Evening star., 1922-10-29

black and chin ribbons are not
I addicted to peddlins balloons
~ on street corners, but nothing
i too odd to happen these days. She
.tCod on the avenue the other after
noon with a shower of gay balls
red, blue and yellow-bobbing above
her In the sunshine like so many
-tladdin jewels on a spree.
Passersby chuckled at sight of her
ur looked their pity for the poverty
the job implied, but there were no
children around, and for that rea-
son, doubtless, business meant only
a free show until couple of young
men who might have been gents fur
nishing ads came along with an idea.
1t was the sort of idea that made
both buy balloons and that turned
one into a salesman while the other
looked on with an indorsing grin.
And. naturally. the crowd, going and
coming, halted into n swarm while
the salesman voiced the old lady's
wares:
step up, ladies and gentlemen, and
sample our bombproof balls, made of
guaranteed pigskin-
Rubber" prompted the other young
man.
My mistake-rubber balls import
cd especially for Halloween decora-
tons. Walk up. ladies and"
You naturally know what happened
after that The crowd broke into in
,lividuals. each going off with a bal
loon. SO far as the stock lasted =.
With the gents furnishing ads linked
arm in arm, and the old lady tipping
IF to wherever she belonged. And
,-vcrybody around was amused except
rne man, whose name should have
been \. Cynic. though probably it
wasn't; but, anyhow, he said out loud
To nobody in particular:
Bet it's a fake-the three of them
working the public. You can't tell
me"
But il wasn't any fake, Tor the two
ads went into the Willard Hotel as if
they were at home there. And that
,,ught TO settle that.
= :: =
4 WASHINGTON woman back from
\ the mountains brings II bit Of a
story about the invisible home of
suzanne. The nearest she got to it
as the outer edge of 4 jungle of
trees underground, flowers and weeds
hat smother q once-was fence-and
She owed that glimpse to Il man.
Tie was a man with O head for
business and the possessor of another
md more splendid gift that we define
finland as a heart of gold. The busi-
ness head has made him manager of
i fashionable summer hotel up in the
Big Blue, but when autumn ends its
season he likes to rest his soul in a
pleasant smaller house where. for
this time. the woman Glanced to be
stopping.
One glory morning he asked her
and the other few guests if they
would like TO go with him to see Su-
anne. And as the old woman who
lived alone was something of a mys-
rcry, and mystery has its lure, she
Joined the party. of course.
suzanne materialized from the jun
gle. a hardy old person, who had
grown bronzed wholesome
like a pip on q rosebush after its
last bloom is forever faded and gone.
.tt sight of the man, however, a blush
reSurrected itself from her buried
youth; in her eyes was a glamour
of alteration and her voice was 4
pacn of grateful praise as she thank
cd him for the wood, and the gro
ceries, and tho oil, and the boxes
;tt I,n
least attention to the rest of us.
The man switched off the eulogies,
made kindly inquiry as to her health,
told her to take good care of herself.
slipped her u bill as he shook hands;
and that was about all until, on the
way homeward, the woman, for one,
wanted to know what the love feast
meant. The man shunted off the
topic with a word as to overthank-
fulness for the few things he had
sent her when he closed the hotel.
There is always a lot of odds and
ends left on my hands, such as gro
reries. oil. canned goods and the like,
that come In handy for one person.
But she told you she had wood
enough for the winter. You sent her
fuel, didn't you?'
oh, just Il load or two. You
couldn't expect a woman as old as
suzanne to cut and haul for herself.
Mighty cold up here in the winter
And you keep her i'll food and light
and warmth through ali the winter,
and you send her boxes
oh, no. No; my wife and the chill
dreu send her Il few things at Christ
mas. and SO forth. NeiShbors want
to be good to her; but as She won't
let one of them inside her premises,
and she might get too sick to ask
for outside help, it's best to be on the
"afe side and stock her up for the
spring"
And that is all there was to the
incident, except that pretty soon
afterward the man went down the
mountain to use his business head in
a "onquering fight with the world, and
doubtless will never look on his
Yearly helps to Suzanne as charity
until some day, somewhere, some One
will say to him:
That which ye did to My little
one. ye did it unto Me-
!: x X ::
YOU might call him Abou Ben Ad-
hem, so far as love for his fellow