The Western news. [volume] (Stevensville, Mont.) 1890-1977, 1901-10-23
CULTURE IN MAINE.


Asynan, the Housesaia saa
tAe Cook.
I! .sThe next time / go to Maine, said &,
the girl, pausing to chat while shes.
unpacked & her trunk, relates the
New York Sun, II take with me,
complete celluloid outfit, 50 as to
snap my fingers at laundry agents
and the like. With water, water
everywhere ON the coast of Maine,
you'd think it would be easy to get
your washing done, but it isn't.
Won the island where / was stay
ing the first week all my; things were
| shipped off miles and miles away to
| Portland. or Boston or Bath. The
| laundry agent was most obliging
/ and delightful boy, son OF an
| American ambassador or somethlng
equally imposing, and q true, thrifty
|. Yankee. He was putting himself
through some university by TINS
L cleanly summer pursuit And It was
4 pursuit, il pursuit means hunting ID
for lost things.
"Well, he took my things Monday,
called at the cottage in person, dis
cussed affably the social news OF the
island, partook of the ginger ale our
host brought out and then went OH
with our bundles under his9arm. Sat
urday he brought back what there
was. 1t was very meager display.
t lot of my things didn't turn up ut
all. and all the hooks hadsheen ripped |
off one of my waists, in an .excess'of
zeal. for fear they swoulds rust. The
agent was very sympathetic. I de-
l ~ xua IL
did seem funny, but he never cracked
# a smile; he just jotted down de-
/ scriptions OF the missing things in
y his little memorandum book ana
promised to look them UPS.
~ .sYou see he went everywhere and
D. / met him at. every tack and turn. !
or] ignored his laundry career at dances
and clambakes and such places, but
: am told there wepe girls who tackled
him boldly during the pauses OF the
ST Boston dip. or when they were tlpped
up on the edge of catboat WIN
him, or anywhere, about things
le trimmed with Hamburg and others
". ruffled and edged with torchon.
\ "I used to, assail him on. the wharf
when the express boat came in ne
IT. was, really such very nice boy and
i'd, took DO end of pains. One by one
my things ,trickled back, He would
.1 come up 20 me on the w7serf, bars
ere headed, his eyes beaming and Ar4
teeth cleaning.
- .Goad morning. there's > petit
- coat >iust in. looks Ike yours. y
would say, pr I've had a, }Ss.er abou
her that stock, it's been founo. It will
ey- be along in day or two
"once he came up very contidenfl,
to kncs", c" n had pink ribbon run il
WI I Anything, as there Was Corset covsl
seeking an owner and he thought
s.. might be she, although he remem
bered I never sent things without
taking the ribbons out! Nice as he
last was. though, I couldn't patronize his
old laundry, SO l tried various other
Aou evils.
Speaking Of the polite little laun
oall dry agent makes me think OF the 10
of people down in Maine who worl
at anything during the summer to &,
to college during the other min,
months. The man who ran the trunl
delivery business was a senior a
~. some university, terror in Lati1
and Greek, l suppose, and he certain
ly was a wizard with the trunks H.
didn't look at the checks until he GO
me. to- your house, and then he general
y, ly would find he had mixed things.
'oio used to moralize to myself sometime.
gan as to whether educated service is a.
good as the plain straight kind.
For instance, the housemaid a
IN the cottage where l stayed knew
lot you didn't expect her to know
A. but from one to two things m,
.no hostess let drop I fancy Ida fel
op- short in the things she was expected
fast to know. One day at dinner one o
L n the children asked her father tn,
~ French for crumb. He couldn't tel
her, although he was educate,
an abroad. We all tried but none Of IL
lore could recollect the word. After din
iano ner Alice. the little girl, came out an
,oo,, asked her father if miette was no
the French for crumb.
o"'o That's the word was trying +
first think Of he said. Who told you?'
ade, ut seems it was Ida who knew
has She got hold of Alice after Dime
~. and said: i wanted to tell you at tn
table, Miss Alice, but, of course,
lrlty couldn't speak then Ida had studie
for French for four years and Germa
can Tor three IN some New England hig
ovor school and had aspirations to teac
modern languages. .sa. S.
'aHe "The cook, we discovered went i
way for pure English. We overheard Id
iness one day describing a mans appear
nily, anee eus. 20 'ne coon
You and oener.mv hs ,.s.as - aan .' -
fer white pants,' he said.
ould Trousers the cook said, in
. to- realiy nofrihea tone. and Ida iearne