The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1890-10-24
HIGH LIFE In A CITY FLAT.
PERSONAL CONFESSION OF ONE
| WHO KNOWS ALL ABOUT 1T.

Uses Of the Folding Bed-Painful Neces-
sity Of Dressing and Undressing All Over
tho House-Terror of Hearing tho Door
Bell.
! I know considerable about high life.
have lived in the second or third stories
of desirable fats or modern houses since
I was put into short dresses. I have
viewed the world from exalted heights,
especially when I hung clothes in the
garnet on wash days, and am prepared
to say that although some people pay
extra to live on the first floor front, they
miss the very richness of existence.
Cream always rises to the top.
have just moved out of apartments
on the second story of very narrow
house. I think the architect who
planned the building must have done it
with one eye. Its whole width accom-
modated the width of an apartment of
ordinary size, 80, instead of the rooms
branching off from one another in their
usual convenient fashion, they had
formed procession in Indian file from
the front elevation to the coal house. If
you were in the kitchen you had to 20
through every room in order to get to
the front room. You couldn't wander
about that house-you could only go
through it.
The family of which am proud and
valued member is not small one. Fam
lilies in fats never are. You will realize
the truth of this if you ever come to live
on the floor underneath one of them.
hope that no girl will ever tell one of
my brothers that she will be a sister to
him. There are too many of us now.
THE OMNIPREsENT FOLDING BED.
One Of the results of large families
living in small flats is the folding bed.
They lean against the wall, trying to
look like book case or cabinet organ,
but can always tell them. When see
q piece of furniture looming up like a
monument factory, with kind of moth
ing in particular air about it, then know
that it is bed in disguise.
Our parlor was situated about midway
down the line of rooms so as to connect
with the front stairs. Two of us girls
had folding bed in there. We used to
arrange vases and photograph holders
upon it during the daytime in our en-
deavors to conceal its identity. Every
other room except the dining room and
culinary department was the station for
bed, and when we had company to stay
all night we used to spread canvas cots
In the back hall. used to hum sweet
little song about "Oh, put me in my little
cot. motherl' but since affording accom-
modations for my visiting relatives by
spending few nights out in the back
hall on a bier, with tent roof for tick,
/ have refrained from petitioning my
mother to do any such thing.
It seems natural to those not accus-
toned to dressing rooms to take off and
put on their clothes in the bedroom, con-
sequently we used to dress and undress
all over the house. Any one by simply
walking once through our fat in the
dead of night could have fallen over
enough wearing apparel to have set him
up in the clothing business.
RECEIVING CALLERS.
predominance of dressing rooms, espe-
cially if any one called in the daytime
before our toilets were complete or in the
night time after any of us had retired.
We never heard the outside front door
bell ring but its sound smote us with
terror. We would fly from all parts of
the house and congregate at the head of
fIoc toi, 20
true-that the caller was ours. It often
was. Then the real earnest work began.
One of us tore off her apron, tied her
shoe, combed out her front hair and
secured her teeth preparatory to opening
our then carefully closed door. Others
few down the length of our rooms gath
ering dress waists, petticoats, bath tow
els, accordion skirts, nightgowns and the
like as they went. We were almost sure
to leave piece of raiment or some toilet
article in a conspicuous place. Itseemed
to be fate.
People coming up stairs to see us al.
ways heard loud crashing and sounds
OF flying feet, but after they knocked
upon the cherry stained panels all was
still. We used to stop just where we
happened to be when the knock came.
OTHER FEATURES.
One cold winters evening stopped in
small clothes press, which opened into
the parlor, and l was obliged to exist
there for two hours and half while nv
youngest sister talked to man about the
likelihood of finding ten varieties of
orchids at Portage Falls.
One time when my basque was hang
ing on door knob in the kitchen, when
l was in the front room, and two callers
In seal sacks were awaiting me in the
parlor, had to hail our grocery mans
errand boy as he was going by with a
sack Of -four and send him around into
the kitchen with an order for my basque.
I thought delivering basques would come
rather natural to one used to carrying
sacks. He brought it around to the front
Of the house all right, and fished it up
with q gilt cord of our mantel lambre-
quin.
Owing to the marriage of several of
my sisters and the raising of the salaries
Of several of my brothers, we have fallen
into the position where it seems incum.
bent upon us to live in the style which
our income demands, and we have con.
cluded to rent an entire house. From
my long. experience in fats know that
the ringing of a door bell will always
strike terror to my soul, and know that
shall never entertain company without
glancing uneasily at the sofa to see if we
threw those stockings clear under, out Of
ight-Buffalo Express.