The Richmond climax. (Richmond, Ky.) 1897-1914, 1913-04-15
Spring Fever.

With no thought of the comfort OF
man or beasl. inconstant April alter
nately weeps and smiles, and never asks
if such conduct is unseemly in spring
maid, nor cares if long-suffering weather
forecasters are set heels over head in
their calculations. As the whim seizes,
we bask in her warm, sunny smiles OF
feel her misty breath in sunny showers
But April is welcome She is a privi
legged debuntante, young and thought
less; but man is old and considerate,
and morever, grateful, for April brings
spring in earnest.
In many ways are the signs of the
change made manifest. Even the city
cliff-dweller recognizes certain artificial
though effective signals. Neither bud
nor blossom nor chorus of peppers"
tells him the story. Even if he heed
lessly passes the dandelions in the park,
his newspaper is freckled with spring
poems, and he sees the Book signs in
the cafe windows.
The sporting news is his greatest
source of satisfaction, for in spring a
young fans fancy lightly turns 10
thoughts of baseball, though in the
good old days it would be concentrated
on sulphur and molasses at this season.
From the papers he learns that the big
laaouarc RI ratnrntDr fror, Tovac and
Bermuda after few weeks of tuning
up. Uppermost in his mind is one par
ticular squad of young men, not so very
different, TO the uninitiated, from any
similar group, Many of them he has
never seen, and he wouldn't know most
of the others in their street clothes, but
if each summer evenings low descend
ing sun doesn't leave that team well up
around the top of the colums, then this
will be dark world indeedI or course
this is looking forward little; just now
the players are coming back prepared to
open the season for the great American
game-and it makes little difference
which National game the reader is
thinking of, because they play one on
the diamond and the other in the smoker.
Even if one is not fan there are
ways of recognizing spring. Down the
block a ways furniture dealer in his
shirt sleeves is arranging a window dis
play of baby perambulators, 1913 models
fresh from the packing cases. On a
side street an organ grinder tortures a
popular classic from the interior of his
battered instrument, to which is tether-
ed diminutive Simian such as is some
times supposed 10 represent an impor-
tant step, or misstep, in the Descent of
Man.
Indifferent alike to the charms of
the music and the strange possibilities S
of evolution, dexterouS bill poster
never once looks away from the big
multi-colored advance notice of the
greatest show on earth, with which
he is decorating nearby wall.
He Skllfully balances the last strip on
the brush, attaches it 70 the wall, and
joins it neatly to the last sheet, thereby
adding heads, feet, flags, roofs, etc., to
hitherto unfinished animals, band wa
gons, and houses. The picture is now
complete, and school boys, watching
the marvellous fauna displayed thereon,
decide that certain diplomatic relations
with parental pocket-book holders will
be desirable. There follows a short
period when spring ash barrels are
cheerfully emptied and weed-choked
gardens raked without complaint. Won
derful spring time that can blunt such
thorns in the flesh of youth!