"Sorry, Mrs. Jabbers, but it wasn't politeness at all. The man who sat next to me was quarrelsome because he said I crowded him too much, and all I did was to use that stout old lady as a sort of retort courteous."—Judge. "All sorts and conditions of men have excellent explanations for their position in life," said the Senator. "A tramp, however, came under my observation who had no illusions about the cause of his own condition.
"A fine looking and fashionably dressed woman had just alighted from her limousine at the hotel entrance, and was suddenly approached by this shabbily dressed man who requested a dime.
"'No, I have no money to spare for you. I do not see why an able-bodied man like you should go about begging.'"
"'I s'ppose, ma'am,' replied the lazy tramp, 'it's fer about the same reason that a healthy woman like you boards at a hotel instead of keepin' house.'"—Harper's.
Apropos of foreign honesty, Dr. Nicholas Butler tells this story:
"On a foreign railroad," he said, "a commuter had a row with the conductor. At the end of the row the commuter turned to a friend and said:
"'Well, the P.D.R. will never see another cent of my money after this.'
"The conductor, who was departing, looked back and snarled:
"'What'll you do? Walk?'