Mocking Bird Food

A north síde cable car the other day was the scène of a most comical incident. It was about 4 o"clock in the titernoon and the car was comfortably filled with ladies returning from their ihoping tours, says Chicago Tribune. Sitting between two ladies was an old gentleman of patrlarehal appearance. Suddenly bctli the ladies uttered a r-hriek and jumped from thelr seats. The conductor rushed forward, and on his inquiry vvhat was the matter the agitated ladies pointed to the old man. "See! See!" they cried, "look at the worms." And sure enough on the old man's overcoat and trousers crawled about half a dozen fat, yellow worruB about an inch long. When the ojd man found out what was the matter, iie slapped his hand on his knee and commenccd to laugh. "Well! well! Don't be scared. ladies," he said; "they are on'.y fiour worms for my mocking birds. I can't understand how the pesky critters got out of the box," and the old man hauled a round paper box, v.ith a hole in the cover, from out of one of his pockets, "I got a couple of hundred in here," he said. The worms were gathered together, the ladies quieted down, and the old man amused the passengers with a description of his beautiful mocking birds. The car had by this time approached Lincoln park, when a lady sitting third from the old man made a sudden grab at her dress somewhere about. the knees. "Oh, my. I must have some of them!" she excla aed, to the amusement of the other passengers, and an expression of agony swept over her face. She looked helplessly round at the passengers, and finally signaled to the conductor to stop the car, jumped out in a hurry, and disappeared among the trees In the park. The old man, unconscious of the new trouble his worms had caused, was talking to a lady ou the other side about hs mocking birds, when he was told Of what had happened by one of the ladies. He looked a little regretfully on the box of worms and said: "Why didn't she teil me? Why, they are absolutely harmless. I wonder how many she got away with?"