The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 25, 1900, Page 10

THE SUNDAY CALL. A 1110 I I I hp 2 you all the other * I"queried blank'y. Long and Dunn y last year they sent trunk; now 1 particularly = AN “I aldn’t know—that is I thought Allie epoke as if Long and Dunn :old can- dies?" o “Well, so they do, and they're pretty expens! too; but they do things so well, and, after all, Thanksgiving comes but e a year and we can afford to indulge ittle. Are you tired, my dear? Would you rather not go? It does seem rather a shame to send you marketing, but you see Allle’s away and I must get thig dress f ed; it's for one of my best cu tomers.” It's not that,” I protested, “but I don’t ) a 1 MADE DOWNRIGHT PICTURES OF THE MONKEYS | ANP DOGS understand about the elephant.' “My! Did you never hear that I alway: bave an elephant Thanksgiving dinner To eat?” “Why, what else for?"” 1 gasped and sat down. come from Santa Rosa, where Cousin Maggle was spoken of as “‘dccentrlc.” It now dawned on me that cccentricity was a convenicnt name for' aberration. She glanced at me Inquiringly while sticking some pins into her mouth; I rose to the occasion. “I know they afe horses and mules at Peking, but they were besleged, and I never, never heard, even in a siege, of people eating elephants.” She took the pins out In & hurry anl laughed till the tears ran down her face “Nora,” she cried, when she could speak, “that's the best joke against me I've heard for many a day. Don't be afraid, my dear; mine Is a nice little white ele- phant, sugar-coated and toothsome as mince pie. But I dom’t wonder at you, child. 1 bhad a proper kind of respect for elephants myselt’ before I mads thanksglvings of them. That was before 1 hadybeen atop of one. *“Oh, Maggle, you rode an elephant, not really? Do tell me.” - “That I did and got packed In its trunk. too, the best day’'s work I ever did; but 1 can’t tell you now, Nora—you're spoiling my work. Run away to do my shopping; there’s @ good girl, and I'll tell you my I hed not long La07siry ] 7A826772 AL KSLIVY, NORA , BUT IT WAS THE BIGGEST NG FLEPITANT, HE'LL. BE BACK FOR. THANKSGIVI PINNER___ On vou MAY LAUGH, PRIGHT | EVER HAD” thanksglving story the minute you come All the sagie, it was late that night before I heard it. The household was asleep, and I was lingering on the veran- da enjoying the harbor view. of which I never tire. Cousin Maggie has about the most romantic dressmaker's soul I ever read of and she insists on dragging her customers up the slopes of Telegraph Hill because she declares she cannot Breathe without harbor breezes and harbor beau- ty. Privately I suspect her of another reason. She iikes to watch the ships and be the first to spy out Cousin John's steamer as he plies up and dcwn. Well, I was staring at Alcatraz, which looks like a castellated rock in. the moonlight, thinking sentimentally of all the poor prisoners there, when Maggie came along and sat down in the rocker beslde me. “Thought I'd forgotten your story?” she asked, “not a bit of 1t, but it's a scrap of my youthful romance I'm giving you and T don’t feel like lelling it with folks hustling around.” It's the elephant, Maggie,” 1 rected gently.” “I know. When I was elephant dress- maker.” ““What's that?” She laughed her blithe laugh. began with dolls. When I came to Cali- fornla from the East because I was going to die of consumption—so the doctors said —I had to earn a little. Grandmama had taken me in eagerly, but the home was not rich and it wasn't fair to stay idle. Now I had always been clever with my needle, especfally for bazaars and that sort of thing and though I couldn’t trust cor- “Oh, 1 myself to dress women In those days 1 thought T could do pretty well with dolls. Besides, I had read my Dickens and thought a doll's dressmaker an interest- ing person. It was a novelty and took at first, but after all there was not much doll dressing to do in San Francisco, which Imports its toys, and I only made about as much as paid for my shoes and gloves till one day we went to Wood- Gardens. There's no place like it now, Nora; not here I mean. Talk of your Chutes and your Cliff House and your Golden Gate Park; if you rolled them all into one you couldn’t have half the fun we got out of Woodward's. Why, there were all the wild animals you could wish to see, well kept and kindly treated; lons and tigers and hyenas in their own com- fortable, separate houses. And the bear- Dpit, where we threw down cakes and can- dies; and monk and dogs trained to tricks; and the camel that knelt for the children to'ride him; and the goat chaises, bless you, what a place it was! Then if you wanted a change there was the snake- house or the lake with its boats and swans and pelicans, or the seals and the whales and the big aquarfum underneath. And music and flowers and shady trees and winding walks and cunning little nooks—Oh my, oh my, what a time one could have there!" “And elephants, Cousin Maggie?” “Now, you're not to try and hurry me up, Nora; I'm running this story'my own way. Yes, there were elephants, but I didn’t see them that day; it was the monkeys gave me my idea. I noticed that their coats and caps were shabby and T thought I could dress monkeys just as » \‘ well as dolls, so I Went straight off and asked for the manager. One of his assist- ants was called—a tall, fair, blue-eyed young man with a fresh color and an English accent. I took a fancy to him at once, belng little and dark myself, but a'l the same he made me nervous and I coull hardly get out what I wanted to say, for he was smiling under his mustache all the time. But ! said it. “He thought it a good idea. ‘But I can't give you an answer,’ he explained, ‘the manager is away; I'm only the elephant man newly arrived with my beasts and hardly know the ways of the place yet. But it strikes me they need somebody of the kind; anyway I will try to do my best for you. “His best must have been of some use, for they took me on. It was only a weenie bit of a salary, but I tell you, Nora, there wasn't a girl {n San Franeisco who had a better time. I was always fond of animals” (she need not have mentioned that; Maggie's pets are a positive nuisance) “and I got along famously. T riade downright pictures of the monkeys and the dogs, I dressed up the goat chalses, I invented ruffles for the pen- guins; you wouldn’t belleve the notions that came into my head, and I didn’t spend much of their money either; I used up all sorts of odds and ends. TWhen there was nothing to do for the animals there was always plenty of mending a: ratching for the men and I had enough on my hands, but it wasn't hard work and I had always time for my fun with all those dear live things. I never tired of them! The big brown bear was my great chum and I had quite a romantic affection for the llons. But somehow I couldn’t get over my awe Mr. Dudley and hi elephants; they all seemed too above me." “I know, Cousin Maggle,” I sald nod- n love.” ding my head, “you were falling “Umph,” answered Maggle, people are so mighty knowing nowadays I wasn't ; I only knew that, though Mr. Dudley was as nice as possible, he al- ways scared me a bit. So you may finagine how I feit when he eame to me one morning and sald, ‘Miss M we wan new coats and b for e pr ts—nice scarlet one ‘The elephants, 1 gasped: on earth am 1 going to fit an eleph * ‘Bless my soul,’ he answered enough, with a la¢ of cour: “Well, I wasn't r mid g knew the elephants for ki creatures if you didn't te sides, there was my pride to cor I tell you I trembled like a le: climbed that blessed ladder an measure of Vulean. Howeve who clustered th joke, watched me and gave every held me on the ladder, helped me ur down, set it just at the right angles see, I could not measure him all at once- and Vulcan was as good 2 Ver P it got to Tiddleywinks' t er, ya aroungd, So was the time n I grown quite bold ddleywinks was, by way of being the baby, & frisky big fellow whom everybody petted and who had never in his life done an ill turn. ‘I belleve I'll manage this boy without any uble,” I cried merrily, ‘you need not move the lad- der at all.’ Have a care, Miss Mason,’ said Dudley as 1 scrambled t Tiddles t vicious, but he Iikes his fun.’ “*All right.” I called, him have it Hand me up the scissors and that plece of stuff for the hood, please. I'll cut | right away on his back. “The back was nice and broad, know. I had lost my fear of slipping off and 1 wanted my joke; cutting out on an elephant’s back seemed a thing to boast of. Tiddles was quiet, too, though he seemed a bit uneasy. I took my length and breadth measurements all right and gingerly struck me that I wasn't going took the sciss unfolding my tween his ears. et you then I began to wriggle for- It toward the head Tiddles didn’t like back upon ryself, s out of their sheath bit of cloth, flung it ward be- Suddenly I felt a quiver, saw his trunk slowly curl up and there was my cloth flourishing in the alr! They all screamed with laughter and never no- ticed my fright and in another minute the trunk curled up again. I dropped the scissors on his head in my scare and how he reached them goodness .mows, but they were picked off, too. And then, my dear, just as I was sliding back to the ladder with the biggest palpitatior ever had in my life, up comes that t trunk once more and winds ro walst. 1 yelled, the men swore, but Tid- dles took no notice; he just lifted me quietly, swung me twice In the air, let me down softly almost to the ground then, before any one could sav Jack Rob- inson he had me back on my perch agalin. Oh, you may laugh, Nora, but it was the biggest fright I ever had; I did no more dressmaking that day. “Well, next morning the manager him- self came. ‘Miss Mason,’ he said, ‘it you'll do that trunk trick with Tiddles every night I'll treble your salary. 0, sir," I erled, ‘not for six times the salary! I couldn’t stand it: why, it makes me tremble now to think how I felt at the timy And 1 was trembling, too. ‘‘ ‘Nonsense, my girl, he sald kindly enough, ‘you would soon get used 1 there's not a particle of danger and you know you'll be glad of the money * ‘I'll undertake to train Tiddles so that he ‘shall do it quite naturally, argued Mr. Dudley, who was with him, ‘and 'l always be there to watch and catch you it yow are frightened. ¥ could have made him drop you in my arms If [ hadn’t been so taken by surprise yesterday.’ ““ ‘And you shall make yourself a Turk- ish costume as expensive as you like. " ['}l foot the Dbill,’ the manager went on * *Turkish costume is very becoming to ladies with small feet, commented M; Dudley. Now I'm proud of my feet, Nora. * ‘Look here,’ clinched t.e manager, ‘I want that trick Introduced as a Thanks- giving ‘novelty: it will take. That gives you a whole fortnight for daily practice to get your herve up. And if you agree, your increased salary shall start from this very minute. What's more, you may draw it'in advance If you want any Thanksgiving shopping.’ “ ‘But I'm scared!” I protested, looking from one to the other. - “‘Don’t young ladles want Thanksgiv. ing bomnmets or something, Miss Masc asked Mr. Dudley “Now, that set thinking, not bonnets, but dinners. You know we erners set more store by Thanksgiving than Christmas, and T aid not ) poor grandmama cduld give us a \ giving dinner. She had sald as much, dear old soul, and she said it with a laugh that sounded like a sob. You see all my orphan cou help from the rest six ‘weeks in the hospi low. Grandmama was one of neers, who had had she -was always used to her c grandchildren eat dinner with her, bad about it. the dinner and a new cap gain) wouldn't that be a ing for all her kindness? Mr. Dud mus€ ' have been said softly, ‘a bon if you don’t wan “I looked up straig! den confidence. ‘If ¢are of me I'll do 1it," “Well, now, you wo how used Tiddley other In that fortnight s and one rself. tice every morning be 3 came, and he learned to watch and the cakes I brought and v minding a bit being sw 1 Tiddles alte My t 1 picture in Ih r leywinks ¥ b be was my him off. interest i an I looked blank e ma ne at ‘the gardens Mike got with the rest. And off me into the elepha T back with I set to work. You home there now. slop work, but I cut Iy, I went nd basted qu ng to finish off properly next I was nearly through, and Mike was grinning at me gr me day. pigeons have He looked at me v ** ‘Mike,” I cried, in a panic not leave me here withsTiddleyw no ladder. T won't hear of it. “He scratched his head, and Madame ‘I won’t be but a mir he said. ‘You see, s the birds will But I'll be back be “I didn't ashameZ more. and patted Tiddley how nice we shoy later. By a to do. Mike had gon gy day, and called again. two,’ tor wants It only come to herself: half like to say I was alwa s kept s wers of it locked. Well sillier then tr was, that I broke real good ery all t myself either, for 1 nunk asd wu he under 1. Allofas n I heard a that; who's there? ““I'm_here, Mr. Dudley.’ I said, in g voice I was dreadfully ashamed of. got shut up and tten.’ Heav h : and, oh dear, I should like a cup of tea or something—stop, stop—take me or| s— Continued on Page Eleven.