The Washington herald., 1909-08-20
BOARDING-HOUSE SIGNS.
Little Things Which Are Usually
Marks of the Perfect LaudIady

/ Little Things Which Are Usually
! Marks OF the Perfect LandIady.
From the Boston Herald
Really. one never knows anything
about the capabilities Of ones husband
Until he gets an opportunity Of revealing
/ himself was the somewhat bromide
way the young married woman began.
Now. recently we've been hunting for a
boarding g-house. When we were first mar
! ried used 20 demand my husbands serv-
ices on a boarding g-house-hunting expedi-
ton simply as an escort. But nowadays
I take him along as a COZ. OF first and
! last authority.
"Hypercritical? Why. ne has the most
finical fancies about things that I never
dreamed Of. He can tell by merely look
ms at the outside OF a clearinghouse
how il viii turn out on inspection.
we approached one corner house that
We had on our list. He stood OF and
looked It over and then he said:
&" Landlady'H want about a hundred a
month for the second-story front and
eighty a month for the third-story front
II those two rooms are vacant There's
a doctor tenant Of the parlor floor. and,
Ct course. he's the star OF the plant and
gets all the favors and things. Guess
we'll pass this one up
I wanted 10 investigate the place. and
50 We went in. The landlady was a snuGy
little creature with an auburn wig. and
we hadn't been over the threshold two
minutes before she began 20 brae about
the doctor person who Inhabited her par
/ lor floor. She wanted a hundred month
for the second story front and eighty q
month for the third story front. precisely
as my husband had predicted. Ny hus-
band gave me the getaway signal and we
left
And that's the way it went throughout
the search. He noticed a couple OF un-
kempt young ones Sliding down the step
ratings OF one OF the houses on our list.
Nothing doing as 70 this one-house
rot cleanly.' was his ofhand verdict. and
we went in. He was right The house
was dirty.
We mounted the steps OF several
houses that looked really nice. but thered
be something dingy and shabby about the
vestibUle or hall, and this observant hus-
band OF mine would Immediately whisper
% me that the place wasn't going 10 do
We had almost selected one place and
We're making the usual inquiries about
the table when an overpowering aroma
OF cabbage swept through the hall as the
/ door leading 70 the basement stairs was
opened
&c Wen he told the landlady right
promptly then. we've got another place
on our list 20 look az not far from here
and we'll just step over there, and if
and so on.
When we got outside he said, III bet
It's bum table at that house or they'd
keep that cab5agy smell tied Up. and
later on found out from a woman friend
who'd lived az that very clearinghouse
that the table was very bad.
The place that he finally picked out
didn't impress me at first. But IL proved
70 be a fine place, and we'd be there yet
II the landlady hadn't given up the lease.
I asked my husband just why he had
picked this place out.
q" Because ne replied rather elabor-
ately for him. the landlady herself was
scrupulOusly clean. Because she wasn't
effusive. Because she wasn't landladyish.
Because the front steps. the vestibule,
and the hall were neatly kept Because
there weren't any kids with their stock
ings hanging down running about In
IOnl- because Ine mouse smelt sweet
Because there were clean Swiss curtains
In the basement windows. Because there
we're no heads poked out Of rooms 70 ex-
anime our makeup when we were being
shown around. Because the landlady
didn't glibly tell us that she put the very
best in the market on her table or Inform
US what prices she paid for eggs and
chops and things. Because OF a hull lot
OF other things
And that gave me an idea I had never
possessed before as TO my husbands pow
ers OF observation"