Evening star., 1926-06-13


ceptions:
It had been a day Of snivelly rain
and the dusk was so gray and dismal
that at one point on Seventh street II
was practically deserted. except Tor
q man creature who was numbering
up from the bricks with the aid OF a
lcrutch. A woman who was scudd1ng
by to get a certain car line saw him
tumble pencils into pocket so that
he could put on his hat and then
look up the street as II waiting 1or
some one. And the woman, mindful
Of feature stories, knew that the
limousine was due.
You may have noticed that things
don't always turn out as expected
1t Is one of the tricks of fate. The
arrival materialized in the shape of an
old woman beating her way under an
exasperating umbrella that wanted TO
go in a different direction. She was
wearing one Of those heartbreaking
skirts that sop up the CRIME OF the
pavement and an atrocity that used
to call itself a basque. AS she reached
the man in time to help him to his
feet. he shook his head and then
leaned 1t against her with the de-
spondent droop that stands for bad
luck. Then he handed her what must
have been o. sparse harvest of change
and she crooned out something that
only the man and God could hear. and
the two began to half-stagger into the
rainy gray that was leadening into
night.
The scudding woman, having loi-
| tered to witness this end OF not so
perfect day, was hurrying on to make
up for lost time, when-you know how
things come to you without thinking?
1t flashed into the woman's mind that
a rainy day Is hard on even prosper
GUS merchants. and that what she
most needed in this world was a pen
elias many pencils as she had
change to buy-you know how you
gobble up pencils in your work---so she
turned. and sprinted back to the man
| on crutches and the woman who was
helping his brick numbed body along
They were easy to overtake. She
excused herself for bothering the man
after 1.-The shop was closed" but
please, could he let her have a pencil?
The deal was made-one nice green
pencil pointed like a pin. And when
the customer had dropped her little
so cents into the mans hands and
hurried off in the darkness to the car
line. and after that to the warmth and
brightness of two old-fashioned rooms.
| SIG ldlu Tie green pcHCH UcIOIc d
faded photograph in shrine.
She must have known exactly why
she did It, but you can't tell every
I thing you know In this world. For
one thing. people who couldn't under
stand would make fun of you.
Besides. have you ever known any
body who could use peddler's pencil?
| A WOMAN, with a maid. has just
moved into a new apartment
house. The other morning Maid
Mary, in the kitchenette, was press
ing a tunic blouse-black lace. Mis-
tress Mary was In the living room
with the door open between. A visitor
from across the hall had Just called,
and Mistress Mary was listening dis
creetly, hoping to catch on to the type
Of tenants she had leased in with.
She was not disappointed
"As your nearest neighbOr, i
thought 1t only my duty to ask If you
were kept awake by that baby's cry
ing last night. 1t isn't their child,
you know. but a founding left at the
door of the Doc on the ground floor,
and they begged SO hard for it, having
no child of their own. that he had 1t
fixed up so they could adopt it, OF
course. they seem to idolize it. but
you can't help having your thoughts
when you hear that kid yell out and
then stop all Of a sudden--I can't
say for certain. Of course. but 1t looks
to me as if they give it something
they oughtn't to. l may be mistaken,
perhaps, and no one ever heard me
putting wrong constructions on things
people do. but l can't help seeing
through things, I suppose. because I'm
so psychologic-oh, yes, I've got quite
a little reputation along that line.
Last week, for instance. I gave an
instructive talk on MY Dreams, and
What Comes of Them" may say
1t was great. because l had just re-
ceived through dream a sure key
to success. 1t was wonderful. Some
mystic power intrusts me with knowl-
edge, even in such material cases as
salary increases, which enables me to
earn promotions In business for many
men and women. And 1t is all so sim
pie. too. 1 merely tell them to take
two apples; scoop out a bit of each and
transfer it to the other and make your
wish. My dreams are always true for
whoever tries it. You must really
join my claSs-only so cents q lesson"
This statement had its interruption
In the smell Of scorched lace. Maid
Mary had been listening too keenly to
keep her iron moving. Happily, 1t
was only a sleeve, and a sleeve can
be shortened. but Mistress Mary
knew that the apple experiment for
raise in salary was going to be tried
at her own expense.
And why not an apple for luck
Look what apples did for Eve and
for Venus and for William Tell and
for cider!
CHE was closing her account and as
the paying teller attended strict
ly to the business in hand she con-
fided to him her reason for needing
the money:
1T hurts me dreadfully to have to
do it, because / have always kept my
last little savings here in case of
sickness or death. l didn't mind even
drawing my last Victory bond-the
one that really did hurt me to give,
as the war saying went, my income
having stopped on account Of my dear
husband death, still I wanted to help
out Uncle Sam. But this really does
hurt and even frighten me. being the
last Of everything, but-taxes have to
be paid, you know. Seems as If Uncle
Sam gobbles everything"
He must have been a kindly young
man. for, having attended to matters
he responded nicely to the garrulous.
ness of his client-a small and timid
looking person. well on in years.
well, a hundreddollar tax shows
for a comfortable little property"
"Yes, doesn't it? 1t belongs to my
daughter and her husband, but their
own money being invested, they
thought it would be better to draw
. lcf h al
it on hand-I make my home with
than,