The Osceola times., 1882-02-04
A WESTERN LADY'S
supposed Experience with her Servants.
Help In the Kitchen.


81 want to advertise for girl to do
general homework" said Laramie lady
TO the business man OF the Nye Boone
rang. 81 have had some little trouble
and annoyance during the past year, and
would like if ] could, TO get good girl
who differs in many respects from those
| have been wrestling with. Last fall
heard Of good girl who was working
for neghbor of mine and went to work
sy Systematically to get her. ! found ont
afterwards that it was put up job on
me, and that the neighbor wanted me TO
get the girl more out of revenge than
anything else. The girls name was
Cleopatra. She wanted S27 per month
and the use Of the piano. ] was SO sure
/ that she was a good girl that | engaged
I her on that lay out. Cleopatra had so
/ many lovers that we had TO move the
sofa into the kitchen on Sunday, and my
| husband and myself sat around on the
! hoor, while Cleopatra wooed the festive
{ mule puncher. We wanted TO throw all
/ the home influence we could around
/ Cleopatra, so that she would fell perfect
/ ly cheerful and like one Of The family.
She used to wear my dresses when ! was
away, but when | asked her to let me
/ wear her wardrobe she seemed hurt, and
I her whole system was churned up with
convul,ive sobs. By-and-by my dresses
got Kind of shabby, as the result Of con
/ tnuous wear by Cleopatra and myself,
and so she got discontended and went
away. Then got nice girl from Ne
braska, but Just as she had learned to
make pie that would yield to the soft
ening influence of time, she married a
man from Bitter Cree k, who as so cross
eyed that when lie wept, the scalding
I tears would .oll down the back Of h is
eek. then secured girl from the old
country. She could not speak the Eng
I lish language lluently, and so we didn't
have very sociable time of it, When
would tell her TO wash the dishes she
would generally black the stove or bring
/ in a scuttle of coal. | used to pour out
my soul 10 her sometimes and ask her to
confide in me, but she had far away
/ look, like Il man who cannot pay his
board bill One day at dinner | asked
/ her to bring in the dessert, but she didn't
grasp my meaning, and through some
oversight, brought in the dish-rag on a
tray. She used to wash the children's
/ faces with the stove rag and brush their
hair with the shoe brdsh, and in that
way so, n won their esteem and regard.
[ One day, while we were at the table, she
brought in thesoup, and in nunguarded
moment stuck about seven inches Of her
thumb in the hot soup, in order to get a
more secure grip on the tureen. In the
first impulse Of coy and maldenly sur
prise she thoughtlessly dropped the
tureen and soup in my husbands lap
My husband is a shy and and rather ret
icent man, but he arose with graceful
movement TO his full height and killed
her with the carving knife, and kicked
her CORY remains under the table. After
the inquest | got q hollnw-eyed girl
from Fort Collins. She was IN orphan,
with pale hair that she used to work up
in the hash. She was proUd and impul-
sive in her nature, and ate everything
in the house. We used to hear her in
/ the middle of the night toraging around
after cold pie. and fragments of rich and
expengive grub. She had singular
/ yearning for jam, and an impassioned
/ longing for preserves that we never sue
ceeded in quenching. When the Jelly
/ and fruit gave out, she would sadly turn
/ her attention to cold ham and mustard
with the smoldering ruins of baked
beans, and cold cabbage aud vinegar,
/ We stood it till groceries came up So,
and apples got t6 be seven dollars and a
I half barrel, and then we asked her TO
send in her resignation. shortly after
/ that my husband made an assignment.
! What would like now is a good girl,
not SO much as companion and conf
dental promoter of financial ruin, bnt
more to wrestle tn manual labor in
1 the kitchen, at so much per wrestle and
board. Pm not ancult to please, but !
don't want TO pay the same salary'that
| the cashier of a bank gets just for the
sake of having pampered menial in the
house who doesn't do enouyh work to
drive away her ennui."