Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1869-12-03
lccount of fha siIvar.I

! Immense EmEA1S1man, and perfectly
/ unavailable as to taking upon himseI
any of Bridget's duties, save waiting
| upon the door. His daughter, who haC
| been our nurse, and was at that time
seamstress, might have done very well
but she was away at Portsmouth. And
as for Peggy, our dear, old black cook
though never knew any one to equa
her IN her realm, the kitchen, she had
| no idea of anything out of it, and nev.
er had done anything of this kind. II
was raining in torrents, and none Of
as could go out. and, We sat and looked
at each other.
Suddenly, Kitty clapped her hands
Mamma said she, read US theiI
names again.
ESQ mamma read the names of two
gentlemen from South America, and
one from New Orleans, and that of Mr..
Philip Bruce, Of London.
All perfect strangers, except to pa
pa said Kitty, joyfulIy; and they're
interested in that South American busi-
ness of his, and all on their way there,
very likely; and we shall never see
them again.
8 s'fWeil, child, what has all this to do
with Bridget's being gone 2
{" 'I'll tell you, mamma; have the
io1liest plan, and it will be such fun.
I'u be so disappointed if you say 'fnop
to me. 1t isn't the least harm, and ]
know it will make no trouble. just let
me wear one of Bridget's white aprons
and look stupid you call me Kathe-
rine, and I'll wait on the table as well
as Bridget could. No one ever notices
the servants, and I'm not like you, or
papa, or Margaret. You can turn my
portrait to the wall, in the drawing
room, and they'll think it's somebody
that is disinherited. Those gentlemen
haven't the least particle of informa-
ton concerning Papa,s family. They
he is a bachelor in lodgings, for all we
know and if anything be said about
your children, tell them that your sons
are in college, and your eldest daugh-
ter with a friend. Of course, I shall
be, whether am with Peggy in the
kitchen or standing behind you. o,
I'd like it 50 much better than sitting
at the table, and Peggy will never tell;
who will be the wiser 2
Mamma at first, though very much
amused, shook her head, and said it
was too foolish to be thought of; we
could explain our troubles to the gem
tlemen and get on as best we could, but
Kate would not give up. Mamma gave
some very good reasons: what should
we do without Kitty to help entertain
them and any one,-though she
knew it wouldn't be considered proper
conduct in a mother to make such a re-
mark,-any one would know Kate was
not a servant. Papa, too, would want
her to sing for them in the evening for,
though her voice is wonderfully sweet
now, then she sang like bird, and we
were all very proud of the girl, as well
we might be).
'But she upset all mammals argu-
ments, asking her how in the world she
so much company, unaid-
ed, during the years she was unable to
appear, on account of extreme youth.
She was charmed to hear her say she
was too good-looking but as to her be-
ing wanted to sing, just see If the
whole five didn't go directly to the IL
brary, and if the waste-paper basket
wasn't filed with papers covered with
figures, in the morning
7'And so the end was, that mamma
very reluctantly consented. Peggy, to
W hOm the secret was instantly eonhd-
ed, nearly went into fits with laughing,
and the more we all thought of 1t, the
more we were amused. Kitty suggest
ed our total discontinue, in case papa
brought home some one who knew her.
[ suggested that, if it were any one we
were Intimate with, we take them into
the secret, for I wanted to see how Kate
would carry it out and if it were not,
we might-and thereby nearly ruined
the whole affair-send for the lending
of Mrs. Duncan's Ann,-Mrs. Duncan
being a great friend of ours, who lived
only a7gloor or two away S2Eeh g DuQ
as Kitty gave my dress, when I mem
toned it
peared, with the four strangers, who
had been at the Office with him all day,
and, luckily, no one with them. He
was duly made acquainted with the
for the evening; and find
ing the plans all settled and Kitty's
heart evidently set upon them, he made
but little opposition, considering the
disappointment it probably was to him
not to show his uncOmmOnly nice lit
tie daughter. We three could hardly
conceal our amusement when Kate en-
tered the drawing-room to announce
and it was made the harder for
us by the queer little Irish brogue she
had assumed for the occasion. The
guests-One in particular-Cou evi
IDENTIFY not account for so striking a
display of beauty and grace in so hum
BILE position.
seThe dinner went off capitally. Kit
5y was perfection; and the only way
could see that she betrayed herself
was in having, for moment or two,
the most interested expression during
a conversation we were all very much |
in. She told me afterWard |
that she came very near giving her
know it would have
the most decided manner. Wouldn't |
it have been shocking?
eve sat much longer time than |
usual at the table. The three gentlemen |
from the South were middle-aged, and |
evidently absorbed in business; but the |
was not over thirty, and as |
handsome and agreeable as possible. |
He watched Kitty as often as he dared, 1
to our great amusement and once, as |
she left the room, seemed on the point |
of asking us about her. My dears, |
what could mamma have said
ttPapa was overlooking with fun, and |
it all very much 1 could see
be was nearly choking sometimes, at
Kitty's EYis, SURF and 'Pr1s-unt-lee., |
She never passed me plate without |
giving me a poke, and, Idare say, re- |
minded papa and mamma of the exist |
ence in the same way.
s'As she had prophesied, they ex-
cused themselves after dinner, and |
zsent to the library all but Mr.. Bruce |
Sfho had no interest in south America. |
He had no engagement, and so left us /
in the course of half an hour. Con-
ceive our amusement, when, just after
we left the table, Kitty entered with a
note on waiter, and message, pur-
porting to be from Miss Harriet Wolfe, ]
Go the effect that she would call for
mamma to go to an afternoon concert
the next day. I was just leaving the |
room as she entered, and can tell
you hurried bit after that, and, as
[ looked around at mamma to see how
she bore it, she was holding fan be-
fore her face, in a perfect cOnvulsion
of laughter and there stood that
wicked Kate, with her hands folded,
waiting sOlemnly for the answer. Poor
Miss Wolfe had died some years before,
and had been stone-deaf at that How
mamma gave the answer, or excused
her amusement, have forgotten. Kit
ty did it, as she said then, for a grand
finale to her masquerading, but as she
says now, and firmly believed at the
time, for a parting look at the English
man.
"He went away, and Kitty came into
the parIor, and we had a great laugh
over our dinner-party, and the next
day it was told to an admiring audi
ence of three, ee,-grandmamma and my
two aunts and I don't think ever
went any farther, as we did not even
dare to tell my brothers. Bridget
probably wonders to thisday who took
her place.
THE next Monday, we went back to
our two neutrality-suspicious., and after a
-