Norwich bulletin., 1914-03-26
HOW HIS SISTER HELPED

Its weeks since I have seen you. remarked Mrs. Lee when they met at their club. Helen, where in the world have you been keeping yoursef? Tn the kitchen mostly" sighed Mrs Harvey. My excellent Hilda went home for month and I couldn't find any one to take her place. In conse- quence l became intimately acquainted with my cook stove and dish sink dur- ing her absence"
 Yes; I met MT. Harvey downtown not long ago and he told me about Hilda's being away, but he said that his sister was with you and you were getting on famouSly.
 Tom doesn't know anything about how I got on. If he weren't such a perfect old dear I'd be indignant at his blindness to household matters He doesn't recognize domestic traS edy when 1t stares him right in the face. Just let me tell you about him.
 When HiIda broke the news that she had to go home to see her SICK mother I told Tom that I didn't see what in the world I'd do.
 DO said Tom. Why, it will De altogether jolly. Weql have a repeti- ton of those good old times we had before we began to keep a maid. Don you remember what fun we used 10 have baking griddle cakes for each other? Wen have buckwheats every v and hapjacks in superhuity every night just as we used to. Tell Hilda she may remain away until summer if she wishes.
 rom Harvey I exploded, do you think that such enormous quantities of buckwheat cakes and hapjacks are a wholesome diet for our four children, or have you perchance forgotten their existence?
 Sure enough, we have a lot of a-i I SJInnn9a thai tleE oughtn't to eat too many griddle cakes, though they always agreed with me, said Tom. However, I never felt bet ter in my life than that first year when we kept house and couldn af- ford to have meat more than three times a week and desert only on Sun days when we rioutousiy indulged in two cream puffs from the bakery. Say. while Hilda's gone, let's have lot Of cream puffs.
 Tom, you old silly I cried Do you fancy cream puffs are more health fuI for the youngsters than an excess of griddle cakes"
 rom looked troubled. We must think of something. he said, and he did think of something. Without con suIting me he sent for his sister, F1os- sic.
 |" Now. you'll have first aid to the short handed he said. triumphantly, when he showed me her telegram say y- ing that she was on the way l in wardIv groaned for of all the people in the world F'lossie is the last one l should have selected as assistant cook and mothers helper. She is dear girl. but she doesn't possess an in fnitesimaI suspicion of what house keeping means.
 You can imagine how much help she was. One day she let the children daub their faces, their clothes and the furniture with her oil paints which she had given them to keep them quiet while she read, for she had offered to look after them if I would press skirt she had worn out in the rain. Tom came home just as we were removing almost the entire contents of a tube of ivory black from the baby's yellow curIs.
 Well. Helen, don't see what you d do without Flossie,' he said, smiling genially at his sister. who was holding out the paint
 No don't know what I should do without her" I replied, as pleasantly as I could. However. I was so tired of his obtuseness that I baseIy deter mined to let him see just how incap- able and careless she was. The opportunity appeared the very next day, when Tom announced that 1 he intended staying at home from his office to work on some mechanical drawings.
 And I'm going to take the children and go over to mothers for lunch.' I said. You and Flossie can have a nice, quiet day by yourselves "I wickedly wondered what they would have for lunch, and carefully