The Northern Pacific farmer., 1883-06-07

''Why can't she conner inquired my
wife. "She says she's doing some sewing
for herself, and can't 60 out this week, !"
replied John.
'Go and tell her that sne must come.
That my house is upside down, and both
the girls are sick"
But Nancy was in no mood to comply.
John brought back another negative.
"Go and say to her John that I will
not take no for an answer. That she
must come. I will give her q dollar a
day." !
This liberal offer of dollar day was
effective. Nancy came and went to
work next morning. Ofcourse, Ann did
not come back; and as it was Hannah's
last day, she felt privileged to have more
headache than was consistent with clean
ing paint or scrubbing floors. The work
went on, therefore, very slowly.
Saturday night found US without cook
or chamtermaid, and with only two
rooms in order in the whole house, viz:
one chamber on the second story. BY
great persuasion, Nancy was induced tc
stay over Sunday and cook for US.
An advertisement in the newspaper
on Monday morning brought us a couple
of raw Irish girls, who were taken as
! better than nobody at all. With these
new recruits, Mrs. Sunderlaed set about
getting things 'to right" Nancy plod-
ded on, so. well pleased with her wages,
that she continued to get the work Of
one day heightened out into two and so
managed to get q weeks job.
For the whole of another precious
week we were in confusion.
Glow do your girls get along? I
had not seen smile for ten days.
"Don't name them, Mr.. Sunderland!
They're not worth the powder it would
take to shoot them. Lazy, ignorant,
dirty, good-tor-nothlng creatures. I
wouldn't give them house-room."
"I'm sorry to learn that. What will
you do?" l said.
Dear knows! 1 was so we'll suited in
Ann and Hannah, and, to think they
should have served me so! wouldn't
have believed it of them. But they are
all as destitute Of feeling and principle
as they can be. And John continues as
sulky as bear. He pretended to shake
the carpets. but you might get a wheel
barrow load of dirt out Of them 1 told
him 50 and the impudent fellow replied
shaking carpets; and that it wasn't the
walters place, any how"
"He did?"
eyes, he did. was on the eve of or
dering him from the house."
=" I'll save you that trouble" I said
little warmly.
"Don't say anything to him, If you
please, Mr.. Sunderland" returned my
wife. "There couldn't be better man
about the house than he is, for all Ordin-
ary purposes. If we should lose him,
we shall never get another half so good.
l wish I'd hired man to shake the car
pets at once; they would have been
much better done, and l should have
had Johns cheerful assistance about the
house, which would have been great
DEAL"
That evening overheard, accident
the new girls, which threw some light
upon the whole matter.
"John," said one of them, what made
Mrs, Sunderland's cook and chamber
maid go aft and lave her right in the mid
die of house clainin'?"
Because, Mrs. Sunderland, instead Of
hiring woman, as every lady does, tried
to put it all off upon them"
"Indade! And was that it,"
"Yes, it was. They never thought of
leaving until they found they were to
be imposed upon. And, to save fifty
cents or a dollar, she made me shake
the carpets. never did such thing in
my Ii Q before. I think managed to
leave about as much dirt as I shook out.
But I'll leave the place before do it
again"
r;rIk y,oopn - xuoo a
waiter to shaking carpets"
81 don't think much has been saved"
remarked the waiter, ''for Nancy has
had a dollar aday ever since she has
been here"
"Indadew
''Yes; and besides that, Mrs. Sunder-
land has to work like dog herself. All
t is might have been saved, if she had
hired q couple of women at sixty-two
and a half cents day for two or three
days, and paid for having the carpets
shaken. That's the way other people
do. The house would have been to
rights in three or four days, and every
thing going on like clock work"
no more. It was all as clear as day to
me. When J related to Mrs. Sunder-
lard what John had 81 id she was, at first,
quite indignant. But the reasonbleness
Of the thing soon became apparent that
she could not but acknowledge that she
had acted very unwisely.
"This is another specimen of your
savings at the spiggot," said, playfully.
'There, [Mr. Sunderland! Not a
word more, if you please, of that" she
returned, her cheek more flushed than
usual. 1T is my duty, as your wife, to
dispense with prunence In your house,
hold; and if, in seeking to do 80, I have
run little into extremes. think it i'll
Dear knows! I have not sought my own
ease or comfort in the matter"
my dear, good wife," hastily said,
in soothing voice, II have neither
meant to ridicule nor censure you. Moth
ing was further from my thoughts"
"You shall certainly have no cause to
complain of me on this score again." she
said, still little warmly. "When next
we clean house, will take care that it
shall be done by extra help altogether"
do so by all means, Mrs. Sunderland.
Let there be-, if possible, two paint
cleaners and scrubbers in every room,
that the work may all be done in day
instead of week. Take my word for it,
the cost will be less. Or, if double,
will cheerfully pay it for the sake of see
than is wont under the ordinary system
of doing things"
My wife did not just like this speech,
I could see, but she bit her lips and kept
silent.
In week we were without cook
again; and months passed before we
were in anything like domestic comfort.
At last my wife was fortunate enough to
get Ann and Hannah back again, and
then the old pleasant order of things
was restored. rather think. that we
shall have different state of things at |
next house cleaning time. I certainly
hope so.
r.oo~ r,r1,+ Witt, vna,o |