The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1879-10-30
4" Don't you know that / must set up a

judge, moodily.
"Well, mean mash-tub," returned
Mrs. Manotte. perhaps two hogs
heads will answer, one for the ashes, the
other to hold the SOAP"
The judge went out without further
words his wife did not know whether
he would heed her request or not, but
rather thought he would. She was
right in this supposition. Within an
hour dray dumped two hogsheads and
tight barrel in the back yard. Mrs.
Manotte at once attired herself in a
short. stout dress, a long, black poke
bonnet, shut up the front of the house
and retired to the scene of her proposed
labors. She drew a pair of her hus-
bands old leather gloves on to her
hands, adjusted some blocks of wood,
and trundled a hogshead into position.
| Then she arranged some bricks in the
| bottom of it, and covered them with
straw, that the lye from the leached
ashes might be clear as it trickled
through. She recollected when little
girl of her mother putting her into the
old family mash-tub, which served for
score of years, and telling her how to
| adjust the bricks and straw in proper
| fashion.
Next she got great hod and COM
menced to fill the hogshead with ashes.
She worked with such vigor that tre-
mendous dust was raised in the back
yard. People going past in the street
| outside sneezed and coughed, and won
dered what was going on at Judge Ma
notes place.
But Mrs. M. was absorbed in the work
of the hour to utter obliviousness of the
fact that frou the second story of the
mansion just across the area from her
own, curious and puzzled eyes were fast
ened on her and her movements. In her
wash. room two kettles set in arches
were heating the water to drench the dry
ashes. She had to climb into chair to
r our each pailful on to the leech. Ger
tainly 10 unfamiliar eyes, her work
might seem strange and mysterious.
The Sequin girls, at the chamber
| window opposite, with tatting and cro-
chet, could at length contain their sur
prise and wonder no longer.
"Do let us call mother" one of them
| exclaimed, land see if she can unrddle
he mystery. and tell us the meaning of
The operations over in Judge Mahotte's
back yard"
~ think the judge has got women
to make some sort of compost for his
pear trees" said the other.
While the two girls gaZed, stiff pole
was p lunged into the fuming hogshead,
and tile mass vigorously punched and
shaken by the stout worker.
"She is Hercules" they said
what muscle those women have. Mrs.
Manottc is worker herself, and she
wouldn't hire a woman TO sit still"
But now the woman disappeared for a
while, and when she next came in view
she had under her arm an auger and axe,
in one hand a smooth billet Of wood, and
in the other a huge red hot poker. The
two girls gave little scream at this
| sight, but the worker heard it not, her
head enveloped in the black, poke bon
net. She proceeded to bore through the
billet of wood by means of the flaming
poker, while the smoke as it burned its
| way made Il dubious blue cloud about
her head.
| declare, things are getting desper-
ate down there" cried the youngest girl
- believe some Internal witch work is
going on; will have mother called.n
Mrs. Sequin was summoned. She was
Il city-bred woman, first and last, and
the proceedings in Judge Manotte's back
yard were as mysterious to her as to her
young daughter
What the woman is doing l don't
know" she said, but she WORKS with a
will. l should like to get her to do our
spring cleaning"
'it is very likely you can, mother"
said the elder daughter. I'VE will get
father to inquire of Judge Manotte about
the woman-if, indeed, she is canny."
Next there was hole made by means
OF the auger in the lower part of the
hogshead, and the bored billet of wood
driven soundly in by aid of the axe,
vigorously welded by the woman's
lusty arm, and a whitfield plug placed in
the wooden spigot.
"What great, stout creature" ex-
claimed Mrs. Sequin. "She handles
tools like mani"
Then more boiling water was dashed
into the ash-tilled hogshead till it stood
seething and full to the very brim.
And now all was silent and deserted in
Judge Manotte's backyard. In the af-
ternoon, Mrs. Manotte, richly dressed,
was seen holding up her skirts, tip-toe-
ing round the great hogshead, as if in
specting the work to see if it had been
properly and thoroughly done.
At very early hour the next morn
ing the Sequin girls heard noises in the
back yard, and sprang from bed to
see if the witch was at her work again.
Sure enough she was; they beheId
huge kettle swung on stout pole be-
tween crotched stakes driven into the
earth, and pile of blazing fagots be-
meath it
"There is her cauldron; l told you
So" said the younger girl. "And look
at the pals of black liquid she is pour.
ing into it,and the foul Jumps and bones
she is pouring from that greasy cask.
An internal broth that must be she is
concocting."
"And there is another barrel with the
dark liquid dripping through the
spigot," said the older one.
$50 there is," exclaimed the younger;
"when did she fix that? What Wig
orous creature! She would clean our
whole house in twenty-four hours. Let
us call father. He knows most eyery-
thing. I'll bet he can tell us what all
this means"
So Mr.. Sequin was brought to look
down on the spectacle in Judge Ma
notes backyard.
"It beats the witches in Hecate all
hollow" said the two girls in chorus, as
their paternal parent entered the room.
After quietly surveying the operations
below a moment, he burst out laughing.
why, the woman is making soft
SOAP" he said; THAT is all / have seen
my old m other do it fifty times when
was boy on the home farm; and that
woman understands her business. too.
/ declare I'll have her make up our
ashes. Soft soap is better for a hundred
purposes in family than all your patent
cleaners found at stores"
81 wish YOU would. father ~ said tho