Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1872-10-25
How a Girl was Smarter than Dear
Pa.

A father, not very far from here
read in the paper the other day
that the "Utica girls who wan
their beaux to 60 home the same
night they call, pull string at tht
proper hour which reverses pic
ture, on the back of which appears
the words, Ten o'clock is my bed
time.'"
This father who has daughter
given to late hours when certain
youth sits up and helps her keep
them, thought he would try this
Utica plan, SO he wrote in large
characters on the back Of huge
portrait Of George Washington, the
following inscription:
"l0 O'CLOCK is sALLIE's BEDTIME =
Then'he arranged the picture so
that when he attached string to
the frame he could reverse it from
his bed-chamber. But when Sallie
entered the room an hour later, her
aesthetic eye was outraged by OBJ
serving that the portrait Of George
was hanging slightly out of plumb,
so to speak, and in adjusting it her
fathers little game was revealed in
all it's subtle ingenuity.
Sallie was not a Utica girl how
ever, so she just went to work and
erased the figure 0 and left the l
standing solitary and upright
which, you will observe, made a few
hours difference in her bedtime.
That night as usual, Sally received
visit from her young man-which
his front name it was Henry-and
her paternal parent attached his
string to G. WIS portrait and re-
tired to his downy couch.
About ten o'clock, while Henry
and Sallie were deeply absorbed in
some knotty problem, with their
heads SO contiguous that you
couldn't insert a piece of tissue pa
per between them, the father of his
country suddenly turned his face to
the wall, as if he was ashamed to
gaze upon such doings. Henry,
with a sudden start, glanced at the
picture, and saw the hand writing
on the wall, as it were, which read
81 o'clock is Sallie's bedtime. !"
Then Henry looked at Sallie with
an interrogation in his eye, which
was partly dispelled by the fair
maid murmuring "it's all right" :"
Henry said of course it was all
right-that he had long known
that l o'clock was her bedtime,
and he thought it was plenty late
enough for young lady to be out
Of bed, but what business, he said,
had George Washington's portrait
to be Topping about in that way?
Then Sallie explained - and the
twain resumed work on the problem,
Henry putting his arms around
Sallic to prevent her falling off the
chair.
Meanwhile the old man was lis
tening for the front door to open,
and his would-bc son-in-law's foot
steps pattering over the pavement
with the toes Of his boots pointing
from the house. Those sounds not
falling upon his ears and thinking
maybe the old thing did not work
right, he gave the string another
pull, and George w. again faced
the audience. Then he listened,
but heard no footsteps-nothing but
a peculiar sound.
Then he grew cross, and gave
the string another jerk, causing the
father G. w. to turn about with
violent suddenness, just as if he
was dreadfully out of humor, too.
Then the string was pulled again
and again-and gain-indicating
that the old fellow was just ready
to explode with rage. And for fully
fifteen minutes did he have the
portrait of the man who could not
tell lie turning exciting tlip-tlaps
and things on the wall, like a be-
witched, until he fell asleep ex-
hausted-Sallie's father fell asleep,
not the portrait.
Henry kissed Sallie good night at
l o'clock a. M, remarking as he did
so that it would seem like a long,
long weary year ere he would see
her again because, you know, he
didn't expect to see her again until
the evening of that day,
The next morning her father cx-
amined that portrait, and when he
fully understood the situation he
was panied. He shed 4 silent tear,
detached, the string, sponged out
the inscription, and walked away
with the weight of tifty-fve years
on his shoulders that being his
age. He says girl who will go
back on her father that way would
just as leave as not disgrace her
parents by marrying a congress
man.-Norristoacn Herald