good things. Before his
nlnd eye rose the vision Of a bowl of
ChOp-suey. warm and saVoTy. and COM
fOrting.
He put the temptation away with a
e-behiHd-me-Satan' frown, and
sought TO enErOss himself anew with
the "a s, and IS, and KS and ''y"s:
but more and more insistently alluriue
came the appeal
Inadvertently he thrust his fingers in
70 his Naistcoat 1ocket, and found some
change tneTe-rhrcc silver diFneg-Ubicl
he had happened 10 overlook
Just the sum r@QuiTed-ten cents fO-.
car fare dcwl town and back. and
twenty cents for the banquet 1t seem
ed TO him like a direct gift of Provi-
dence. and in less time than It takes
TO tell IT, his book was tossed into TAR
corner Of the ROOM a coat was flung
around his shoulders, and ne was has
Ienlng TO the nearest subway station
as fast as his feet could carry him.
Twenty minutes later ne was I'm a
beuizened red and yellow restaurant
seated on queer fOur-legged stool
before a table inlaid with mother-of-
pearl, ana plying his chop-sticEs with
speed only begOt of familiarity with
these ODD. utensils and a vigorous ap-
petite.
When at length the first edge" Of
his munger vas taken off. half of tie
generous portion OF rice furnished him
end as much Of the steaming stew
had disappeared, and he had made
away with four cups OF tea
He leaned back from the table and
glanced about him. The restaurant
was not one Of those he regularly fire.
quented, gut it might as well have
been, Tor the 5rraT cement of all these
places IS exactly the same.
Always or the second floor, admis-
sion IS gained by staircase leading
up from the street and opening into
an outer room, where the proprietor sits
euthrOned as cashier and q screen shuts
of the way To the kitchen
Through the gayly decorated archway
one passes into a room which fronts
upon the street and is designated al
ways as the ladies 90 restaurant. al
though used Unfortunately by both