The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1890-03-20
ADEvoETE OF KEROSENE.

little housewife How | wish we
hed never left the city with It's gas nd
electricity to come out 10 a country
place, no matter how pretty where we
must depe d On this vile, greasy, all.
pervading. smelly oil for light. How
hate it, and wish the man who invented
it, or discovered it, or patented 1t, OF
whatever he did, had been hanged first.
II can't do no washin' for no family,
num-" broke in Bridget from the kitch.
en-, "unless | have Dingley's Diamond
Dirt Dispeller. The lady | was with
las always had it, and l shant wear
my arms out on the washtub rubbing
clothes with common soap for no. one.
But, Bridget, Dirt Dispeller just
uins the clio hes, and besides, | have
no. any in the house, and it's miles 10
the nearest store. Now lie me show
you something. l We heard that little
bit of kerosene put into the boiler with
the clothes whi;ens ami cleans them
them wonderfully. Try yit this once and
see."
Indeed, and the kerryseen does
mighty well, mum, said Bridget about
an hour aiterward. 1T loOsens the
dirt in clothes near as good as the Dia-
mond Dispeller, and doesn't leave any
yeller color on them either. BL' ye
must get some of the Dispeller, mum,
for the zinc under the stove has got that
dull and dingy looking that soap and
elbow grease is only tn own away on
| il.
They say that kerosene is very go d
for zinc, Bridget, and brightens it up
amazingly. Try Ii tie on that too, and
see how works"
1 knowed you hated the smell of that
nasty stuff so" replied Bridget, that |
did not want to try it. 1t does hat
shine up old zinc till ou can see you
face in it. And while | am at it, Il
Just give the kitchen oil cloth little
brighlenin up with it too Dirt Dis,
ppller is powerful good for shinin' oil
cloth, but it is little apt to take pat
terms off in spots"
"Our fiat irons are getting q little
rusty. Bridget, think. noticed some
of it came off on the handkerchiefs last
week. / intended to get some emery
powder when | was in the city yester-
day to rub them with, butt forgot it,
and you can put off the ironing another
day. What shall we doP
"Well. ma'am." replied Bridget, "the
gentleman | lived with last came from a
Yves ern city, where they used the river
water, and heard him tell his missus
one day when she blamed him for not
bringing home some bath-brick TO
scour some rusty knives with that his
mother always kept the knives clean
enough with water. And she might,
John, says his wife, for it was Missss-
ippi water. but this is CrOton, yo see.'
And then he laughed, but couldn't see
where the joke came in. But the lady
set me at the rust with kerrysene instid
of bath brick, and it seemed to do al
most as well So I'll try it on the fiat
irons. Would you look at that now,
ma am. how clean it leaves them"
You set down very hot meat plat
ter on the oak dining table this morn
ing. Bridget, and see it has made big
spot on the polished surface. You
should always put mat under hot
dishes. I'm sure | have told you often
enough about it. But now that hand
some table is ruined, for nothing will
take the spot out"
Don't be so sure alb )ut that, ma am
replied Bridget. II have an old alma
nae up stairs in my trunk that tells you
how to take such stains out. Let me
get it and show you. Here it is she
added. returning breathless, at has
hOrrid picture of a man on the outside,
with his insides all opened out, and lit
tie animals and fishes and things all
around him pOintin' at his vitals, but
it's more decent book than it looks.
Now read that chapter there, mum, on
The Uses of Kerosene.
And so the hOusewi read that the
detpsted kerosene would remove stains
from hot dishes on polished "ood; if
mixed with stove backing for stoves
that we to be put away for the sum-
mer. il would prevent rust; tarnished
paint might be cleansed easily by rub
bing it with cloth soaked with kero-
scne; all woodwork finished in oil could
be kept bright by polishing with kero-
sene; a teas roonful of il to a quart of
boiled starch would prevent the irons
sticking to their goods; it would make
silver shine, it would clean lamp Chin
neys better than soap and make them
less apt to crack; it would remove rust
from steel if the steel were soaked in it;
it would remove soiled spots about the
door knobs wi hout injuring the paint
and would take tn, dark stains off the
wall where the cooks young man was
accustomed to lean his well oiled head.
In fact so converted did that little
housewife become to the virtues of kerr
osene, that when her boy came home
from school, after wading in all the
puddles by the way, she dried his boots
quickly in the oven and then rubbed
Kerosene into them till they were plia
BILE as kid; she soaked flannel rag in
it and bound it around he luckless
urchin's throat to keep him from possi-
BILE Group; she rubbed it well into his
toes. because he complained of chill
blains; she unbound rag from his cut
finger to put kerosene on the wound,
and when her husband came home in
the evening to find her sitting smiling
and contented in her own little parlor
under great big piano lamp with a
pink shade that cast a M st becoming
glow over her ieatu es, she said to him:
Harry, the Smiths gas bill last
month was IS; that S $50 year, and
their house in New York is just the
size of ours. Fancy what nice dress
| could buy for hat much | don't see
why they're so foolish as no TO burn
oil. | say that he man who invented
Kerosene should have statu'. Could
mt you get some newspaper or lodge or
something to start fund for it in New
York? And then if you could he made
treasurer of the fund you would have
life position, dear"