--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 3 number: 12 published: 1900-10 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations, "In Lighter Mood," *Improvement Era* 3, no. 12 (October 1900): 951.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera312unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera312unse start_page: 951 end_page: 951 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1900-10) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera312unse publication_year: 1900 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1900, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # In Lighter Mood IN LIGHTER MOOD. Mother: "What are you doing, Max?" Max: "Reading papa's poems." Mother (to hushand): "Why, has he been naughty again?" * * * Little three-year-old Howard had often watched his mother and her artificial teeth with admiring wonder. One day her regular teeth gave her trouble when she held her hand to her face, saying, "Oh, oh," in great pain. Howard asked, surprised, "What is ye matter?" On being told that her teeth pained her, he queried with an air of one who has a sure remedy, "Why don't you take yem out?" Small Margaret had said her prayer, and her mama was tucking her in to leave her to her slumbers, when the child begged that' mama would not leave her alone. "Why, Margaret," said mama, soothingly, but surprised at this unexpected demand, "you know you are never alone, for God is always with you." "Yes," rejoined the small maiden, doubtfully, "I know. But, mama, I'd rather have some of my own relations." * * * For many years Aqueduct Commissioner Maurice J. Power, of New York, was a police justice. Politics, however, is not Mr. Power's livelihood. He is a manufacturer and connoisseur of bronze art work. During the last year of Mr. Power's service on the police bench he received a call at his house one evening. A formal dinner was in progress. The visitor failed to make her errand clear to the servant and the justice's daughter went to the door. "The judge sint me son up to the Island this mornin' an' I want to see him," said the woman. "What judge?" asked Miss Power. "I disremember his name, mum" — by this time the justice and two of his friends had gone into the smoking-room, near the door, where the dialogue was clearly heard — "but he makes thim tin images up in Twenty-fifth Street." At this point the justice interrupted the dialogue. The woman did not get her son off the Island, but she collected the rent for her flat and enough ready money to keep her until her wayward boy's sentence had expired. — Saturday Evening Post.