Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1876-01-29
MIR. Busby's Housekeeping.

Mr.. Busby's Housekeeping. las
Mr.. Busby has been married Eve
years, and all that time he and his wife
have boarded. It was on tho first of
October that he first made up his mind
to keep house. A neat cottage was
secured, and furniture bought, and the
two settled down like pair $16 doves.
Last Thursday morning the farmer of
whom Busby had engaged his potatoes
\ forsthe winter, brought him two bar
rels of those excellent vegetables and
also barrel of apples. He knew
Busby was new at the business, and
that he was good natured man, so he
told Mrs. Busby that he had sore
finger, and was in hurry and would
not have time to take the barrels down
cellar, and he left them by tho hatch
way. Here Busby found them when
he came home in the evening. Arm
ing his wife with the lamp, he pro-
ceeded in no pleasant frame of mind to
bring the stuff in. She held the light
in the cellarway while he tusseled with
the barrels, and, as the wind came
through the door, she was obliged to
screen the light by shading it from that
side. Whenever he got barrel in
particular critical position, an extra
gust of wind would come down the
stairway, and up would go her hand to
the flame, throwing both him and the
barrel into the shade. Then he would
look over his shoulder at her, and say:
What in mercy's name are you
about, Mary Jane p
1t was tough job for Mr.. Busby.
His hands were tender from indoor en-
ployment, and in their contact with the
barrel were sadly worsted. The lower
chimes Of the barrel would catch on
the step as he vas sliding it down, and
when he let go to see what was the
trouble, it would suddenly come along
of its own accord and butt him in the
stomach with such force as to nearly
deprive him of his breath, or it would
slip on his foot and cause him to howl
dreadfully with pain. Then he took
hold of the apples. They came dread
fully hard. He pushed and pulled,
and turned them to the left and then
to the right, and puffed and perspired,
and swore and screamed, but he couldn't
get the apples down from the first step.
He was struggling with all his might;
his hat had fallen of, his eyes were al
most bursting from their sockets, his
breath came fast and heavy. He had
both arms around il, and was straining
with all his might to move it. He only
spoke once. Then he said:
"Why don't you come up here with
that lamp, and not be grinning down
there like an idiot p
1t is but just to explain that Mrs.
Busby was not grinning at all; on the
contrary, it would be difficult to have
crowded as much dignity into the same
space as was expressed in her counte-
nance. She stepped UP the stair prompt
ly. Then Mr.. Bushy gave desperate,
maddening pull, and the barrel came.
The transformation from logged, OBJ
stinate barrel to q headstrong, impetuous
barrel, was remarkable, Mr.. Bushy
tried to save himself by yelling out
" Woosh!" but he was too late, and
the next instant, himself, his wife, the
lamp, the barrel and the apples, in o
confused mass, went revolving down
the stairway and sprawling across the
cellar. Fortunately the light was ex-
tinquished at the first move, but the
lamp was broken and its contents pref
ty evenly distributed over the other OBJ
jects. Mr.. Busby was driven under o
wheelborrow, and Mrs. Busby, after
being bucked twice in the head by the
barrel, brought up with vehemence
against an old stove, knocking it COM
pletely over off its legs and smashing
in the oven door.
Mrs. Busby scrambled to her feet at
once.
Johnp' she exclaimed, "where are
you? are you hurt ?"
None of your business" came in a
half suppressed voice out of the dark
ness.
Why, John, what is the matter
with your" 3trAril
/" What did you come up them steps
for :" no demanded, in intense passion.
Why, you told me to-"
What if I did ?" cried the unhaprY
man. " Didn't you know any better
than to. stand there ?"
Confounded by this direct question,
she could make no answer, and with
a certain feeling of triumph ho stalked
up stairs and thence to bed.
There is q nice little cottage on
Schuyler street to rent. Mr.. snd Mrs.
Busby are boarding again n--Danbuy
Ne,os. a,. ~
Sc" How do you keep your wife from
finding you out?" ask one college
friend of another, after they had both
been married few months, ''By. al