Evening star., 1926-05-02
AROUND THE CITY
RY MAMIE LANCASTER.

! We'll, all l can say is you will live
| to regret it. You mark my words.
! WHY. if il was me, J. should never
draw an easy breath. If my husband
and children had to travel trains
twice day the whole year round
The moving woman's smile gave
way to worry-puckers--a soberness
| that made her look older and not SO
cheerfully pretty. but sudden
| thought brought back a bubble or
laughter:
You see, we have an automobile
the safest old car"
So the only thing poor Jen could
do was to pocket her bad luck ana
promise to come out real soon.
TT was that last time the weather
was undecided whether to freeze
or turn slushy. And compromised by
doing both.
At one corner where work had
stopped on the scooping out OF
mighty foundation for an office build
ing a plank had been laid over an
extra -puddley crossing, and at that
exact time a couple had 1t to them
selves.
The man was meaty-like the cut
And he was weighted down with
swagger stick, which he tlicked as
sertively while he GRATED to the pre-
sumable wife in his rear. She, poor
soul. was so thin that no respectable
crow would have wanted to PICK hef
bones, and she carried suitcase ana
the family umbrella in case 1t ralned
IF the people of this town had
any spunk they'd kick at an outrage
like this-not even a decent crossing
to walk on after tearing up the whole
neighborhood-and it's the same
everywhere YOU go; tearing up
streets. tearing down houses, ana the
authorities standing for it. No more
decent regard for the public than----
and on and on and on.
A plain woman alongside. who was
doing the Eliza act by crossing the
stones and bits of wood that had
been used to help soak up the pud-
dle--dam ii. you know--and who
couldn't help seeing the Womans
worry lines and hear the oratory GO
ing ahead, had to wonder to herself
why a man who was demanding such
consideration from the law should
possess SO little himself as to let
splinter of a woman lug suitcase.
And a big he-umbrella.
her say in the matter, she doubtless
would have expressed contemptuous
pity for any poor single woman who
lacked a meaty husband with hump
of selfiShness on his soul.
And, maybe, she would be right.
X X x
ON one of the spick-span electric
- standards that have given new
highland inSpiration-to the business
northeast, n woman noticed on one
she was standing by, a downward
shower Of streaks that showed blush
brown against the iron surface. Pos
sessing only what you might call a
mail-correspondence knowledge of man
she wondered what the marks could
mean The woman with her, who en-
joys all the educational advantages of
matrimony, explained in one word:
Matches. Other electric standards
were investigated, matches. Gas
lamps, matches. Stone copings,
matches. Iron ratings, tree boxes
everything. everywhere, matches and
matches and matches.
why, girl. don't you know better
than that! Why. when a man gets
good and ready for a smoke he will
strike a match on the nearest thing
that comes handy-with the odds in
favor of his sole of his shoe. And, il
there was any way of getting at it. he
would also strike a match on that
other sole he spells with u
The woman who had imbibed wis
dom not to be found outside the we'd
ding ring, took her information to an
equally benighted friend who lives in
a pretty apartment-a no mans land
where only neatness reigns. But she
was not as surprised as was expected.
Instead, the hostess rasped out that
men We're not the only ones.
Just look at my guest room. will
you-?" and she parted one Of those
old-time and most beautiful bead por-
there's that glowed like jeweled rain
bow in the sun. 1t was pretty room.
beautifully fresh with new colonial
custard paper with panels of tropic
scenes-a paper that had cost money
and a lot of hunting around. Under
the gas bracket was a china sea shell
filled with matches. and beach OF
ridged yellow for scratching, but: On
the paper were phosphorent sweeps
that looked as vicious as cuss words:
Matches.
"a woman friend spent the night
with me, and that is what she left
not counting ashes all over the rug
and about forty-eleven butt ends of
Gigs. Don't tell ME about men, any
more. The women are just as care
lcss-ruining my nice paper-like
that
Which shows that. good or bad. men
and women are just alike. Probably
for the reason that both are, human.