Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1872-11-15
Sallie's Bedtime.

A FATHER, not very far from here, read
in the paper the other morning that the
"Utica girls who want their beaux to go
home the same night they call, pull a
string at the proper hour which reverses
a picture, on the back of which appear
the words "Ten o'clock is my bed
time"
This father, who has daughter given
to late hours when u 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, this in
scription:
10 O'CLOCK Is sALLIE's BED TIME"
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
Observing the portrait of George hanging
slightly out of plumb, so to speak, and in
adjusting it her fathers little game was
revealed in all its subtle ingenuity.
Sallic was not Utica girl, however, so
she just went to work and neatly effaced
the figure CO." leaving the / standing
solitary and upright-which, you will OBJ
serve, made few hours difference in her
bedtime. That night, as usual, Sallie re-
ceived a visit from her young man
which his front name it was Henry-and
her paternal parent attached his string to
q. WIS portrait, and retired to his downy
couch.
About ten o'clock, while Henry and
Sallie were deeply absorbed in some
knotty problem, with their heads so con-
tiguous that you couldn' insert piece Of
tissue paper between them, the father of
Il ia a1 -,
the wall as il he was ashamed to gaze up
on such doings. Henry, with a sudden
start, glanced at the picture, and saw the
handwriting on the wall, as it were,
which read: Zone o'clock is Sallie's bed
time" Then Henry locked at Sallie with
an interrogation in his eye, which was
partly dispelled by the fair maid mur-
muring "lt's all right" Henry said of
course it was all right-that he had
known one o'clock was her bedtime, and
he thought it was plenty late enough for
a young girl to be out of bed, but what
business, he said, had George Washing
toms portrait to be Hopping about in that
way? Then Sallie eXplained-and the
twain resumed work on the problem,
Henry putting his arms around Sallie to
prevent her falling off the chair.
Meanwhile the old man was listening
for the front door to open, and his would
be son-in-law's footsteps pattering over
the pavement with the toes of his boots
pointing from the house. These sounds
not falling upon his ears, and thinking
maybe the old thing didn't work right, he
gave the string another pull, and George
w. again faced the audience. Then he
listened; but he heard no footsteps-noth-
ing but a peculiar sound, something re-
Sc milling the popping of champagne
cOrka
Then he grew cross, and gave the
string another jerk. causing G. w. to
turn about with violent suddenness, just
as if he was dreadfully out of humor,
too.
And still all is quiet below-except that
popping sound.
Then the string was pulled again-and
again-and again-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 that could
not tell lie turning excited fiip.haps and
things on the wall, like bewitched gym
mast, until he fell asleep exhausted
Sallie's father fell asleep, not the por.
trait.
Henry kissed Sallle goodnight at one
o'clock a. m, remarking, as he did so,
that it would seem like 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 examined
that portrait, and when he fully under
stood the situation, he was panied. He
shed silent tear, detached the string,
sponged out the inscription, and walked
I al a - e . "a u.
on his shoulders-that being his age. He
says a girl who would go back on her
father that way would just as lief as not
disgrace her parents by marrying Con.
gresham, B. Dddd, IN N01TiStoon Her.
aid.