Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-04-07

w oCHeSQay anu DIS Hc was gu
ing home in the afternoon a passing
teacher stopped to ask him where he
got It,
Now. a teacher at her desk in school
hours is like unto the Modes and Per-
slams spliced into one, but a chummy
little person with friendly eyes is quite
another proposition-after o'clock.
So the boy stretched the snake until
he Strengthened out the squirm into a
tube Of green,gray with an understripe
the color OF putty. Then he released
one end to let the fiat head crest itself
and fash tongue in and out like forked
lightning.
II caught 1t In the river"
And where have you kept 1t all day?"
I'm my pocket"
The boy didn't say that he had whipped
it out every chance he got. He didn't
need to. Any teacher would know that
without telling
Have you thought how a water snake
must suffer, smothered up in hot dry
place like that? And don't you know
that you ought either to kill 1t at once
and put it out of it's misery or take it
back to where you found it? Now. /
know you are too nice a boy to torture
any living creature"
The boy must have scented a sermon,
for he excused himself:
oh Miss Blank I'm not going to hurt
the thing. I'm just playing with it,
Then he rolled the snake up, put 1t In
his pocket and skipped.
Which incident is just to back up the
wise man who asserted a thousand or
two years ago that good-natured igno-
| rance is responsible for half the miseries
of life. If he were wiser man of to-
| day he would doubtless add a postscript:
The biggest half
| Did you see the mackerel sky?
An all-day rain had washed the air as
clean as a babys face-the kind of baby
was dabbed all over with scraps OF clouds
very much like sagebrushes in Nevada
desert, and in the middle Of 1t all the
moon shone like a giant dollar made of
electric light. 1t was such an unusual
sky that men and women who were on
Pennsylvania avenue stood in punches to
stare upward. They made other curious
people crick their necks until, at one cor
ner woman whose husband had lost
| the umbrella she had given him to carry
for her was as unnoticed as II her up
braidings had been voiced in-lets say
some nice quiet trail up Pixies peak. AT
| one relieving moment when she stopped
| to take breath the man clipped in with
| commendable effort at humor:
Forget it. hon; I'll buy you an
| other"
"WhereS the money 10 come from
Much as 1 can do to squeeze along as it
| is. and l haven't had that umbrella a
month"
Say. old girl, you don't want to tell
| the whole street. do you? What's every
| body looking at? Why, say. it's the first
mackerel sky I've seen around for
And 1t cost over a dollar-and 1 bet
! tn pour down tomorrow just as I'm 60
| ing to church"
ooh, well, you've got another. Say,
ot
| NO such thing I've only got a para
sol, and If you suppose ia be caught
dead in that shabby old thing OF
| yours
"Oh, ring off. Somebody's on the wire"
| He nudged her to call attention to big
fellow who was close enough to nave
heard the faintest marital whisper. but,
my soul and body, the big fellow wasn't
bothering. He was looking up at the sky
and saying to man who CHANGED to be
standing beside him:
Seldom. sir, you see so genuine a
mackerel sky except in northern Europe
Judge those clouds are about five miles
| high. The circo-cumulus-
well, I'll tell you right now that 1 m
going to church whether 1t rains or not!
I'm not going to lose my soul, no mat
ter how many umbrellas you throw away,
and"
Mackerel skies and mares tails
Make lofty ships carry low sails.
in brown who was skirting along with
feminine bean pole in black. The bean
pole may have carried within her a soul
STEPPED in appreciation of the mystery
of the universe. but all she said was:
Pretty, isn't it?'
IF my new suit Is ruined I'll have you
to thank for it, man who hasn't sense
enough to heep hold Of an umbrella
Yes. 1t was lovely mackerel sky. Did
you see It?
alls dog"
asked by a first grade colored tot to an
other first grade colored tot as they
| paused before a house they were pass
| ing. For background there were three
| other colored tots.
The one who was called on to qualify
| for eligibility to associate with the other
| four looked up at the numbers on the
house door and shook her head.
mo. I amt got oner dem fngs ODER
my do" 49,.
So now you know what to expect OF
| society II you have no number over your
door. It's hard. hard world
| Except sometimes.
man got on a. car. He wore travel
| ing ulster and cap and carried a LABEL,
SCARED grip. AS soon as he was settled
he began to read. passenger s SAT oppo-
| She was q pretty girl in polo coat
and fiaring hat with plaid band around
| it. Her companion was a respectable tat
body who couldn't look pretty to save
her life. And the girl was saying:
| "Oh, Mrs Blank, mustn't that man
have a gorgeous time travelling around ,
| as II he were q top and the earth just q
| place for him to spin on! Look what
thrilling tags he's got That brown one
is marked London and the blue one
| 'Bremen.' and the green oneI can't
make It out from here. Can your
The fat, respectable body didn't try.
Her glasses were hooked on and she
| had packages in both hands and a cord
| bag over her arm.
| "Oh. Mrs. Blank, wouldn't II be ex-
| citing to get on car with a suit case
| like that and make everybody stare?'
1 well IL that's your ambition, all
| you've got to do Is to cut out lot OF diff
/ ferent colored tags. smear them over with
letters and paste EN- on crazy-like. Your
i coat and hat will do as they are, and the
cars are always handy-or you could Dor
row somebody's bag who has been
abroad"
"You know I don't mean that. you old
tease YOU Oh. dear. get SO sick Of