davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-10-31
Gwdn-to bed Stories
The beautiful Story Of Spike Cactus

IhH HeautIful Story OF spike actuS
once upon time, dear children,
" there Nss a little ractu, plant that
grew beside Il country road, 1t was
very short and fat and briStly and
covered all over with spikes. Nobody
loved II: even IL mother could hardly
look at it without bursting into tears.
As for Papa Cactus, he would often
say: "Iittlc Spike" Cfor that was his
name is JUS, about the bomel!est
young uu J hnN" ever seen. Where
10 you suppoS" h" got map IKE that:
1t certainly isn't ON our side.
And then Mamma Cactus would say ::
"Oh. Is that so? 60 look in the mirror
and you Uill see where h" got it. y
C,Iohnny, get of the piano.
DUT Spike had q soft heart in spite
d Of his rough exterior. and h" yearncd
for rompanionship and Cravrd love. No
body ever gave him any attention. and
as for loving him, the only. thing they
ovor did az they whizzed by in their
automobiles WAS 20 give him one look
and say: Gee. what a hom"ly looking
plant. What DO you suppose it > good
for?"
Right next to little Spiae Cactus
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-10-31
Tired Of Mud.SIlnalna

Dear Cyuth!a-I strikes me that il Is
about time u damper was put on the
outburEts Of "SOmeLodr'S StanOC" and
q few othe's OF her 'N. Personally
am tired Of seeing the rarn dance ha',
Johnny in print, and I tI.nk there are
quite few others who feel the same
cay. BIZ: there are others whose wro,e
Joy in ~" seems 10 be In prat!ng on the
inss And as for Some body's Steuog,"
she says that she went to 4 public dance
only once. yet she prctends to know all
about the fellows who go 70 dances. 7
surely feeI sorry for her and Others with
her narrow viewpoint.
The sooner they realize that the fucS,
barrel Of aP?'cs has ~ few SPECIFIED Owes
(and SOr etimeS they are the most COR
S0iCuousI the So"ue" they wiil stop THIS
silly condemnation oH a Whole group
believe that there arc just as many
worthless fellows Tho Go not attend
dances as there l,re Who do attend.
And. further, many fellow who goes
TO dances would be glad to meet ''rea.
girl and be faithful 10 her. Because
4 few girls are unable to pick the good
from the bad j. no reason for a whole
saIe. condemnation. II more Of the bet
ter class Of girls would go to dances
believe that they would attract more OF
.lc better "laSs Of fellows But deliver
Us from that would-h- superior and
pa - icuiar" class Of gt"is who have been
roasting dance halls and un pertaining
thereto. They must l- natural horn
grourhcs to take pleasure IN continually
running doyn' any class Of people. -.
gardless ot whether their opinion Of that
class IS fHNOvabic or not. Let's haze
more broadnmdedness and stop judging
from 4 narrow viewpoint. which W
should try 70 enlarge and believe thH:
II the girls viii rrv they can pick the
good from the bad In any Walk of lite.
dancers or on-dancers ASd let ye
say here. DO not make tHA silly mistakr
u trying to judge character from The
fac, th',t :. fellow has lasel,ur on Us
hair This Is another one Of the food III
nrc luG!r"s Of some 81 |our "orresubn.-
cnls There Is surely no harm IN using
vaseDi0,, and in some cases it is ueces-
sa-y to keep the hair looking at all pre-
seutS h,e. L"ta hope that there are. not
many v no pretend 10 be 30 particular
AID Yard O. please. II will not do them
ANY good and it may DO them quite A
.i,tD" hnrr'. Ard don't forget Il. Is nc
,- lue t. BE- able % dance: It IS tln ac-
roy,pIshne7, which every one should
a4vc. .\DGUS
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-10-31
Resting Il Rug

After cleaning. n machine -lnada pic
rug sometimes loses ita shape or wrin
kleS and curlS up because the sizing o.
the back has worn off. Resizng vii
pay for itself by adding to the dura.
bility Of the rug as we'll az by making
it look much better, and can be done
at home or by Il carpet dealer. Drec-
tIons for reSizing are given In Farmers
Bulletin 1919, Floors and Floor Gov
crings, a new publication of the Unite
States Department. Of Agriculture.
The rug should be stretched tight
and true and tackled ut frequent in
tcr,Hls, face down. on II floor or some
, Ulnrr Hat surface where II can remain
uudsturbcd. 1t should then BE- sprinkle
generously with Il solution made by
! soaking and diSsolving one fourth pound
OF fake glue in onc-huIf gallon Of
water. The rug shouId be allowed TO
dry for at least twenty four hours. If
IL Is light weight, care should be taken
not 10 put on so much glue that it
! prnctratcs to the right side.
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-10-31
WHAT'S WHAT
By HELEN DFrlE

II OLt'n hHprnn tItL all uuDrrnlcdi-
tatcd party Is greater fun than Il formal
affair involving invitations and accept
arces. Tits is especial" true OF Cur
American carnival Weei, which does not,
as In Europe, preced" Ash Wednesday,
nor occur in mid.Lent (MiCareme)
but, under the old name of Halloween.
jolllties not only the traditional Novem-
her eve. but splash"s It's vivid colors
Trough the last week OF October and
IOeS not hesitate to venture even into
NJ solemn first day of November,
An impromptu Halloween party, ar
ranged perhaps when unexpected carni-
val callers arrive. may utilize old-fash-
ioned clothes and drap"ries for cos
TUNES. II masks are not purchasable
at moments notice, the domino maslC,
made by Sitting eyes and mouth in A
square Of cambrlc will serve to disguise
identity until unmasking time, which is
generally after dancing for an hour or
SO and before refreshments are served
followed by the playing Of Halloween
games
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-10-31
Two Minutes of Optimism
BY HERMAN j. STITCH
Capitdlising Imitation

5 people Influenced by:
- DO s regulates controls
of bichord
from
In the morning to t he "ondwe re u night?
i is this: It is IMITATION.
slaves other. To each others manrm DESIRES
spirits ambitions
amhoCs Of because SO
looked TINT
nustaco because like the looks of
wIO lrSC
Of kind
Of ccrtn month Dick Harry do
emit because q business.
NoI go TO Il play tho rage
slip a II the
Exarnp : ono o he of all
crowd simply
knows whnr".
noticed that almost the who
W
with
who a He who would Lave friends show himself
friendly
Inconsriously reproduce impressions made
smiling smiling
seem o O smiling with
o spring all about
doums knock
you'll surely shortly swfew
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-10-31
CHAPTER I
Why Did They Laugh?


TACK and Janet lived happily in their
~ homes in the great woods. They
rode on their ponies Trixie and TopsS,
they dug In the sandy beach Of the lake,
| they PLAYED with their toys, they picked
wild flowers, and they went hunting
with the two dogs, Toddie pupkins and
Johnny Bull.
But when they went hunting they did
not 60 far from home. They hnd been
| lost once In the woods and they did not
care 20 80 lost agnin. So when they
sought hiding partridges or chased sour
fying rabbits. they made sure to keep
close to paths that would lead them
straight back 20 the two bungalows by
the lake.
II like the woods" said Janet. one
day as they sat resting in sunny
glade But. oh. they are so lone
some. There aren't any folks here nt
all"
At that Perky Squirrel who bad been
rceking down at the children from the
crotch Of tree. broke into q queer,
barking sort Of laugh. "Chuck-ity-
chuck ity chuck !" he said.
Perky Squirrel laughed so hard he
awakened Toddie Pupkins ond Johnny
Bull. who were enjoying a snoo1e in
the sun.
"Bow-wow Bow WOW - yelped
Toddic Pupkins, making frantic leaps
toward Perky Squirrel. 'Woof!
Woof!" added Johnny Bull. Perky
Squirrel darted to the higher branches.
still keeping up has queer, barking
laugh.
What do you suppose ne is laugh
iug atf' asked Janet Of Jack. "All ]
said was that the woods are so lone
snme-therc aren't any folks here at
all"
Hearing her remark. Toddie Pupkins
quit leaping and yelping and began TO
laugh--an open mouthed dog laugh.
Johnny Bull Joined him.
Mr.. Hoppity Rabbit had bobbcd out
Of his hole to get breath Of fresh mir,
and he heard what Janet snid. He
began to snicktr. and he snickercd so
! loudly Toidic pupkins quit laughing Ia
chase him back into his hole.
And Trixie and T'opsy joined in the
aughing-wrnking their lips and
showing their teeth in funny horse
| laughs.
How queer the animals act" said
Jack. Il wish they could talk and
tell us what III" joke is 50 we could
+ laugh. too.
, Johnny Bull ouit laughing and
larked, as if trying to tell Jack some
thing. Jack couldn't understand him.
50 Johnny Bull said "Woof. Woof.'
and lay down. closing his eyes.
Bow vow" barked Toddic Pup
tins. He winked at Jack and Janet,
and also lay down. but kept one eye
open to sne What the children would do.
~ believe they want us to lie lown,
too" said Jack.
Perhaps they want us to try "a
bring the sleep magic whispered
Janet
"Woof. wooe.' barkod Johnny
Bull. rs if saying Yes. Yes"
"Row WOW! Bow wow barked
Toddic Pupkins. as if saying, "To be
Surc That's it,"
So Jack ard Janet lay en- the grass
and closed their eyes. And as they
closed their eyes the sleep magic came
Upon them.
! Un tomorrow chapter Jack and
Janet mako n strange disHovery.)
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-10-31
'Should a Woman TeNo"
BY HAZEL DEYO BACHELOR
Copyright. 1891. bv Public LEDGER Company

this fact over and over. Julie was seven.
teen. That made difference of eighteen
years, and she called it slight dill.
ference. Perhaps If she had been TWEEN.
ty-i!ve and the man forty three, the
discrepancy would not have seemed to
great. As 1t was II seemed alarmlnyly
10. but Julie was hurrying on.
"lc's wonderful, tall and slight and
the most wonderful dancer. And on.
Hawthorne, ! met him in the most 70.
mantle way. That brings me to some.
thing else j wanted to tell you about,
The reason why | don't want To 20
back to school. want to do something
interesting, [ want to get Job, and
buck the world. It's the only way 10
keep from being bored. Lots of girls
whose parents have money are doing
it. That's how met him. Lotta French
who was at school with me last year /,
studying designing here in New York.
and she has d studio with another girl
down in the village. They have The
most wonderful times. with lots of In.
teresting people always dropping in for
tea, and they turn on the phonograph
and we dance. | don't want to do the
ordinary thing that girls have always
done in the past. Hawthorne. want
life to be like that. l want it more than
anything else in the world, and I'm
going to have it,!
Julie set her soft lips in a straight
line and her dark eyes flashed suddenly.
At that moment there was something
of Danes determined quality about her.
She was like young colt with III,
bit between her teeth. Once convinced
Of what she wanted or thought she
wanted she would bolt mt any hint Of
restraint. She would have 10 be handled
carefully and who was to handle her!
Mrs. Merrill, cold and reserved. hedgcd
in carefully by the conventions of her
own generation, would never under.
stand this vivid young thing, all afre
with life and longing. Was mine th,
task, then? And if I undertook II,
what if it should fail? ] was young
myself. twenty four. and very human,
and unconSciouSly / drew back from
this important responsibility.
Observation-Disclosures
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-10-31
Would She Be Running After Him

Dear CynthIa--I am daily reader Of
YOUR column and appreciate your splcn-
Hld adNI'e which you give TO your
readers am now In trouble and am
coming TO you TO see If you cant heip
me as you have helped others Among
my acduaintanCes Is n certain younn
man wnom I met this summer year
ago at Ocean city Both the young
man ana ] summer there every year
lie irst summer I met him We spoke
70 each other when We met. but THAI
vas as far as our friendship Went. This
summer Was on more friendly te~ns
jnan the season before. When We met
"" would 'tCp aud chat and sometimes
spend whole evening together on the
per. II We happened to iHcct one another
tHer". On such occasions Nr would then
esc0rt me homo. ono evening when he
escorted me home he asked me 70 see
nm on the beach the following morning.
| was unable 10 keep tho engagement.
He never made another engagement.
with me after that. although We were
on the best Of terms. Now the question
l have is this, since We have left the
shore ! would like TO see him, but do
not know whether Il would be proper
for me 70 ask him 70 call. or whether "a
ask him for ride IN our auto. do
not believe that he knows my address
so cannot get in touch with me. He
gay, mo his card so that know where
he lives 10 you think If should car
him up he would THINK I was running
after him? Blue EYES,
As you have known the young man
for two years and have seen him frc-
quentiy IN the summertime there would
De no objection to writing him Il littln
note ard inviting him IN 80 spend an
evening wI,h another giH and man AND
yourself. You might have two or thee
other girls and men in tho same cve-
ming. TNen he viii probably ask If he
may cone aCaiA. And II ne II PERHAPS
shy, say to him that you hope he will
come IN soon again
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-10-31
BY J. p. McEVOY

lived Gertie Golienrod Gertic was a
ta!I blonde. and she despiScd little Spike
becans" he was SO ugly.
Nobody ever pays any attention to
you. Sh" would say. "Why should
tLcyE You're an oil can. -
Then Spike would say: oh I guess
not nm oil can, Gcrtic. Don't be so
STUCK up. You aren such a much"
But just th" same, Spike would cry
himself TO sleep that night.
PLT one day an automobile full OF
- people stopped in front of the house
where Spike lived. and he saw them
all looking at him.
oh. how beautiful. :" they said.
They, are kidding me-" said Snikc
to himself. II am not beautiful. How
do they get thar way"
Then the little girl in the car said
ION, must get that lovely flower
What y the name OF that big, whit,
dower:"
Then the kind gentleman in tn,
glasses said: why, that is a cactus
flower, dear. Il II not beautIful;"
And sure enough, 1t was so.
Little Spike Cactus had blosSomcd out
into the most beautiful white flower
How happy he was And his Nav auC
Paw and ell RI" other cactus rola
tives' As for Gerti". she tried TO make
friends with Spike utter that. but he
wouldn't have anything to do with her
Served her right,
And that is the end Of the story.
Gwan to bed, children
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-10-31
How She Cleans House

70 the Editor NJ WonlGn'S PuOr:
Dear Madam---I am snatchIug few
minutes from my own housecleaning 20
try to help Constant Render" My
method may or may not be right but
II works, and that Is what interests me.
] have an eight-room house. but the
same plan would worl, for any other
sise.
The FIRST day out" clean all beds.
four OF them. take them apart, beat
ASush. wash, air and generally freshen
mem. Then finish completely ono
room each day closets included l do
the halls as ! go.
Bureau drawers are rainy-day Job
and are not included. The living room
and dining room open into each other,
so they must be done together, but II
can be managed. | always have good
meals, but not fussy ones during this
lime. and II thought and planning are
used the thing may be done painlessly
70 The family and the house may look
natural at the end OF each day.
NJ. NJ.
This sounds like a very systematic
method A. am sure Constant Reader
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-10-31
Foot Trouble

To No Edtor o. lFoman's Pcg,,
Dear MadTu- How can hu.lous he
removed? HOW can the cn~.n!axlon bc
made clear" SOME DNI,
The Ieet should be soahed .u hot
water ana plenty Of EPSON sails for
twenty minutes at night ana tw-nty
minutes In the muruag \ foot !al,c
is used afterward.
There Hro a lot Of things that enter
into the question Of CLEARING Il com
pleXion. In the first place you may
he eating food that is too rich for you
II is wise plan to keep to ura Plair
foods and 10 avoid, HS much as possible
especially candy .UQ pastry. You
should get a certain amount # exercise
too, and drink plenty Of water It
will help you To use good facial soap
Put this on IN the evening with a soft
cloth and warm water, finishing with
cold water, In the morning, use cold
cream,
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-10-31

word has travelled losg way from its
original source. a blotAl- sucking icnd,
for the modern meaning of tho verb ITO
vamp' Is TO use ones sex powers, and
il is almost nattcrins expression 1t
is as If woman were called alluring
and naughty like Theds Bara
"a fool ;hSre was, and he made his
prayer ." l wtnder how many
men in this material istic age, cspe-
ciallv in the sophisticated cities, really
idealizc and worship any woman. Have
Icy the imagination and self .hyp-
notism to fancy her ss a goddess? And
how many. out of Dc small number
who have superscnsiivc souls. and 10
Worship u woman, have the bad luck,
or poor judgment. tts, pick hcartlesS
one: | cannot believe very many ot us
ar" deadly, uruYprccisthe and destruc.
tive.
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-10-31


sn the poem was described as "a rag
and q bone and n hank Of hair but,
we are told, 1.-THE fool, he called her
his lady fair" Surely the gentleman
was possessed Of imagination, SO 10 de-
scribe such monster
Our same complimentary friend Kip
ling is responsible for the picturesque
phrase. "the female of the species is
more deadly than the male" Such
vicious maligning of our sex causes one
20 wonder what kind of woman gave
him jolt!
IN SPITE of the subsection of women
l. IN the past, a few always managed
TO be holy terrors, and history gives
us some murdereSSes that apparently
got away with good deal. MeSsalinu
aud the notorious Bucrczia Rorgia and
Lady Macbeth were arch Vampires.
Almost always the seductrcsseS were
IN positions of power, usually queens
and relations Of popes, and cmprcSsrs.
such as the Roman TheOdora. They
must have bad some pretty strong pull.
20 get their place in the sun, and yer
some Of the vamps created their own
power, such as Nell Gwynp, an orange
girl, and Madame Sans Gene. who was
8 vasherwoman. Several peasant vanps
conquered kings and became rulers in
direct. but real. of nations.
When vampires were truly worthy OF
the name. and committed murder. their
victims were usually their husbands.
and even today these undesirable
spouses may be murdered with i'm
punity, if the wife is sufficiently at
tractivc. .ts has often been pointed
cut, few male jurors ever will punish
a good looking huSba nd mu-deress. il
would be interesting to follow them
after their acQuittal. and lind nut
whether there were men willing to marry
them and risk being done away with.
T,liE traditional vampire seems 70
= have It in for her lovers. You never
hear of one wrecking or killing a casual
acquaintance. They don't kill their
landlord - although public opinion
doubtless would justify that aCt-or the
man who sold them oil storE It al
ways is the man who loved them
surely disrouraginS to men who are
afectionate
Another poet told us that Hell hath
no fury Ike q woman scOrncd." and
50, perhaps IL IS jealousy that makes
vampires so deadly.
The vsmp is apt to be a cold. cruel.
calculating person. The slang has it
that she is a coquetto. Surely. tn!
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-10-31

Hawthorne Emery, after batting
1ith herself for several days, decides
to marry Dane Merrill Without tell
ing him that she has once been IN
iore rith another man. She discOr-
crs that Dane IS cery ndrrow in hts
ideas about romcr, aud that hc ts
looking to her TO erert an im0uen"e
ovcr his little butterfly sister, Jukc.
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-10-31
Hdlloween Is Fun for Little Tots
When They Learn About Falseface,
But 1t Took Whole Quilful Of Gayy Dressed Fairies 10
Teach Dim pIechin and T,onketoes Not to Be afraid

mp on one elbow to glare across =,
her. Nv
The giggle came again. and apa,r
and again. from all around him.
1t wasn't Dimplechin Mt all u -
= whole quiltful Of fairies ali dresssS
'0r Halloween as butterflies and eow'
crs and some az grasshoppers ma
naughty elves and goblns. ''
'Ho, you're afraid !" they ali sbo,..
ed, pointing at Twinkletoes. STos. Says.
on. wake her, and well take Won ar,
into Halloween and show youv' y"
So they woke Dimplechin and N.
fairies threw some fairy dust on both
children to make them small. and then
they all went running and DANCING ~
n starbeam right out into the Mall s.p
Of Halloween. "'u''
THERE were bells iingling and ra,t,ss
l. Gathering, and Big Boys yell,n,
and throwing corn and everything
And they all had Those Faces.
But Dimplechin wasn't a bit afraid
any more.
For with the fairy dust on her sh.
could look right through those uslv
paper things and she saw the lauphInw,
hceS OF brotner billy and the Inv
across the street. and Big Tom around
the corner. and even the mischieyous
grin of little Tony, who brings 'tSs tSs
paper in the morning. '''
She gave her little laugh wbich
sounds just like lot of fairies lnuyS.
ing together and whispered to TwjntIs.
toes:
"Twinky ! she said. all embarrassed
II used to be afraid ''"''
A ND Twinklctocs forgot what a bi,
"A boy he was and gigglcd as II h,
were just as little as she Is.
$50 did I!' he confessed.
But they aren't afraid any NOR.
and That's why they had those Lowell,
falrylike chuckles ready FOR motb.,
when she came in to wake them .,
this morning.
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-10-31

This year mother
made her an old
fashioned d r c S y
with n long skirt.
all full, and n little
kerchief and a hat
tied under her chin.
That was lots of
fun. And Twinkle
toes was an Indian
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-10-31

Or0er tnnJ SUCKS
the blood from n
corpse. II took
Rudysrd kipling
TO pick on that
simile for a wom-
an who works a
man for all she
can get. drains
bis very lifeblood.
md then drops
him, presumably
breaking b | d
h @ n t. Surely
such female devils
are rare /!
The first YAM,
pire woman that
A.N1 N
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-10-31
"\NE CALLED her the woman
w who did not care.

lh + NALDCsD u'T tie Nund II
w who did not care.
And now he knows she never could
cSrn,
And could not understand"
ThHt = quite diffarnt. There A."
millions Of women tand n"un who
are nos delicat aly org, nized and deeply
rId unsr'tishly understanding. when
they chance to bn mn;cd with al un-
usual or sensitive soI But that does
NOT mean that they alE vampires. They
deliberate cruelty, which dcvastatCs and
destroys.
Tho famous Rurtr- Jones painting
shows the dinholiCal beauty bending
over her victim. apparently having
drawn his soul from has lips. and gloat-
ing over his corpse. That is the real
vampire. although Slmmhcal.
4 BLOOD CJRDLTNG molodrams
"A few years ago. called "A Fool
stealing a husband trNn his wife and
sweet children. and in the end. after
running him. casting hip aside hrutal'y,
and actually numbering him. kiss mo-
ny fool she commasied. before he
succumbed 70 death. apparently to show
her power. tor he was denourcing her as
Il firud. yet could not resist her fns-
cinations.
It was brutal portrayal OF the
ugliest In human passion. The cheer
ful ending showed her scattering rcd
rose petals over his cor7se and laugh
ing sardoniCnily.
ThNt kind Of vampire exists only in
the uramatiSt 8 fcvcrcd brain. There