The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1873-07-17
sylvio and Her Servants.
BIZ MRS. WHITNEY.

By MRS. WHITNEY.
And now poor Sylvie fell into and
foundered in that slough Of despond,
the lower stratum of the Irish kitchen
element, which, if one once NEEDLES
with, it is almost hopeless to get out of ;
and one very soon finds that TO get out
of it is the only hope, forlorn as it may
be. She had one girl who made sour
bread for fortnight, and then, founced
off on a Monday morning, leaving the
clothes in the tubs, because her bread
was never faulted before, an faith, she
wudn't pit up biscuits of a Sunday
night no more for anybody p The next
one disposed of all the dish towels in
four days, behind barrels, and in the
corners of the kettle closet, and COM
planned insolently of furnishing a
third kindled her fire with the clothes
pins; fourth wore Mrs. ArgenteT' S
cambria skirts on Sunday, s. for a finish,
jist to make 'em worth while for the
washin', and trod out the heels of three
pairs of Sylvie's best stockings, for a
little considerate and economical reason.
Another declined peremptorily the use
of fiat-iron stand, and burnt out tri-
angular pieces from the ironing sheet
and blanket and when Sylvie remon-
strated with her about the skirt board,
which she had newly covered, finding
her using it as a cleaning cloth after
she had heated her " flats upon the
Goals, she was met with a torrent of
abuse, and the assurance that she
g might get somebody else to save her
old rags with their apurns, an iron five
white skirts and tin pair o undersleeves
a week for two women, at three dollars
an half. She had heard enough about
the place or liver she kim Until it, an
the bigger fool she iver to iv set her foot
inside the dooers."
That was it. It came to that pass,
now. They "heerd about the place
before iver they kim Until it." The Ar
genter name was up. There was no
getting out of the bog-mire. She ran
the guantlet of the village refuse, aRd
to go to Boston to the intelligence OH
ces. By this time she hadn't n kitchen
or a bedroom fit to show a decent ser
want into. They came and looked, and
went away half-dozens of them. The
stove was burnt out; there was hole
through into the oven nothing but an
entire new one would do, and a new one
would cost forty dollars. Poor Sylvie
toiled and worried she went to Mrs.
Ingraham and the Miss Goodwyns, and
Sabin Calvin, for advice; she made
ash-paste and cemented Hp the breach.
es, she hired a woman by the day, put
out washing, and bought bread at the
bakehouse. All this time, Mrs. Argen-
ter had her white skirts and her rufiled
underelothing to be done up. What
could she do? She hadn't any plain
things, and she couldn't get new, and
she must be clean"
At new-year's, they owed three hun
dred dollars that they couldn't pay, be-
side the quarters rent. They had to
take it out of their little invested eapi-
tai they sold ten shares of railroad
stock at a poor time it brought them
eight hundred and seventy-five dollars.
They bought their new stove, and some
other things they hired, at last, tv o
girls for the winter, at three dollars and
a half, respectively; this was a saving
to what they had been doing, and they
must get through the cold weather
somehow. Besides, Mrs. Argenter was
now seriously out of health. She had
had nothing to do but to fall sick under
her troubles, and she had honestly and
effectually done it. In the spring, Mrs.
Argenter declared it was of no use !;
they must give mp and go to board.
They ought to have done it in the first
place. Plenty of people got along so
with no more than hey had. A cheap
place in the country for the summer
would save up for rooms in town
for the winter. She could't bear anoth-
er hot season in that village, nor a cold
one, either. A second winter would be
just madness. What could two women
do, who had never had anything TO pro-
vide before, with getting in coal, and
wood, and vegetables, and everything,
and snow to be shoveled. and askes
sifted, and fires to make, and girls going
of every Monday morning?