Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1879-04-11

coil; and her presence being, of course,
imperative at the sad scene, she had
obtained leave of absence till all the
solemn ceromonials of the wake should
have been enacted. And thus 1t hap
pened that Floy was left in sole domin-
ion of the household realm, Gan un-
precedented occurrence, by the way,)
and with only one companion TO her
solitude--her little sister Rose, aged
FIVE years.
She had evidently been making an
attempt at work, for her wicker work
stand stood beside her, gay with its
tangle of silks, and in her lap nestled
tiny golden thimble. Wearied with
the actual accomplishment of a whole
square inch of satin stitch, she had
sought relief in'Longfellow, and having
followed faithful Evangelino through
to the sad end of her journeyings, she
was meditating upon the feasibility of a
nap in the arm chair.
The white lids dropped softly, and
the brown eyes turned to behold the
visions of dreamland. Suddenly, with
start, they opened wide, and there,
right in her very lap, sat an imprudent
little gray kitten, its round, wise eyes
fixed wonderingly upon her own.
In her idle mood even this was a
diversion; 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
playthings TO the parlor. The cloth
ing of said cradle was now in slight
disarray, from the hasty withdrawal of
its occupant. Floy surveyed it medita-
lively for n moment, then, struck with
bright idea, crossed the room, and
down went her pink flounces on the
floor beside the cradle.
Searching, she soon drew forth q cap
and gown of dolls Dimensions, and
proceeded TO array the kitten there
with. But the kitten was contumacious,
and instead of quietly acquiescing in tho
proceedings, obstinately persisted in
twisting, curling and scrowing, varying
the performance with an occasional
scratch, which almost had the effect of
procuring its release. Not quite, how
ever, for after severe and prolonged
struggle with the obdurate feline, Floy
had at length the supreme satisfaction
of seeing the rebelliOus arms pOking de-
murely from the sleeves, and the cap
tied securely over the little pointed
ears. This grand achievement had the
immediate effect of melting her to still
greater efforts; and she conceived the
startling project of compelling her re-
fractory charge to take n nap in the
cradle, clothed 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 startled by the voice of Rose in the
doorway:
Here she is; right in here, playin'
with 'er tatr' And she rose hastily to
confront Maxwell Grey, holding her
sisters hand. and looking down at her
with mischief fairly leaking out of his
dark eyes.
She saw at glance that he compre-
hended it all. For a moment quick
bushes burned her cheeks; then, with
a great effort, she summoned self-pos-
session enough to reply to his easy
self-introductfon. She had barely re-
covered herself, when the kitten, awak-
ened perhaps by the sound of voices,
jumped from the cradle, and, fright
ened and impeded by its unusual incum-
brances, forthwith proceeded to exc
cute a series of evolutions which moth
ing but half frantic kitten could by
any possibility accomplish; alternately
bounding, tripping, and rolling over,
and interspersing the performance with
screeches of feline agony and fright, and
at last disappearing through the door
way like some strange meteor
Poor Floy surveyed it in snlamn si-
lence; then raised her eyes with such 8
comical expression of distress that, to
save himself, Grey could not refrain
from a hearty laugh. Somehow this
easier to bear than his quizzical, half
satirical smile. She caught the infec
tion and joined with him, half shyly, ir
a low, little laugh at her own detec
ton.
~ was so lonesome" she said, al
most apologetically, "and the kitten
came and jumped into my lap" Then
carelessly dismissing the subject, and
resolving to atone for her apparent
childishness, she exerted herself to the
utmost, bringing out every lurking
charm and grace of speech and man
ner, and assuming very unwonted dig
nifty, which yet sat very piquantly upor
her.
So the afternoon fled on swift wings
Five O'clock chimed from the mantel
and suddenly upon her peace of MIND
protruded the horrible idea of supper
She had invited him to tarry, suppos
ing that her father would have arrived
ero THE, but tho tinao for tho arrival u
the train had gone by, and still he had
not come. But supper was a cere-
mony which, unfortunately, could moi
be dispensed with, in her experience, 3
subject that troubled her sadly. And
then, horrible thought! suppose there
shouldn't happen to be anything
"good'' in the house! She resolved tC
know the worst, and, excusing herself
set out upon an exploring expedition
to the unknown regions of the pantry.
A prolonged search through every box
and drawer discovered, to her unspeak.
able CONSERVATION, that, although there
was an abundance of cakes and sweets
of every description, not single arti-
Gle of bread or biscuit was to be found.
1t would be no punishment to herself
to be obliged to sup on these, but with
company to tea," what was she to
doP She sat down almost in despair
to have real good "think" about it,
and the conclusions at which she ar
rived were very soon evident.
With face frightened. she flew
! around, and seon from its hiding place
came forth a snowy apron, 10 be tied
tidily around the lythe waist then the
sleeves were pushed up from the round
arms, and with somebody's most APP
proved cookbook as guide, she cour-
ageously set to work. And after va
rious difficulties and discouragments,
all triumphantly surmOunted, was busily
shaping ''batch'' of soft, white dough
into the most entrancing little biscuits
imaginable. When in due time they
H.