Amador ledger., 1905-09-29
THEY CLEANED HOUSE
A UNIQUE PARTY WHICH FUR
NISHED MUCH AMUSEMENT.
It Was a Prearranged Affair by an
Ingenious Hostess and Was
Decidedly Enjoyable
for All,

for All.
''We shall clean house on Tuesday
evening. We need your help. Please
come dressed for work"
This was the surprising invitation
sent out to a number of her friends by
a young hostess for May entertain
ment that proved to be such a jolly one
that it is worth trying by others, says
the New York Evening Telegram.
Fully half the fun was made by the
costumes in which the guests appeared.
All of the women were in short skirts,
some washable and others of wool.
Nearly every sort of kitchen apron was
to be seen. A voluminous artists frock
enveloped one girl. On her head she
wore serviceable sweeping cap of red
and white plaid gingham, and she car
ried in her hand a feather duster, which
she had brought with her. A bunch of
house cleaning rags" were tucked in
the belt of another worker. Among the
men Jumper" suits predominated, al
though there were a number of COM
Portable bicycle costumes and one gaudy
sweater. Several men thought it ap-
propriate to wear linen busters, the
sleeves rolled above the elbow, and
these looked like enterprising grocery
clerks
If ever any house seemed to need at
tention it was that one on that par
ticular evening. Apparently the litter
of years sewing lay on the floor and
cobwebs hung from pictures, chande-
iers and every possible projection. To
make the place neat would not have
been the task of a moment at best. AS
it was, when this was attempted, every
innocent shipping of cloth was found
to have been strung on fine thread
and to be but one of a long chain of
them. Every raveling turned out to be
the end of a spool of thread and every
cobweb, all of which were of string,
proved itself to be but the end of yards
and yards unwound from a ball. Pieces
of tape there were, which led to the
original rolls, but neither these nor any
other. end drew directly to its source,
but each was tangled or even knotted
with the rest of the litter
The work OF cleaning up consisted of
carefully disentangling every end and
winding it up and of gathering up the
chains of shipping and putting them in
waste paper basket. A little colored
paper marker was found at the source
of every end, and as these were reached
they were collected and put into little
bags, which the hostess had supplied to
bn ha
most markers was rewarded for such
industry by the gift of Busy Bee"
It was toy insect, which buzzed when
wound up. A more elaborate present
might be given if desired.
A picked up supper, consisting of
cold foods, except coffee, was served
to the cleaners at the close of their
labors. 1t was a real supper of pressed
chicken, thin slices of boiled ham and
potato, nuts and cress salad. The des-
sert was fruit jelly and whipped cream.
For table decorations was a May
basket centerpiece with tiny broom
| souvenirs for the women and little
wooden pals for the men,
During the evening some of the
guests, like witches, found time to
brush the cobwebs from the moon"
Through big half moon of bright yell
low paper long ends of yarn had been
threaded with a needle The moon was
hung from the chandelier in one of
the rooms and those who brushed it
entered into a contest to pull out the
most cobwebs in three minutes, using
the left hand only and drawing out one
at time. The prize was small pot
of green cheese" which the moon is
made of, as every one knows.
The two prizes presented during the
evening were given at the table and
the pleasure of opening and displaying
them was increased by the award of a
diploma wit hthe bee 1t was a mock
certificate, enrolling the winner a
worthy member of the Janitors' associa-
ton. His cleaning powers and personal
qualities were described at length most
comically, these particulars having
been added at the last moment by the
hostess.