Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1900-11-29

He knew that practical painters never
used water, vinegar, cold tea or coffee
to thin out paint, but his knowledge
stopped short there 1t was when his
eye rested on the kerosene can that he
solved the puzzle.
When the paint had been duly re
paired for use, little oil was added
from the sewing machine can to give ii
gloss. and Mr. Bowser went to work.
1t takes some men years TO become an
artist with the brush. 1t didn't take
him over ten minutes. The peach
blown color not only stood out over the
white groundwork, but the oil brought
out real bloom on the peaches. As
ne stood back and surveyed his first
door he could almost imagine that he
saw rare ripe peaches hanging TO trees
out in the country. The odor wasn't
exactly agreeable, but he decided TO
throw that in free gratis. 1t was
job that would have taken an aver
age painter a. full day. with his going
back to the shop for putty, sandpaper
and aroRn>i the corner for beer, but at
noon Mr. Bowser stood in the middle
and looked around and saw that his
work was finished. In addition to the
. bloom on the peachblow color, the oil
had brought out thousands of bubbles,
but he did not regard them as draw
backs. On the contrary, he rather
prided himself on having struck some
thing new in the line of high art paint
ing.
Mrs. Bowser had complained Of
| moths. Yes, he remembered that she
had been fighting moths for years ana
that it had been hard work to keep
| them down. Whether she had used the
AK, the crowbar or hot water he could
not remember. but she had slaughtered
them without pity and left their
corpses unburied. Before he went out
| to a restaurant for his lunch he made
hunt for moths, and his search was
ably seconded by the cat. 1t was the
| cat who finally found one burrowed In
q dark corner, and Mr.. Bowser's reso-
! luton was taken. The moths or the
! carpets or something must be exter-
| minated. He didn't go to drug store
when he went out and ask for
remedy Believing that waiter In a
restaurant ought to know all about
moths, he contided his troubles to the
man and was answered:
"Yes, sir, / can tell you what to do.
I've known all about moths ever since
was knee high to Tom Thumb. You
! want to sprinkle that carpet with
compound made of water, lime and
kerosene. Make up about six gallons
Of it and don't be stingy about putting
it on. The idea Is to kill the moths all
at once and have no long drawn out
suffering around the house"
Mr.. Bowser got the ingredients and
made a six gallon crock full, and then,
taking a flower sprinkler, he went over
the carpet and st arted every moth on
the fly out of the Tenth ward. After
the cat had walked across the carpet
once she also sta rted, and it was late
In the afternoon before she returned
with sore feet and a reproachful look.
When the sprink ling had been finished
attacked, tramp rang the doorbell
and asked for something to eat. Mr..
Bowser felt co mplacent and liberal
hearted. In pla ce of food he gave the
man a dime and then said:
Il don't clairn to be a professional
artist, but I've just finished little job
here I'd like you to look at. In tray
cling around you must see more or less
| artistic work.
Il do, sir" replied the tramp as he
| followed him into the parlor and look
| ed at the freshly painted woodwork.
"This is what | calls a beauty, sir,
real beauty You've used kerosene and
oil with the paint, and the netShbors
will all be jealous of you. You should
have been an artist, sir"
There wa g tinge of sarcasm in his
tones, but Mr.. BowIser added another