DOING THE MENDING HIMSELF.

Bush Advocate, Volume XXI, Issue 95, 20 October 1908, Page 8

DOING THE MENDING HIMSELF.

They had been married more than six months, and in the ordinary course of things the numerous articles of tinware showed signs of , having been made too soon, inasmuch as several had small.' 1 holes in. them. A happy thought struck him. Ho would get an iron and some solder, arid mend fchem^himself . He got the iron (4s), a shillingsworth of solder, and sixpennyworth of resin. He came home with them and went into the kitchen looking', so proud and happy that his wife would have felt happy too, were it not for an overpowering dread of impending disaster. «

He called for the articles needing repair. His wife brought out a pan. "Where's the rest? Bring 'em all out, an' let me make one job of them while I'm about it."

He got them all out and seemed disappointed that there were not more of them. Ho pushed the iron in the fire, got a milk-pan inverted on his kuee and, with the solder in his hand, waited for the.righ heat. "That iron only cost four shillings, and it'll never weaa* out, and there's enough solder in this piece to do five pounds' worth of mending," he explained to his wife.

Pretty soon the iron was at the right heat, ho thought. He rubbed the resin about the hole which was to be repaired, held the stick of solder over it, and carefully applied t3ie iron. It was ah intensely interesting moment. His wife watched him with feverish interest. He said, speaking laboriously as he applied the iron : — .

" Tho — only — thing — I— regret — about — : it — is — that — I— didn't — think — of— getting— this — before. —

Then ascended through the ceiling and up into the very vault of heaven tho^most tremendous yell that woman ever heard • and the same instant the iron flew across tho table, the pan went clattering over the floor, and tho bar of solder struck the wall with such force as to smash through both plaster and lath, and before her horrified gaze danced her .husband, sobbing, screaming, and holding on to his leg as desperately as if it was made of solid gold and studded with diamonds.

"Send for a doctor ! Oh ! Oh ! I'm a dead man!" he yelled.

Just then his gazo fell upon tho sold m- ing-iron. In 'an. instant he oaiiglit it up and hurleH it throngli t/io window without the preliminary of raising the gash. It was somo time before the thoroughly frightoned and oonfusfd woman realised that somo of tho molten solder had run th rough the hole in tho pan and on to liis leg. He invariably sends then out when they require mending now.

Being heavily overstocked in boys' and men's oilskin coats, just the thing for this time of year, and we carry none over, shall cleaT boys' coats ; were 13s 6d, now 9s 6d ; men's black riding coats, were 19s 6d, now 15a 6d; all new season's goods, but must go at McDowell and Power's.