Life — March 27, 1890 — page 7: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

* LIFE: MYTHOLOGY FOR MODERNS. ECHO AND NARCISSUS. Eco was a lovely young nymph who, like some other lovely creatures of her sex, talked too much. One day Juno was on the warpath after her recreant lord and master when she met Echo. Echo was brimful of a lovely scandal involving Diana's reputation and insisted on Juno's stopping to listen to it. Juno listened so long that Jupiter managed to escape discovery, which fact so vexed Juno that she was bound to vent her wrath on some one. She made up her mind that Echo's gossiping should be put a stop to, There- fore she deprived her of the power of speech, leaving her only the ability to giggle and repeat the last word or two of whatever was said to her, Narcissus was one of the nicest young men in the neighborhood. He was the prime favorite at all the strawberry festi- vals, and his pink and white blazer was the envy of every dude in the dis- trict. Echo met him one evening at a mite society and immediately fell in love with him. “Miss Echo, will you have some ice cream?” asked Narcissus. “* Te-he-he, I scream,” replied Echo, Narcissus was a little bit surprised at this rep- artee, but proceeded to help her bountifully. She made the ice cream disap- pear as only a slender girl eating for the cause of sweet charity can, and Narcissus provided her with another supply. “Don't be afraid, Miss Echo,” he said ;) “eat your fill.” -he-he, ill,” replied Echo. Phat would be queer,” said Narcissus. “*Te-he-he, here,” said Echo, placing one of her little hands on her digestive region. “*I don’t wish,” said Narcissus, ‘to be too familiar——” “*Te-he, liar!" remarked Echo. “As sure as my name is Narcissus" “*Te-he-he, scissors.” “Miss Echo, if you can be serious one moment there is a question 1 would like you to answer,” “Don't ae arxaip, Miss Eco,” ng sai; “fat Your FILL.” 181 “Te-he-he, sir!” “Shall I take you back to your matron ?” “Te he-he, run!” Narcissus conducted Echo to her chaperone. he joined a friend. “By Jove, Jack,” he said, ‘that Echo girl's a blathering idiot !” Poor Echo! She was passing at the moment and heard the cruel remark of Narcissus. Conscious of her own infirmity, she knew she had lost forever her only chance of securing the love of the handsomest man in the neighborhood. Watching for a moment when she should be unobserved, she stole out of the house and wandered up on the hill- side. Her friends missed her after a while and set out to look for her. Poor Echo wandered through the hills day after day and night after night, her only com- panions the wild beasts and men who were en- gaged in painting “S. T. —1860—X" in conspicu- ous and inaccessible places. Day by day she grew ‘thinner and thin- ner, until finally she be- came as thin as Sara Bern- hardt. Then she became as thin as the civil-service reform promises of the Republican Party and at last faded away entirely, so that there was nothing left of her but voice. She should not, on this ac- count, be confounded with O'Donovan Rossa and Dr. McGlynn, who are afflicted in the same way, i Echo still lives and to- day she may be heard among the hills, ifany one calls her. Ever true to her sex, she always gets in the last word. Metcalfe. When he left her LITTLE ENCOURAGEMENT. Some Do you think Miss R. would marry me if I should ask her? Van RIPER: Well, she looks like a smart sort of a girl —still, she might. A Gas BILL—William M. Evarts. comicbooks.com