The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-11-25

AN uNTIMELY FLASH.

= Terrific Thunderstorm Makes Havoc
With = New Carpet.
They were talking about thunder.
storms, and the oldest boarder, who is
nothing If not polite, turned to include
the lardlady in the conversation, with
you've lived hero so long, Mrs.
Sheardown. that you must have wit
messed good many severe thunder
storms, if all the summers have been
like this one. Has your house ever
been struck by lightning?" We'll, no,
Mr.. Doolittle," replied the landlady,
meditatively. IT can't exactly say that
the house has ever been struck, but
had boarder struck, FIVE years ago
this very summer"
A general murmur of interested and
slightly Mortified inquiry encouraged
the landlady to proceed.
"You see, it was this way: I'd just put
my house in order for the summer, and
let all my best rooms for the whole sea-
son to a party Of real nice Philadelphia
folks They weren't related, but just
friends-they all seemed to know the
same people. The best room-the one
you and your sisters have. Miss Louns-
bury-was taken by the one thought
the incest of them all; she was single
lady. not so very young, but then she
wasn't SO very old, either, and she never
said word about the price: she said
she decided on my house because the
rooms weren't all entry bedrooms and
her deciding was what settled it for the
rest Of the party, I'm pretty sure.
The day she came to engage the room
told her was going to put a new car
pet on 1.-THE old one was in rags, and
thought it was good chance to start
the new one with a nice, careful look
ing lady like her. She said, if I'd just
as soon, she'd rather have white mat
ting. and I'd a good deal sooner. for you
can't get decent carpet under a dollar.
and you can get first-rate white mat
ting for thirty-tive cents. Well, / had
1t all ready for her the day / engaged
everything in tho house and out of it.
She didn't give mite of trouble, and
the only thing she asked for that was
like an extra-and I'd not have thought
of it if it wasn't for the sugar-was a
glas. of tea with piece of ice in it, to
take up to her room after lunch.
She was the greatest hand for tea I
ever saw, and she was set against after
noon maps; she said. in her opinion,
they were q wicked waste of time
Shed been with me two weeks, when
we had dreadful thunderstorm, one
day, right after lunch. There was one
fash and clap so right together, felt
sure the house was struck, and / ran up
stairs and knocked at one door after
the other, to see if anything had
happened Miss Marshall's door-her
name was Marshall-was open and
there she was on the floor; the window
did everything could think of, but it
wasn't any use A sort of chemical
gentleman we had in the house said it
was the spoon drew the lightning
shed been stirring her glass of tea,
poor dear. when she was struck. There
was the teaspoon half melted, and the
tea all over the floor; it looked as if
there'd been . bushelful instead of just
a glAssful. don't know when I've felt
~ SoAAy 1DOuS any 1hAnBs ConCiuucu Iue
landlady, with sigh, adding softly, as
she gazed off into space, but since it
had to be, / couldn't help wishing it
might have happened at the end of the
season instead of right at the begin
ming, and that the poor. dear lady
hadn't had that glass of tea in her
hand.
81 couldn't get the stain QUIT dare
say, you've noticed it, Miss Lounsbury.
Its all along from the window to the
buresu-and 1 couldn't turn the mat
ting because it was cut to fit those little
window recesses. And it made me feel
worse to think how she'd have been the
last one to do such a thing, in life, as
you may say; she was SO tidy."-Mar-
Raret Vandegrift, in Brooklyn Life