Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1873-05-23

1t was impossible to resist the. sudden
surnmer-tide of all things Nobody prated
Of rheumatism, or preached, prudence.
Old and young alike flung caution to the
winds, and, asifiHtoxicated by the fragrant
air. Ignored dcws, sat on the fresh grass
and committed all other imprudences.
By the middle Of June picnic had
been proposed and organized. Such par
ties were unusual even in quiet Wood
bury, but the oldest inhabitant could not
recOllect one so early in the season.
Of course Molly was to go. What could
a picnic in Woodbury. be without herY
Her sweet temper, pretty, merry face, and
def fingers made her q universal favorite.
No one knew the wild, beautiful forest
hooks so well, no one comprehended so
perfectly the due admiXture of salad and
lemonade, or had such a trick of decking
an impromptu table tastefuily with ferns
and flowers Of course Molly must go.
And il was while in the midst of some
dainty outdoor housewifery that a stranger
was brought up for introduction, and
"Miss Gale" had to look up from her oak
wreaths and frost cakes to courtesy to "Mr.
Conrad" A pair of dark eyes met hers
withssa sudden amused glad recognition,
which perplexed and mystified her.
"Where have l seen him before?" she
thought again and again, as the day wore
on with its lively alternations0f of luncheon,
laughter and Irritation. But no answer
occurred, and the new arrival followed
her movements with devotion which
caused some teasing from the other girls,
and not a few jealous pangs among the
young men. Its case of see and CON
queIy' whispered her friends among them
selves, but neither with Surprise nor envy
for Molly was belle in her little set. and
none disputed her pretty supremacy.
Mr. Conrad had come to Woodbury. on
business, it seemed. He did not specify
its nature, and no one could guess it; it
evidently absorbed little of his time, but
week after week he fingered in the village,
and, as business" was by no means the
specially of the place. his errand was a
subject of great speculation among the
gossips. Young, good-looking, and much
of a gentleman, he was universally accept
ed and liked Molly met him here, there,
and every where, and their intimacy grew
with great strides Before month was over
she felt that she had known him always
fact which puzzled her not a little
whenever she took time to think about it.
Still the resemblance which had struck
her at first pursued and haunted her. 1t
was not his face only-voice and form
were alike familiar; all suggested some
body, for her life she could not tell whom.
Twenty times she was on the point of
speaking of it, and twenty times RETAINED.
at was so ridiculous" she said to herself
At last explanation came -&s-.. eI
1t Glanced ON apicnic. Woodbury. was
famous for its picnics. This was held in
the same beautiful grove where she and
Mr.. Conrad had first met in early June.
The day was hot and brilliant. Golden
rod and purple aster fringed the paths; ar
August sky blaZed through the tree-tops
summer, gathering her last blossoms If
her lap, seemed Fastening to be gone !.
Dinner was over; people were lying unde
trees or wandering about in groups; Molly
and Mr.. Conrad found themselves alone in
a secluded nook.
do you know" she said, breaking a
long pause, 1--WE been so troubled all this
time to find out who it is you remind me
of? | saw it themoment you were intro
duced to me; and, if it hadn't been i'm
| possible, should certainly have declared
that we had met before. Isn't it funny?"
Well" replied Mr.. Conrad, slowly,
,'not-so-funny-perhaps-as you think.
should like-may |? Molly, will you
have longed to utter it for days past, but
till now never dared" ral
Certainly" said Molly, coloring. He
never called her Molly before.
ut was about a young man." continued
Mr.. Conrad-"a wild young fellow, full of
fun and frolic, who never stopped at any
thing that promised a good joke.
There was young lady, too, as it hap
| pened-a sort of cousin of his--as wild as
| himself. She was sent for her sins, to
| boarding-school-a very strict school. 1t
was at P, not far from here"
The convent?n asked AIollie, wonder.
ing
Exactly. Well, my young lady wrote
home all sorts of droll accounts of her
prison house. She told all her trials and
adventures, and made pen-and-ink carca.
lures of the Lady Superior, whom she
dubbed The Dfagon;' in short so conf
cal that her brothers and cousins, and two
or three young men who were inmates of
the house, and so privileged, used to roar
over the letters, and, look for their coming
as the best jokes. At last ridiculous
plan was started between them. Adele
(that was the young LADY, had defed them
to insert even so much as one of their
noses into the strietlyguarded domain. 1t
was decided that one of them should go
in disguise and attempt the experiment.
| The lot fell to the cousin. ~ rE .-
'"The disguise he pitched upon was that
of scissors grinder No, please don't
speak" Molly had given little jump;
Let me finish my own way"
$50, carrying his wheel, this young fel-
low started off up country. Part of the
bet was that he should go on foot, and re-
turn the same way. He had all sorts OF
odd experiences, and about noon the sec
ond day'reached the convent.
His wheel and his Irish brogl1e gained
| him admission at the gate. Adele had
been in a measufe prepared for his com
ing She recognized him at once, and
considered it the greatest fun in the world
So the little witch ran around and collect
ed all the knives and scissors in the
house, and gave her intimate friends the
cue, and pretty soon the grinder was sur.
rounded by a bevy of girls, some in the
secret some not, but all catching the ex,
citement with a sort of freemasonry pecu
liar to school. Leave had been asked OF
the principal, of course, and obtained with
out difficulty. Nobody minds a scissors
| grinder, you known
Molly's eyes laughed, but she did not
speak.
81 hope" went on Mr.. Conrad, s1hat
lnOSe SCISSORS were wen SldfpeneQ,. hui
can't feel as sure as / Should like to
But know there never was droller hour
than that which this needy knife grinder
had with those girls. The secret got out
and the whole school collected The fiirts
peeped out of the > Yiniews,g = aud, made
eyesi the dempre pretended not to under
stand; the little Ones danced and giggled
When AL tue steel in the house had been
sharpened Cor dulled) the witches ran Il
the Lady Superior, and asked permission
70 give the poor man" something TO eat
'He looked so tired-and worked SO hard.
Oh, If you could have seen him solemnly
consuming sandwiches, with those forty
girls looking ON, and the head witch Adele
assuming her airs of ahostess at a dinner
party
"Well, he got safely OFF and made his
way to Woodbury. where he staid over
night. The next morning, as he was pass