Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1897-04-15

" al new 1Ofk WORTH.
He seldom exists,
-, in the landlady's
world, yet as far as can ascertain he
has seldom preceded her to any other.
/ begin to think that there is some spe-
cial purgatory for landladies' husbands.
Our landlady didn't like jokes about
grass widows and had certain eager
ness to know about Oklahoma, which,
coupled with a proud way she had Of
saying that the children didn't get
their smartness from her, puzzled the
hotel clerk and threw the young man
who travelled for neckwear into state
of philosophical conjecture. "Only a
desperate woman would run hash
house." he said. Its a case Of deser-
ton, bigamy or common law. This
darned, silly mystery-making in wom-
en- Is what gets 'em into trouble. If
woman don't hang label on herself,
well, then. some ones a-goin.; to label
her, and ten chances to one fasten the
wrong tag on" The hotel clerk stuck
his thumb in his vest armholes and an
unlighted cigar in his mouth, which
was the attitude he invariably assumed
when discussing woman, a menu, or
a politician.
There are women he said who'd
sooner wear mask than a tiara
The hotel clerks pronunciation of
tiara was SO unique as to be quite
outside OF ordinary spelling. It was
soon after this conversation that I
went to the intelligence office with the
landlady. We take turns in this pas
time partly out of sympathy for the
landlady, who struggled for many
years single-handed against those ag-
gressive ranks of foreigners called
help" and partly at the suggestion of
the hotel clerk, who said that the
boarders might as well have a hand
In picking out the ladies who were go
Ing to wear their collars and neckties
and read their postal cards for them.
Besides. as we have on an average five
cooks a month, engaging them ia an
arduous pursuit for one. The land
lady's gentleman friend had become
such an adept that he says he can tell
Flaherty from McGinnis directly
he puts his foot inside the intelligence
Office and we have the distinctive traits
OF the Flaherties and McGinnises
down very fine at our boarding
house. A McGinnis breaks more china
than Flaherty, but then a Flahertv
goes OFF on monthly ''bats." I sue-
gested to the landlady that we should
try an O'Hara. We haven't had an
O'Hara for three months. The land
lady said that was so and picked one
out. You can always tell the O'Haras
by their fiat chests and red hair and
a rather stylish way they have of wear
ing their mistress shirt waists. Thew
are proud, high-spirited race. the
o'Haras, though their soups are ant
to be greasy. This one said she'd inst
as lief go out four nights in the week
as Saturday night and the whole ~
Sunday, and while she wouldn't wash
windows or dust what she called
"bricky-bracky," she would do the no.
tato peeling herself and consent to
sleep lin room without double win
dows. This was a concession for an
O'Hara. Then she commenced her s,de
of the catechism.
Are you anyways cranky about tho
gal having visitors?"
The landlady said no" but she drew
the line at aunts staying for three
weeks or gentlemen cousins evarv
night.
How many are yez in famblv9"
asked the O'Hara.
BESIDES the boarders there's myself
and two children" said the landlady
rs yer husband dead?" asked tho
O'Hara. ~
He's not one of the family now"
answered the landlady, evasively.
The face Of the O'Hara hardened -
salmon-colored block of granite can
be said to harden.
"Shure," she said, ell not be think
in O. livin' in family fwhere the bus-
band is missin' an We can't give no
more satisfactory account NV II than
that. TIL not hire out to no more era a.
widders-it liners a gals repatriation"
So We had to put up. with Flanni-
gan. They are not so exacting.
Guess I'll have to get legal separa-
tion," said the landlady, musingly as
we left the Office. "Its gettin' so fer
rible hard to get girl who'll overlook
any social breach"