The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1885-05-07

finaltv in the way of help; for he is of
the same gems as the daughter of the
horseleech, and cries ever ''Givei give!"
When YOU have once allowed a man or
woman of this kind to prove that you
are puncturable, that you are so much
nutriment for bold suckers. you are
done for; and nothing short of a lawyer
will free YOU from attacks which, made
at first insidiously- be with
batteries, mute appeals, humble repre-
sensations, gentle prayers-grOw by
time and success into bold and burglar
ious assaults, accompanied with threats
and enforced by moral bludgeOns. Then
YOU must address yourself to the law,
which is to the human mosquito of de-
termined attack what petroleum is said
to be to his winged prototype, the only
effectual defense known. To do good
to a man or woman of this kind is to
illustrate the truth of the hard old
Cornish saving: Save man from the
sea, and he becomes your enemy"
To SOW golden grain on the barren
fields of such one is to reap sorrow
for yourself; and to give Your coat is
but the preface to the demand for YOUR
cloak Your inch ever becomes his ell;
and when YOU do not cOncede all that is
demanded, then are YOU stung, as
kind of waymark between what You
have done and what YOU have not.
At home the human mosquito is rest
less and eXacting. He interferes in
everything atioat, and always adds a
drop of bitterness to such honey as the
family may have garnered in its hive.
Is there a fete-dav on hand? He takes
out the sweetness. rubs off the gloss, by
restrictions if he be in the place of com
mand; by temper if he be a subordinate
who can only damage and not destroy.
As the former, he harnesses his wife by
finding fault with her arrangements,
substituting his own; he annoyS the
servants by contradictory commands;
irritateS the gOverness by doubling her
capacity for taking care of her charge;
and causes the children to weep or TO
sulk, according to their natures, by
scolding them impartially all round,
with reason or without. Then, when
he has made every one thoroughly
miserable or uncomfortable, and more
inclined to perform penance than to
undertake pleasure, he puts on
hilarious manner. and, when this is not
responded to, rates the wretched little
flock for their gloominess on a holiday,
and says, if this is to be the manner in
which they thank him for the treat he
has given them, he will take good care
how he allows them to have another.
As a subordinate, he is just as worry
ing if not so domineering. As the
servant whose functions are vital to the
thing on hand-say the cook on the
day of a dinner -party-the human
mosquito makes every one suffer. For
Just as ''England's extremity is Ire
lands opportunity" SO is the day of
social consideration in the household
that wherein the cook, who is also a
mosquito is most troublesome and
most annoying. To believe her. there
will not be dish fit to eat, and there is
not enough of anything. Something
has gone wrong with the stock for soup;
the iishmOnger has skimped the weight,
which was already too closely calcu-
lated; and the butcher has not sent the
proper joint for the roast; the chickens
are skinny and the birds are
tough: the cream is deficient and
the milk is turned; and the veget-
ableS are not fresh nor is the fruit ripe.
Perhaps she shamS the sullennesS of
despair, and will not give an answer, or
one only of pesSimistic fOrebodings,
when her mistress tries to put the best
face on the matter; or she may assume
a falsely heartsome air, and. after she
has plunged her poor lady into the
depths of despair and nervous appre-
hensiOn. says she will do what she can
to remedy the long tale of disasters re-
counted, but the dinner will not be up
to the mark, let her do the best she can
1t all depends on the proportion of her
cruelty to her love of annoving.
whether she sends up a dinner really
damaged, or one in her best style and
perfect throughout. In either case she
has had her pleaSure-in serious hurt
or in simple teasing.
We need not 90 through the whole
list of domestic mosquitoes. From the
lady 'S-maid who pulls her mistress
hair when brushing it. and lets her 90
to a state ball with a string unfaStened
and tape showing below her train, to
the page-boy who breaks in a month.
the worth of his years wages, they all
make their service the cause of annOv-
ance to their employers; and some add
to annoyance, graver disaster. But
what can you do with them? Accidents
will happen, YOU know, and an unfor-
tunate servant is not necessarily bad
person. Your page-bOy. for instance,
is smart in taking messages,
and quick to learn the niceties
of his office; he is clean in his
person and respectful in his manners.
How can YOU say that his unlucky fin
gers are the result of malice prepense?
and it is not worth while to keep him
on. YOU hoping that he will learn more
dizziness in handling china and glass
his past clumsinesS cOndOned by his
future Improvement? just so; and vet
we may be very certain of one thing
once a mosquito, always mosquito
once the love of annoying or hurting
gets hold of the moral system. and there
it stays rooted, ike couch-grasS. or that
Australian enemy the thorn-grass, a
source of damage to everything that
lives near it.
As child, the human mosquito is the
climb OF the nursery. according to the
vernacular of the nurse. As 4 boy, he
is the bully over his little brothers and
the incarnata plague of his sisters. As
a man, he is the tyrant and tormentor
of his household. If he runs to prig-
giShness. he makes his children'S lives
a burden to them because of fractions
and declenSions; if he is an athlete, he
maybe ruins them for all time by the
brutal vigor of his training if he is eff