The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1883-05-31
LOYAL WOMBN'S WORK
A Friendly Chat About the PeFplexities
OF Housekeeping.
THE AMERICAN DORA.
what 10 Wear and What to Eat.
Auxiliary Work.
THE AMERICAN DORA.
rnons..o,sa By Kate B. srerrrood, Toledo, o,I


-4sntlrr or housekeeping always recalls Da-
I'D C17rrriela snd the poor little motherless
Dcra Among the first presents which David,
qhs. from = sudden decline in his fortunes,
LII iocune practically inclined, gave TO Dora
Mas cookery bo0k-an old housekeeping book
az AIS auuf's-for a model, pretty little pen
ciicksc and same lead pencils, to practice house
kcsiinc with. Then. when David and Dora
TOOK their saturday afternoon walk, he would
ask her quest ions concerning her progress In
keeuiag scoonnis and the facility with which
she had mastered rules and recipes
80, whom ] once asked Dora, says David,
"with an eye 20 the cookery BOOK, WHAT she
would do if we were married, and l were TO
sav should ike a nice Irish stew, she replied
that she would tell the servant to make IT;
anf then cianpad her little hands together
across my arm and laughed in such charm
ing manner that she was more delightful than
ever
Then Dora and David would fall back on the
lruitar-case, and the flower painting, and the
songs about never leaving Of dancing, Ta-ra-la!
and Were as happy as the week was long;
though David was not without his mlsglylngs,
between times, that he and everybody around
him was treating Dora too much ike play
thing.
Wei, by and by the wedding day came and
then the housekeeping; with David aad Dora
duly Gagged. like two young birds. and know
ing about as mucA. with competent servant,
of course to run the domestic establishment,
and wonderfully fine il all was. The servants
name was Paragon, ana she had written char
acter as long as proclamation; and, according
10 that precious document she could do every
thing ever heard of, as well as a great many
things they never had heard of, which made
such possession the more TO be priced. Para
pon was warranted sober and honest and COM
petent and respectable, and yet she did prey
upon their minds dreadfully, poor things.
One day Paragon. otherwise Mary Anne was
found stupefed under the boiler; when the in
experienced young things remembering the
"character,n thought, of course, she had fit.
When the teaspoons disappeared, they attrib-
uted it to the Gustman. When Mary Anne
fooled away her time, she was overworked.
And so the general decentralization went on un-
til the high-toned and skillful creature had ac-
tually precipitated the first quarrel between
man and wife
THE FIRST QUARREL.
.My dearest life" said David TO Dora one
day, do you think Mary Anne has any idea
of timer"
"Whv, Doady?" inquired Dora, looking up
aMy love. because it's five, and we were to
have dined at four"
Dora, glancing wistfully at the clock, hinted
that she thought ii was too fast. But David
said, On the contrary, nay love, its few min
utes too slow"
Then Dora went and sat on David's knee and
began to coax him to be quiet and drew a line
down the middle of his nose; but David was
hungry and couldn't dine off that, though it
was very soothing and agreeable
Don't you think, my dear" he persisted,
sit would be better for you TO demonstrate with
Mary Anne2r
"oh, no. please! / couldn't, Doady!" said
Dora.
"Why not my love?" asked David, gently.
"Oh, because am such a little goose" said
Dora, and she lssops I an z"
Then David frowned and reasoned, and Dora
wept and walled; and the more David reasoned
the more Dora wcpt, even though he tried to
be patient and explain matters IN their true
light. When he tried to pacify her, she turned
away her face and called him "a cruel, cruel
boy" and when he said, Dora, my darling,
she said:
No. am not your darling. Because you
must be sorry that you married me, or else you
wouldn't reason with me-"
Then David was grave and resolved to be
very plain about it all.
"Now, my own Dora" he said, "you are
very childish and are talking nonsense. You
must remember, am sure, that ] was obliged
to go out yesterday when dinner was half over;
and that, the day before, was made quite un-
well by being obliged TO eat veal under-done
In a hurry: to-day don't dine at all-and
am afraid to say bow long we waited for break
fast, and then the water didn't boil. / don't
mean 10 repoach you, my dear, but this is not
comfortable"
Well, the storm spent ITSELF as such storms
will; David returning TO his Office dinnerless,
and Dora drying her eyes 10 run with her dog
Jip, and ring The bells on his little Chinese pa
CODA, where he slept ar night.
After while Mary Anne was dismissed
and there came prolonged ordeal of incapa-
bles. There was Mrs. Ridgerbury, who broke
everything she laid her hands on and a Young
person who went to Greenwich Fair in Dora's
best bonnet. Never, in fact, did David and
Dora realize anything but an average equal
ity of failure" Everybody seemed to be bent
on cheating them. Their visit to shop was
the signal for the display of damaged vegeta-
bles. If they bought a lobster. ii was full OF
water. All their meat turned out TO be tough
ard there WAS hardly any crust 10 their loayes
Their table every day was living answer /.
Hoods question
a. Who has not met with homemade bread
heavy compound OF putty and lead?"
Their roasts alternated daily between redncsl
and einders, and inspection Of the trades
mems books revealed the fact that enough sup
pies were purchased TO pave the basement
story with butter, and to get up corner OF
pepper and other imported stufs. And still
the wonderful fact remained that there wa.
never anything in the house
WONDERFUL DINNER.
Confusion reigned supreme, and when Davi,
undertook his first hospitable feat in house
Keeping dinner TO his old friend, Traddles-
he could not account for the fact that sine
there was bnt two of them, they should be S,
greatly cramped for room, though he half sus
pected IL was because nothing had place o
Its own. except Jips psgoda, which invariabl,
blocked up the main thoroughfare. The resul
of it was that when third person was intro
ducea into the dining circle, and that persol
the go0d-hum0red Traddles, lit was well. as
proved, thaI he 1gGS good humored, he was S
hemmed in by the pagoda, the guitar-casc
Doras Hover painting, and Dayid's writing Ia
bic, that his host had serious doubts as TO tn
possibility Of has using his knife and fork.
David also bad half-cxprcssed wish tha
Jip had never been encouraged. bv his syyee
mistress, TO walk aeout en- the table-cloth dur
i:ig dinner; especially since he lad the habi
OF putting his foot in the salt, or the meltc
bu.ter. Dayid's wish became the more nro
Douaced sinoe Jip fairly engrossed the CONVEX
sation--baIllag at the invited guest and max
ing short runs on his plate But remember
Ing The first quarrel and dear Dora's sensitive
.lcss, h= said nothing 10 the disparagement Z
ZIP or his accomplishments For similar re;
sons ne made ne apology for the slirnishin
plates apon the ho0r; or for the disreputahl
appearance oi the cststor-, which locke drunk
OF for tie blockade around Traddles Of wan
dering vegetable dishes and Jugs Instead
fAsfg fl.rrid -as1l is