Evening star., 1926-05-09

!. !: ! I. I. I
series Of S8L 4,
constantly repeat 4IEHEHM ,lif1I
ed like most other 'AEEElI MIN III
SongsterS His HEHaU uIN NJ
range is practical "s 'lthGE sM
ly unlimited. This ~ ~.kYHEl4 y
one initiated the -
robin, the whistle = "
ni the redbird
the call of the
whippoorwill, and, at one time, sound
cd for all the world like the peer
Of a little chicken. At midnight the
bird was still singing. Some of the
residents enjoyed his song so mucn
that they stayed up until midnight
Then they went to rest, but not so
the mocking bird, which continued
through the night.
shortly after daylight, when early
riSerS began TO prepare tor anotner
days work, the bird was still at it.
Perhaps it was greeting the morn,
Tor the same reason that 1t always
sings straight through q moonlight
night
'Mocking birds are rare in resi-
Dental neighborhoodS-1n fact, there
are very few to be found in the sub
urbs Of Washington. Their home IS
in the Southland and it was there. no
doubt. this bird learned the whip
poorwitl call.
Years ago, before it was against
the law to trap or contine them, one
connection of my family that owned
4 mocker had to cover its cage on
moonlight nights to keep ii from
singing TO the moon and disturbing
Tho sleep OF the household.
II YOU have ever lived deep down
IN the woods of southern Maryland,
you will recall mocking birds that
.roWed like roosterS or barked like q
puppv or squealed like q pig-and
sometimes its baby cries and chuckles
were 50 human that you could place
tne person Initiated. There was a
legend that a free lnocker would pol
son any brother bird confined In
age. but the trees. in that long-ago
time, were so filled with songsters OF
every sort that wiredin pets were
few and far between. There was one
brown nurse who used TO tell Il story
about a mocking bird that was never
otherwise VouChed for, but which may
have been Cospel-true, since nothing
seems too strange TO happen:
In the DAYS of red Indians there was
an old maiden. Missy" that had out
lived her family and lived on In the
old homestead alone with Il small uoS
and q Gagged mocking bird. One morn
and her strong box carried away, and
no one could tell how it happened
until a neighbor, who had cared for
the bird a few days and then liberated
it. heard it singing in her garden.
After that, she kept food on win
dow sill, and the mocker Strayed
around. One moonlight night, In the
course of its limitations, the blrd
screamed out as If some one was hurt-
ing ia loud, piercing cry OF pain.
Then there was an attack of cough
ing-a peculiar sort of cough that
sounded familiar-and which gave the
woman a, clue. NeighborS took turns
in listening, until one moonshlny nlght
when the bird was screaming ana
coughing they decided on stranger
man who had come into the near
village TO work, and who left the day
after the woman was found. Ana tney
knew they We're not mistaken, pc
cause of his peculiar cough. But
what they did about 1t WASH IN the
yarn.
:; :: < =
4 BUSINESS woman found 81 Je"el
"A diamond, set in platinum. IL
was advertised and she notified the
owner over the telephone. There was
Glory Alleluia in the voice that an
a,yered-you know how you would
feel to regain q lost diamond set IN
pIatinum-and the finder was told
mot to think of bringing il" as the
owner would call, direct. Nhlch ne
did. And the business woman, whose
fine sense Of honor took no heed or
the rascally adage that findings Is
keepingS,' handed the JeWet over.
Then the owner spoke of reward:
The finder wanted no reward for
hai n,
with a just sense of the debt due TO
an obligation, she told him that she
would be glad il he would make a gift
20 q certain charity she was much
interested in-eXplaining something OF
its urgent need.
The owner considered. Then he
suggested:
How about q dollar?'
She knew just about how far a
dollar would go toward helping out,
saw. an orphanage, but since one may
aot refuse even the smallest gift in
the name of charity, she accepted the
measly little bill. And that was ali
there was to it except that the one
VINO was telling the incident to the
one who was TO tab it down wound
up with:
Ian xou beat it?"
And you know that you could not
nor anybody else. And furthermore,
with an inherited and lifelong de-
wotion to William Shakespeare, you
will have to tell him to his face that
there is a certain owner of a diamond
set in platinum who has just provided
~ touch of nature to which no
world this one or the next, would
want to be kin.
K,,1 l. c,xS, ft1-I,<
~ when former President Coolidge
mas leisure TO look backward on his
pRst-as is the way of age--he will
doubtless fail to recall one little worth
while act that would really please him
more than many of the great events
that history will have tagged TO his
credit-seeinS that kindliness is the
only thing in this world that hides no
thorn of regret.
It happened 81 short time ago, when
a flock of Girl Scouts were coming
from the little house in Potomac Park
and met the President on the way. He
touched his hat and smiled a friendly
greeting-and as those youngsters
looked back at his passing figure they
were the happiest little people that the
sun beamed down on that day. And
out of the bubble of joyous ejacula-
tions, q passerby caught up rhapsodic
bits like this:
"It was because we have on our
niforms.'-which, doubtless, was one
reason, seeing that Mrs. Coolidge is Il
Girl Scout.
This city Is full of people who have
never had a President to bow to them
I'll never forget It all my life.'
"Just as IL we were grown.up peo-
pie. Aren't you glad we had on our
uniforms?"
And so on, until the passerby was
ont of voice range.