Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1888-11-15
A DOMESTIC SCENE !;
Or the Tragedy Of the Blower
Taken from Real Life.


DRAMArIs PERsoNE:
Mr.. BURLINGTON
MRS. BURLINGTON.
Miss KATE BURLINGTON.
Miss GERTRUDE BURLINGTON.
MARY, The maid.
4 damp, chilly dag TN q rural district,
an afternoon calculated to ertr0ct the
charm from the most attrdctice country
house. Miss Kate Burlington desce,sds
into the library from above-stairs.
Kate. Oh, how damp and cold it is
down here! Mother did not show her
usual good sense when she let the fur
mace fire go out at this season. 1t is
always the way, however, with i'm
pulsive people to imagine that summer
has come back when we have a couple
of warm autumn days, and they throw
open the windows and allow the fires
to be extinguished, as though any sem
sible person could safely go without
furs after the Fourth of July in this
atrocious climate. This rainy weather
is insupportable, and l really believe
that the sun has been finally extin-
guished by the ''local rains" which the
probabilities" have been so liberal
with during the last few weeks. There
is but one real consolation at such
time, and that is a blazing open fire
which laughs at any depressing wealth
er without, and makes every thing
within cheerful and cozy. will have
a fire here at once. Mary shall bring up
some wood, and will make the fire my
self. Rings.1 1t is well to be thankful
for ones blessings in this world, and /
am devoutly grateful that we have one
fireplace in the house, if we do have
to exist without closets. Mary APP
pears. Mary, you will bring up some
kindling-wood, and the largest sticks
to be found in the cellar which will fit
into this grate2 Erit Mary.] Such
nuisance CRATE is any way! Why
couldn't the builder, or whoever it was,
have made a large. open fireplace
while he was about it, instead of a
mean little CRATE like thisP How artis-
tic andirons are with big blazing logs
upon them! there is certainly nothing
artistic about blower. / wonder the
originators, whoever they where, did
not content themselves with an air
tight stove, if they were trying to
make every thing as hideous as posi-
BILE. They succeeded pretty we'll in
every respect. have lost my faith in
q happy medium if a house built about
forty years ago is happy medium be-
tween the glorious ''old colonials" and
the artistic Queen Annes." No
II
plenty of white marble mantels. Oh,
I hope I shall have the pleasure
of building house myself some day.
just now, however, / will content my
self with building fire. Mary enters.
You may put the wood down here,
Mary. Were those the largest sticks
you could find?
Mary. Yes. Miss Kate, the largest in
the cellar. Don't you want me to lay
the fire?
Kate. No; I prefer to do it myself,
and you may take back that hod of
coal you have brought, for ann going
to have only wood fire, so l shall
need some more big sticks very soon.
EEza Mary.] Now fiatter myself
that can make an artistic fire, and
for once there are no others here to tell
me how they always prefer to lay the
sticks. She takes a pale ofpdpers from
a table. Now, ..Old Probabilities,
local fires for change; that is all the
newspapers are good for anyway, in
my opinion. / hate them, and / can
not understand how papa depends so
upon them. A man is always so crest
fallen if another man tells him any
thing in the way of news which he has
not vet read a more authentic account
of in his own particular paper. sup
pose that am not patriotic, but can
not feel the slightest interest in whether
the Bostons beat the Chicagos or John
L. Sullivan beats the Prince of Wales.
And then if I have not read that Mrs.
Cleveland has shaken hands with Buff
falo Bill or done something equally
important, it makes it just so much
pleasanter for people who want to tell
me about it, for can listen to them with
real interest, and need not tell a lie when
they ask me afterward If / did not see
It in Yesterdays Advertiser. What did
Mary do with the blower? All, here
It is. Papa thinks that he is the only
one in the house who knows how to
make. fire, and so does mamma and
Mary, for that matter. Puts on the
bloscer.] Well. presume it is the old
story of the young man who thinks the
old man is q fool, while the old man
knows that the young one is. CShe
goes to the stairs and calis.] Mamma.
have started nice fire in the libra
~. Won't you come down and be So
ciable7
Hrs. Burlington (cales dosOn). You
viii want some coal on the fire If it is
70 keep till evening.
Kate. No, indeed; there is plenty OF