The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-09-24

wonder that women don't tell each
other the truth, the whole truth and
nothing but the truth about servants
who have left their employ. How can
you expect another housemistress to
tell you that the maid of whom you
are making inquiry is apt to have din
ner parties and dances in your home
during your absence, when there is a
reasonable certainty that you will tell
the applicant her exact words and that
she may be boycotted or suffer some
other dire retribution for her trouble.
The tendency to tell servants about
them is rather likely to render futile
the much demanded reference. Unless
we are very wroth indeed we are prone
to say nice. soft, sweet sounding things
of people whom we are convinced will
hear our sentiments in the course of
an hour and half.
There is one thing that the house
mistresses of this city have rather gen.
orally managed to escape in their COM
bats with servants. They have had
troubles of their own in seeing their
treasures marry and have suffered difo
ferent grades of pain in beholCing
certain other treasures smashed fine
by the divinity of the kitchen. They
have endured the pangs of outraged
feeling and jealous rage superinduced
by having their cooks hired away from
them by a dear friend, a sister-in-law
or some other near relative. They have
had cases of drunkenness and similar
Irregularities in the kitchen but as
yet they have had little experience
with that acme of uggravaton, the
maid servant who rides a wheel. In
not few cities familiar to our resi-
dents this form of misery has seriously
imperiled the domestic economy of
many formerly happy homes. The
cook rides, the house maid rides and
occasionally even the laundress. sup
posed to be a widow with seven small
children, is seen gaily speeding away
on her wheel.
Said bright young matron the oths
er night: THE first question l ask an
applicant is whether she has wheel
or knows how to ride: if she has or
does, that settles 1t, simply won't
engage u maid servant who is likely
to go off nights on bicycle expeditions.
She will be good for nothing, and you
never can tell whether or not she'll
get into the house in time to serve
breakfast" Then she sprang lightly
| onto her own wheel and sped merrily
off to the millinery opening.
Engagement presents seem to be
falling from favor, not so much from
dearth of engagements as from an
uncomfortably suspicious feeling which
appears to intrude itself into society
to the effect that they are fast and
loose arrangement not warranted to
| stay young man of this city almost
tumbled over in t the other day
when he received .ce little box done
UP In tissue paper and somehow bear
ing a strangely familiar look, and
which, upon investigation, proved to
contain sort of glorifed pie knife
which he had sent some months before
with his good wishes to a young lady
whose engagement had Just been an
| nounced. With the returned gift came
| chilly little note, not at all like the
| eftusion which had greeted it's receipt,
| the purport of which was that the en-
gagement was off. Never had such a
shock in my life" declared the young
| man whose testimonial of affection was
thus sent back with naughty, if dila-
tory scorn, why I've had to blow in
| my income on lots of engagement pres
ents for girls whose engagements
| didn't stick three months. Never sent
back the things either and expected
| others when they temporarily accepted
a new man. l drew the limo at the or
| iginal tribute however. But all the
same" he added with the air OF one
who has made high and virtuous re-
solve, She'll get that pie-knife again
the next time.r Sauey Bess.