The sun., 1910-02-18
LIVE TOPICS ABOUT TOWN.

for a telephone message answered the
call.
-Is Mrs. Smirnoir there some one
asked.
She spelled the name back to be sure
she got it right and was about to say.
mo, she isn't here. when another woman
who had been waiting jumped up and
said; That's me! Won't you find out
what he has to say, miss?"
Tell Mrs. Smirnon,' said the man.
that her son stood the operation pretty
well but is not yet out OF danger"
Mrs. Smirnoh and two young girls.
evidently her daughters. went away
My. but that is nerve rackingi" said
the woman. DO you get many telephone
messages like that?"
Lots of them.- said the druggist.
an this neighborhood only a few people
have their own telephones. There are
many hospital cases and when anybody
is about to be operated on the relatives
depend upon the drug store phone flor
news. Sometimes the whole family waits
here while the operation is performed
They are a hysterical lot. About the
hardest thing a druggist down here has
to do is to pacify them
Three o'clock was the hour OF the busy
woman's appointment with the pho
tographer. but early in the day he tele-
phoned for her to come at O'Clock.
She went and found him busy with
another subject.
Il wanted you to come ahead OF time"
he said. $50 you could lie down and rest
for an hour. IL is the hardest kind of
work to get you busy people into a
proper condition to be photographed.
You rush around up to the last minute.
then come here nervous wrecks and
expect me to make good pictures.
cant do it. Tightly drawn lips. sunken
eyes and a generally tense expression
don't look well in photograph. You are
pictures. but I can't do justice to you
unless you feel refreshed when you face
the camera"
The woman appreciated the wisdom
of his remarks, but she was so angry
because she had bee cheated out OF
valuable hour that it was doubtful il the
rest improved her appearance.
4 New Yorker decided that country
life was the ideal for him even though he
had To spend two hours a day commuting.
He purchased a house and lot in one of
the small villa" communities in Long
Island. All the other villas around him
had names. such as Rosenest. blossom
Nook and Heatherbloom. To the sur
wood announced the name of his place
as "F. h s. NJ. Cottage
He was new to the place so they did not
feel that they knew him well enough to
be inquisitive about the sign. Finally
his next door neighbor was overcome
with curiosity and asked him TO explain
the sign.
Certainly, with the greatest Of pleas
TIRE. Ed 5. NJ. Cottage means first and
second mortgage cottage
-Really?" was all the lady said.
There is one section Of Central Park
that policemen do not like to patrol nights.
II is on the westerly side and was a ceme-
terry for negroes before the city bought
the land for park purposes.
1T gave me the shivers one night when
| was on post where the old hIrying
ground used to he and an owl in its noise
less fight bumped against my head. I
was thinking Of the foolish yarns about
spooks when ! got the bump. Before ]
understood what was up ] thought the
yarns were not 80 foolish after all" said
a Park policeman.
Many thousands pass through Nadi-
son Square Park without giving thought
to the fact that the city had its potter's
field there in 1924. The resting place for
the bones Of the city's poor was removed
in 1897 from there and established at
what is now Washington Square Park.
Il never knew the value of money in
New York" said a man who wants TO
rest his eyes evenings, until | advertised
for a young man for reading aloud oc-
casionally in the evening at rs cents an
hour. 1 was little ashamed Of the moder-
ate compensation that offered. but now
l feel like a philanthropist. ! received
nearly fifty answers. One was from a
school teacher 20 years old. A second
applicant assured me that the writer
could read TO me in French. German
or Spanish when I tired OF English. A
third informed me that he was accustomed
to lecture before vast audiences, that he
was a member Of settlement house
debating team and that he was % years
old. When | attempted to wade through
all the answers TO my advertisement l
began to think that I had offered too
much instead OF too little. Many OF my
answers were from undergraduate stu
dents and my only theory is that some
Of them must have thought that | would
have them read books OF educational
value and they would thus gain instruc-
ton and be paid for it at the same time.