We AO ————— tpi smi MLLE. TOPAZ AND HER TRAINED CATS if —— Ey LAURA M. MONTGOMERY i (® by Short Story Pub, Co.) $E OOK who's here ecaroled Belinda joyously, emptying iL the carpet sweeper (nto the paper box so cusually that most of the gray, velvety-looking strips of dust flouted down on the blond bead of “that first-floor woman" who, too, was staring out at the lot back of their porches. At what? Ob, you're a flat dweller, too! Well, In the center of the dingy lot divided by dlagonal paths worn by the feet of the U. of C. students, stood a caravan wagon, dusty and wearing a singular air of aloofness, A piebald horse bad been unhar nessed and was tethered nearby, hunt- ing hopefully for the sparse blades of grass that the aforesaid studious feet had spared. There: were no windows in the curavan, only a narrow door of exclusive appearance at the top of the shallow step. The children of gathered as If by magic. splitting cat-calls and shrieks for “Skinnay"” to show himself at once, they swarmed, teasing the old horse, and Harry, noting with the sharpness of a street gamin the letter flap in the door, hurried up and stuck an lmpu- dent fist through. Belinda watched, and when an ago- nized scream broke forth, she laughed aloud. A yellow, furry darted out through the letter flap and neatly scratched his homely face. No one any regret Le- i 111 Po the neighborhood With ear- claw, as his } Dore expressed Indignan mother where he consoled hir ' f by drowsed, rousin y enough gently kiek i a 0 blew a mouth. in 3 be-puffed ls State skiing back yard. her that skylight sli rk Police mn camped in her s third-flo nr" us ad and the wagon ll faces could be dimly dis- opera A388, discovers the i was a St id; open, cern horrid On pore ROYITEY - 1 § vie scampered back eyes glittered. the hes, Kkimonoe and forth amd one woman actually heard phone tinkle (the bell ringing in th first-floor ithou tak ip the rer and found an ay paper saving a was hiding in Chicago. we flat) w hastening it iisten. o! “ure notice In she shrilled. you're better hidden In } inently: “Hello, fellow.” With a drawing and hound the have tored moti thinly: “Ol. if 1 was *Sweethen ing a milk the baby’s porch, and re* ri respot Lottle, break. narrowly head on the skinned out the alley way. At ppearance of the yellow. clad figure, ran high. Oh, If that secretive skylight were only thin- ner! Belinda graphically plctured the exquisite Moorish girl, red whitened by pursuing harem owner, weighted by the a gossip fear of the her slender clanking bracelets, supplicatingly to the hideous image Buddba squatting horridly in his shrine “But,” objected Mrs. Jones, the fandlady, practically “the darky would wear a disguise instead of those for. eign looking clothes” She lowered her rasping voice, however, as the black man rolled the whites of his eyes in her direction. “No.” replied Belinda stubbornly, “he expects to escape detection by be- ing obvious. Didn't you ever hear of ‘The Furlined Letter’? And Belinda never dreamed of the palned smile on Poe statue as he turned on his quartersawed oak pedestal and envesdropped. “Weeell, T must get my roast in or thr'll be no diocner,” sighed Mrs. Croaker straightening her frowzy cap. “The men have a easy time Sundays, all right, but a woman's work a-woogle wiggie—" her voice trailed back as untidily as the wispy hair straggled over her bony neck, All day the caravan drew a crowd. The literary lady wrote a descrip tion dripping with adjectives, of the little Moorish Princess weeping on her pile of skins. “It's a shame to tell on her,” she thought briskly, “but I need the money,” She enclosed her Press Corr spondent Card and sesled the pin’ envelope nicely with some gold ar pink sealing wax. You got to put up a front,” she bugged, and moistened her finger to pinch the sealing wax stick back Into a point, AS she omitted to enclose auy stamps, it Is doubtful whether the Battered editor returned the Press cheeks arms, {ifted of the Card or not, but strangely enough, she 1s still walting for her check, and wonders savagely what chance a wo- man has among business men, any- way. They wonder, too, sometimes, The flat dwellers sorted out for short walks but always returned by way of the silent caravan. Groups of girls In middy and brief white skirts mingled with capped and gowned senlors; dainty frocks and white kid gloves rubbed elbows democratically with sweat ers and tennis racquets; the Univer. sity chimes pealed out gravely and musically; a Sabbath evening hush settled softly over the giggling groups, and long rays of violet and rose spread down, drenching the stately trees of Washington park into colorful beauty. The last chime had died away. The black man drew out a sliver Water bury watch and looked at it. Yes, the chimes were right, Dofling his jewelled turban, he bowed low to the curious people, and twisted the long tar on the side of the caravan. Lo, it moved slowly and the whole side swung out. The Interior walls were lined with mirrors, Upon a tiger skin reclined a large, very large blond lady, re splendent In a scant frock made of golden sequins, The bodice was cut perilously low, and her curls floated out fluflily, She bounced coquettishly to her feet and whistled a weird call. The tiger skin moved. A hundred yellow angora cats leaped out and mingled with the crowd. A spectacled profes sor caught one, and from the flutter ing ribbon on its neck read: blouses STOP! LOOK! SEE! to the White City tonight and see Mademoiselle Topaz and her trained cats. Come Wedding Customs That Are Old f to "t y ancient nor eri Europe married for the of place of » That famed 3 bundreds at a wedd ing would { others were conces trated Into one mass The marriage ceremony days often fants in ancien There ' T : .} » ' ve districts of the world wus n tic. em by onsidered mar of the after the out wn 7 abol of productive. garter it at the con Lillian Tracing Origin of English Slang Term A professor irreverently knowr “The Beak,” be of his nose the yet among his st of the that cruse prominence is usu: sense it agistrate iy word is uss is fre d % In is explained ad “beak” for on in “nosey-parker,’ stuble, that he And fron Just the to find out. the u would be easy. nations, things out meant the ag Amongst other expla however; that old Saxon word which blem of authority. in language have suggested though we have forgotten original word, we have its corruptior as standing for a treal Famlly Herald. long Special Bank-Note Paper The manufacture of the paper from over 200 years. It Is prepared entirely by hand from specially selected rags and is washed and rewashed in spring water used for no other purpose. The formula of the ink used In printing the notes is known to only half a dozen people. The chief Ingredient is char coal obtained by smoke drying the wood of Rhenish vines, ach note costs the bank roughly a penny to pro- duce, and the average period of ecireu- lation is two and a half months, About 60,000 of the hotes are printed daily, while every year nearly 20,000000 old notes are coliected and destroyed.— Family Herald. i Two-Ton Carpet Spring cleaning at Windsor castle 1s a herculean tasl® The special dread of the royal spring cleaners is beating the two-ton carpet which covers the floor of the Waterloo chamber—the royal dining room during Ascot week, when the king and queen make Wind. sor their headquarters It takes 60 men to carry this massive “rug” downstalrs to the lawns, Bighty feet long and 40 feet wide, it is the wonderful carpet which took the pris. oners of Agra Seven Fours (0 Weave = London Mall, Coolidges in az Swampscott, Mass. VACATION AT WHITE COURT Every good American is pleased that the va. cation days of President and Mrs. Coolidge are cast in pleasant surroundings. Washington is a bit warm in midsummer and the air of his native New England is presumably more to the Presi. dent's comfort. The “Summer White House” is White Court, Swampscott, Mass. The photographs reproduced herewith give a good idea of the place. No. 1 gives a view of the mansion from the beach and No. 7 shows its more formal front. President Coolidge appears in vacation garb in No. 2, while No, 3 is the very latest “approved” photographic study of Mre. Coolidge. No. 4 gives a glimpse of the presidential party en route: (Left to right) Everett Sanders, secretary, and Mrs. Sanders; Mrs. Coolidge and the President; Col. 8. A. Cheney, White House military aid. No. 8 is a portrait of Lieut. Edgar Allan Poe, in command of a detachment of marines which guards the grounds; No. 8 shows their camp in the vicinity. President and Mrs. Coolidge and a party of guests on the Mayflower are pictured in MER. No. 6. Apparently the President is well fixed to suit himself as to his vacation pleasures. He may have quiet by remaining at home. Automobiles are ready to take him from home. Ths May. flower is at his command. His friend, Frank W. Stearns, lives next door, at Red Gables. White Court can take care of any guests ke may wish to invite, Swampscott, an old, old town, was originally a fishing village. Nowadays it has a population of about 10,000, but is markedly noncommercial, Some parts of the shore are essentially summer recidential districts. Most of the residents Nave business in Boston or Lynn. Salem, Marblchead and Nahant are all with'n a radius of four miles. Swampscoit's name has no reference to'a swamp: the original Indian werd means, “Ad the rock which divides.” Its 1,675 acres look on Massa. chusette Bay and the Atlantic to the cart and on Nahant Bay to ths south
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers