The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1913-03-11
At the End of
the Rainbow
BEAUTIES OF CoNCEN.
TRATION. i
i x & Z 4 X x i
(By Walt Mason.)

:"Chesterton undoubtedly is a great
genius" remarked the professor. as
he laid aside a British review, but,
to use a c~olloquialism. he ia trying to
cover too much territory. He has
been striving for laurels as poet, es-
sayist. and novelist. and now l see he
has been illustrating a book. 1t would
be better for him and his fame If he
devoted his talents to one line of work.
There is nothing like concentration, in
literature as in commerce."
You're right there. professor
agreed the low-browed man. IF a
his time chasing butterflies. You
couldn't have a better illustration Of
your remarks than old Doolittle. On
Christmas his son-in-law gave him
one OF the finest meerschaum pipes I
ever saw. 1t was a bonehead play
on the part of the son-in-law, al
though l suppose his intentions were
good. for Doolittle can't appreciate a
m%eerschsum pipe.
He's one of your vulgar smokers.
He's always been satisfied with a
corncob pipe. and he bought his to-
bacco at the shoe store. Such men
as Doolittle create a prejudice against
smoking. Refined and cultured peo-
pie. meet him. on the street when he
is exercising his corncob pipe; they
inhale the poisonous smoke be is dis
%tributing, and have headaches and
seasickness. and then they write let
tiers to h newspapers saying that
there ought to be a law.
We'll, the old man was tickled to
death when he found that meer-
schaum pipe in his stocking and he
has been smoking 1t EVER since. and
he's greatly worried because it doesn't
color right. l told him when he first
showed it to me that IL he wanted to
get it colored right he'd have to de-
vote all his talents and energy to the
work. A man can't fool around when
he has such a job on hand. It's a
work that calls for concentration of
h highest order. Doolittle seemed
to tnsak that other things We're more
important. and the result is that his
pipe looks like a case Of the jaundice.
and 1t eve will get the right color,
for it's been badly burned.
II think every man should find out
what he can do best and hen stick to
It. blu o people want to tackle
everything that looks good to them,
like that guy You We're speaking of.
! used to be inclined that way myself.
but I have outlived 1t. l. used to be
- "ASAA AA10 y
of the Palace drug store. I hung
around a good deal while he vas mix
ing prescriptions. and got the run of
the goods on the shelves, and 1 felt
that I knew as much about the bust
ness as the boss did. I had a sort
of sneaking idea that IL l ever had
$40 saved up I'd start q drug store of
my own.
"One day hamburger, the druggist,
was summoned. to the mex town.
where hts venerable father had fallen
off a kitchen. roof and broken several
legs. hamburger didn't know what to
do. He hated to shut up his store.
and yet he felt that he ought to so
to his stricken parent. So I volun-
teered to run the shebang while he
was away. I assured him that I was
a skilled pharmacist and would build
up q fine family trade for him.
FINALLY. as there was nothing else
to do. he left me in charge. He hadn't
been gone half an hour before the
new liveryman came in. He was
seventeen feet high. I know, because
measured him afterward. He had a
sick horse and he brought along a
prescription from the veterinarian. !
could make out most Of the things
the prescription called for and ]
sNSSSSo at liz oeiteIS anu IHreW IN u
few drugs it didn't call for, just to be
generous.
THE liveryrnan went away with the
medicine in a great hurry. and fifteen
minutes later he came sizzling into the
drug store like a volcano in eruption.
He said he'd teach me not to poison
valuable horses. and he did. I haven't
poisoned any valuable horses since.
He also taught me how to knock holes
through furniture With my head and
gave me a few easy lessons in spin
ming around on my shoulder blades.