Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1881-12-01
Red PAINT.

IlLU AsHts
In the matter of the chocolate .colored
circles about my blue eyes, the whites
of which complete the patriotic trinity Of
red, white and blue-those red rings, OF
whose origin ] have been so often vexed
with questions-I will tell a story
which may save further inquiry. l am
enabled to do so by memory of W, at my
father used to say, and by reference to
notes i'll a diary which he kept for many
years.
Some time before [ dawned upon this
world, and while my spirit was probably
walking with the angels with whom /
Kept company, my dear mother, tired OF
the monotony of her life at our family
seat In the country, repaired alone to
the city to regale herself with sight of
novelties for a month. Ny mother sup
posed that father would soon follow and
rejoin her; but IN this she was mis-
taken. He gave the housemaid a
months vacation, and was now left en-
tirely alone, sleeping at the house and
getting his meals for himself, rather
than going to the city or the nearest
tavern. He was an odd man, my father
was, as | shall presently show. Being
lonesome, he thought he would fix up
things about the house to while away
time, and surprise my mother by the
Improvements when she returned at the
expiration Of the month.
81 think | will do little painting up,
in~the first place." thought my father.
Paint Is not only an ornament, but it
hn bat
needs painting. the old color, what
remains of it, is yellow; bnt am not
partial to yellow, and beside, l want a
new color, for novelty. What color
would probably most charm my wife /
have not much taste myself, but have
heard people praise red very highly.
Suurises, and sunsets. and comets, are
often approved Of by good judges, for
being rcd Red is said to be the most
SNOWY and effective military and dramat-
&c color. | have seen some very hand
some red flags at auction and railroad
stations. Red lips and checks are al
ways Ill the fashion. Then there is the
led, red rose; and then there is my red
handkerchief, the handsomest and larg-
est / have got. | will paint the floor
red; and, now that [ reflect upon the
supreme beauty of red, | VIII buy
enough, and no doubt | shall find good
llsu iur it.
So my father went and bought great
quantity OF red paint, and had it mixed
and en- with brushes to the house.
81 Will do all the painting myself
that / care to have dome, thought my
father, when the bloody fluid flushed
beneath his smiling eyes. " 1t will be
a hight, pleasing exercise, and my wife
will be more delighted when she finds
that have done all the ornamentation
without help. How lovely that red
looks 1t appears to me that all the
white paint on the other woodwork in
the kitchen looks as dingy now as the
floor. What a capital idea it would be
to paint n all red, now that | happen
to have SO much OF it l will do so.
he kitchen, all of that color. will be
the handsomest room in the house. But
the main thing is the floor.
So my ardent father hastily began
and painted the floor first, forgetting
that it would cause him to wait until It
WAS dry, or make tracks over it, or lay
inronvenioDt blanks, ii he painted all
the rest of the kitchen. He saw the
mI'tlke he had made when he began to
pant the doors. The fresh paint on
the ioor stuck to Ills soles, and the
marks Of his flaming footsteps. like
those Of some destroying angel, hot
nom home, were everywhere and con-
fused. They did some little damage to
the carpets il other rooms, aud this
confused him some; but my father was
not maa to stand for trities. and,
knowing that he could =. nj the floor
over again, he went ON wItu the other
work. He had the tools, material, in
iustyy and ambition to please, and
these were something for an amateur
So, sticking rs ne went my father
covered all the doors with flaming coat,
inside and ont. his pleasure increasing
! wsth the alteration h caused and then
proceeded 70 make his mark on all the
remaining woodwork, including the win
dow frames. sills and sashcs, shutters,
closet shelves, thresholds, the mantol-
piece ana sink aud then, Thought he,
Why not the walls, to complete the
/ thing ANA make ii uniform ?" and 50
/ the walls stood up and rec lived their
| share; and then, as the hearth and locks
/ and bolts and doors seemed by their ma
I kel1c~s to disturb the harmony, he paint
/ ed them.
by glory I" thought my father,
4 greatly delighted with tho marvellous
/ change he had created, " if here isn't
| q whole sunrise in box. What a little
| PAINT viii 10 : we'll laid on, and OF the
/ right colo, shall like to live
Z Il II, IL
/ and splendid at the same time. | must
\ paint the floor over again to hide my
/ tracks: but let me see this time if | have
/ finished mp everything else first. No. !
I have not. These kitchen chairs and Ia
I bles all want painting badly. wonder
! | hadn't thought Of them first. Bntthey
/ most certainly shant be neglected rs
I long as | have SO much paint and Of such
4 a color, too. What a thing is the sim
/ pie article OF paint What n tailor is to
! man painter is to y house; bat peo-
/ pie don't seem 10 know 1t. Even have
I lust found it out / should think a man
/ might make fortune il lie went short
/ with paint pot and brushes aud adopted
| my idea and astonished folks with the
/ change il makes. Wovsa conceptions
than this have been patented, and the
accident Of a happy, tholsat enables
many 10 roll in riches ana immortal
clover.
After due rest between Jobs As he pro
ceedel. nay deer father gave tie taa'c-
and chairs a toaeh Of Ills quality. aud
for while he was in doubt wletiI rtas
last job was not an immense improve
ment on the preceding ones.
4 He stood of and examined, and then
shut his eyes and imagined.
q" No" he concluded. "neither can
claim precedence. Each is admirable
in itself, and yet each Is necessary to
the other, 70 give 1t complete effect. |
wonder what KIND OF an artist l shoaid
have made. It strikes me / have vastly
more taste than thought, and l think
should lie distinguished Tor what the,
call coloring. But am I done yet