The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-12-04
NICK IN OUR CHINA
THE PATHOS OF LIFE
The Theory OF Household Accidents,
According TO the Cook.
OTHER CLIPPED POSSESSIONS
The Person who Takes Nicks Out of
Our Gowns, Our Friends, Our
Opinions. Hopes and Fcars--Not
Even our Faith Is Spared--A
Warning We should Heed.

There was never n woman In the
wide world who didn't abhor hicks in
| china. | dare say the heather in her
| blindness who has bowed down to
wood and stone fOr generation after
generation feels desolate when she dis
| covers q nick in her faVorite god and
| her modern civilized sister is over
whelmed with dismay and grief when
| pet dish, by association dear is found
| to have mysteriously acquired sim
| liar blemish. OF course it did itself.
| Nobody touched that dish. With the
depravity of inanimate objects. 1t ran
up against the faucet or tumOled it.
| self into a sink corner. If by the least
possibility anybody knows about the
matter it is sure to have been an acCi-
| dcnt, such as occurred the other day,
when in the kitchen of one of the
| handsome homes of the city the cook
| plaCidly poured boiling water from the
tea kettle into a beautiful glass ice
| pitcher until the natural results en-
sued. The cook thereafter insisted with
| calm assurance that 1T was IAN acci-
| dent"
Whether produced by accident or
| malice afurethought a Chippcd dish is
! horror to its owner. who will generally
| prefer II III lllc Sllilll' u u l'lhl NlNNh
than with even the tiniest nick appar-
| ent. The average maid of all work
has different views and frequently cX-
ercises not a little ingenuity, it would
seem, in taking chips out of plates
| and saucers in systematic urder,while
handlcess cup affords superior charms.
The housemistress may in desperation
decide to keep out a portion Of the eX-
| pensc out of the destroyers wages, but
! is sure t. feel very uncomfortable af
ter taking this course and to be con-
WINGED that the annoyance of the loss
| is aggravated by such a process,
Il is more than difficult to convey an
adequate idea of the cost of china to
the mind of the average kitchen divin-
! ity. One / have in mind broke Valu-
| able Coalport cup. richly jeweled and
rare in design. The mistress sat down
| and cried. She didn't often show such
weakness; but the cup and saucer was
| gift from loved friend and held
| value beyond the cost. The cook was
really touched by such grief and on
| her afternoon cut she returned proudly
! conveying an enormous mOustache cup
and saucer appropriately labeled ITO
| one l love- in huge gilt letters. It's
very much bigger ma'am. than the
dinliy little wan that fell over when
looked at it," she explained. "and it
has a great bit of gold on it,"
What could the poor lady do? Like
! the other one to whom was presented n
| ten-cent dish somew nat larger than the
one of cut glass. price fifteen dollars,
| that the second girl busted" one day
| she couldn't say anything unless she
were really very much wrought up in
~, . 1,
| wonder as To whether the domestics
| continue their march of devastation
through their own china when they at
tain to the dignity of Il home.
China isn't our only treasured pos
session which suffers hicks, and the
| house maids and cooks aren't the only
| iconoclasts. There are great many
| people who enjoy ncking the dearest
idols we have known and we are not
| privileged to charge them in dollars
and cents for the costs. They take
chips out of our new gloves by telling
us that the particular brand We are
| wearing isn't as satisfactory as a diff
ferent one which they have found.
| They nick the new gown that was be-
| fore complete and utterly desirable in
| our estimation. We re yer feel we'll
| dressed in it thereafter They scale Il
! rough, Jagged chip out the new home
| that has cost so much sacrifice and so
| many anxious days and nights, by re-
| marking sweetly: What a dear little
| place it is, but how very small your
| rooms seem. How do you manage
! when YOU want to entertain Il large
| company" Perhaps the entertainment
| of a multitude had not entered into
! the calculations when the precious
| house was planned. It was the home
| we wanted. The roof tree OF our own,
! the spot where those nearest could be
| gathered or with them the others
whom we really wanted around us. We
| may be very sensible, with sturdy, in
| dependent opinions Of our own. but
| somehow that hateful little nick is eVi-
! dent at times and we feel rather re-
| sentful toward the one who inflicted il
| upon the possession we had believed
| beyond criticism.
There is the person who compliments
| your youngest son thus: Dear me,
| what a fine, handsome boy Joe is
| growing to be. What a pity that he
toes in" Now, you've never before