The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-03-12
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= ONE WOMAN'S VIEWS. ::
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Everybody who has seen Hoyt's COM
edy, "A Contented Woman" will re-
member the many funny situations
where the beautiful young wife urged
on to battle by three womens rights
representatives with short hair and
manly" attire, allows herself to enter
into campaign for mayor of the city
against her husband. This play prom
ises to be equalled, if not surpassed,
by a real comedy in Jeffersonville, Ind,
where the belle of the region, Miss
Berry, has decided to announce herself
as candidate against the base balP'
mayor who desires to succeed himself.
There are certain original features in
this little drama, in that the woman
aspirant is not only young and fair,
but single. The average society young
woman has small desire for the fame
and excitement of political power. She
holds sway already over enough hearts
to satisfy her tendency to rule and she
has rather wel-defined ideas of still
further control absolute and complete
when she shall deign to marry. AS a
rule she has never felt any yearning
for more rights than are hers under the
present mOnarchial government eXer-
cised by women. The society girl has
too good a time and too thoroughly
appreciates her mercieS to abbreviate
her brief reign by a political career.
After she has grown old, or when she
has found out that her doll is stuffed
with sawdust of very inferior quality,
or that she is an oppressed and down.
trodden woman she may decide to
struggle for the ballot. Just what has
actuated Miss Belle Berry, of Jeffer-
sonville, Ind, to want to be mayor is
puzzle. Perhaps she has a grudge
against her opponent, because he may
like some other girl. Perhaps she has
laid wager with friend, or perhaps,
happy thought, she has a lot of beauti-
full new gowns that are really too stun
ming to use in an ordinary summer
campaign, such as she has enjoyed in
the past.
People do queer things at fires.
Everybody agrees to this statement.
The old tradition of carefully convey
ing the feather bed downstairs to a
safe place, while the French plate mir
ror is pitched out of a third-story WIN
dow, is frequently eXemplified Not long
ago at a fire in this city a well-mean-
ing young man rushed into the flames
and secured a yellow pincushion which
adorned dressing table, leaving any
number of sterling silver toilet articles
to be fried, which they were, in due
course of time
On another occasion recently q brave
rescue expedition tossed a pet cat down
from the third story, much to the det-
riment of the head and shoulders of a
bystander where she landed, and tend
erly bore in his arms a huge newspaper
parcel which proved to contain a fine
assortment Of carpet rags destined to
busy the fingers of the old ladies at
the Home for the Friendless. Another
individual burned his eyebrows off in
the heroic effort to save a tin model of
war vessel, quite valued, to be sure,
by the youngest member of the house
hold, but not rated by the family in
general with a costly rug on the floor.
The other night at a fire where con-
siderable excitement was experienced,
among the articles, the rescue of which
occasioned a special trip was a long
glass cane, which was borne with solicit
tude. The papers have already pub
with which somebody a few weeks ago
conveyed dress suit case from a burn
ing building, after being sent for a box
of great value. The dress suit case, on
investigation, was discovered to be full
Of empty wine and beer bottles.
1t is at the quiet, well-behaved little
fires which occur in one room and are
vi hat br
dents happen, funnier because there
seldom ensue tragedies or great losses
to quench the smiles thus enkindled.
These little conflagrations often arise
from the contact of a gas jet with a
curtain blown by the breeze at the
window. and there is usually some wo-
man on the spot who does queer things
in her frantic attempts to head off a
fire-water company. Often she runs
around and around the room, for a
time LOOKING for something and seeing
rCthing t'9t could :ossibly pUt cut the
horrid, creeping little blazes, although
rugs and heavy bedclothing in abund-
ance are close at hand. She screams
Fire! fire!" in still, small, suffocated
voice and wonders why in the world
her husband at the Office a mile or two
away doesn't come with the garden
hose. Then she finishes the perfora-
ance by beating the flames out with
her bare hands and fainting.
The other day the wife of a promi-
nent resident dropped a match in the
waste basket. 1t wasn't burning, Of
course; she had carefully put ii out
before letting it fall, but the hateful,
contrary thing set the paper on fire
and in a second there We're the sudden
blaze and the accompanying conster-
nation. When the daughters of the
house arrived on the scene in response
to the almost inaudible cries of their
frightened mother, she was discovered
endeavoring to quench the flames, which
We're well atlare in curtains and wood
work, by running from the basin to
the window with a small glass tumbler.
which she filled with water and hys-
terically flung at the fire. Notwith-
standing the fact that the situation has
been repeatedly explained to her since
by her fun-loving family she has not
yet been able to see it's oomicality ac-
cording to their view
We all laugh at other peoples antics
at a fire and we wonder how in the
world they can manage TO do so many
idiotic things in such short time, but
all the while we are laughing we also
wonder little as to whether we
wouldn't be a trife more idiotic than
anybody else If such an occasion arose.
Saucy Bess.