Corvallis Gazette

House-Cleaning Carol,

The melancholy days have come—the saddest of the year;

The carpet is on the clothesline, and incessant whacks we hear;

The bedding's in the kitchen, and the beds are in the hall,

The pictures are upon the floor while some one dusts the wall:

We eat cold meat and crackers from a wabbly kitchen chair,

For this is glad housecleaning time—so free from toil and care.

The neighbors line their windows and hasty census take

Of all the bric-a-brac we have, and calculations make

If it was bought with ready cash, or on the installment plan;

We rescue our provisions from the hasty garbage man,

And life is gay and careless-like, it makes one want to roam

To hie away—because the folks are cleaning house at home.

The melancholy days are here the days of soap and brush.

Stove polish daubs the tableware—the bat pie on Wagner's bust—

Piano holds some frying pans the bath tub's filled with books—

The women folks—ah! who could tell who they were by their looks!

Sing hey! The glad housecleaning time—the time of dust and soap!

It is a gladsome sight to see—through a big telescope.

—Baltimore American.