Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-05-18
.,, rne f,,,awing Is summary

change. The following is summary
of her experience:
The agent in whose hands she
placed the renting OF her house was
man of push and enterprise. eager 70
finger his commission. In few days
he brought the first contingent OF
clients. An exceedingly stout man anu
a woman still stouter alighted from
blackboard, which gave bound OF re-
lief to be rid of the abnormal loau'
Slowly they waddled over the mousse.
| from attic to basement. the lynx-eye"
woman letting nothing escape her.
Then they toddled over the GROUNDS.
The place suited them down to the
ground. The rental was too high.
| They offered just half. When their
proposition was rejected summary the
woman exclaimed with strident harsh
ness:
| "Why, / always understood that
country people like you always asked
double what you really would accept.
| When assured that the price asked
was the lowest that would be accepted
with a whisk of her skirts and with
something that sounded like damn.
she and the stout man assembled the
blackboard and took their departure.
! indignant at their treatment.
Next day wan and haggard wo-
man, accompanied by six strong and
healthy boys, varying in age from to
1e. swept upon the scene with wild
whoops of JOY. She came from
Hoboken, her husba nd having become
so rich in the pork business that he had
decided to hire q country house for the
whole summer. The family had never
spent more than a day at a time away
from their city home. so the prospect
of running wild for three or four
months had an intoxicating effect on
the sturdy youngsters. One made a
swoop on the parrot that was summing
himself in his cage on the piazza. and
poked at the astonished bird with Il
stick, evoking screams Of terror.
Another amused himself by stoning
| the dogs The eldest chased the eat
into the barn and jabbed at him with a
hay fork when he sought refuge on a
beam. Yet another. spying some birds
nests in shrubs on the lawn. was about
to despoil them when strong protest
to the mother that such an act was IL
legal and punishabl BILE by fine caused
|
their vandalism. The boys cooled down
| for a time. but broke loose again when
the orchard was reached. The eldest
spied an orioles nest" high UP in an
apple tree. He knew it was an orioles
nest. for he had seen picture of one
| in a book. He climbed that tree like
cat rushing upon his fate, Needless of
warnings. His brethren stood under
| ~, Inr
| broke off the twig to which the nest
| hung. 1t fell to the ground. and from
| it flew out an angry swarm of hornets
| which fastened on the boys and made
| them Shrek with agony. The fight
| lasted for five minutes. Then the bad
| ~ stung boys made mad rush for the
| water barrel in the yard and dashed
water over their smarting. swollen
| faces.
! The wan woman ''chrked up and from
| her mouth issued language, improper to
| print. savoring Of the slaughter house.
She and her offspring hurried away. in
dicnant at the hornets. 1t was a blessed
relief 10 see the last OF them.
\ tall. spare individual Of 'horsy' cut
was the neXt TO pay his respects. He
seemed to he a dyspeptic with temper
exceeding vile. gave only Il casual
glance at the house and grounds He
guessed they would suit his wife and four
uaugnterS- But he was particular ABOUT
the stables. He owned 4 team Of nigh
speed trotters. lor whom he said nothing
on earth was too good. The alterations
he demanded in the stables would have
cost more than the money asked as rem
tai. 4 suggestion that he should stable
the horses in the house and his woman
kind in the barn made him angry clean
through. once he saw the point. OFF he
went in high dudgCon.
\ Young. hashily-drcsSe1 woman 1c-
comnanicd by her aged husband. appearc
on the scene. The dccrepit man lighted
a cigar and stretched his weary limbs a
full length on couch in the drawing
room. his greasy head resting on a satin
pillow artistically decorated His wife
digging her pudgy fists into the mat
trCsscs to see that they were not straw.
She polted her nose into every Granny and
her gimlct eyes sought out the possible
nak.dness of the land. on the way down
stairs she was in the preliminary stages
Of depreCating with view to cheapeninS
Her uttcranceS Were interrupted by
series of grampuslike snorts issuing from
the drawing room.
ON That's my husband enjoying his
MONDAY nap. Amt he darling?
The srorts were so violent that Bounce.
the old watch dog on the piazza. pricked
up his ears and growled ominously. The
old man lay with mouth wide open snor-
ing to beat the band. His foul-smellng
cigar was smoderng on the carpet.
Ashes were sprinkled about with cakes Of
mud from the clodlhopper boots he wore.
n lew frigld remarks from the mousse
owner to the effect that she was sure the
place was not good enough for such re-
fined people causing them to quit. Their
leaving was succeeded by a lit Of hys-
stcfics on the part OF the cha elaine over
her bcfouled satin embroidery. She. how
ever. knew when she had had enough.
Her house was no longer in the market.
Since then it never has Gen desecrated
by vandals.
Last October when summer visitors
and other birds Of passage had taken
their fight, the chatclainc happened to en-
counter a woman who had been missing
from her usual haunts all summer She
had been on visit to the Pacific coast.
and in an evil hour had rented her cot
tage to the woman Of Ioboken. with her
six hornet-stung boys. The havoc
wrought in that artistic dwelling ana
be autiful grounds was narrowing. Car
pets and draperics were destroyed initials
carved on the piano frame; windows
crashed, bric-a -brac and priceless china
broken. pictures with holes bored i'll
them dirt every where. Outside, desola-
ton prevailed. Fruit trees stripped of
their limbs. lovely climbers torn down
from the trells palms and hydrangeas
dead in their tubs for want o. water, the
poultry run donndeu of its wire net
ting to make IA bnIf hutchcs The scene
was distressing. The owner was broken
hearted. There no redress. 1t was
her first experience and her last At rent
l,r,- tpy