The Topeka state journal., 1921-02-26
ON SECOND THOUGHT
BY CULLEN CAIN.
CFrom the Philadelphia Public Ledger-)

Readers of this column may well
have been led by the recent announce
aent of its founder, author and pro-
mulgator to look for liteary treat to-
day. but 1 am trusting that you took
it as one of his dry and biting bits
of humor. Anyway, if you did not,
you will. And thus I will have fur
nished Roman holiday just to fur
ther establish this mans humorous
reputation.
May I be personal for a moment =
FIRST, note the use OF the pronoun IT
in this spot where I'VE" has always
bloomed before. Ever since Roscoe
Conkling designated the only two
classes of men entitled to use the word
we l have lodged that pronoun.
Again, 1 would wish to state at the
beginning that 1 have been an ad-
mirer of the Second Thought column
and close friend of its author for over
ten years, therefore L feel perfectly
Tree while shuffling my feet down its
marble halls, to brush against some of
the fancy bric-a-brac and cut glass
ware and finely carved vases that his
Iancy has set up in the inches along
the way.
nave been introduced here as a
literary and musical shark, but, alasi
not one of my favorites found a place
IN the Harvard classics or was al
lowed to hold forth in the Metropoli-
tan Grand Opera house. not only
admit that The Three Musketeers" is
my favorite book, but 1 proudly pro-
claim the fact. And 1 would conf
| uently recommend it to all readers of
TINS classic column who love a brave
tighter, helpful PHILOSOPHER and a
true friend. In the matter of INV mu-
seal preference I have been slightly
mlsquoted. Sweet Alice, Ben Bolt"
is my favorite song. and not ..The Pic
ture That Was Turned Toward the
wall; Only reason liked the ''pfc-
| ture song was because Reese Prosser
used to sing it when he was in his
prime.
And I want to tell you that when
Reese Prosser took an old song down
from the niche of time and decked il
IN the rose-leaves of his matchIess
harmony 1t became a thing most beau-
tiIui and dear. House introduced me
10 john Mccormack, once upon a time
as a man who thinks Reese Prosser
i1s a better singer than you" The
great Irish tenor smiled and stretched
iortn his hand eagerly and gladly to
take mine. And so fhe is" he de-
lsing."
| who was Reese Prosser?v 1 hea,
some benighted and unfortunate and
perett reader ask. He was the stal
ballad singer for AL Fields mfhstrels
some ten or fifteen years ago. 1 never
fclaimed he was great singer. but he
was the sweetest singer 1 ever heard
He had golden voice. and with it he
wove a shining thread in the melody
OF an octette; and it did seem to mt
as tho this thread bridged the way
from the stage to the stars.
House made it mighty easy for ms
to fill this space today when he kid
ded' me about being so strong fol
lDArtagnan. Captain Brazenhead, I'm
lslopogaas and the simple singer of al
old sweet song 1 love to read tn,
brave tales of long ago. Somehow tht
ltinkle and twitter of the present-day
lstories do not appeal to me. 1 mus
leonfess to being hopelessly lowbrow in
the matter of loving such old songs as
Annie Laurie and 1.-THE Rosary" and
Kentucky Home" the best. Woe il
,lme! When go to show hear only
the pitter-patter of the dance and the
beating of the tomtoms and the razs
lof the jazz and the high crescendo o1
lartistic sounds and flourishes that dc
not know and do not understand.
To be a proper and competent col
Iumnist one should discuss the COM
lpelling matters of the day. and here
am wandering among the ,headstones
of lot of dead and long-forgotten
Fighters and songs. A columnist ought
Ito be terse and brief. and yet have to
tramb1e all over the landscape to get a
Thought across. He ought to be funny
and cynical and gay: I am dull and
1 friendly and sad. Well, it will be only
for a day.
A literary treat. forsooth, he said
lyou would have today. And since
cannot be either hrief or humorous, i
lought to be something. But what can
I be literary about? Angels and min
listers of grace defend US, Now, if l
were only weaver of words. a pur-
lveyor of pellucid paragraphs. a swords
man among the sentences. what a
I chance I would have here. with an
audience that is given to a .Iowbrow
only once in 1ifetimel
BY my faithi but believe ! can be
| cynical. When Won feel good Won are