Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1874-11-12
Putting up ths stove.

he; season has come when we can no
sNose depend an the heat Of the sun for
.0ur comfort. He .kindles his fires 20 late.
An me morning, and banks them IN 40
eariy IN ashes Of cloud at night. Even
ne - extra Coat or shawl ins the :ssvenihg
lime 90 not seem to- do the work exrect.
eq 81 them. We have had three or .fDnr
sltarp frosts.s In The city We send for a
man to come and examine our furnaces
A rnd ne tiighting of fires ssis no exciting
eyept. 49, :, -. Ii -. =
But il the country there Is a dav Law, Is. Is.
marked ms New Year Or Christmas. and
that is the day in which We put up stoves.
y has been standing in the garret ar shed
III summer, dull and dead the fires gone
OF o Of the old bsckslider.s : Spiders have
testooned the Joints of the pipe, and run
ln ana out the sn0ty tunnel: the open top
sd tne stove perhaps having been the
nyyssery where the old cat honorably
brought up her household Of kittens.
But the day for putting up the stove
has come. The children fly around with
expectation, and are somewhat lin the
way during the undertaking. The ptpcs
are brought out and emptied, and thump-
ed clear of soot and dust. The house
wife goes over all the surface with black.
en'ng polish, making the h0mely dark n
handsome black, and then the work Of
ctrrying the stove into the sitting-room
commences. There are not enough
hands. There never are. We have nut
up stoves dozen times, and never had
help enough. Stoves are 80 unwirldy.
and they feel so heavy. when YOU set
them down on your instep. Father with
his lower lip clinched of his teeth, lifts
q nj To- a.
| doorway. Mother and the serving maid
come to the rescue, but pull the stove
the wrong way, and get an Invocation
upon their carelessness Don't you sec
what you a'e doing? Pull it back the
other way! Ouch! Just look at the back
Of my hand, black and blue from this
scrouging. There! you have set that
right leg Of it ON my sore toe! NV side
is stove in" But with an altogether
lift the heavy burden reaches the middle
Of the room. Now begins the work
Of finding one of the lost legs. One of
them is gone. There is always one of
them gone. The sheds are ransackcd to
no avail, and two bricks temporariallv
substituted. Then the pipe is to be join
ed and set up. This requires more con.
scientious and determined consistency of
behavior than any other part. A man
who will keep correctness of speech in
all the rest Of the process needs some
toning up here. You make up your
mind as to where the JOINTS and pieces
belong, and insist on their taking their
places, but low to insert the larger in the
| smaller is the cnnundrum vet with ham,
| mcr you pound and bang and twist until
! you have four stubborn pieces annexed.
and have them hoisted. You rise ON, IT, e
top Of chair To make the last coniunct-
ion you handle the whole affair with Ut
most skilltulness; you have your wife
holding it at the middle, when, without
! the slightest premonition, one of the low.
er joints backs out Of its place, and down
all comes in one grand crash, the wife
struck by the falling pieces, the daugl.t-
er frightened lest she may somehow have
been the cause Of the mishap, yourself
running your sooty hands across your
brow to wipe of the perspiration, leaving
YOU IN stage struck position, black as
Othcllo.
Every time the attempt is made, the
line OF pipe parts at u new place, until at
last, to the relief Of the whole household,
the undertaking is completed. Then the
! nre Is klndled, the smoke at first not
knowing whether tn come out in the
room and be sociable, or 60 up the chin.
ney and disappear. But at last the great
black instrument Of comfort roars with a
chorus If c"ngra'ulaticn and good cheer,
anc in the evening all the family gather
about to hear it laugh and cracklc Good
Old stove! For the coming autumnal and
winter months it j.! draw the family to-
gether Let the winds howl down the
chimney, and the snow drift over the
tops Of the fences, on the floor Of your
Country home will stand this great warm
hearsed benediction. May there be as
many feet Oh tile heat Il, next spring az
this au:um, and 40 loss or sorrow Or be
| reaYement turn the liamner