The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1912-04-05
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Easter Bonnet


having had. too. the advantage of ten
years close relationship TO me should
exhibit such lack of common sense"
"Well.' said Mrs. Tompkins. ~
haven't paid for this bonnet yet. and.
of course. could take it back. SO If
you will make me bonnet out Of the
material you find around the house 1t
would be nice"
"Well, could" declared Mr.. Thomp-
klns stoutly. Bring some Of your old
bonnets and belt buckles and ribbons.
and things like that, and scissors and
needle and thread I'll make you a
bonnet you'll be proud Of"
Mrs. Thompkins disappeared and
finally came back with three or four
old hats. yard Of brown velvet, some
silk ribbons and the needle and thead
"How do you know what the style ISL"
asked Mrs. Thompkins
"Know." repeated her lord. ''Don't
l meet 10000 women every day on the
streets? Don't you suppose I've got
eyes in my head? Do you think / new
err notice anything? You bet know
what the style is"
"Oh. very we'll" said Mrs. Thomp
kins meekly. There are all the ma
terials. dear. Shall help your"
''No; you would only be hindranee
Go into the library and play the piano
Leave me alone. don't want you
bothering around when I'm at work"
Mrs. Thompkins retired. and Thomp.
kins went manfully to work. He snip
ped all the trimmings or Of one old
hat and decided to use that frame. He
took a long curling feather from an
other hat and decided to use that for
the principal adornment Of the new
bonnet. He slyly peeked into one Of
his wife's fashion magazines and dis
covered that pale green would be
much In evidence this spring" That
settled the question as to what color
the hat should be. Thompkins labori
ously cut and slashed and finally, aft
er much labor, succeeded in basting
some velvet and couple Of ribbons on
the hat he was building. He found a
buckle that looked pretty and tackled
that on one side of the hat and fasten-
ed big black bow on the other. Then
he found good place for the plume
he had taken Off another old hat
Somehow Thompklns was not salts
fed with his work. His hat had
crude and dlapidated look. Thomp-
kins decided that the trouble was that
his hat had been made Of old materials
which needed freshening. Besides. he
had unfortunately put too many blues.
greens, reds and blacks In his hat.
The fashion book said that green was
the thing. He decided that his hat
ought to be dyed green. That would
give 1t the fashionable shade and make
1t look nice and fresh besides. He slip
ped down the back stairs and went
over to the drugstore and procured a
package Of green dye, and, coming
back, put 1t in kettle on the stove,
and when the green water was bub-
bling and boiling furiously plunged his
hat into It. He decided that 1t would
take three dimensions to do any good
but the last time he pulled 1t out the
hat was such streaky looking mess
that he put it back and allowed 1t to
boil five minutes.
1t was frightful object that Thomp-
klns removed from the kettle and laid
In the sink to drain OF the water
Thompkins felt some misgivings. Still
he knew that when the hat was dried
out that 1t would be all right, so he put
1t in the oven. He looked in to see
how 1t was drying, and its appearance
was such that he decided to give 1t an
other bath. He tried to, but the ag-
grieved hat began to fall to pieces
Thompkins wildly began to fish the rib
bons, feather, buckle and frame out Of
the pot.
In his excitement he fell against the
kettle and turned It over.
Mrs. Thompkins heard wild shouts
Of misery coming from the kitchen and
hurried out to see Thompkins dancing
on a chair. waving his hands through
mist Of steam and smoke.
"Helpv yelled Thompkins. "Pm
scalded to death! Send for the police
and fire department! Hurry up! HelpT
Mrs. Thompklns and the neighbors,
who had assembled on the spot, rush
ed In and opened the window and got
the steam out of the room. Thomp-
klns was standing on a chair covered
with green dye and still clutching tight
In his dripping hands u hat frame and
bedraggled ribbon.
The nelghbors examined him and
found he wasn't sealded, although he
had received some splashes of the boil
ing liquid on his clothes and hands.
They mopped him OF and took him
into his room, and one particularly con
Selling friend told him that the green
dye would wear Off In two or three
weeks.
''Pm afraid you have completely ruin
ed your new suit. DEAR" said Mrs.
Thompkins. ITS too bad you had
such an accident. You ought to wear
an old suit tomorrow when you go to
work on the hat again"
Mrs Thompkins," said the ruler Of
the Thompkins household sternly, do