Evening star., 1909-04-18
Around the City

A young woman was lettering along q
street in the shopping section. She had in
tow tiny boy. who limped. and the
tiny boy held paper bag. As they
reached a crossing the child stumbled at
the curb. the bag fell, and the gray as
phalt was showered with gay little candy
eggs of every color under the sun.
The boy cried and the woman boxed
his ears. Then she jerked him on. The
boy didn't want to so on. He wanted
to pick up the eggs. The woman slapped
him again. Then she gave him another
jerk. But the child looked appealingly
at the gay little eggs showered on the
asphalt.
Il wants 'em. mamma. i wants 'em
SO bad
next time l buy you candy, you'll known
It, Come on, | tell you. I'm going to
spank you the minute | get you home
She looked like woman of her word.
and the little boy was whimpering along.
when an old colored man stopped labori-
ously, picked up a scarlet egg and put
1t in the childs hand The woman DASH
ed the egg to the ground and blazed at
the man:
You tend to your own business"
The old man stepped back. abashed.
but he had defender in middle-aged
white woman. who answered for him:
Yes. ma am. and one OF these days
the Lord will tend to yours. Why. wom-
their sockets If you keep on. l reckon
that's how he come to be lame"
It's a dreadful thing to blame a mother
for her childs aff1iction. so it was Just
as well that the woman had jerked the
tiny little hoy out Of hearing.
And all that was left of the incident
was the gray asphalt. showered with gay
little candy eggs of every color under the
sun.
She was all pink, fat and yellow hair.
| The hair was mercerized. but the fat
was very. very real. At an street
gasped and blurted out:
For goodness sake, Maree! What
have you been doing TO yourself?'
Maree construed this surprise into Q
compliment.
"Oh, just been peroxidzng. Like It?
You ought to try 1T. Mabel, It makes
you feel ten years younger. You see. I
found myself getting gray and l could
not stand for it. When you're gray.
I've always been genteel. but / hate to
feel bound down to 1t. don't you know.
My husband ripped and tore, at frst.
but / notice he's taken me to the thea.
ter twice. and last night he brought me
home a bag Of grand candy. And. please
goodness, If he didn't start In and sing
all his old songs right through. I'm on
my way now to see about having the
piano tuned Notice my lovely color?
you can't tell 1t from the real thins.
You fix yourself up and you'll feel lots
younger"
why, my husband wouldn't be caught
on the street with me IL / did. He
wouldn't stay In the same house with
me-. .
THAT'S what you think. You try him
once, and see. Ever since I've been 40
x;,.I;o OF Snh a
grand as if / were his second wife. II
you want me to, l can make you up
just the same as me-"
Maybe so. But you couldn't make my
husband like yours to save your life
And the person who overheard was
deeply grieved that she had to miss the
rest of the conversation.
At the Union station woman from
an incoming train had been welcomed by
a man who had been waiting at gate.
When the raphsodies were over. and ne
had taken up her suit case she oirected
his attention to a man in railroad blue
who had smiled and touched his cap IN
passing.
ductor on our sleeper. and he caught me
in the funniest mistake--oh, I'm so giad
to get home! Awful heavy. isn't It?
bought a new kind of iron In Philadel-
phia for shirt waists, that's what makes
it weigh so-and last night. as he passed
my seat. he called out:
Lower eight. madam"
Lower rate? No. indeed. paid the
same I always do" You see. I'd been
reading that the railroads are to charge
less for upper sections. ana had the
whole car Laughing at me. Say. Jim: 10
the lilac bush in bloom?
And a lonesome sort OF person who
was trotting behind, thought how lovely
it must be to have big. faithful Jim. and
a home with a lilac bush in the yard!
A dog was limping along Market space
with one of his paws drawn up and
bleeding. Many people passed the poor
thing and some gave him words OF pity.
but the world Is busy place and no
one stopped to offer a helping hand.
Finally two women paused to commits
serate the suffering they could not allay:
"If | could only see a boy around I'd
pay him to take the poor little fellow
somewhere to be attended to-"
Don't fret yourself lady," advised
passing man The dog Is thorough, i,,
snatch him up presently and care for
him for the sake of the reward.
Money means heap even to a dog,
sighed one of the women
Then they walked off one way and the
dog limped off another.
Two we'll tailored middle-aged men were
swinging along G street:
We'll, sir, after 1 had got the word
out she looked at me so blamed queer
it got me all balted up. Say. old man.
which is correct. anyhow. ascend or
descend?'
And the other man answered:
Blamed If know"
And both Of them. mind you, were well
tailored middle-aged men.
A man in a chair was being wheeled by
a woman. Both were old and shabby and
the chair wheels had no tires.
And as they wound around one of the
. paths in Franklin Park the woman spoke
of the pink blossoms on one tree and the
white blossoms on another, and the fresh
little green leaves on all: and OF the
squirrels darting across the grass and
of the birds on the fountain rim: and Of
the little children
She was seeing for two.
Sorry, madam, but this is Canadian
dime"
There was nothing for the woman pas
senger to do but go in her purse for
American money, but she evened up by
saying to the passengers generally and
at the conductors blue back In particular:
This countrys getting too stuck on
itself AS if Canada wasn't as good al
a green car any day in the year"
The accent with which she defended the
Dominion was New England clear back
to the Mayfower. Which shows what
temper will do.