The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1913-01-25
TYRANNY OF Her
DAUGHTER IN-LAW

| from an overdose OF daughter-ln-laW.
A certain amount is a 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 go through the deadening
process known as housekeeping" she
went on. Nov, don't breathe 1t to
a soul, but never clean house. l GER
talnly try to keep things nice and
comfortable, but my natural instinct
| Is to avoid dirt. My attitude Is that
n II will leave me alone l will leave
! 1t alone.
f"Who minds a little dust under the
beds and in the closets? will answer
my own conundrum by telling you that
/ Frances does. She is perfectly intol-
Grant about it. She is constantly talk
! ing about germs and microbes. Since
I am confessing all my shortcomings.
I will admit that 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. can
do II without tremor. | can leave
dishes unwashed until every dish In
the house has been used and not feel
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.
"The morning after she came saw
her eying the living room curtains,
which must confess were not i'm
maculate.
Don't look at those curtains,
Frances l said, In my merry, light
hearted way. Il 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. wondered at the
time why she didn't say whatever it
was she had on her mind, but later in
the day found out.
Mother she said, tactfully-
Francis is very tactful-that afternoon
when we were sitting in the living
room having what considered a coy
little chat, I've been wondering II II
wouldn't be nicer II we should get
some curtain stretchers and stretch
the curtains on them instead of hav-
ing the laundress wash and iron them
ITO make 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 finish with them than
when I began.
After the curtains were arranged
to suit her happened to mention that
had some material which intended
to make into comforters when the
spirit moved me. Again speaking
metaphorically, she fell upon that ma
terial tooth and nail. Then for lays
she and | 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 ~hpnored custom of the family
to bitch everything that the family
wishes to rid itself of. Personally,
get along very nicely by simply shut
tins my eyes, opening the door slight
ly and shying in the article. Then
after the door is shut have no fur
thej' qualms. But Frances got quite
white when she looked in. She made
me feel-she did it tactfully-that no
decent, self-respecting woman could
exist in house with a chamber of
horrors. So together we pulled and
hauled and worked and suffered and
threw things away and had perfect
~ horrible time generally, but we fine
ly emerged in that pathetic and
despicable condition called las neat as
PIN
1T took us days to do it and we
were both nearly dead when we got
through. But the very next morning
after We finished, If you can believe
me, found her with her head out of
the window and the air of a hound
that is just getting the scent. She was
listening to vacuum cleaner that
was chugging across the street!
"'Oh, mother she said I'm going
out to see If those men can't come to-
morrow
Frances I said, you will do moth
ing of the kind. positively refuse
to be any cleaner than l am. From
now to the end of your visit l intend
to have my kind Of good time even
IL there isn't floor swept or a dish
washed
'T did It," said Mrs. Darlington,
gloatingly. II kept Frances whirling
in perfect vortex of matinees and
luncheons and afternoon teas and.
had beautiful time But relented
the day before she went away and let
her clean up the house for me.
fo Iaor oir II Mro D~~-