Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-05-12
AROUND THE CITY

He was a big man, in the best clothes
that money could buy. And he looheo
d IL he had a sanitary soul.
Several seats across the car sat
woman whose married name might
have been Trouble, but more likely
was Sniff Her hat was one OF
those narrowing black straws reno
waited" with shoe polish. and, from a
scenic viewpoint. her serge suit was
old enough to vote.
The man looked out of the windo"
at the Capitol greenery and the wom-
an looked at the man. When he got
out at the House building der eyes fol-
lowed him, hungrily wistful. as II she
were seeing things that were not. and
she laid an eager hand on the arm 2f
a small boy by her side:
Look, Neddie. he resembles your
grandfather at his age"
Neddie was a snip of cad. OF the
sort that knows it all-and more And
there was derisive smoker in his an
swer that must have gone like razor
to the poor things soul:
"Whatcher feedin me, grammar
Why. that man there is gen man.
The woman accepted her insult with
matter-of-courseness that would
have broken the heart of one who truly
loved her. But she merely took her
hand from the boys arm and put 1t
with the other on her lap. And that
was all there was to that-only:
Though the sins of the world be as
many as sparks that fly upward, where
is the mathematician who can count its
woes?
"
A woman was entertaining box
dress.
She was what you would call
beautifully gowned hostess, with
cleverly conserved throat line and one
of those satisfactory heads that can
stand simplicity of hair fixing. Her
dress was filmy white something all
over sparkles and there was a corsage
rose-giant specimen of modiste MAXI
ana-that wanted to flare a vivid GRIM
son, but thought it more stylish to
Snlolder a dull red-every woman knows.
For guests there were other smart set
women with more or less conserved
throat lines; an exceedingly full dress
man of an age that. If nature had her
innings, ought to be doing the home
circle act. with slippers and cigar:
another who suggested a student lamp
midnight oil variety-turned human,
and a third
The third was young and diS
tinguished gentleman who loked as if
that same Mother Nature had said to
herself when creating him: ''rll cut you
out by my Greek god pattern" And it was
30 done.
While it was rather a small, box
party, it was awfully stylish and
nothing could have been classier than
the concerted diplomacy with which
he mo hpi m
divide it impartially between the
ladies. which. let me tell you. is some
thing of stunt.
But no one was so discrimina tingly
entertaining as the hostess. with the
satisfactory head-which showed the
good material inside of it. To the
student lamp man, who doubtless ran to
brains, she was seriously interesting,
and her laughing banter was just the
right stuff for the fat man, who, any
body could see. loved his joke.
But when the Greek god took his turn
at her Side-lo.
The hostess opened a vanity box,
looked in it's mirror and dabbed some
powder on her nose And that would
have been all there was to it, except
for:
The people in the orchestra and the
opposite gallery. and the standing room
onliers banked against the wall across
and one musician who passed the free
show exhibit to his brothers of the
brasses and the drums.
1t had been rather long wait be-
tween acts and everybody in the house
always allowing for eXceptions-was
staring at the boxes to pass the time.
And the smart set hostess accommodate
ingly helped them out.
+. Sit is undoubtedly true that
powdered noses will be counted in
heaven, but-nevertheless:
The public >dabbings OF that same
makes right funny show on earth.
Two children were playing jack
stones on a front step. And as a
couple of woman came out Of the
house and paused to watch the game,
one of them said unto the other:
Il don't see what fun they can get
out of these leaden things with legs
Don't you remember how the marbles
used to roll all over the shawl while
you were tossing one to catch the
others? These new tangled things stay
where you drop them"
That's all. only: In a museum over in
Naples-that farthest room. in the cor
ne: by the window that overlooks the
bay-there is marble slab dug up
from Hercuianeum. on which is paint
ed group of girls playing Jack
stones or knuckle bones" which they
backs of their hands
Which seems to show that-with all
reverence for the alleys OF our child
hood. way back in the dear old nine
teenth-"leaden things with legs" have
the historic advantage of buckeyes.
He was the sort of workman who
wears blue overalls. And his skin was
like dried apples from working in the
open.
1t was official lunch time .nr street
laborers and the man was putting in
his recess in front of second hand
book shop. where tumble of literary
vagabonds were tagged at only one
dime"
His first selection was battered
edged book with a lovely cover-a
fairy riding a shell on a pickle, green
sea. You could tell by the way the
man winnowed the pages OF big prin:
and gay pictures that he had found a
prize. When he had tucked the fairy
tale under his arm he pounceu on 4
shabby coated Martin Chuzzlc.y il -
Then he turned the books over ard
over until he took a notion to a small
volume with gilt tracer.es all over its
blue back. 1t looked suspicio1sly new
as il it had been gift tina, wasn't APP