Evening star., 1923-08-26

IN HERE is trouble in ghostland-
a sort of civil war between
ancestral shades and Spooks
of the younger set. The mod
ern type refuses-positively--
oldfashioned assignments as the
haunting of ruins and moldy church
yards. and, especially, the limitations
of activities to nightwork that must
be finished by cock crow. 1t prefers to
control mediums, or take lessons In
the perfection of a supernatural radio
with mortal exchange lines. or even
to do the unskilled work of ele-
mentals. And il you are not ac-
Quainted with elements. here's your
chance, via lady who got it straight
from Ouija:
An elemental is an earthbound and
an earthbound is a spirit that for
some reason--1 didn't like to inquire
100 personally--has to hang around
living people until il works what
ever punishment 1t is that weights
il down. Not being a ghost in good
standing. 1t lacks power to mate
rialiZe. but, like that certain little
bird we know about. listens in on the
outskirts of shadeland to learn what
Is going on inside. SO that he can
pass 1t down to the medium he con-
trolls"
If. as she explained. you miss some
htng-anything-tha ought to be
around and you hunt and hunt for
IT and then, giving it up as lost. find
1t where. 'if it had been a snake it
elemental had hidden it from you for
fun. And If you fancy some one has
called your name and you find that
nobody has. blame it on an elemental
Having no official job time must hang
heavy on his hands-never mind
about his having neither hands nor
time-though goodness knows he
oughn't to be lonesome, for take 1t
from Ouija, if elementals took up
space In this world they would shove
US off the sidewalks.
You may not take stock in cle-
mentalS, of course, but you have to
admit that fairy godmothers are
around taking notice. Otherwise
how do YOU account for this fact
as new as a fresh blooming clover
and as impregnable as Gibraltar be-
fore full-redged battle planes took
to the sky?
THERE is a show window that
i flashes jewels imported direct
from Aladdins cave. Also in conces-
sion to tourists whose purses may not
there are artistic souvenirs that in
clude. just now. gay little ducks
hatched by an English kiln. and of
such gorgeous colorS as mother ma
ture never dared dream of--which
shows the advantage of china over
the real thing.
Also. again. there is a woman.
about the plaineSt woman you could
run across In days hunt-who fell
in love with the ducks. She didn't
Just admire them as cute grotesques.
She fell in love with them. And the
couple. was because she hated to
have the outer, sensible half of her
know how foolish she was inside.
deep down. or high up. wherever 1t
lives: 1t was a feeling that you
couldn't possibly account for unless
unless you had lived a gray child
hood with no streak Of gay foolish
Then you would know that the unex-
plainable hunger for toy-things
would be web and woof Of you for
all the days of your life; and that
shiny trife. except that dear old
common sense yanked you out of
temptations. So the woman didn't
buy the ducks. of course. but-she
will tell you about it her ownself:
The reason | am sure about fairy
godmothers is that yesterday a dapper
messenger brought me a box, and in
the box were two ducks. No name
came with the package. and. demoral-.
lied with aStoniShment, I bertillOned
every human in the building, from
elevator to big chief; male and female
thereof, and finding no clue went to
the store itself, where a nice clerk,
whose name might have been Sphinx
couldn't tell me thing-and. Incl
dentally. wouldn't have If he could
Nice clerks are that way.
SO have settled it that the ducks
came from my fairy godmother And
! don't mean to stop hunting until I
find her. When have made her take
back the price of the funny little
things-friendshrp, should never be |
shackled by obligations-and feel
free to enjoy the wonderful kindness
that made her want to give me pleas
ure. Shall take the dear ducks from
their box and proceed to revel In
them. but. Until then-not."
Which seems to look as If il were !
up to some fairy godmother to call
around and square things. Unless
perhaps, it wasn't fairy at all, but
just tricksy elemental.
= x = K
4 RESIDENT tripped on something
I in the street and fell to the
curb. 1t happened to be a quiet street |
at that moment with but one man |
near enough for the injured woman |
10 appeal for assistance to get on her
feet. The man approached, but seeing