The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1896-02-01

them so she took a spoon and tapped
gently on the white coating by way OF
investigation.
Gloryl 1t was baking nicely for the
frosting was hard.
The news was too good to keep so she
slammed the door shut and rushed over
to tell a neighbor.
The neighbor was young woman who
had baked cakes herself
So they sat and talked it over and
drifted to other subjects and it was an
hour before they came to.
"Oh, oh;" screamed the new house
keeper in dismay, 1T must be burned
ups and with blanched faces they fed
through the back yards and into the
kitchen where the tragedy was being
enacted.
The amateur threw open the oven door
and started back aghast.
The cake was just as she had left it.
An amused smile came over the face
of the experienced friend. "You dear
little goosie," she said; '1ook there, and
she lifted one of the stove lids.
And then the amateur cake baker re-
membered that there hadn't been any
fire in that stove since the CRATE was
cleaned just after dinner.
A Topeka, Kansas, man once s'did up"
a railroad eating house.
Allah be praised! Kansas to the
front!
1t was Scott Bird, city attorney, and he
did it on frog legs.
It was this way:
Scott was travelling in the east one
time and the train stopped for dinner at
Schenectady. n. Y.
The Topekan was the only man who
entered the big dining room.
No one had gone in before he had.
He was alone.
oil ho a.
frog legs?"
''You bet your life.' said Mr. Bird, in
his quiet, modest way "Why?"
"Well, you see. boss, we wuz expect
in "a excursion party here to dinner today
and de trains delayed"
whats that got to do with the frog
legs?" Mr.. Bird wanted to know.
"Why, we had a whole scad of 'em
ready an all baked up an if you like
frog legs you's struck picnic"
MIR. Bird liked frog legs and could see
the picnic.
He didn't eat anything but
frog legs 'and before he quit
the proprietor of the place had
gone down to the district court to ask
for a receiver for his place or an injunc-
ton for Mr.. Bird.
Mr.. Bird was acting as receiver for the
frog legs.
He ate all there was in sight and
would have sent out for more if he could
have held them.
He paid rs cents for the dinner and
after two of the walters had carried him
to the train Mr. Bird figured out that he
was just $1875 ahead of the house,
1t is believed he still has some of those
frog legs concealed about his person.
George W. Reed, "jiner," was in Pa
ola recently and stopped at the CONNER
cial house, the best hotel there, and he
tells this story of how they run hotels in
Paola.
The Commercial is very good affair
and is clean aud neat besides furnishing
good table.
The feature of the place, however, is
its proprietor, II. II. Grimshaw, who is
we'll known to every man who has trav-
eled much in that section of country. He
has been there for twenty years
Grimshaw is tall, 90 years of age, and
about as eccentric as they make them.
He has some thoroughly original no.
tions about running a hotel and runs his
hotel in his own way without asking any
pointers or opinions or odds of any body.
The hotel office, Mr.. Reed says. is car
peted. Smoking is not allowed in it and
if a man wants to chew tobacco he is
expected to go over into the next yard.
The scale of prices at the average no.
tel is usually the regular price and
good one for travelling men, a cut rate
for farmers and regular patrons and
considerably cut rate for theatrical
people.
Mr.. Grimshaw appears to be running
his hotel for travelling men only, for they
get the regular rate. Others are charged
more.
On the hotel Office wall, according to
Mr.. Reed, hangs a scale of prices as
follows: