The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1912-10-25
TYRANNY OF her
DAUGHTER-IN-LAW

NfSV I'LL
DAuGHTER-IN-lAW
III you'll promise not to tell q soul.
Charlotte" said Mrs. Darlington to hef
hostess, 'Ill admit that I'm SUFFERING
from an overdose Of daughterin.law.
A certain amount 10 q mental stimulus
TOO much simply stultifies.
Frances, my son Arthur's wife,
came to visit me just at the time all
well regulate housekeepers think they
have to 60 through the deadenins
process known as housekeeping" she
went on. "Now, don't breathe 1t to
a soul, but I neve clean house. Gel.
tainly try to keep things nice and
comfortable, but my natural instinct
is to avoid dirt. My attitude is that
II Il will leave me alone I will leave
it alone.
WHO minds q little dust under the
beds and In the closets? I will answer
my own conundrum by telling you that
Frances does. She Is perfectly intoi
Grant about it. She is constantly talk
ing about germs and microbes. Since
I am ~confessing all my shortcomings.
I will admit that I don't believe In MI
crobes. anyway. They're far too small.
Frances does. though. oh. dear. yes,
she does.
"she simply can't sit down and read
happily unless the house has been
thoroughly swept and garnished. l a
do 1t without a tremor. I a leave
dishes unwashed until every dish in
the house has been used and not feel a
qualm. Frances has the dishes round
ed up and washed so quickly after
they have been used that she leaves
you with a defrauded feeling. as
though you had been done out of part
Of your meal. 9
1.-THE morning after she came I saw
her eying the living curtains.
which I must confess were not i'm.
maculate.
"sDon't look at those curtains,
Frances I said, in my merry, light
hearted way. 4 know they're not very
clean. but I'm going to have the
laundress wash and iron them Mon
day.
Frances half opened her mouth.
then shut 1t again. I wondered at the
time why she didn't say whatever 1t
was she had on her mind. but later in
the day I found out.
Mother she said. tactfully-
Francis is very tactful-that afternoon
when we were sitting in the living
room having what I considered a coy
little chat, I've been wondering if it
wouldn't be nicer II we should get
some curtain stretchers and stretch
the curtains on them instead of hay.
ing the laundress wash and iron them
ITO make a long story short, she
dragged me downtown that very after.
noon and we bought curtain stretch
ers. The next morning. with her own
hands. she washed those curtains, oh,
there is no doubt that she is wonder.
full. stand in the greatest awe Of
any one who can wash things clean. I
never could. They're always much
worse when I finish with them than
when I began.
"After the curtains were arranged
to suit her I happened to mention that
I had some material which I intended
to mako into comforters when the
spirit moved me. Again speaking
metaphoricaliy. she fell upon that ma.
terial tooth and nail. Then for days
she and I struggled and perspired
amid pillows Of cotton.
when one morning she accidental.
ly opened the door of the chamber Of
horrors I thought she was going to
faint. The chamber of horrors. by the
way. Is the room into which 1t is the
time honored' custom of the family
to pitch everything that the family
wishes to rid itself of. Personally. I
get along very nicely by simply shut.
ting my eyes. opening the door. slight.
ly and shyias in the article. Their
after the door is shut I havesno fur.
Their qualms. But Frances got quite
white when she looked In. She made
me feel-she did 1t tactfuIly-that no
decent. s~elf-respecting woman could
exist in q house with a chamber Of
horrors. SO together we pulled and
hauled and worked and suffered and
threw things away and had a perfect
ly horrible time generally. but we fine
ly emerged in that pathetic and
despicable condition called "as neat az
a pin.' !:
"It took US days to do It and we
were both nearly dead when we got
through. But the very next morning
after we finished. II you can believe
me. I found her with her head out Of
the window and the air Of q hound
that is just getting the scent. She was
listening to q vacuum cleaner that
was chugglng across the street!
"tOh. mother she said. TIN going
out to see II those men can't come to-
morrow.
Frances I said. you Will do moth.
ing Of the kind. I positively refuse
to be any cleaner than I am. From
now to the end Of your visit I intend
to have my kind Of q good time even
=. rs NS5 800 stEE@EA H.s@1E.54 .N&N.sL 600