Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1904-11-02
SHORT STORY FOR
EVENING HOURS
CCPID'S lXPERI NtNT

ing house was to complain. The win
dow shades needed repairing, the writ
ing table was unsteady, and the towels
on his washstand were painfully de.
ficient in quantity.
Mrs. Boughton, affably obliging,
FASTENED to have these errors correct.
cd. However, her manner was less
amiable when, before the expiration Of
another day, Farnsworth again ap.
pcared with reports Of other discrep
ancies.
II soon became clearly apparent, not
only to the long suffering landlady, but
to observant boarders as well, that
with this eccentric bachelor the com.
pIaining habit was chronic.
He was not merely fastidious; he
was fussy. There was no pleasing him.
however hard one might try. Thus de.
Cided Mrs. Boughton.
His idiosyncrasies became the theme
for amused comment among the board.
ers. There was sport for week over
the palm incident. Emma. the maid.
related it. Farnsworth had gone to
Mrs. Boughton with the request that
the palm which adorned his bookcase
be removed altogether from the room.
He objected to growing plants in his
sleeping apartment. Thoeupon Mrs.
Boughton, as gravely as possible, had
informed him that the palm in ques
ton was not likely to interfere with
his health, being entirely artificial in
composition.
After that Farnsworth subsidized for
while, but his habit soon reasserted
itshelf. lie began again to object.
II became evident that his fellow.
boarders were included In his list OF
objections. His attitude toward them
vas Enthusiastically remote. 1t was
doubted If he fully remembered any Of
their names or cared to remember.
Mrs. Boughton understood his objec.
ton to the boarders. He had made the
matter clear TO her. They were mostly
young people-very young people.
Farnsworth classed them all under one
kcad-"romping children" On several
occasions he had complained of the
noise and needless merriment of the
Rfter.dinner gatherings in the parlor.
The sound Of the revelry penetrated to
his room and disturbed his peace.
ut Is impossible for me to concen-
trate any thoughts upon my work." he
had stated, with all that whistling
and singing and rag.time racket.
have most important matter under
consideration at present. Absolute
quiet Is essential to my investiga.
tons"
Mrs. Boughton duly demonstrated
with the thoughtless ones, although she
knew her efforts would be futile.
And now curiosity was rife concern.
ing the important matter" mentioned.
What was the old chap up to. anyway?
Was he inventing something? Emma
told OF a peculiar apparatus in his
room-things that he requested her
never to touch. He was making a YER
liable laboratory Of his apartment. The
boarders began to refer to his under.
taking familiarity, yet mysterious'y, as
the experiment"
Farnsworth continued to apply him.
self steadily to his task Meanwhile
he did not forget to complain.
"Confound that whistling!" he nut.
tered one evening, as the warbling in
the parlor persisted long after the rag.
time choruses had died away. lie
sighed impatiently. No one in this
house showed any regard for his
wishes.
The whistling ceased after a while.
Then he heard 1t again This time il
sounded very neai. lie was sure II
was In the immediate vicinity. Open.
ing his door he listened intently, to
discover II possible the exact location
OF the whistler.
"One of those impudent fellows try.
ing to show off," he commented irri.
tably, as the clear, piercing notes con
tinued without cessation.
Farnsworth finally concluded that
the sound came from the hall room Just
at the head of the stairs.
That the whistler, whoever he might
be, was determined to persevere in
showing OFF" was evidenced by the re.
peated performance of merry trills and
clear staccato notes which greeted
Farnsworth's ear daily and nightly
after this.
That gentleman's patience had its
limits. He resolved TO make known his
annoyance. However, of course, he
must be polite about it. The upshot
was that little not found its way
under the door of the room. 1t was as
follows:
"Will the young man who whistles
kindly refrain from a lengthy perform.
Rnce at night? The music is indeed
highly entertaining and is thoroughly
appreciated by the writer but owing
TO its distracting nature prevents con.
centration of thought upon a most i'm.
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