TOPNOODY.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7767, 11 June 1887, Page 6

TOPNOODY.

Mr Topnoody threw down his newspaper with a muttered objurgation, aud lookod across the table at his wife.

" What's the matter? " she enquired " This confounded civil servioe reform twaddle makes ma sick," he exclaimed. " I don't see why it is that a lot of men can't do their duty when it is marked out plainly before them." " Did you order that coal to-day ? " she asked, irrelevantly, but with a new light shining in her face. " I beg your pardon, my dear," he said, picking up his paper again, " that's got nothing to do with oivil servioe reform."

"Did you order that coal? I said," she persisted.

"N — no, my dear," be hesitated, '• I forgot all about it. But I'll do it the first thing in the morning. As I wbb sayiug, my dear, this oivil service reform "

"Don't talk to me, Todnoody, about " What you want to devote your civil service reform," she said, hotly, time and attention to is domestic ser. vice reform. There isn't a lump of coal in the cellar j boards are off the side fence ; that baok yard looks like a pig-sty, there hasn't been a bit of wood chopped since Saturday; you haven't given me a penny for these two weeks, and the cook is going to leave in the morning. You may think that's the way to do things, Topnoody, but I want to tell you that I'm running this administration now, and if you don't stop this fooling with politics and attend to business you'll hear from headquarters after a fashion that will make your head swim. Civil service reform, indeed ! "

Topnoopy never said a word ; he knew better.