Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1892-11-24
AN UNTIMELY FLASH.
Il Terrific Thunderstorm Makes Havo
With N New Carpet

a Terrific Thunderstorm Makes Havoc
With a New Carpet
They were talking about thunder
storms, and the oldest boarder, who is
nothing if not polite, turned to include
the landlady in the conversation. with
You've lived here so long, Mrs.
Sheardown, that Won must have wit
messed a good many severe thunder
storms, if all the summers have been
like this one. Has your house ever
been struck by lightning?'' well, no.
Mr.. Doolittle," replied the landlady,
meditatively, Il can't exactly say that
the house has ever been struck, but L
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 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 a 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 1t 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 looks
ing lady like her. She said, If I'd Just
as soon, she'd rather have white mat
ting, and I'd good deal sooner, for you
can't get a decent carpet under dollar,
and you can get frst-rate white mat
ting for thirty-five cents Well, i had
it all ready for her the day 1 engaged
to, and she came, and was pleased with
everything in the house and out of it
She didn't give a 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
glass of tea with a piece OF ice IN it, to
take up to her room after lunch
She was the greatest hand for tea
ever saw, and she was set against after
noon maps; she said. in her opinion,
they were a wicked waste of time
She'd been with me two weeks, when
we had a dreadful thunderstorm, one
day, right after lunch There was one
flash and clap SO right together, 1 felt
sure the house was struck, and 1 ran up
stairs Snd knocked at one door after
the other, to see if anything had
happened Miss MarshalIs door-her
name was Marshall-was open and
there she was on the floor; the window
was wide open, and she'd been struck
did everything could think of, but it
wasn't any use A sort of chemical
gentleman we had in the house said il
was the spoon drew the lightning
she'd 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; ii looked as If
there'd been bushelful instead. of just
a glassful I don't know when I've felt
SO sorry about anything" concluded the
landlady, with sigh. adding softly, as
she gazed off into space, but since Il
had to be, 1 couldn't help wishing It
might have happened al 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 Ter
hand
II couldn't get the stain out dare
say, you've noticed 1t. Miss Lounsbury-
It's all along from the window TO the
bureau-and couldn't turn the mat
ting because IL was cut TO 1T those little
window recesses- And 1t made me feel
worse to think how she'd have been the
last one to do such a thing. in life. as
YOU NAV say: she was SO WAR
garet Vandegrift, in Brooklyn Lifes