Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-10-24
THE CITY

He didn't look as if he were in the
same class with Pythagoras and other
classic thinkers who have believed IN
the transmigration of souls. but he sure
was in earnest. And, let me tel you,
earnestneSs is mighty fine thing.
So the woman took the card and
flung it out of the window. She did 1t,
because no woman can afford to carry
a stone in her sling for the beliefs of
others just because they don's happen
to match her owr-not if she is the
right sort OF woman herself And the
woman is right as sunlight The
man, however, must have sensed her dis
belief in his caterpillar cult. for he
treated her to this cryptic send-back
II see. madam, YOU are either
Roman Catholic or an EpiScopallan
"Why should you say a thing like
that to me-" the woman turned on him
with the spunk of that other worm, the
turned" one.
Because the Roman Catholics and
the Episcopal!ans are the only sosls that
are finished"
He failed to say whether such souls
were ready for heaven or hopeiessly
booked for the other place. And as the
woman didn't inquire for particulars,
that was all there was to it. except
that
Had you been there you might have
given the passengers around quiet
once-over, just for your own satisfac-
ton, to see if they quite knew what
they were chuckling about. There are
so many brains in this world. And SO
many individual twists to each--So
much that is good in the worst of us
and so much that is bad in the best. it
is no wonder the poet made a verse
about it-ihstead of making fun
X X ~
A WOMAN who feels naturally that
Ii a NJ
having none of her own-extended the
hospitality of her lap to a child at
a movie. which was packed and jam
med.
Counting by years. the small girl
had Just entered the tooth shedding
zone Measured by world knowledge.
she might have been twins to Cheops.
The play was a tria-. gle thing-hu-
man natures national plot-that no
child should have understood. There
was a siren in jet gauge with bat
wing sleeves and long-tafled earrings
Jet, of course--and "A. wife. whose
virtue was expressed in chin-collared
white, to which was added later the
shoulder-shawl. which is dramas
standard of want The husband. who
was in the Greek god class and en-.
tirelv responsible for the sensational
nipping and tuckingS that went reel
ant notion to return to his starving
family of Christmas eve. disguised
as Santa Claus with a pack on his
back And when the show ended with
re irrepressible clinch, the child,
made use of the inteImission to voice
views to her hostesSN
II wouldn't a took him back min
ute, after wohbin' me an my chile to
spen' his Welt on that hateful ole
vampire, would you. lady? | doan see
what she mahwied him first off tor
he Wouldn'er been the man of my
joice. She oughter mahwied David,
who doored the grUun' she walked on
mail cahier than that ole stuck-up
husb'n of hern-unless l couldergot
divorce an all that alley money. like
that gwass Widdewy lady wiz no dwess
on at her back. My momma's got ear
wings like hers
The woman put a wedge in by re
marking how real Santa Claus look
ed. which netted her another shock:
You don't petend to believe in ole
Santa, do you"
The woman kept her emotions dumb
and the child took silence for con-
sent:
II thought you looked too oldy for
that-why. we Children have piles of
fun writin' letters to Santa for what
we want. so that momma can dWess
twees an poppa can put on the fuh
wug an whiskers and petend to be
Santa. Why, / haven't believed In ole
Santa for a million years.
And by the time that child had lisp
ed out so much ld-knowledge-i
tooth shedding, unlike the oyster. knows
no R-the woman was forced to the
conclusion that she didn't know SO
much about children as she thought
she did. MAMIE LANCASTER.