Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1894-01-03
An EXCITING scene.

II was windy day. Washing days are
generally windy, unless 10 happens 10
storm, which IL Is quite likely 10 do.
Mrs. Tibbs lifted her hands from the
suds and felt of her crimping pins To make
sure that none of them had slipped out,
for the sewing society met that afternoon,
and she wanted to look well, and she re-
marked with emphasis that "she wished
to heavens that IL didn't always blow like
sixty on washing daysp And she added,
ss meteorological fact, that cit blowed
last Monday and week ago last Monday
toop'
Mr.. Tibbs was reading an article on the
tariff, the writer Of which had proved con
clusively To Mr.. Tibbs' mind that If the
present tariff continued the bottom OF all
things would tumble out inside of six
months, and the paper he had read before
breakfast contained an article which had
shown him just as clearly that If the exis-
ing tariff should be changed creation
would go to everlasting smash in the twin
king of cats tail.
Tibbs scratched his head and gave vent
to his perplexed state Of mind by exclaim-
ing, "Waal, by jimby, i don't see what a
man can dol"
"I'll tell you what to do" said Mrs.
Tibbs, whirling the clothes wringer round
with a will AS she ground out the grist OF
Tibbs' shirts aud drawers into the clothes
basket, "you go and put up that clothes.
line and hang out them clothes. The wind
blows enough to take a woman right OF
her feet"
Tibbs rose reluctantly. All men dread
the clothesline racket. IL is trying to the
masculine nerves. Tibbs put his hand to
his back and volunteered the information
that he "guessed he was going to have an
other spell of lumbago into his spine"
Mrs. Tibbs was not in the slightest de-
gree interested in Mr.. Tibbs' gloomy an
ticipations, but went on wrestling with
the clothes wringer and scattering the
soapsuds In every direction.
Mr.. Tibbs put on his hat, buttoned his
coat, tied his neck up in "a red muffier and
shivered. "Seems to me-" he remarked,
"that feel touch Of that old sciatica in
my hip joint"
tighti" said Mrs. Tibbs, entirely ignoring
his observation. Last week the sheets
dragged on the ground, and / had to rinse
'em overi Pull it tight. Mind the hooks
don't come out Of the postsi Be careful
of 1t where it's tied. Put up the oldest
part of the line under the pear tree for the
clothes in none of your slipshod ways,
Tibbs. Hang all the stockings feet down.
Put Annie's flannel petticoat in the sun
and hang it square. Pull them tablecloths
out around the hens after you get 'em
onto the line. Pin the colored things on
with them oldest clothespins, for they'll
mildew the white things. Hang that rag
ged sheet under the shirts, SOS the holes
won't show. Folks Is allus staring at a
clothesline. Put that embroidered night
gown of mine next TO the street. Mind,
now, and not set the basket SOS it'll tip
over"
And in the midst Of It Tibbs went out,
with a bag of clothespins and the line in
one hand and the basket balanced on the
opposite hip, and the water which the
wringer had not squeezed out running
down over his leg In little rills. There had
been some snow, and then, by way OF va
riety, there had been some rain, and then
IL had frozen, and the footing was exceed
ingly slippery and insecure. Tibbs soon
found that beyond doubt that passage Of
Scripture which tell rs that "the feet of
the wicked stand on slippery places" Is
true. He had great difficulty in prevent
ing himself from going down the side hill,
where the clothesposts were located, faster
than he wanted to. OF course the line was
full of kinks, which IL family trait Of
clotheslines, and Tibbs skinned his hands
by pulling the line through them to get
out the kinks, and when he got mad and
banged the board on which the offending
line was wound against the woodpile he
barked his knuckles and tore of one cor
ner of his thumb nail.
Mrs. Tibbs and her cousin, Sally Green,
r. L.l e. o. ,s,,..
were looking out of the window to see how
he was getting along, and they both laugh
ed at his mishap and said that was just
like man.
Mr.. Tibbs got desperate. He took his
pocketknife and severed the line In its
kinkiest part, and having tied up one piece
of it he began to hang up the clothes. He
had his mouth full Of clothespins, just as
he had noticed Mrs. Tibbs always had her
mouth on such occasions, and he slapped
the clothes onto the line with will.
Up flew the kitchen window, and Mrs.
Tibbs stuck out her head.
"Turp that shirt t'other side upi Don't
hang them sheets by the cornersi Put the
towels on that old line Don't hang them
flannel drawers Of Toms up by the legsl
Pull out that edging on Mary AIMS skirt.
Look out therel-you've stepped right into
the clothes basket What fools men arel
knowed you'd make mess of It'll Z wish
I'd hung 'em up myself, II 1 had blowed
to Guinea In doing It'll"
Tibbs discharged the clothespins and be-
gan to swear. 1t relieved his mind. He
got the other piece of line and fastened one
end of it to the post, then he gave good
pull on it to make sure II was tight, and
it parted amidships, and the sudden "let
go" upset Tibbs' equilibrium, and in spite
Of himself he went rolling down the icy
hill like an empty -four barrel.
Mrs. Donovan's pet goat was enjoying a
little feast on batch of old tomato cans
and some discarded oilcloth carpets half
way down the hill, and when she saw
Tibbs a-coming she quit the oilcloth and
charged on him with all her batteries
open, so to speak.
1t was an exciting scene, and It was
made still more so by the appearance of
Mrs Donovan. with the mon and Dono-