The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1907-05-24

"ahc me "IocFuUhc. CuppOS LQat II
lies in the power OF your husband to
make this world insectless."
You can't mean it," whispered Mrs
Bowser.
THAT Is exactly what I mean. While
other men have been of fishing this
summer / have been engaged in seeing
what could be done toward improving
the physical state Of the world we live
in. While you have looked for sixty.
five cent stockings reduced to % cents
/ have delved into statistics. Tonigh,
is the browning point. Ere another
twenty-four hours have passed the
name Of Samuel Bowser will be spoken
all around the world"
But what on earth is it, What have
you done?'
Produces a Powder.
Mr.. Bowser took from his coat pocket
a package be had carefully concealed
up to this moment and removed the
string and paper. Mrs. Bowser saw a
powder-about a pound Of grayish pow
der. In color it looked like ashes. but
was more Wcighty. She wet her finger
and touched the powder and then her
tongue and spat in disgust and ex-
claimed:
That's skunk cabbage powdered
up Mother used to give Il to US in
mOlasses when we were children and
appeared croupy. Where did you get
it, and what are you going to do with
! it?'
"Mrs. Bowser, this is a powder made
from a plant grown in Persia, and 10
where else on the face of the earth. 1t
is a rare plant ever there, but a Per
sian doctor whom | met a few days
ago gave me this and told me the Sc
cret Of it. One pinch of this powder
burned on "A hot shovel will rid a
house of every insect in it in five min
utes. Two pinches burned in the back
| yard will clear the neighborhOod for a
block around. Half a pound Of it will
kill every fly and mosquito in a whole
country. If l can get hold Of a ton Of
it, and | am arranging to do SO. l will
clear the whole Of America, beginning
next June. After that | will see to
the rest Of the world"
Calls 1t a Fake.
81 tell you it's skunk cabbage pow
dered up, and if you go TO burning any
of it we shall be driven out OF the
house. Your Persian is fake. Why do
you let people impose On you this
way"
That will do, Mrs. Bowser," said
Mr.. BoWser as he rose up ia his stiff
ness and dignity. Some Of this pow
der will be burned within ten minutes
in this house. If you prefer dies, mos
QuitoeS and cOckroaches to a clean
house you can go elsewhere. | don't
propose that anything you can say
shall prevent me from attempting Il
world interest experiment."
1t was useless for her to say more
The coos had finished with the dinner
dishes and gone upstairs. Mr.. BOWser
began at tie top Of the house and clos
ed all doors and windows and then pro-
ceeded to the kitchen TO finish. Mrs.
BowSer slipped out and into q neigh
boris. while the cook leaned out of the
window of her room and scanned the
landscape of the back yard and wished
the cavalier who was going to marry
her would come along.
When a quarter Of an hour had pass
ed n pedestrian passing the Bowser
house halted to sniff suspiciously. He
was soon joined by a second. third and
fourth. Then smoke was seen issuing
from around the windows, and more
Sniffers and snuffers joined he crowd.
Then there poured forth such a smell
as q wholesale drug store might make
if on fire from top to bottom, and
amid 1t Mr.. Bowser staggered from
the basement door and fell on the
grass and rolled about and wheezed
and coughed like an old horse with the
collie. Then it was that an ambulance
was rung for by II man, the fire en-
gines by another, and q policeman
came running up and headed q fOrlorn
hope into the house and brought out a
smoking shovel and demanded explana-
tons. In demanding them he slung
Mr.. Bowser around on he's grass, stood
him up against the fence and called
him names and threatened him with
his club, and there was ar excitement
lasting a good half hour, When the
Bowsers were finally left alone and he
uau quit "uSeZiuS anu COuShluS Tx
pointed his finger at Mrs. Bowser and
was going to tell her that their re-
spective lawyers would settle the di-
vorce business, but she stopped him
by saying:
Nov, then. you and your Persian
and house flies and mosquitoes and
~cockroaches had better walk right up
stairs and go to bed. This house has
been upset enough for II night"
And she threw the rest of the pow
der out Of q back window. and Mr..
Bowser went. N. QUAD.
Sad.