The Washington herald., 1909-07-04
TEMPERATURES YESTERDAY.

A college youth alighted from a Penn
sylvania avenue car yesterday afternoon
and walked across the street to the kiosk.
where he stood looking az the thermom-
eter for a few minutes.
It was o'clock. an eventful hour in
the history Of the National Capital The
youth gazed al the mercury few sec
ords in wonder. loath TO believe HIS
eyes. Then smile spread over his sun
bu-nt features and he laughed.
7 love the good old summer time. ''
he said. but, oh. you. springtime
breezes"
IN a few words the youth expressed
the sentiments OF hundreds OF thousands
Of persons who have existed in Washing
ton since June p. the day when the heat
wave settled over the city like a hot
blanket. Few persons knew al what
hour the heat wave arrived. but nearly
everybody knows when il left.
Cool BreeEeS Bring Relief.
It's departure had been promised ttms
and time again. but # tarried and lin
gered until almost every hope Of Il Ieav-
ing was shattered Then. when sizzling
Washington had steeled itself for the
worst. few stray breezes sprang from
somewhere and blew across the city.
All day the temperature had risen until
it reached a point 3 degrees below the
100 mark. Il seemed as though nothing
WOULD prevent the mercury climbing the
last Eve points. but at O'Clock the tide
turned. The mercury started downward.
and as it dropped It gained momentum.
until II was going in leaps and bounds.
No one knows when it will strike bot
tom. The bottom seems vague. and few
care where Il IS. Two or three OF the
Oldest inhabitants remember having heard
Of q point on the Thermometer called
zero but that was long, long ago. IN
their childhood days. The oldest inhab-
itahts say that when the mercury reaches
zero the city is generally covered with
snow, slest. and han, and icy winds howl
around the corners-sOmethln Ike
March E.
Behaves Like a Colt.
u there is any one in the city who
would not welcome such conditions that
person was not here in the last twelve
days. No one need be surprised at any
thing the mercury might do. for the op-
tinl!stic folk at the Weather Bureau say
Il is behaving Ike a young colt turned
loose in a field
A glimpse Of the needle last night would
have borne out the statement OF the
Weather Bureau!tes. In the afternoon
-
ginning at the high point. e5 degrees. and
gradually dropping 10 92 Then Il became
erratic. In one hour IL slipped down six
points. and the next hour saw a decline
OF four points. Continuing this novel
method. the mercury registered 20 de
grees al 10 O'Clock at night. when il was
going down like a baseball dropped from
the top Of the Washington Monument.
Residents OF the city were thrown into a
mild panic by the sudden change Men
who had forgotten how 70 wear a coat
made bee-line for the closet IN the front
room on the second story and dug up cob
webbed wearing apparel Women dis
csrded fans as though they had forgotten
how TO use the limsy life restorers.
Animals Note the Change.
Even animals seemed to feel and ap-
preciate the change. A horse in Fifteenth
street was seen 20 prick NJ his ears al the
sudden approach OF an automobile. and
tho driver nearly fell TO the stree, IN sur
prise. Other horses were seen to swish
their tails at impudent flies. Somewhere
over in the southwest a dog was heard
10 bark at the moon. Animal life awoke
and took notice.
Everywhere IN the streets were sounds
Of rejoicing. and cool air celebration
would not have seemed out Of order. A
policeman stationed In front OF the New
Willard came To life and swung his baton
as he walked, just like a real policeman.
A messenger boy riding his bicycle in
Fourteenth street startled drowsy cab
bies' by emitting a shrill whistle.
II the breeZes linger a few DAYS. the Ma
tionsl Capital may regain the aspect Of
civilized community. and fOTecasters are
emphatic in predictions that the breezes
are here 20 stay.