Evening star., 1923-04-02
AROUND THE CITY
BY Mamie Lancaster-

knows what she is doing when she
deals out our mental rations."
Wish I'd been around when she
, passed out the pate de foie brand of
voice"
Sure you do. So would I rather be
blue point Of poesy or little neck
of prose. but l probably do more
honest work as a reportorial red her
ring"
Which seems to show. in a small
way. that nature is onto her Job.
4 LITTLE old lady stood a a cor
I ner waiting for a lull in auto
mobiles. so that she could get across.
But cars whizzed by with gone-mad
insistence and she had to wait and
walt.
She was very small old lady Of the
period OF chin ribbons. Her clothes
were refined looking and she had a
especially noted by younger woman.
waiting alongside, because Of the
astonishing fact that the little old
Lady Wa cusSing TO herself. She
wasn't just saying things that nice
ladies' sometimes say, as hadn't ought
to. She was votcing piping hot
language that properly-or .mprop-
erly'-belongs to pirates and seasoned
old troopers. And apparently It did
her much good.
While the younger woman was
listening with appalled, but inter-
ested amazement the little old lady
turned to her with appealing eyes to
ask in the quavering Of voice that
goes with age:
Don't these blankety-blank cars
scare you to death? I've been walt
ing here the longest time to get
across and the blinkety things won't
give me a chance"
The younger woman registered
sympathy, and the little old lady re-
sumed.
Il tell my pastor that if go TO the
bad place it will be the fault Of these
automobiles. blank them. never
used unladylike words in my life un-
til they aggravated me into saying
things I had TO idea were inside of
me. Here I've been waiting and wait
ing, and they won't stop long enough
to let me get to the street car-blank-
blank it--and my daughter will be
worried IL she gets home before do"
And still the automobiles whizzed
by. and still the little old lady anathe-
matized them, until at last
The younger woman had a chance to
pilot her across TO the track and put
her IN car. And during that inter-
val. the small old lady vas as sweet
of speech as If she had never heard
tell Of a swear.
And the question is: Did her stock
of ancestors include a pirate or a sea-
soned trooper. or, say, some titled
harkback who cursed like q lord"
per adage?
And If yes, the little ola lady sure
did them proud. -..
4 proud being in blush gray was
n struttirg with slow arrogance
down the Avenue-right In the mid
die OF the pavement, so that every
passerby had to make way for her,
going and coming.
Many paused to smile at the cool
ness OF her. Some accepted her az a
matter OF course, and others turned
back to watch her. as IL r blush gray
being were a new thing under. the
sun. But in either case, she paid no
attention, but kept her step Of as
sured slowness until, reaching the
Franklin statue, she switched her
head from right TO left, teetered for
ward a step or two, and few into
the air.
We seldom miss our little chances
at the spotlight. A man who had
apparently seen. read or heard tell Of
the pigeons OF St. Marks started to
tell the young woman with him-iu
q platform voice-how the incident
reminded him of Venice-but she
downed him with local conditions:
Il counted sixty-1ve in Franklin
Park the other morning; all Of them
waiting around to be fed. And, say,
those pigeons are so familiar with
special children that they even know
what bench a certain child will sit on.
re seen them day after day. waiting