By Neil Burgess.
T did my soul good," said Mrs. Puffy, "to see old Parson Wilder come in, the dear old soul; he looked as smiling as a basket of chips, and it was a nice morning, the sun shining right into our setting-room; and, as luck would have it, I'd just got all cleaned up and had put on a clean calico and white apron, and, if I do say it, I looked as slick as a whistle; and our garden—well, you'd oughter to seen it—a mass of posies and blossoms everywhere; and as it had rained in the night everything was as fresh as a cowcumber. 'Well, well!' says the parson, 'this is a picture one could never forget,' and he looked at my floor and kitchen-table; they were both white as snow, and my milk-pans—well you could just see your face in 'em, and everything was as neat as a pink.
"I cut him a pie and got him a pitcher of milk, cause I could see he was powerful hungry, and when he got filled up he commenced: 'Cleanliness is next to Godliness; now,' says he, 'what makes this home look so bright and pure as the lily?' Says I 'It's Sapolio.'
"'How?' says he, putting his hand to his ear, 'cause he's a little deaf. 'Sapolio!' I yelled in his ear. 'No,' says he, 'no; it's virtoo, moral virtoo, that's er shining through it all,' and he kept that up till supper time, and stayed and eat a big supper (I'm afraid they ain't er feeding the old man as well up to his house as they oughter); and after he had gone hum, I couldn't help thinking, as I looked at my floor, table, pans and etceterer, that it may be moral virtoo shining through 'em, but it takes Sapolio to fetch it out!"
If your grocer does not keep Sapolio he can order it for you from any wholesale grocer in the United States.
What is Sapolio?
It is a solid, handsome cake of scouring soap, which has no equal for all cleaning purposes, except the laundry.