Evening star., 1918-05-19
AROUND THE CITY.

A man was buying darning cotton.
The woman next had just transacted
a little deal in pins. Counting by sea-
sons. he was early summer and she
was autumn nipped by frost. The
classification is necessary to explain
two.
Hello. Frank. boy Looks as II
you have been getting married.
ran out of thread and Joe tied a
string around my hnger-see? He's
the family mender."
1t sounded somewhat cryptic. so Au-
tumn asked for enlightenment, and
this is what she got:
Two years ago four of US depart
ment fellows set up Housekeeping.
and have just renewed the lease. It's
bully way to live. Miss Ann. Each
of US has two rooms which we fur
nished to suit ourselves, and there Is
a man to cook and a Saturday cleaner
to make the wheels go round. Bob at
tends to rent and wages. Joe markets
and mends, Billy keeps tab on fuel
and light bills, and I'm the official
shopper"
We'll. of all the unusual'-
Unusual: Say, Miss Ann. you want
to get wise. About half the fellows
know either have apartments or go
In for cooperative Housekeeping. You
see. chap who has been at a desk
all day wants something more divert
ing than a nondescript room. a chair
at a table filled with human units
like himself. and an evening of no
account talk and worse music in the
average boarding house parlor-rm
not black-eyeing boarding houses
mind. only-well, home of your own
is darn sight healthier. and even
cheaper counting the comfort you get
out of it. and a thousand per cent
better from the high-brow point of
view
II tell you what, Miss Ann, this
housekeeping stunt is great. We have
our blowouts when we want them, OF
course. and we take our whirIs at
cards. but we don't do what you would
call gambling or dissipating as we did
when saloons and pool tables used to
be our only escape from the one
room, one-chair, one line Of parlor
talk grind.
It's great to have all the hot baths
you want with nobody hanging on
the knob to get next, and plenty Of
light without the worry of knowing
that some good, worked-to-death
woman will have to foot the bill. And
where you can set up music ma
chine. or pigeons, or a dog. or any
old thing your hobby calls for-Say,
Miss Ann
II don't blame you business women
for not getting married unless you
feel like it-because I'm that way
myself. l used to think I'd have to
get me a wife just to have a home
every man wants home. but-now
that I've weathered the infatuations
of calfhood you don't catch me ever
giving up my home with the boys. ex-
cept for solid love. What do you say
to that. lady?'
And lady said-but never mind what
she said. He didn't.
x
He was a stranger. but the cars
wouldn't take him in.
His bewildered surprise as each
whizzed past caught the interest of a
first-aid native who was crossing
over to a yellow signal and who
The stranger said that he was new to
the city and wanted to call on his
up at the Capitol. The
native was going in the same direc-
tion and offered to put him in the
right way; And while they waited
Station" and Eighth Street." etc. to
tion to the official moons.
"AH you've got to do is to stand
and wave hand and the car will stop
for you-when it comes along"
AS they got aboard the stranger
made for seat near the front and
70 rat. drAn i1fo
place on the side and began to read a
paper. When the car came to the Ave-
nue. front of the Capitol building a
composite snicker made him look up
from his news. and: There was the
stranger man standing in the aisle
paid no more attention than if he had
been a stone god of Israel-having
no eyes in his back.
The native came to the rescue. of
course, and explained that it was bet
ter to ride around the curve to the
back of the building on top Of the
hill.
"If you go by the front way you
will have long flight of steps to
Much obliged to you. sir. but I'd
rather go by the front door. I'm as
good as my congressman at home,
and got a better farm
1Hu u COuTSc, the HTSl-dl0eT saved
the sftuation-again. And that's all
there is to it, except that:
isn't it curious how apparently in
telligent people will snicker over
nothing?"
He was mid-age man with a bulge
to his vest that showed for a life of
good dinners. His gray suit wouIc
have been a credit to the kings tai
lor-never mind what king-and his
brand new panama was as fine a hat
as never came from Panama, seeing
they don't make them there.
Most people were brisk;ng along in
the dusk to wherever they might be
due. but the man stopped before a
OF wax ladies dressed to the queens
of course. Queen
Fashion. What he saw was: One sport
girl in a plaid that made the allied
colors look like second mourning;
one martial young thing in a uniform
world or would stand for in the next;
one near-Eve in skin-clinging crepe
vampire pink-and a chiffony "ef-
feet" that called for such trimmings
as a young man, fountain. distant
kind-and moon
hanging around. in pale blue. with
a fluffy tunic and a girdle lowered
over with pearls.
And while the man looked at the
styles a couple of women who were
lettering along because they were
too early for the theatsr paused in
the shadow where the ar: ligh.
get at them and looked at the
man. The one who was a double bar
reled widow-two wedding rings in
exactly why the man looked
n the window
IT can read his type like book.
You can't tell me. He's u man who
has been doing the primrose daily
act until his doctor has had to pre-
scribe a moral dief of ma arrioo o.> op.1