| Show Personal Devils Whom We Meet By H Rowland I Of course Nobody believes in a personal At least nobody did did did- I But since this war started it seems as though the world were full of perI personal per I devils p popping up everywhere I I There Is Js the kaiser ot of course who wito needs no explanation I And his chief assistant the Pacifist And the Slacker and the War War- I Profiteer and the man who invented I the new safety matches that are are- always al 01 ways setting things afire And the woman who takes her knitting knitting knitting knit knit- ting to the opera And counts out loud and clicks her needles all during the performance And the mocker knocker who grants that Columbus discovered America Amerita I But takes personal credit for having discovered all its Us faults And roasts everything about it from the administration to the climate And the man who Invented poison polson ga gas And nd the tile friend who Invented the I new spring styles and is trying to force women to wear tight corsets and cultivate the waistline again But he wont won't succeed And the grocer who manicures his nails and stares out of f the window with that tha bored pained expression When you p plaintively sigh that prices are high And the woman who hoards sugar and feeds it to her dog And the person who g goes es around telling everybody how this war ought to be run run And besides Everybody has a particular personal person al devil of his own own own- His mother mother law in law or his Janitor or orthe orthe orthe the neighbor who begins mowing his lawn at 5 50 a mOr m m. Or his tailor or his employer employer- employer employer- I Or the personal devil to whom he heI j I happens to be married 1 And every woman has a personal I devil of or her own own own- I The one who breaks all of her favorite fa I chInaware and practiced I on her her pink silk cothes and serves the bouillon In the wrong cups And every boy knows that his teacher teach er is a personal devil And sometimes after a bad night and before re I 1 have ha had iny my coffee in inthe inthe I Ithe the morning I su sp merely ct-merely merely suspect suspect th that t I myself am am-am am am one Because a devil according to the Authentic orthodox idea Is a being g goes es about deliberately and intentionally Pausing lansIng untold suffering to every body And nd nd sometimes it seems a a pity and anda a shame shani that th the personal devil is no l longer nger a part of religion Because it must have bave been at times a lot of comfort to feel that there was somebody worse than ones one's self Somewhere But if there are lots of ot unsuspected personal devils in the world since the war There are also lots and lots of ot previously pre unsuspected d personal angeli an gel geli Men and women who have awakened awakened awakened awak awak- ened to heights of heroism of sel self self- sacrifice and self seU- abnegation self of which we never dreamed them capable I And there never was in all history so much kindness and unselfishness and generosity and brotherly love Inthe in inthe inthe the world A As B there ther is at this very minute the god of hate is making his bis last stand tand Against the god of or right and Jove ht 1918 nv ny th the Press I Co th tho th New York lIvening Evening World WorM |
