The sun., 1897-12-05
QUEER SUBURBAN JOYS
ADVANTAGES OF HAVING n PoND
IN FOUR CELLAR.

Lire Beiew stairs = FioatinE Bas's-seus
nouents Derived rroua Having q House Fun
or Rata-Aiso spmo Ohiecttons-rhtnGn Mes
Always what They Seem In the Country.
."Things arc not always what thoy seem in
the country" said Mr.. Suburbanitc, "and I
regret to say that many q picturesque exterior
IA morely q shell to cover things Of which n
New York Board OF Health never dreamed.
Now, there is Crayons house in tho valley. It's
n combination OF stone and shingles, and 10
looks as IL It had been pluckcd out of an old
English print. envicd Crayon that house.
My suspicious of It werc first aroused by no.
ticing that Crayon frequently wore rubber
boots In dry weather. This seemed to mo an
extraordinary thing for n man of his common
sense to do One day 1 told Crayon that
should very much like TO see his furnace.
Give mo tho double cross and promise NOT
to reveal any secrots.' no said.
''I complied, and then ho brought out an old
pair of rubber boots for me to put on.
Don't ask any questions he sad but just
put them on, for you will need thom.'
when we got half way down tho cellar
stairs noticed that his lamp cast glare on
something that looked like tho surface OF a Lake
What have you got down hcrei A welli
"'No indeod this is my cellar, warranted dry
by tho builder. Come on, and we will pole over
to tho furnace
AT the foot of the stairs was tied smnll
raft, which he boarded. Crayon picked up
pole and showed Off, advising me to shade the
lamp so that 1t would cast its light ahead.
Down long, dark passage we made our way,
when suddenly saw curious drawing in red
paint on the wall ahead.
"'What earth is thatY asked.
"'Thats my lighthouse, said Crayon, and
here is where make n sharp turn to the right
to avoid tho wall and reach the furnace
"You may talk about trip through the
b,r,, l,,t -..,saI
rafting it in Cray ons cellar. We reached the
furnace safely. and 1 found that 1t had boen
raised three feet from the floor by stone sup
ports. Floating around it on separate RATS
were barrels filled with coal Each raft was
Crayon saw that the fire was low, and he
grabbed one, Of these strings and pulled a coal
=" This is one of the ,convenienccs of having
your cellar flooded he said. 1T makes 10
sec, don't have to lug coal from the bin. I
After attending, to tho furnace Crayon
the spot d where his last lnaid had fallen over
hospital with pneumonia.
haro Sine M;nrd1 that Sxnerrionee said Crayon
and stretched life lines along The cellar >A'''
oCrayons on f butter and potatoes We're floating
stocked the cellar with. bit eGsh early in the
summer and ompticd II ba"'cl of salt into the
~ have Just finished the plans for neat lit.
tic naphtha launch. said Cr ,yon and i am go-
People NE neary % s RoRss baseed
e %6Gm aa thgT came ed doWn + and saw the pool
the house as sit after tesns ,esH saSn tS"t NoW
wasn't that foolish of vhcm' } explained that
ing device of the century. It's 80 much
easier to float around on II raft than to walk,
:. But what happens in the winterl' asked,
.o,,, That is the Eladdcst time of the year,
| nt
iho m, foot of the e. Sstairs and every morning [
ting cold. now. and in this adver isemcnt for a
maid ! have specified that she must know how
Whom got out Of Crayons cellar III took e a
long breath and fed. You never would sus-
pcGt that cellar pool from the outside of Cray
Then there is Ruddy. He has a magnia-
man castle, and Rnddy spent lot Of I'm money GH
most sSa; curious one is just Radg aver.
SinsTI SSinsto big traps Isudays rats not or
Tie size q cat and he has found h that "nu No.
shot t, will XIII them easily. OF course, he cnn's
Kitchen: I, He bats it every, dav;, and then
wall all to pieces He panelied it with thin
When he fires charge Of No % shot tp at .Gs. ras
s INC pellets strike the arlnor plate and fall back
hattened. Ruddy told me the other day thar
after a mornings shooting he frequently
picked up two pounds Of spent shot. Thia
the neighborhood He has a lot of trouble with
his traps, however. Browns mastiff pup
wandered over TO Ruddy's house one day last
week and managed to stick his neck in a rao
trap; Rnddy rescued him in time to save his
life, but his neck will always he twisted The
dog looks now as if he were walking at right
angles to himself, and Brown threatens to sue
for damages. Ruddy says for publication that
no wouldn't live in house that didn't have a
lot Of big rats. Hc.says he enjoys good hunt.
Ing at home Privately. buddy says thinga
that ought never to reach the ears OF a real es.
tate agent / tell you, you can't always tell
by appearances in this country. There is many
grocer even, that will sell you a tub that q
butter on top and Olcomargarine beneath"