Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-04-08
Little Talks by
Beatrice FdUfdr

This is the time of year when the
cherished parlor portieres appear to be
dust-collecting denominations, and velvet
hats strike us as magnificent burnt
offerings for the furnace. The fur
coat we could not resist last Autumn
has taken a place in our affections sec
ond only to the visiting cat who de-
clines to take a hint that her presence
is unwelcome.
The cat confronts us at every turn
so does the coat, the portieres, the vel
vet hat. But if we are past eighteen
we do not take these antipathies too
seriously We realize we have felt that
way before about these same possessions
and the fur coat and the velvet hat
have been welcomed back the first cool
day in Autumn. So we invest in moth
balls and tarpaper sack, and we put
them away-in the full triumph of an
acquired philosophy.
We realize our general boredom with
things that have to do with Winter and
the prosaic, and the past is just bit
of Spring sorcery-that the witchery
is tempting delightful-but not wholly
to be trusted. Omar, the tent-maker,
put it very we'll a couple of thousand
years ago, when he sang:
"Come, and in the fire of Spring
Your Winter-garm.nt of Repentance
fling,
The Bird of Time has but a little way
To flutter-and the Bird is on the
Wing"
Let us suppose the tired business
man" or the tired business woman"
reads this delightful irresponsible creed
in one of these well-gotten up editions
of Omar Khayyam-the kind with the
limp back and the Vedder illustrations
The ct. E. NJ" or 1T. b. w" is all
for abandoning the typewriter, the of
flee desk. the stool in the dairy lunch
room where the midday pie is eaten
it all becomes an abomination and a
WEAKNESS to the flesh! But-common
sense urges, il you do this thing, what
is going to become of you?
The respectable background of office
and flat, where the moving picture of
your daily life turns out it's five reels
of respectable dullness may be inspiring.
And the picturesque vagrancy that this
fellow Omar sings about sounds mighty
well-but, on the whole. it will probably
lead to a park bench, ninety days, and
a nasty write-up in the daily papers.
The flat is a bort, the office is a soul
less. brain-picking machine, the type
"llitl 10 Il tlilbclllBt SIldllcIlHS tiOllOl
yet-they are all better than their pic
turesque vagrancy equivalents.
This fellow Omar is better company
on cold night. over the open fire, than
he is on a day when the crocuses are
peeping through the grass. Then he's
a positive danger n menace a disturber
of public morals-so back you put Omar
in his limp cover, and the Vedder illus
trations on the book shelf
Reprcssing Madness
1t is this eternal WEAKNESS with life's
daily bill-of-fare that explains why so
many estmable men-and women too
succumb TO strange sex fancies that no
one can explain. When yau see a de-
lightful lady investigate in violent ties
for u youth young enough to be her
son; when you hear her quoting that
youths half-naked deductions on life
and letters with reverence-its only a
symptom which means that lady is
weary of her treadmill.
She had done her duty long and faith
fully, she had saved, bought Liberty
Bonds. read so many books that were
good for her, heard so many improv-
ing talks, engaged in so much uplift
work that young Mr.. Nerdant Green
represents natures protest; she is just
weary of well-doing for the moment.
And the fledging represents all sorts
of madness that she has been repress-
ing for years.
1t Is the same thing when staid
pater familias takes up with "vamp"
it is natures protest at the daily grind
To every one else the "vamp'' seems
n sorry enough proposition-distinctly
made up cheap, a bit vulgar-but to
poor, dear father she is just an escape
from all the estmable things he has
been doing for yers.
We are all, more or less, SQUIRRELS