Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-02-20
Around the City
Sweet vi-lets i.

Keep your chin up where It belongs he
VIII thrust his tray toward you. expert
mentally. but lie Will not sing his sweet
N-'ets at you unless you have attained
the top-n"tch of style. You are then
his lawful prey
colorcd man was selling yioIcts at
an Il street corner. Ills tray Was heaped
with their purple sweetness. aud every
now and then some man or woman Who
Waded by III the SGowN Slush smiled as
If the whid of fragrance brought its re-
minder OF .onS-ago spring. Even the
Crippled peddler in The little cart at the
curb seemed to be thinking cheerful
things as he scraped out "Old Dan Tuck
err
Sweet vi-lets."
The tray was fairly under the nose OF
a pretty girl who hesitated. stopped and
tnen laughiEgly protested TO the plain
woman with her:
There ought to be law against tempt
ing girl to buy flowers when she owes
for two gowns
woman. who looked like business per-
son with savings bank account.
No. | suppose ! ought TO have
bunch It's Lent. YOU know
self
But one ought 10 wear touch OF
purple I'm Lent. it signifies mourning and
shows Difference TO the spirit OF the sea-
SON..
"-All right IL You want to buy yioIets
so that You can imply some man gave
them to you don't let me hinder YOU"
The plain woman stepped on and then
turned 10 the fiddler at the curb. Per-
maps the old tune recalled frolicsome
dance days. Perhaps. again. she was
touched at the cheerfulness of a crippled.
up brother-human. who could have had
no dancing days to remember. Perhaps
still again. she just dropped a coin in
his cup from habit-you never can tell.
Say, Nance. come back and lend me
dime-he wants - cents for this little
speck of bunch and I've only got
forty. Are these the freshest you haver
They don't smell bit sweet Thanks.
Nancy, dear, IN pay you next time | SEQ
The violet man handed over a leaf
circled bunch. together with long purple
glass-headed pin to fasten it to the girls
muf. and the ransaction was over
As they We're about to walk on the
girl noticed the fiddler. who had changed
his theme to Home Sweet Home"
Isn't that too pathetic, 1t just breaks
my heart not to be able to relieve all
the distress ] come across-especially in
Lent. But ] can't really AFFORD. to help
everybody, and you see, I've ilfsts given
my last cent to that poor flower man
Do let that musician have a nickel for
me. III pay you back some time
The plain woman kept right on.
Well Nance Blank! to think of you
turning down a poor creature like that.
| wouldn't be as mean as you are for
anything on earth. / wonder where YOU
expect to go when you die?"
The plain woman just kept on walk
Ing. And at the corner behind the man
with the tray called out insiStently:
Sweet vi-lets.'
She was a young woman 50 up-to-date
in style that her turbaned hair looked
perfectly at home on her head, and 50
apparently prosperous that her collar-to-
hem coat and round hat were of sealskin
the Hudson river kind. Moreover, she
must have lived high up on the Heights
of Mammon. for the two painfully gen
teel women with her toadied to her as IL
she were goddess In az shrine. The
three were in a cafe: the sealSkin young
woman ostentatiously patroniziug in voice
and manner, and. at last. conspicuously
slow in opening her gold bag. as II
to accent the fact that she was paying
the bill. She said many arrogantly fool
ish things. to which her votaries SIM
pered Endorsement, but another woman
at another table considered this about
the climax.
You know Eleanor Blank has cards out
for a tea, but I'm not going. I declined TO
accept her invitation. Papa said as long
as l wasn't invited to pour | shouldn't
attend. Papa says
After all, what can one possibly expect
from a girl handicapped by a father who
causes his daughter to decline to ac-
cause some one else has been selected 10
do the pouring?
A callow young man was demonstrating
glue. On his table were shattered plates
and cups that had been mended, and
around him were people who had paused
in passing to take the free show in. The
callow young man singled out a woman
who was moving on:
Il suppose you break your dishes,
madam. the same as everybody else?'
Madam admitted that she did.
What do you do with the pieces
Madam opened her heart so far as to
state that she threw them away.
But suppose You broke vase, say, that
was worth SO. you wouldn't throw that
away, would you?"
vase would follow the dishes. Then she
stepped out of the line of discourse. And
the callow young man called after her
with fippant insolence:
You don't look if You was no mill
lionare's wife. neither
1t seemed to do him a tremendous heap
of good. Judging by the self-satisfied
smirk he gave his audience, but the main
question in the case would seem TO be:
Was il good for business?
A big hunk of man was Flooding
along in the rain His umbrella was In
feet took no concern of puddles. Other
people scurried past him In the stormy
dusk, and nearly every umbrella boObed
up to show curious face
For the man was singing. His voice was
not loud, but the well carried tune was
penetrating, and he was serenely regard
less of time and place. And the song that
the big hunk of a man sang to himself
for exactly twelve blocks and half was:
For I'm to be queen of the May mother,
I'm to be queen of the May.
She was a vigorous woman with thick
gray hair and magnificent teeth Her
figure, straight and strong. was well
gowned, and she carried her head with
the assurance Of one who has a right
to the good things Of life-and knows II.
And this is what she was saying to
the silk counter where they were waiting
to be served:
Yes, we've lost our youth since those
old days Every time my dressmaker
adds an extra inch to my waist line | go
back in my mind to the girl ] used 10
be- Remember the Grant inaugural
ball when Miss Grundy described me as
a girlishly lovely Jndine in sea green
tulle and golden tresses,dear Miss
Grundy. she was always writing lovely
things that people didn't deserve.-Ive had
reason to remember that ball because l
met Phil there. Oh. yes, / know what
all of you said about the match, but,
poor fellow he paid the price-and when
his death left me without copper there
wasn't a thing in the world before me
but wolf with sharp white teeth. But
I downed him in the end. and now I'm
on the sunny side of easy street with a
rushing business and money TO burn.