The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1884-06-06

floor with sand and soapsuds. And of
all things in the world, he abominates
housekeeping. Wen clean house
while he's here, Gypsy ell ?"
The girls eyes sparkled through
her quickly-dried tears; lovely car
mine color mounted into her cheeks.
Nancy" she cried, you are u sec
ond Bismarck
go along with you" said Nancy,
with chuckle
Mr.. Meredith was standing on the
doorstep, all greasy smiles, when Clip
sy came to the door, with her brown
frizzes tied up in pocket and huge
bib-apron eclipsing her pretty figure.
"My dear Gypsy, how are your" said
Mr.. Meredith. "Your kind pa was so
good as to invite me to come here
whenever it was convenient; so, as
my housekeeper has gone for week,
| have concluded"
"Oh, yes, very glad to see you, Pm
sure!' said Gypsy, hurriedly. Walk
in. Father and mother and Malvina
have gone to camp-meeting. But
Nancyis here. Nancy and are clean
ing house."
Mr.. Merediths face elongated it.
self.
Cleaning housed" he repeated dol
orously. "Bdt that's all nonsense
No properly kept house ever needs
cleaning"
He came slowly on. A step-ladder
stood at the end of the hall-hurriedly
stirred-up pals of whitewash foamed
on either side, while Nancy, in faded
calico dress, advanced.
walk right in, Mr.. Meredith" said
SIDEWALK right in. Wen try and
make you as comfortable as we can. l
told Gypsy, says |, Just as certain as
you pull up the things and go to house
cleaning, company'il come. They al
ways do, said l. But Gypsy she does
set so much store by house-cleaning.
She says she's going to clean house
once a month when she has home of
her own.
Mr.. Meredith simply gasped, and
said nothing
"Oh, yes!' said Gypsy, artlessly,
cleanliness is next to godliness, you
know. And l do so delight in soap
suds and whitewashing, and floor
scrubbing, and all that sort of thing.
That's right, Mr.. Meredith; sit right
down. We shan't tear this room to
pieces until after dinner"
~ am very glad of that" dejectedly
uttered the middle-aged swain. Il
think that house-cleaning--
"And I'll get dinner at once" inter
rupted Nancy. "Gipsy is queer girl.
She don't like to cook; she says when
she's married she's going to boil pot
once week, and live off cold victuals
the rest Of the time"
"But it seems to me that this is a
mistaken idea" argued Mr.. Meredith.
"My mother was famous cook. She
always baked pies fresh every day,and
made hot biscuits fer breakfast; and l
have a receipt of hers for making
chicken pot-pe that l wouldn't eX-
change for its weight in gold"
81 despise cooking!' said Gypsy, in
differently. "And l don't mean to
slave over the kitchen stove, to suit
the prejudices of any man living"
Mr.. Meredith stared at her once
more, and in default of any plying
reply. opened and closed his fat mouth
in fishy way; even Gipsy's eighteen
year-old beauty could hardly reconcile
him to such heretical opinions as
these.
Dinner was served.
"And the kind of meal | like" said
Girsy -"easily cooked and easily got
out the way"
Boiled eggs, smoked beef cut in thin,
pink shavings, bread and butter, and
tea, weak almost to inanition, formed
the bill Of fare.
Mr.. Meredith ate with knife of
one pattern and a fork of another, AID
sweetened his tea with brown sugar,
on account of the white variety
having been mislaid.
Nothing matters much when you
are cleaning house." said Gypsy, radi-
antly.
But Mr.. Meredith, who fully appre-
ciated all the creature comforts of this
world, entertained a very different
opinion.
After this unsatisfactory meal, Clip
sy set her elderly lover to beating a
rag carpet which was stretched over a
clotles-line.
I'm sure you'd rather be doing
something than sitting STILL" SAID
Gypsy, as she put long lilac-sapling
into the hands of Mr.. Meredith, and
adjured him ito beat the thin places
carefully. And after you've finished
this" she added, with gracious smile.
'.you shall get up on the ladder ana
help Nancy with the ceiling"
Mr.. Meredith worked like day la
borer, until darkness came to his re-
lief. Even then he was set to prying
nails out of a carpet, with screw
driver, on his knees, by the light of a
suffering kerosene lamp.
"We are getting along so splendidly
with the house-cleaningp' chirped