The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1872-10-08
asllfa,i RAdtfnHs.I

~ fathef not svery! far from here
read in the paper the other morning
that the utica girls who want their
bsaux to 90 home the same night they
EcalI pull . string at the proper. hour
~hph reverses q picture on the back Of
which appear the words 40 o'clock is
my bedtime" H.
This father, who has a daughter
given 20 'afe hours wNes certain
Fyouthzsts nr-end helps he- keep them,
tbougs he wauid try the Utica plan, so
he wro:e il large characters on the
back o, "a lasse portrait OF Washington,
this inscription
10 O'CLOCK Is sALLlES BEDTIME.
Theu h arranged the picture. so that
when b. sttached string to the frame
be could reverse it from bis bed
chamber, But when Sallie entered the
room an hour later, her esthetic eye
Was outraged by observing the portrait
Of George hanging slightly out of
plumb. 80 to speak, and in adjusting it
her fathers little game was revealed in
all itssubtle Ingenuity. -
Sallie was not Utica girl, however,
60 she Just went 10 work and neatly
effaced the figure 20" leaving the l
standing solitary and upright-which,
you will observe, made lew hours differ.
ence in her bedtime That night, as
usual, Sallie received Welt from her
young man which bic front name it was
Henry-and- her paternal parent at
tached his string to G. WIS portrait,
and retired to his DOWN couch.
About 10 o'clock, while Henry and
Sallie. were deeply absorbed in some
knotty problem, with their heads 80
contiguous that YOU couldn't insert a
piece OF tissue paper 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 sudden start, glanced at
the picture, and saw the handwriting
on the wall, as it were, which read:
II o'clock is Sallie's bedtime" Then
Henry looked at Sallie with an interro.
CATION in his eyes, which was partly
dispelled blythe fair maid murmuring
"Its all right" Henry said Of course
it was all right-that he had long
known one o'clock was her bedtime,
and he thought it was plenty late
enough for young girl to be out of bed,
but what business, he said, had George
Washingtons portrait to be Hopping
about in that way2 Then Sally ex-
planned, and the twain resumed work
on the problem, Henry putting his arm
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 patter-
ing over the pavement, with the tops of
his boots pointing from the house.
These sounds not falling on his ears,
and thinking may be the old thing
didn't work right, he gave the string
another pull, and G w. again faced the
audience. Then he listened; but he
heard no footsteps-nothing but
peculiar sound, something resembling
the popping of champagne corks.
Then he grew cross, and gave the
string another jerk, causing G. w. to
turn about with violent suddenness,
just as if he was dreadIulIy out OF
hunor, too.
Then the string was pulled again
and again-and again-indcating that
the old fellow was just ready to explode
with rage. And tor fully fifteen min
utes did he have the portrait OF the man
who could not tell lie turning excited
flipflats and things on the wall, like
bewitched gymnast, until he Tell asleep
exhausted-Sallie's father fell asleep,
not the portrait.
Henry kissed Sallie good night at one
o'clock A. NJ, 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 ex"
smined that portrait, and when he fully
understood the situation he was panied.
He shed a silent tear, detached the
string, sponged out the cription, and
walked away with the weight Of sixty
five years on his shoulders, that being
his age. He says that girl who will
&C back on her Iather that way would
Il 1