Evening star., 1925-01-14
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

side? Who better to defend me now?'
The supreme court of Rome would
refuse Nero the injunction. The
royal blackguard would then mount
his imperial limousine and, disregard
ing all speed laws, kill and run" at
every block.
Seneca would turn back to his
study, having successfully won his
right to remain living, and, looking
out over the slushy streets OF Rome.
| where the snow lay In heaps and
drifts, murmur:
Centuries hence these works OF
mine will appeal to men OF my tenn
permanent. All. essays of mine, where
will you be 1000 years henceT"
But even he could not foresee the
modern department store!
X x X X
The booklover, with these reminis-
cences in mind, ambled down to the
store at II o'clock, thinking that he
was early enough to pick up a few
more book bargains.
He did not reckon with the women
this time.
Casually he walked past the dress
goods, behind which shop girls stood
at attention, serving now and then a
woman customer.
What was that crowd OF women
farther down the aisle? What were
they doing there? His heart began
| to sink He feared the worst. The
ladies were going in for literature!
Above the struggling mass of
| women surrounding those tables
banner stuck up. 1t was in the form
| of a placard affixed to a standard
and on that placard he read
| Books, 3S cents"
The book bargains he was seeking,
in place.
knew full well, for the sign said they
were. The ladies lined the tables
four deep, pushing and clutching- Out
| of the mass, from time to time, de-
terrnined woman would push, holding
| fast to four or five volumes.
A tanned soldier stood helpless
there, not daring to move toward
| the tables. His khaki suit showed
signs of service. He was g. sergeant,
| a sergeant with a taste for books.
| The look in his eyes was one OF de-
termination mixed with chagrin-
He had come to find a book or
two, and he was going to leave with
a book or two-but just how he was
going to achieve that result he did
not know. The manual at arms made
| no provision for this contingency.
! A woman broke away from the
group-an opening CLEANED through
! break apart for an instant, revealing
CLEAN of the glorious sunshine.
| The sergeant made a dive for the
hole, wedged himself determinedly
| close to the counter.
Flying after him, the booklover
| found an opening, too, and landed
close by his side. The books We're
! stacked, sprawled. thrown, huddled
| tossed. They had been stacke
| neatly at the beginning of the sale
| but later had been sprawled around
| by the feminine booklover. They
| had been thrown and tossed, and
| huddled hither and yon.
Big Books, little books, books that
| had proved failures. as far as sales
| were concerned, books in blue covers
| and books in red covers. books that
| had gone out with the authors hopes
| and the publishers benedictions, and
| landed up here, at last, high and dry
| on a counter that TOMORROW would
hold corsets
! The booklover, seeing his Army
friend triumphantly emerge with
| three big books, made a valiant effort
| to select something. His mind was
| hazy, he looked frantically, turned
| over book after book, finally seized
upon a big blue one, held 1t aIoft
| glowingly to the clerk.
I'll take this!" he cried, in great
| relief. I'll take this oner"