The Trials of Mrs. Oakwood
A short story in newspaper prose
From the ‘Help Wanted’ column of the Birchall Weekly Times, April 4th 1880
Required: housemaid. No Irish. Apply Mrs. H.F. Oakwood, 34 Stanhope Street.
‘Help Wanted,’ Weekly Times, May 10th 1880
Required: sturdy, reliable, hard-working housemaid. No Irish. Apply Mrs. H.F. Oakwood, 34 Stanhope Street.
‘Help Wanted,’ Weekly Times, July 1st 1880
Wanted: reliable, quiet, good-tempered housemaid. No Irish. Apply Mrs. H.F. Oakwood, 34 Stanhope Street.
From the ‘Lost Property’ column of the Weekly Times, August 20th 1880
LOST, in the neighborhood of 3rd and Stanhope streets, an oval brooch set with a single emerald and a circle of pearls. Reward. Mrs. H.F. Oakwood, 34 Stanhope Street.
‘Help Wanted,’ Weekly Times, August 30th 1880
Wanted: honest, respectable housemaid with good character references. No Irish. Apply Mrs. H.F. Oakwood, 34 Stanhope Street.
Item under the heading ‘An Unfortunate Accident’ in the Weekly Times, September 15th 1880
A gentleman visiting in Stanhope Street met with an unfortunate accident yesterday, when he fell down the front steps of the dwelling as he was taking his departure. A crowd quickly collected, including the patrolman on the beat, and it was ascertained that the gentleman had suffered a broken leg. The gentleman, a Mr. Charles L. Adams, had been visiting his grandmother, Mrs. H.F. Oakwood, and was carried back into her residence, and a physician summoned. The cause of the accident was found to be a mop and bucket and some wet rags that a careless maid had left on the steps.
‘Help Wanted,’ Weekly Times, September 16th 1880
Urgently required: neat, reliable, responsible housemaid. Apply Mrs. H.F. Oakwood, 34 Stanhope Street.
Under ‘Local Notes,’ Weekly Times, September 24th 1880
Mr. Charles Adams, who broke his leg last week, is recovering at the home of his grandmother, Mrs. H.F. Oakwood.
‘Local Notes,’ Weekly Times, October 25th 1880
Mr. Charles Adams is visiting friends in Kingsville.
Under ‘Missing,’ Birchall Weekly Times, October 27th 1880
MISSING, from 34 Stanhope Street, since Tuesday evening—Ethel Gregson, housemaid, age about twenty-two, dark hair, fair complexion, small stature. Please convey any information to Mrs. H.F. Oakwood, 34 Stanhope Street, or to the local police precinct.
From the ‘Marriages’ column of the Kingsville Daily Democrat, October 31st 1880
October 27th, Mr. Charles L. Adams, of Birchall, to Miss Ethel Gregson.
‘Help Wanted,’ Birchall Weekly Times, November 1st 1880
WANTED urgently: honest, respectable, good-tempered, hard-working, reliable, very plain housemaid. Irish preferred. Apply Mrs. H.F. Oakwood, 34 Stanhope Street.
This one made me smile. Clever!
This was such a delight! I loved it!