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Show r 1 " ft. calls those melancholy By real ones. Kmsi kills Krm. Whfn the Inst man ft umpire puts hi wind M tin- peanut-fed fanatic fcurtoi s then does sweet ft into my f v tem It's mo ig pines along the coast fof Mexico I nerve-rasping smlt udes for the tall uncut Is the alt wati r swamps, pine humM- . ,.i in Hi. il.! i -peal to : 1 1 nn ! 'i h i i f hurt' Inf. st. 0 Dope pplum. the h t'H prows and aee ml ! soothed Jpe f 111 I"'.!' L- Infill .11.. I BWity li:i .Hill, sr-.-nt v. In. i Bnay be pcm In restful tenths I toll for the prii Bfie next six. forut-t that h penalties as job". For- piey and Headache. lent room Cm f.n'. e- .t stst .soot in Plilla.Ji Iphlu hi Oner time. 1 1 xi n t Ik-MVer Ik-MVer tin . nr. 'I In- ip irt-Jht, irt-Jht, t h ri , 1 1 lint sumptuous VS. carpi i. In l. windows miirles to i..- i ..i lor threi thousands ..I other no -n Vth to toil .mil .!..!;. Hi. WCk ami sli ' 1 1 - rn tin My wliiiliiw looks out upnn a hospital, where rcl low-citizens, mangled In the battle bat-tle for wealth or just plain ail n Iterated rood, are hauled for repair. Sometimt i the brassy plunk of the ambulance rone i awak. ns nm in the night between the I jolt i of trolley cars bumping over cross-inp. cross-inp. if i niy knew some or tin- folks "No gei hnri it wouldn't be so lonesome We might compare notes. And w hat do wo wrest from the stren- uotn lira? Nothing but money and a headache head-ache All thai money docs for man Is in buj him food and clothes, and when the Quick lunch makes a fellow bilious audi his ; sun rlo.si: t III. w hj . w lot's tl use? Of COUrae, the piovident person nuiv top paying rent, purchase a homo on the 1 - ' umenl plan and never ri-i it paid for; hut I'm speaking of slncle gents So when the bowel. all vnrd shuta down I i n k the faithful trunk and llro from the gougers, the grafters and the mutts a om .i iiEsuieiicc i nev Know me not ; until the bold .ithiote dis up his spiked shoes and the neigh of the chorley none Is heard In the spring. Dope Springs Is a placid village f.ir down on the Gulf, where the tifhing Is good and the Inhabitants the best in the ! World. Those Of the toiling . lass who do ! not fish pursue the agile oyster In the I same water. I know them all men. WO- men and ki.is. and they all know- me. To r.n i 1300 loyal friends within a COmpaSB of a mile, after six months of solitude among the million strangers, Is something 1 10 be proud of If s dog Irfu-ks In the t ight I know Ids name, what ails him and why he barks, all of which adds lo-:.i lo-:.i color and atmosphere to human exist- ' i net That's what k means to !' in right, i Wh.it inn ii isie.-rn.s to hear a iiie howl In the fretful city night" Thov hue vet to ' show me. I Put Dope Springs yields other hallowed n.y.s besides dogs. My fishing puis are I princes of the art and my winter bung-alow bung-alow a palate of yellow pin'" Angling Is the sole occupation of the weary sojourners sojourn-ers at Dope Springs. There Is a railroad through the place, Some tialns stop, while others do not even hesitate. Small sailing eraft swat the minor league travel of the Gulf; and on the landward side of the town a deep and Sluggish bavou 1. ads the lisli in from the sea llsh that are not coy about doing business with the earnest angler. My bungalow ol yellow pine, painted while outside, hard finish within, lurks in a Shelter Of gum. cedar, pine and live oak trees, green the year round. Soft winds stir the follagi and the simple sav- i Jngs of the wild waves soothe the weary i en cii iin Rare exotics bloom about the house violets and roses In front and young onions at the back I-jist winter 1 put in three beds of onions. Two of them must have been folding beds, for the rare i exotics showed no sign of life Smoth- I ered, m doubt, struggling to Btick their beads out. In this poetic retreat 1 live and breathe alone and prepare my own victuals The process makes me fat and human It Is difll. ult to get good adulterated food In the city. The a. lult. rant-' no so bacllv adulterated that the grub sometimes falls to kill outright Only the other day i read the peiligr f a Chicago lemon pie. The pastry contained neither lemon, but-! but-! Icr nor eggs nothing but glue and coal tar dye- Shades of the kind mother used to mnk"' Muoll of my rooking Is done wilh a can Opener, though On rainy (tir. when the fishing Is cilleil ofT on account of wet grounds the stove does some business. My smoke la seldom seen, however, for I m up and ttWii. ly -I a. m. and seldom ciult until it's too dark to see mv stopper go under. Most of the time, alone in a ho.it, jiml lijg i noiigli for one. I .rowI the bayou communing with nature In all her silent, solemn grandeur and anything that bites l hair rather do that than be a millionaire; million-aire; for ih'- millionaire, as a rule cannot fish without steam aehl3. jlmjams and Similar artificial devices. Give me a cy-nr.-ss dug-out, a bottle of water, i hani-DOO hani-DOO pole and a chei-rful Htm of thought, and I wouldn't ti-ade jobs with John 1 fir any other man who owns so much moo ey he ha to pay storage on it. The simple sim-ple life for mine. The annual home-coming to I lope Springs Is a big eveol in mj life. Ii swelis me up a lot both in body and mind. The entire function lies in the hands and hearts of my dear friends and neighbors, Mr and Mrs. (Jus Ilosy and the girls They dwell next door to tVm bungalow of yellow pine and look after It while I'm serving my si ntence iu the ball yard?. A Grand Welcome Home. Copious correspondence ;ind some telegrams' tele-grams' work the date of arrival down to the exact minute. When f fall off one of the trains that slops there, uIhiiiI 7 p. m.. the girls meet me at the station with the family coach The little maidens are all In white, and so is the faithful Comll Bteed Toby Is 19 years old, and he shows "On the Drive Through the Dimly Religious Light of the Main Street I See Many Familiar Forms" Ihe ravages of time. Ue carries his age I In his hair like a prominent cltlien should, being u i 1 grsj and bald in spots ills lower Mo is paralyzed, and hangs down until it reaeniblSs the sugar scoop In Mr. Ilosy' s grocery emporium. For iii j thai, Tob Is ,111 .sieeni. .1 and valued member -f society 1 II miss him when he no longer meets me at the depot On the drive through the dimly religious reli-gious light of the main street I see many familiar form" the nrched Spine of I he t'lty Marshal, resting on thi postdfflce I step, and e group of gay young blades and spendthrifts loafing in from of the pope Springs pharmacy. They givi me welcome for I seldom go out without I bringing back the Ash. Any man who lends the goods stands Well in the com- r::unlty. As the coach and Its distinguished contents con-tents whla past the barber shop .it a fast Walk the barber stands in the dnnrwn lo way. his hand. I like the village barber Iu six yanrs be never once inquired would I I ui- ijraeco-Rom in Knee (.'ream or Yap- , Irlde at 5 eents per rub extra He never 1 i "f 1 host aids to munly beauty, and 1 hope he never will. By the time we reaeh the Rosy doml-cl doml-cl Toby Is about all In. Another square j and he would be Stepping on his lower I lip Mr Rosy comes out of the store to greet me. arrayed In a starehed linen suit, j 1 all but the eoat. In honor of the occasion occa-sion :ns smokes 11 slock cigar with n red in. h on It instead of the cob pipe, win li I has been in the heirloom business a long j llni. . "Welcome lo our fair city!" says Ous, which Is handing me one In my own c oin 1 I is wise to many of my gags While we are laughing at Gus' joke Mr. Rosy 1 ops out of the kitchen and pops right j back again, being too busy to linger Mr-Rosy Mr-Rosy Is a dandy hostess Two days ago she signed on an old colored auntie, and the have been pretty active 1 ver since, cooking everything In siht and thm some. Th air is delicious, balmy and ap-Dt ap-Dt tiling. I am about to bv fed within an inch of my life on home victuals aftc-r ; starving to death for six months In city restaurants Mru. Rosj can diagnose my case trom afar; and, knowing in advance of the weleom. homo feast, I train for the evenl by throwing down the dining car On the last da There is little lime lost In preliminary sparring. Following 8 handshake all round. GUS closes the store, I and we fall to In thi dining-room. And I speaking of food Mrs Ros could glv ihe Waldorf-Astoria cb. r a iiandlean of twelve courses and cook him to a finish. I She knows her business Oysters fr.sh , from the salt water bed a square away Oysters raw, fried and slewed in milk drawn on the, premises, broiled trout, baked chic ken, roast beef and pork and gravy galore: salads vegetables and cell ry; dainty little relishes and Jells and such linked in among the larger dishes; for these good things are all on the luM-While luM-While that phenomenal Mrs. Rosy Is living liv-ing rings around the sann to see that no . ne gets h it. it's 1 1 n to 1 shot that a gnat could not drop from the ce iling without with-out g. ttlng bogged down in something B I The banquet Is absolute and coui- jilete Nut is that all. On the sideboard lurk I real lemon pies nothing Chicago about 1 hem and chocolate layci cakes the girls have built and it Is up to me to also nmsHs large portions of these pastries. Under the subtle manipulations ..f Mrs. Rosy the pies and cakes are forgotten until un-til I nm loaded to tin- ears It never would do to slight the pastrv. Bv the time that's gone I feel like an overfed toH.i. but happy lo th verge of utter collapse. col-lapse. To make a long, sweet dream short, they pull the table bnck at the finish, so that I ma extricate a section of myself fmm under it with dlgnit Appalling- Silence. When bedtime comes the good Mrs Rosy donates sheets and pillow slips, for my goods are nol unpacked and Gus brings forth the k-v to the cottage and a lantern which resembles a p"p bottle with 8 lightning bug In it We pass through th.- back ti 1 the rear or the hung alow, and, while Mrs. Rosy Axes my he,, (jus helps me drag In the trunk from the front gallery, where the faithful expressman express-man dumped ii M friends disperse, and I creep Into bed but not to Bleep The silence Is too deep ami appalling Toward morning I doze off, but then Is nothing In slumber for me. The enraged fanatics pursue the umpire pelting him With brieks and bottles I feel a peanut-laden breath on the back of my neck, and a voice with the. shells in 11 howls Kin the robber!'.' Of course, that wnkes me up, and I to 1 perspire some Either Mrs. P.osy's sup- I per is to blame 01 fifteen years of base-' lH ball have put me bughouse. Be that ns It LLLfl . the horrors of rh) pas! life soon frl away, and I lycnmo a busy item In tho1 bbLI Doings ai Hop-' Springs. iH Copyright. 1!W.. by Chsrles riryden. IH Give Me a Cypress Dugout, a Bottle of Vater. a Bamboo Pole and a Cheerful Cheer-ful Line of Thought |
