The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1870-06-04
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katie'S Waterfall.


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Away out in the rural districts, in one of
the leveliest homesteads in old Orange, lives
uncle Joe W. and his motherly, whole
souled wife, aunt Polly.
Every summer comes here to rusticate.
from the pent city's noise and heat pretty
Kate NJ. aunt Polly's orphan niece Last
June, as usual, found Katie, bag and bag
gage, en- route for uncle Joe's where she
arrived on time and in good order
You look as natural as life, child,'
said good uncle Joe fondly, and greeting
Katie with kiss that made her lips Jingle,
"only for that awful bunch on the back of
your head. Seems to me, you do go be-
yond the beyondest in this drefful fashion.
Now, why don't you let it all down into
your own flynn mad-cap curls agin, and let
them and fashion both go to the windo'
cas- well out of the world as out of the
fashion, uncle laughed Katie, and then,
almost with a sob, "don't you knew, dear
uncle, it isn't for fashion l wear this at all,
all my own hair with the fever wrote you
about, and this is all false-a miserable,
stuffed protuberance, for mine is only Just
long enough now to tuck under the edges
of this Cheat
Well, never mind, DEAR" said aunt
Polly, everybody wears all the hair now-a-
days they can buy or borrow; only try and
look your handsomest tomorrow morning,
for your cousin Jehn has college friend
here; the best fellow, he says in the world,
and a real smart, good-loekin' chap, in my
eye. We have told him about our Katie,
but we want eXpectin' you till tomorrow
night, so they have gone over to town to
make call, and now hurry to bed dear,
and get your beauty sleep and be up
bright and early to surprise them in the
morning. Won't John open his eyes, for
| shan't let him know you are here till he
sees you at breakfast"
So geod-nights were exchanged and
Katie retired, to dream of Johns handsome
friend.
Now, as is the way of many old country
houses of the last century, the dwelling of
uncle Joe has large, spacious chamber, on
one side of which, bedrooms are built and
the rest, RATED and roomy, makes a mag
nificent ventilation for the ancient abode.
In one of the aforesaid bedrooms slept the
fair Katie.
Soundly and sweetly she slumbered, and
when the glorious morning sun kissed her
eye-lids, she sprang lightly from her downy
pillows, prepared to attire herself most be-
witchingly in the pretty buff cambria, trim
med so charmingly with blue.
What pity haven't my own beauti-
full hair yet" sighed Katie, as she laved
her face in the pure, sweet water from the
meadow spring. go, that horrid fever. it
made such sad havoc with my looks;'' and
thus soliloquizing, Katie turned to get the
"stuffed pretuberance she had stigma
tized so severely the night before, when
multifarious horrors, it was nowhere to be
found.
ooh, what has become of my waterfall;
what shall I do" cried Katie, searching up
and down, hither and thither, vainly, for
the missing head gear.
She remembered taking it off, just before
retiring, and laying it at the head of the
bed on a chair, and now it was certainly
nowhere in the room.
"What will become of me- sighed
Katie, half crying, "my own head looks
just like Shocks, aunt Pollys lap-deg."
At this juncture aunt Polly appeared on
the scene, with the annour cement that the
boys were up and breakfast was ready.
katie's dolorous plight was soon made
known and search renewed by botlrwith
vigor, but not vestige of the missing ar
ticle could be discovered.
Weary with looking and waiting Katie,
after good cry, and at aunt Polly's earn
est solicitation, consented to brush up her
soft misty locks into pretty rings and ten
drills about neck and brow, and appear
upon the scene.
"Say not word about it, DEAR said
aunt Polly, soothiHgly, land they'll think
it new style
So Kate made her debut, and was intro
duced to Johns friend and John, "con-
trary to natur,'' as aunt Polly declared,
In taoz 1,if
happened thereafter, in the course Of human
events, sundry walks, rides, pic-nics, ex-
cursions, ETC., ETC., in all of which Harry
Lane, the friend aforesaid, and Katie
seemed to pair off naturally together, and
SO, ere the summer waned, they had deter
mined to brave the shoals and quick sands
on the treacherous sea of matrimony.
"Katie shall be married here, at the old
homestead, where her ma was born," said
kind aunt Polly, and so there was slaugh-
tering of the feathered creation, and vigor-
Gus beating of fresh eggs, and sugar, and
golden cream, and snowy flour.
''And We'll have big dance in the
chamber" said John.
you'll have to have new floor in
them replied uncle Joe; and so carpen-
ter was sent for with dispatch, and the
loose, old time stained boards were soon
IN pTOCeSS vi TEARING up, W Hldhc TOoLl iol
the smoothest of white pine floors, for a
grand dance at Katie's wedding.
And what met the astonished eyes of
uncle Joe, as he lifted the boards contigu-
Gus to Katies chamber, from their resting
place? Why, the cosiest family of little
rats, snugly ensconsed in what was once
Katies waterfall, now carefully pulled to
pieces and arranged into a comfortable
nest.
Uncle Joe had been warned by aunt
Polly, on the morning of katie's myster-
ious loss, to never mention it to the boys,
:. for you see if John gets wind of it, she'll
never hear the last of it, said sympathi-
zing aunt Polly. But the discovery was
too good to be kept secret.
Katie was quickly summoned, and her
irrepressible screams of laughter soon
brought John and Harry to the spot, and
the latter, drawing the pretty head, with
its little short rings of dropping gold to his
shoulder, whispered in her ear, DO you
know, Katie, darling, it was this little head
of sunny, natural curls, that won my admi
ration first, for had vowed l never would
wed womon who wore that monstrous
abomination, huge waterfall"
''TLen you may thank the rats for me,
after all" said Katie, half pouting, "and
we'll coax uncle Joe to leave them undis-
turbed. - Woods Household Magazine.
,.,f 10