The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1901-10-01
CULTURE IN MAINE.
u Has a Singular Eject on the LsuM-
drym@n, the Housem~td sad
the Cook.

The next time go to Maine" said
the girl, pausing to chat while she
unpacked her trunk, relates the
New York Sun, 81 take with me a
complete celluloid outfit, so 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.
"On the island where l 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 a most obliging
and delightful boy, a son of an
American ambassador or something
equally imposing, and true, thrifty
Yankee He was putting himself
through some university by this
cleanly summer pursuit. And it was
pursuit, if pursuit means hunting
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 off
with our bundles under his arm. Sat-
urday he brought back what there
was. 1t was a very meager display.
A lot of my things didn't turn up at
all, and all the hooks had been ripped
off one of my waists, in an excess of
zeal, for fear they would rust. The
J 10
scribed the things / was shy on. IL
/ did seem funny, but he never cracked
a smile; he just jotted down de-
scriptions of the missing things in
his little memorandum book and
promised to look them up.
You see he went everywhere and
/ met him at every tack and turn. 1
ignored his laundry career at dances
and clambakes and such places, but I
am told there were girls who tackled
him boldly during the pauses of the
Boston dip, or when they were tipped
up on the edge of a catboat with
him, or anywhere, about things
trimmed with Hamburg and others
ruffied and edged with torchon.
when the express boat came in He
was really such a very nice boy and
took no end of pains. One by one
my things trickled back. He would
come up to me on the wharf, bare
5 headed, his eyes beaming and his
teeth cleaning.
"'Good morning. there's a petit
coat just in, looks like yours he
would say; or I've had letter about
that stock, it's been found. 1t viii
be along in a day or two
"Once he came up very confidently
to know il l had pink ribbon run il
anything, as there was a corset cove
seeking an owner and he thought
might be she, although he remem
bered / never sent things withou
taking the ribbons outl Nice as h
was, though. 1 couldn't patronize hi
old laundry, so l tried various othe
evils.
speaking of the polite little laun
: dry agent makes me think of the 10
of people down in Maine who worl
at anything during the summer to g
TO college during the other min
: months. The man who ran the trunl
delivery business was senior a
: some university, a terror in Latin
and Greek. | suppose. and he certain
: " WAS a wizard with the trunks. HI
didn't look at the checks until he go
to your house, and then he general
: ly would find he had mixed things.
: used to moralize to myself sometime
: as to whether educated service is a
good as the plain straight kind.
For instance, the housemaid a
the cottage where 1 stayed knew
lot you didn't expect her to know
but from one to two things m
hostess let drop 1 fancy Ida fel
short in the things she was expects
TO know. One day at dinner one o
the children asked her father tn
French for crumb. He couldn't tie
her, although he was educate
abroad. We all tried but none of u
could recollect the word. After dir
ner Alice, the little girl, came out an
asked her father if miette was nc
the French for crumb.
That's the word 1 was trying t
think Of he said. Who told you?'
| ut seems it was Ida who knew
: She got hold of Alice after Dime
/ and said: Il wanted to tell you at til
: table, Miss Alice, but, of course.
: couldn't speak then Ida had studio
/ French for four years and Germa
: for three in some New England hig
2 school and had aspirations to teac
5 modern languages.
= THE cook, we discovered. went
: for pure English. We overheard Id
4 one day describing a mans appea
ance to the cook.
: Hes a short. fat man, sunburne
e and generally he wears a cap ar
: white pants he said.
y Trousers, the cook said, in
e really Mortified tone, and Ida learns
= straightway that pants is a vulgs
I contraction, and one which the coo
I hated to hear anyone use.
: "But culture and pure Englis
didn't hurt the cooks art. wish We
could have tasted her lobster Ne
burg, or her BURBERRY cake or her.