Project Gutenberg's Mrs. Korner Sins Her Mercies, by Jerome K. Jerome

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Title: Mrs. Korner Sins Her Mercies

Author: Jerome K. Jerome

Posting Date: July 27, 2008 [EBook #867]
Release Date: April 1997

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MRS. KORNER SINS HER MERCIES ***

Produced by Ron Burkey, and Amy Thomte

MRS. KORNER SINS HER MERCIES

By Jerome K. Jerome

"I do mean it," declared Mrs. Korner, "I like a man to be a man."

"But you would not like Christopher--I mean Mr. Korner--to be that sort
of man," suggested her bosom friend.

"I don't mean that I should like it if he did it often. But I should
like to feel that he was able to be that sort of man.--Have you told
your master that breakfast is ready?" demanded Mrs. Korner of the
domestic staff, entering at the moment with three boiled eggs and a
teapot.

"Yus, I've told 'im," replied the staff indignantly.

The domestic staff at Acacia Villa, Ravenscourt Park, lived in a state
of indignation. It could be heard of mornings and evenings saying its
prayers indignantly.

"What did he say?"

"Said 'e'11 be down the moment 'e's dressed."

"Nobody wants him to come before," commented Mrs. Korner. "Answered me
that he was putting on his collar when I called up to him five minutes
ago."

"Answer yer the same thing now, if yer called up to 'im agen, I 'spect,"
was the opinion of the staff. "Was on 'is 'ands and knees when I looked
in, scooping round under the bed for 'is collar stud."

Mrs. Korner paused with the teapot in her hand. "Was he talking?"

"Talkin'? Nobody there to talk to; I 'adn't got no time to stop and
chatter."

"I mean to himself," explained Mrs. Korner. "He--he wasn't swearing?"
There was a note of eagerness, almost of hope, in Mrs. Korner's voice.

"Swearin'! 'E! Why, 'e don't know any."

"Thank you," said Mrs. Korner. "That will do, Harriet; you may go."

Mrs Korner put down the teapot with a bang. "The very girl," said Mrs.
Korner bitterly, "the very girl despises him."

"Perhaps," suggested Miss Greene, "he had been swearing and had
finished."

But Mrs. Korner was not to be comforted. "Finished!