The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1893-12-21

I0aiOlUy VI culinary arUlSUS!" ne
muttered. Cant get a cook? Fid-
d.esticks! The neighbors will think
Pm advertising for a lady clerk"
The Alderman had written a few
questions on a slip Of paper. The
first, though ungrammatical, was un-
deniably practical. ''Who have you
cooked for?" The culinary artists
were admitted one at a tine, and the
leading questions put to them.
Some fenced. Some had done the
family cooking eve since they could
remember, but had no other expert
ence. Some repeated a long list of
names of people of whom Mr.. Clever
son had never heard-all 1.-THE best
families" however. The experience
OF two consisted Of a course of lessons
at Kensington. A few plunged at
once into their family histories in.
stead Of replying, endeavoring to OK
plain why they were constrained to
condescend to cook other peoples
dinners. All were very inquisitive
regarding the amount of the "wages'
that were mo object" That evil
IDENTIFY was the lure. That had drawn
the cooks and would-be cooks in
shoals.
But the Alderman wanted a culin-
airy artist from a kitchen of repute
and cut the voluble ladies as short as
he could, Some resented tine inter-
ruptiOn. Ono sarcastically Observed:
Excuse me, but was you engagin' a
cook for S R'yal 'ighness the Prince
of Wales::"
After enduring three hours of it
Mr.. CleversOh summoned Mr.. Jones,
his chief clerk, and bidding him in
terview the ladies and write down
their answers. bolted by a side door.
Returning at 3 O'CLOCK, he found
Mr.. Jones still on the spit, at the
mercy OF the cooks. However, he OBJ
tanned the chief clerks notes and
scanned them. One entry struck him
at once:
Mary Smith. Three years cool to the
Duches of Kingscourt, those little dinners
were Il feature Of last season.
''Marv Smith is the woman for
me-" cried the Alderman, whose
mouth had many a time watered at
the mere account OF the Duchess
dinners in his favorite morning news
paper. II knew l should succeed.
Here, boy, tell Mr.. Jones not to
trouble any further: and tell the wo-
men in the office and on the stairs
that | am suited"
He t~clegraphed to Miss Smith at
once, waiting at the Office till she re-
turned-a rather good-looking person
of 80 or therelboutS, well but neatly
dressed. Her replies to the delighted
Alderman'S questions were very salts
factory.
"Why did you leave the Duchess
service?"
"Her Grace is unwell; her eyesight
has rallied, and she has given up her
establishment"
"Where will a letter find herr"
SAT Miller's Hotel, st. James.
But Her Grace is so nearly blind that
she will probably not reply for a week
or two, perhaps not at all. She was
always very dilatOry with her CORE
spondence. 1t would be better to
call, sir, if o can spare the time"
will she see me?"
ooh, yes, sir; . know her habits,
and if you call at IL she will have
Just finished breakfast"
Mr. Cleverson accepted the sugges-
ton, and having agreed to pay Miss
Smith the c~onsiderate sum Of $50 a
year, that young person left the office
apparently we'll pleased, and the AL
derman went home, licking his lips
in anticipation. So satisfied with
himself was he, that he forgot to
grumble at the dinner his wife had
prepared with her own hands: how
ever, he did not fail to remember to
boast Of his success.
IL told you 1 would find a cook,
Mrs. CleverSon, and l have done so.
Tomorrow J. shall engage the Ouch
ess Of kingscourt'S culinary aGist;
then we shall have dinners worth Sit
ting down to-dinners to which an
Alderman of the greatest corporation
in the world can invite his brother
Aldermen and feel comfortable about
it. No more roasted chips, Mrs.
Cleverson; no more Of your butchers
cooks meSseS."