Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1884-12-08
g1onils Column,
PoLLY's KITCHEN.

POLLy's KITCHEN.
The kitchen door stood inyitingly
open, and I stepped in. The room
was empty, swept and garnished, and
as looked around on the clearly
swept floor, the shining range, the
low windows with broad silIs upon
which thriving plants were in bios
som, the mantel with its pretty lam
brequin of cretonne, could not help
exclaiming, '.How pleasant
WHAT" said Polly, who just then
came in with pan of -four.
"Why, this kitchen. [ wish l
could keep mine in such good or
DER
"No trouble about that" answered
Polly with show of pride, ''f you
want to. Why, think just as much
of fixing up my kitchen as | do of my
parlor; and to tell the truth / feel
much more comfortable and at home
in it.
''But you shouldn't do that, Polly
Your parlor should be quite as famil-
iar as your kitchen. You shouldn't
make it q company room
"Well, I'm sure [ don. know who
would d o my work and cook my meals,
while / was visiting myself in the
parlor,' laughed Polly. I'm quite
contented among the pots and kettles
so long as [ am my own mistress, and
can take the rough edge off the kitch-
en- work by uniting the ornamental
with the practical and useful. | don't
wonder our servant girls get careless
and slovenly, with nothing but the
signs of drudgery staring them in
the face eternally. Why, | couldn't
work at all unless l had bright and
CHEEKY surroundings"
"That is very pretty theory, Pol
ly, but how many of our servant girls
would take pride in keeping their
kitchen looking rs yours does? 1t is
not in them. 1 tried fixing up mine
before my new girl came, bought
q pretty muslin curtain for the win
dow, had shelf put across it for
plants, covered an ld-fashioned. low
rocker with bright colored cretonne
and made lambrequin of the same,
had a screen made of pine wood
which [ painted black and covered
with japanese paper to stand in front
of the wash-tubs, and put a pretty
red cover on the table. | expected
, Bridget would be very much impress
ed by the appearance of her specia
! domain, but to my dismay and cha
grin, the next day upon going int
the kitchen, | found the screen miss
-, ing, the plants removed, and the ia
. bic cover thrown in heap on th
tubs. The screen stood in the area
4 and the plants had been placed out
+ side the window. Upon questionin
- her all the satisfaction Irecaived was
Och, sure, mum, | couldn't be boil
- cred with havin thin things in N
= way There was no use of expo:
a tulating, so | gathered up the spoi
: and carried them where they wei
more likely to give favor, and can
to the conclusion that hired help couI
lg not appreciate high art. So you Sc
Polly, your theory didn't work in n
n, case"
81 "No; but there are other girls b
side Bridget, and | still hold tb
; they can be educated up to it,
housekeepers who are obliged to ha
hired help would insist upon it. VIII
we would discharge girl on t
spot if she came into our parlor,
or any other room in the house, al
Oh set things out because they were
her way, or she didn't see the use
ICE them. The trouble is, in most case
yer our kitchen is Il separate Institute
'ss Bridget is queen of the realm, a
'N- we feel like trespassers whenever
TOT cross the threshold; it is the OF
It's room in our house in which we ha
no right, simply because we all
to our help to tyrannize over us.
$" time revolution was begun in t
one department, and whether we orr
his ment it or keep it plain and Gle;
had we alone should be mistress Their