The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1896-05-29
\ SINGS SublQGAlQN.

n woman may be mistress of her.
self though china fall, up to Il certain
limit. beyond which no conception of
heroisln reaches. The model woman
screams ut IL spider, and discusses the
merits Of wired sleeves serencly while Il
priceless vase goes crashing to the floor.
Such is the standard of feminine cour-
age. the foot-rule by which Il woman
may be measured. Yet when not one
piece of china, but two pieces, and three,
and four. fall. the standard becomes use
less \ woman is not expected to bear
more.
crash in the kitchen. Mrs. Melville
stopped in the midst of telling Ritchie-
of the Sixth-that anchovy paste was to
be- struck off the commissary list; she
stopped and looked appealingly ut Mel
Vile.
Austin. can't you do something's
Austin gathered TIP his napkin, put his
hand Oh the table and started to push
back his chair; then he sank down again
and restored his napkin to it's place on
his knee.
IF go in there and he gets iniperti-
nent, I'll break his hea(-which would
be bad for his head, aid, incidentally, for
my official leuk;"
''Rht it's head or china
well. there is plenty more thili}-ard
when that gives out, the quartermaster
has Il new invoice of tinware."
But. seriously. Austin, there won't
be- Il thing left for the general to eat
it,
Il think the epidemic is over. There
has not been dish broken that l know
OF in five minutes. You must be reason-
able and make due allowances for him.
Matty. It's hot out there It's hot here
too: It's hotter than blazes everywhere"
II think, my dear. you are bordering
on profanity. OF course it's hot. Within
the memory Of the oldest inhabitant it
has never been even cool in Arizona in
July. You really can't expect the in
spector-general to bring ice. Mr.. Richie.
don't you think he ought to do some
thing?'
II must respectfully decline to enter
into family difference. YOU and Mel
Vile must settle the question between
it comes to the actual breaking uf heads
I'd take it out OH Sing. and not OH one
arother.''
There! AUSTIN" fairly screamed Mrs.
Melville, jumping VI. there. goes aneth-
Sr; s and yet you, sit it, and laugh. Oh how
sit down, Matty: and talk sehse. Sup
to reas6h with Sing: In THE natural Sc
quence of events it woiild Come to, pass
that in his present hiim6r he. wohld be
| SO ugly that | shotld feel OBLIGED, as I
said, to break his head. Apart from the
distant consequences of that act, you can
see that the near ones would be pretty
| bad. You'd have to wash the breakfast
dishes, and do the housework; and also
cook and serve the generals dinner.
| Therefore. the inadvisability of my re-
ducin!g Sings head to splinters is obvi-
Gus, isn't it?''
Il suppose so; but 1 do wish to good
ness Mrs. Lawrence's cook hadn't got
married.
so does she-the cook, mean-since
| OHalleran came home drunk two nights
ago, and thrashed her: He has been in
| the guardhouseA ever since. and I'm out
good man. Shows what marriage does
! Before he was married hn didn't beat
his wife. However,. it wouldn't have
made the slightest difference whether she
| had committed matrimony or not; the
LawrenceS would never have had the
general nor even single member of the
| staff to dinner. She's never dined the
| paymaster, you knUW.'
II think it's too bad il first lieutenant
wife has to do it, and all the rest of the
entertaining for the post
You are also the adjutants wife, re-
member
Yes, of course. l wonder what's the
matter with Sing, anyway?'
That's obvious-approachin guests. >
observed Richie, stroking and curling his
unduly military mustachios, the mus.
tachios that have entwined and cns1ared
so many hearts in their silken neshes
since then, in the whirl of WASHINGTON
society. Ritchie was Melville's second
lieutenant at that time, and as he was
not married, and didn't like the bachelor
mess. he messed with his senior and
that young officers wife.
Why. didn't his cousin die theh?'
t,erhalS he realizes that the dead
Cousins funeral is little worn as a
method of obtaining Il leave"
Il should think so; one died when tho
paymaster was coming to dinner tbt
time before last, and another when the
Indian agent was here, and he polished
off two in anticipation of the payriias
ters last trip
THAT'S not all, AUSTIN" pursued Mrs
Melville. Generally he ONLY slams
when, he has lost at faro the night be-
In pursuance of his method of war
fare, Sing precipitated il chol,Ding bow
and knife to the floor, with d feSultins
noise that only the falling Of those tWt
homcly utensils could possibly accom-
plish. Melville bit his upper lin anf
clencleG his fist.
Il wonder if it would do any good fol
me to go out and speak to him quietlyY
suggested his wife
Suppose YOU try it. If he takes :
carving knife to you, call out and vel
come to your rescue; but unless it's ar
actual carving knife don't get us mixeC
up in any domestic brawl''
Mrs. Melville patted her lace-and-r;b
bon breakfast cap down securely, took
a long breath, arose, walked resolutely
TO the kitchen door, opened it, passed
Melville and Richie listened. Melville
leaned back in his pine Q. NJ. chair. with
his ear bent toward the kitchen; Richie
scraped salt into little ridges on he
c!oth with his knife. They could bco1
the droning Of Mrs. Melville's voice
then a pause. She commenced and
paused again, ana yet third time, her