The Russellville Democrat., 1888-06-07

"But won you?'
"Won't !! Don't know that house
cleaning should come once a yeari
Don't like it? Did my mother ever
clean house without me?"
And may Igo ahead, and will you
help me?"
"Of course you can 90 ahead. and it
so happens just now that I've four or
five days TO spare. I'll begin right off
row"
you are so good. Mr. Bowser. that
I must kiss You. There. take that!'
"Oh. pshaw! I'm good. of course,
hut no better than Il hus band ought 10
be I'll get the step-ladder, and be-
gin by taking the pictures down"
Il suppose you could get colored
man TO do the climbing and lifting"
Yes. but l won't. l want no stran-
ger rambling through our house and
picking up things"
He got the ladder and began work,
and from the way he whistled l think
he enjoyed it for about half an hour
In that time he took down dozen
pictures and carried 'em up two flights
of stairs to the store-roon, but rs l
went up with the buster he said:
why didn't think to put an ele-
vator into the house? Aud the man
who made this step-ladder ought to be
shou / believe I've climbed mile or
more. What you got thereP"
1.-THE buster.
What for?n
ITO dust the pictures with"
I'll m! Well. hand it hereW
He came down twenty minutes later,
his collar all limp, his hair damp and
his face covered with dust, and as he
sank into chair with a groan | said:
II thought it would be too much for
you"
understand that it is simply fun for
me I'll make this house look sick
before tomorrow noon. and before
night we Il be all through with house
cleaning"
mot quite as soon as that"
Wont we? See if we don't. This
taking week or ten days to do a lit
tie cleaning is played out l don't
propose to dilly-dally over this job"
That night when he went to bed he
groaned and sighed, and in his sleep
he muttered and scolded. and about
midnight he woke me up by saying:
You bet l Will I'll finish the
whole thing by nooni"
Mr.. Bowser acted sore and stiff next
morning. but after breakfast he put on
an old suit of clothes and began work.
We decided to clean the parlor first,
ard he moved out all the furniture
with whew. In his whew he tore
down the poles at the bay window,
ripped one of the curtains two feet or
more, upset a chair and broke the
back, and in pushing the piano out he
skinned all his knuckles and broke
his suspenders at one and the same in
slant. He jumped thSee feet high in
his Indignation. and as he came down
he turned on me with:
Where in blazes is the axe, or
sledge-ham or maui, or some
thing to knock this Internal piano to
pieces!"
Mr.. Bowser, I suggested that you
get man to help you.
"Oh, you did Why didn't you sug-
gest that / set the house on fire and
do the cleaning that wayl Look at
that handl And here these suspend
ers gomez
/ modified him after awhile, and he
finally expressed his willingness to
take hold again.
Il suppose the carpets will go to
the beaters2" queried.
mot muchr' he replied. IL don't
propose to pay out five or six dollars
to have some one pound this carpet for
ten minutes. I've beaten more car
pets than you've got hairs in your
head, and I'll show you job on
thisr'
He set out to pull up the tacks. but
after pulling five or six he broke out
with something about blazes and
grabbed the carpet and heaved away.
The tacks came up until he reached
seam, and then there was r-r-r-ip
down the breadth. This was repeated
five or six times before he had the car
pet up. and then he piled it in the
middle OF the floor aud sat own on
the window-sill to favor his back.
Its hard work" l observed. as he
paused and gasped-
II don't see It, " he presently re-
piled. Even if it was, we've got
half the house done. and it is not yet
nine o clock"
Bye-aud-bye he dragged the carpet
out and hung II over the clothes liue
i had just left him for a minute to see
what allied baby. when | heard furi-
Gus yell / ran back. and Mr., Bowser
was prancing around the yard and
shaking one hand alofL Ho had
grasped a tack He had only Gained
down and seized the carpet again TO
lift it over the line. when he got three
or four at once and for i've minutes
there was a circus. The performance
might have continued 10 this date had
mot succeeded in heading Mr.. Bowscr
of as he came around the circle, and
warned him that all the neighbOrs on
the other street were al their win
dows. Then he sat down on the back
steps and seemed TO look into the far
away for a long time The red color
had worked out of his suspenders into
his shirt his bulk had slrunk away
one-fourth, and ia his excitement his
wig had come of and been trampled un-
der foot A very impudent boy on the |
fence asked him how he liked it as far
as he had gone. and the driver for a !
carpet-beater's wagon cam along |
soon after and called out:
Hey, OH TaekA do you want a
jobp"