The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1908-12-15
CULTURE IN MAINE.
" Hns "a Singular Eject on the Laun-
drymRn, the HOusemaid and
the Cook.


complete celluioid 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 1t isn't.
"On the island where / 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 most obliging
and delightful boy, son of an
American ambassador or something
equally imposing, and a true, thrifty
Yankee. lie was putting himself
through some university by this
clearly summer pursuit. And it was
pursuit, IL pursuit means hunting
for lost things
"Well, he took my things Monday,
called at the cottage in person, dis
cussed afTably 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 n 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
agent was very sympathetic. l de-
scribed the things l was shy on. IL
did seem funny but he never cracked
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. !
ignored his laundry career at dances
and clnmbakes and such places, but
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 n catboat with
him, or anywhere, about things
trimmed with Hamburg and others
ruffled and edged with torchon.
81 used to assail him on the wharf
when the express boat came in. He
was really such very nice boy and
took no end of pains. One by one
my things trickled bnck. He would
come up TO me on the wharf bare
headed, his eyes beaming and his
teeth cleaning.
"'Good morning, there's petit
coat just in, looks like yours, he
would say; or I've had a letter about
that stock, it's been found. II will
be along in day or two
"Once he came up very confidently
20 know il l had pink ribbon run in
anything, as there was corset cover
seeking an owner and he thought |
might be she, although he remem-
bered l never sent things without
taking the ribbons outl Nice as he
was, though, l couldn't patronize his
old laundry, so l tried various other
evils.
speaking OF the polite little laun-
dry agent makes me think of the lot
of people down in Maine who work
20 college during the other nine
months. The man who ran the trunk
delivery business was senior at
some university, n terror in Latin
and Greek, | suppose, and he certain
~ was q wizard with the trunks. He
didn't look at the checks until he got
TO your house, and then he general
~ would find he had mixed things |
used TO moralize to myself sometimes
ms TO whether educated service Is as
good as the plain straight kind.
For instance, the housemaid at
the cottage where I stayed knew
lot you didn't expect her to know.
but from one to two things my
hostess let drop l fancy Ida fell
short in the things she was expected
20 know. One day at dinner one of
the children asked her father the
French for crumb. He couldn't tell
her, although he was educated
abroad. We all tried but none of us
could recollect the word. After din
ner Alice, the little girl, came out and
asked her father il miette was not
the French for crumb.
That's the word | was irving to
think Of he said who told you?'
1T seems IL was Ida who knew.
She got hold OF Alice after dinner
and said; Il wanted TO tell you at the
table, Miss Alice, but of course, |
couldn't speak then Ida had studied
French for four years and German
for three in some New England high
school and had aspirations to teach
modern languages.
"The cook, we discovered. went in
for pure English. We overheard Ida
one day describing a mans appear
ance to the cook
He's short, fat man. sunburned,
and generally he wears cap and
white pants he said.
Trousers the cook said. in n
really Mortified tone, and Ida learned
straightway that pants is a vulgar
contraction, and one which the cook
hated to hear anyone use.
but culture and pure English
didn't hurt the cooks art wish YOU
could have tasted her lobster Neu.
burg, or her BURBERRY cake or her
other things" said the girl. rising
and resuming her unpacking with a
smile of pleasing recollection.
Not 20 he Caught.
Sponger-What is that expression?