Northern tribune. [volume] (Cheboygan, Mich.) 1875-1885, 1879-08-30

self to the city, twenty miles distant, on
business cares intent. Her mother had
accompanied him on a shopping raid.
Inc last remaining servant had discOv-
cred that another of her relatives had
shufiied off this mortal coil; and her
presence being, of course, imperative at
the sad scene, she had obtained leave OF
absence till all the solemn ceremOnlals
OF the wake should have been enacted.
And thus it happened that FlOy was left
In sole dominion of the household realm,
ian unprecedented occurrence, by the
wayO and with only one companion 10
her SOlitude-her little sister Rose, aged
| five years.
She had evidently been making an at
tempt at work, for her wicker work
stand stood beside her, gay with It's TAN
gle of silks, and i'm her lap nestleda tiny
golden thimble. Wearied with the ac-
tual accomplishment of whole square
| inch of satin stitch, she sought relief In
LOngfellOw. and having followed faithful
Evangeline through to the sad end OF her
jOurneyings. she was meditatlng upon
the feasibility of nap III the arm
chair.
The white lids dropped softly, and the
brown ewes turned to behold the visions
of dreamland. Suddenly with start
thew opened wide, and there, right In
her very lap, sat an impudent little
gray kitten, its round, wise eyes fixed
wOnderingly upon her own.
In her idle mood even this was di-
version; and fOndling and teasing it,
the next object that arrested her atten-
ton was miniature cradle, wherein
nightly repOSed Roses favOrite doll; the
child having taken advantage of her
mothers absence to transfer her play
things to the parlOr. The clothing of
said cradle was now in slight disarray
from the hasty withdrawal of its occu-
pant. FlOy surveyed meditatively for a
moment, then, struck with bright
| idea, crossed the room, and down went
her pink flOunceS on the floor beside the
cradle. AZ
Searching, she soon drew forth cap
and gown of doll dimensions, and proceed
ed to array the kitten Herewith. But the
kitten. was contumaciOus, and, instead
of quietly acquiescing in the proceed
ing, Obstinately persisted in twisting,
curling and screwing, varying the per-
fOrmance with an occasional scratch
which almost had the effect of prOcur-
| ing its release. Not quite, however, for
after severe and prolonged strug-
gle with the obdurate feline, Floy had at
length the supreme satisfaction of see
ing the rebelliOus arms pOking demure-
ly from the sleeves, and the cap tied Sc
curely over the little pointed ears. This
grand achievement had the immediate
effect; and she conceived the startling
project of compelling her refractory
charge to take nap in the cradle, cloth
ed in the same habiliments. Success
crowned her efforts. Bending over the
cradle and softly rocking it, her whole
attention was absorbed in watching the
sleeping kitten, when she was start
ed by the voice of Rose in the doorway
"Here she is, right in here, playin
with FER tatp' And she rose hastily to
confront Maxwell Grey, holding her sis
ter's hand, and looking down at her with
mischief fairly leaking out of his dark
eyes. M
She saw at glance that he comprehend.
ed it all. For moment quick blushes
burned her cheeks; then, with a great
effort she summoned self possession
enough to reply to his easy self-intrOduc
ton. She had barely recovered herself
when The kitten, awakened perhaps b,
the sound of voices, jumped from TIL
cradle, and, frightened and impeded b.
!. it's unusual membranes, forthwith
i proceeded to execute a series of evOlu
lions which nothing but half franti,
kitten could by any possibility accom-
plish, alternately bounding, tripping
and rolling over, and interspersing tn,
performance with screeches of felin,
agony and fright, and at last disappear
ing through the doorway like SOM
strange meteor. ,-r-
Poor Floy surveyed it in solemn 81
lence; then raised her eyes with such
cOmical expression of distress that, t.
save himself, Grey could not refrain
from a hearty laugh. Somehow thi
laugh set her at ease; it was so much east
er to bear this than his quizzical, half
! satirical smile. She caught the infection
and joined with him, half shyly, in I
low, little laugh at her own detection.
81 was so lonesome" she said, almOs
apOlOgetically, land the kitten came an
jumped into my lap" Then, carelessl,
|, dismissing the subject, and resolving t
atone for her apparent childishness, sh
exerted herself to the utmost, bringin
out every lurking charm and grace G
speech and manner, and assuming
very unwOnted dignity, which yet sa
very piquently upon her.
, So the afternoon fled on swift wing
Five o'clock chimed from the mantl
, and suddenly upon her peace of min
> protruded the horrible idea of suppe
She had invited him to tarry, suppOsin
0 that her father would have arrived Ell
{ this; but the time for the arrival of tn
\ train had gone by, and still he did NJ
come. But supper was a ceremOl
u which, unfortunately, could not be di
: pensed with, and, in her experience,
g Subject that troubled her sadly. Al
s then, horrible thought! suppose the
I shouldn't happen to be anything "gOOt
{ in the housed She resolved to know ii
g worst, and, excusing herself, set out u
q on an exploring expedition to the u
!; known regions of the pantry. A pr
" lOnged search through every box al
e drawer discovered, to her unspeakab
+ CONSERVATION, that, although there w
g an abundance of cake and sweets of e
IQ orv daccriDtiOn not q oinUla article