The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-09-18
SAUCY BESS' COMMENT.

They were talking about good house.
keeping and each one was expressing
her theory regarding the matter of
neatness. One woman declared en-
phatically "If I had been told fifteen
years ago that anybody would ever
enter my house and see a speck Of dust
from top to bottom l should never
have spoken to the person again who
had been so rash as to make such an
assertion Now the information
wouldn't offend me at all for 1 have
learned wisdom in these fifteen years
and have also learned to recognize the
fact that woman may be a moral
and respectable member of society and
yet not be entirely immaculate in the
way of dust, particularly If she lives
in Scranton where a considerable por-
tion of coal dust enters into the COM
position of her food, her breath and
most otEer details of daily life.
I'm fact" went on the philosophic
speaker, II have discovered that while
it is great virtue to have everything
spickspan clean and free from dust
every minute of the day, and it really
gives sort of feeling that one is pre-
pared for even death itself, there is
also a kind of satisfaction in being
able to read a new book now and then,
to keep up with the best magazine
literature and to be familiar with the
topics of the day in order to under
stand people who are worth talking to
and being heard. You can't do this
if you allow yourself to be utterly mis-
cradle because fly gets in the house,
or the maid has allowed herself to alb
sent mindedly neglect to wipe the dust
from the left ear of the jardiniere drag
on on the veranda. Neither will you be
able to talk about much of anything
beyond the troubles with your help
the slack way other people have of
doing things and what Mrs. X told you
about her neighbor."
II don't know why it should be So"
remarked another member of the group
thoughtfully' "but did you ever notice
that almost everybody has an untidy
trait of some sort, even these remark
ably pi's'n clean" women, as one old
lady termed the painfully neat house
wives?"
"Why, know a woman" she con-
tinued, zone of the old fash
ioned housekeepers who personally
watches after every detail of the work.
She has been heard to boast that she
defied any one to be able to detect the
tiniest feck of dust on her hard wood
floors even by brushing their surface
with the finest cambric handkerchief.
But this model housekeeper once shock
ed a young woman guest who, on the
day of her arrival, casually announced
that she must go out and buy tooth
brush, having forgotten to pack one,
by remarking in all good faith oh,
don't you bother to go out after a tooth
brush. There is Georges in the bath
room. You can use it and welcome
George was her grown-up son. Imag-
inc it! and yet she was about the most
particular person / ever knew"
After everyone present had duly eX-
pressed amaZement at this incident an
other member of the party remembered
a dear old lady who always washed the
cat every week to that animals vast
discomfort, and cleaned house perpetu-
ally to the discomfort of the remainder
of the family, but who invariably used
the same towel for wiping the dishes
during a whole week, no matter how
darkly undesirable became it's condi-
ton.
Still another had a reminiscence
which ineXpressibly shocked her hear
ers. 1t was of a "naat housekeeper,"
whose fame for miraculous cleanliness
extended far and wide. Her spotless
floors. dustless furniture and shining
window panes We're proverbial in tha
village in which she served as a model.
ha oil hat ot ,irh
Now there is nothing especially start
ling in this statement, but her house
was one of the old fashioned sort un-
provided with bath tubs, and a visitor
was somewhat dismayed to observe
that the tin basin which served as a
foot bath for her hostess at evening
was also thriftily employed in the
morning as a receptacle in which the
potatoes for the noontide meal We're
prepared for boiling.
Yes" continued another speaker st
believe you're right Mrs. Y. about the
untidy trait to be found in every one.
l was carefully brought up myself as
regards neatness, but 1 have a friend
who is particular to the verge of crank
mess about the way everything should
be done and how it should be kept, and
1 know she secretly criticises my house.
keeping, yet she often does things that
l consider queer to say the least. For
instance l was always religiously
taught to remove the dainty white
spread from the bed at night and fold
it carefully away not soiling it by
tossing about in slumber. My friend
not only rumples her handsomest coun-
terpanes but in the morning throws
the bed clothing back where it trails on
the floor, soiling not only spreads, but
her beautiful blankets and necessitat-
ing frequent launderings and therefore
unreasonable wear on the heavy ar
ticles."
II have another friend who is a model
housekeeper as far as waging continual
war on dust is concerned but sne allows
her children and her maids to bang and
bruise the furniture and to mar her
lovely woodwork until her house looks
shabby enough after only few years
of service.
Dear me, I know a woman who is
worse than that" exclaimed a listener
who had been keeping still, "Why she
invariably Ooes down to the kitchen
| combing her hair as she goes and con-
tinuing to comb it as she gives her
orders to the cook"
WELL you must have some queer
acquaintances," rather sarcastically
remarked woman who had been keep
ing still, but who at this point walked
out of the room.
Dear mel" exclaimed one of the
others, "did we say anything about
her?" looking around with an air of