The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1875-04-29
Things Around the House.

NV entire household, including the
hired girl, is full of satisfaction tonight
over the fact that / have just driven the
ax-handle firmly into The AK and wedged
it there, so that it cannot under any cir
cumstance come ont. 1t may read like
q small matter to you, but do you know
that that helve had been loose for nearly
five years2 Yns, for five years tha. ax
has flung itself across the yard whenever
| struck heavy blow, leaving the helve
in my hand, and I suppose l have de-
cided more than Thousand times to go
in and get hammer and chisel and fas-
ten the helve in. [ was thrown down
and had my arm broken by the ax flying
off, two hired girls had their noses
broken, we spoiled the stove-boilers,
nearly killed three boys, and yet didn't
get around to fix the ax until to-day.
Foster was telling me the other day
that he had finally glued that knob on
to the bureau drawer, and he seemed
greatly relieved. I remember when that
knob was knocked off-almost seven
years ago. 1 was helping him move the
bureau when the accident occurred, and
L never was in the house afterward with
out hearing Mrs. Foster say:
"Come, Henry, haven't you got
time to fix that knob on this even
ing?"
y" Yes, Martha" he would reply,
and yet it was seven years before he got
at it,
Seven OF eight years ago my neighbor,
Mr.. Goodwin, found COW among his
cabbages one day, and in driving her
out she jumped over the gate and broke
one of the hinges. He went in and got
O hammer, screw driver, and screws to
repair damages, but his wife called him
into breakfast just then. After break
fast he hadn't time, and SO it ran along
until the other day. He passed through
the gate an average of five times per
day for about seven yeers, OF thirteen
thousand times in all, and he had lifted
it up, carried it around and bothered
for half d minute each time. Thirteen
thousand times he said TO himself that
he would fix that confounded gate, and
vet he didn't do it until the other day.
Some twelve OF thirteen years ago L
was taking dinner with Turner, over on
Adams avenue, and his wife called at
tention to the fact that she had that day
broken the handle of her big seven
pound hat-ir II, and that she must get
another. The other day 1 met her on
the street, and she told me she had re-
placed the hat-iron at last. For thirteen
years, fifty-two times per year, she had
used that broken handled iron to smooth
down her washing, and every time she
had said to herself that she would go up
town next day and order new one.
Bristow died last week. We We're
warm friends, and T was with him to the
last. After he had called the family up
one by one, and shaken hands and said
goodbye, 1 saw tnau unere was yet some
thing on his mind. 1 admonished him
to trust me if he had a dying request,
and lie grasped my hand and replied:
GIVE been trying to find time for the
last seventeen years to take the butcher
knife down to the shop and have it
ground, and if it wouldn't be asking too
much of you, wish you'd see to it !"
I promised him, but it may be twenty
years before get the knife to the shop,
and ten years before call for it.
1 can remember when old Mrs. Bag
ley died. She had china teapot in her
house which had belonged to her grand
mother, but she had always kept it in
the drawer because the handle was bro
ken and wanted cementing. She gave
the teapot to neighbor, who waited
five years for bottle of cement, than
four years more to find time, and finally
knocked the spout off while trying to
mend the handle.
don't suppose any of us would for
get the day note was due, but if the
knob should drop off chamber door,
I expect that George Francis Train
might be elected President before we
would find time to replace it.