St. Landry democrat., 1882-07-15
A MEDDLESOME GIRL.

| d. A MEDDLESOME GlKL.
Mollie never saw anything in the way
of closet, cupboard, box, bundle, par.
eel, package or letter, but what her pry,
| ing eyes were at once concerned in.
And it was well if her mischievous fin.
gers were not very soon concerned in it,
| too.
She was, in most things, very good
little girl, but it is really surprising to
see how many grave faults will spring
from habit, which, perhaps, might not
be called sinful in itself. Disobedience
came of it, for she was often led into
meddling with things her mother had
forbidden her to touch. Then to hide
what she had been doing, she would
sometimes be tempted to tell a lie.
Her mother often talked to her about
the meanness of trying to spy into the
affairs of other people. Mollie would
promise to give up this bad habit, but
forgot all her good resolutions at sight
of the first thing which seemed in any
way to be hidden from her. She could
not rest till it was found out, and her
mother began to fear it would take some
very severe lesson to cure her. And she
was not at all sorry when the little las
sic got herself into scrape which was
so ridiculous and so Notifying that she
began to think that the best work in the
world for little girls is minding their
own business.
One Saturday morning her mother,
before going out, suggested to Mollie,
that, as she was going visiting in the
afternoon, it would be well for her to
do her practicing and weed her little
garden in the morning. Miss Mollie
did not feel in a mood for work, and
wandered idly into her mothers room.
She opened the upper drawer of the
bureau.
'Ahn' she exclaimed, in great
pleasure, ''that must be the new sash
mother promised me. 1 am to wear
it this afternoon. What beauty!''
She looked with delight at the lovely
pale blue, with its delicate brocading of
moss rosebuds. She tried it on, max
ing very poor attempt at big bow at
the back, and tried to get view of it
in the glass. Not succeeding very
well, she laid the sash on the bureau,
and turned her attention to case of
perfumery. She put some from each
bottle on her handkerchief, and set
them loosely on the bureau, not troub-
ling herself to put them back in the
case. at-
Then she took up bottle that stood
behind the glass and, pulling out the
cork, took a good smell. It almost
knocked her down, and made the tears
run from her eyes, for it was the
strongest ammonia. Hastily setting it
down, she knocked over two of the per
fume bottles, and alas! they broke on
the marble slab, and the perfume
splashed over, and ran under the beauti-
full sash.
She gazed in dismay as soon as she
could see anything. She carried it to
the window and hung it in the sun
shine to dry-then tried to clean up
things on the bureau. While doing
this she spied bottle she had never
seen before.
"Hair-oil!' she said to herself. CHOW
I can put some on my hair. Mamma
never lets me have anyhow I'll have
plenty"
She did take plenty. She was proud
of her hair. 1t was long and wavy and
glossy. She daubed and smeared the
oil over it without stint and rubbed it
in well. 1t did not make her hair quite
SO soft and shiny as she expected it
would, but she forgot this for while
as she went to look if the sash were dry.
1t was, but it was sad to see the streaks
and blotches, where the crimson and
green of the rosebuds had ''run'' into
the pale blue ground.
She folded and laid it back in her
mothers drawer, then went to her own
room, for she did not feel like seeing her
just then.
Dinner-time came. The bell rang and
rang again, but no Mollie appeared.
Her mother sent servant to her
room to desire she would come down
at once. And soon at the dining-room
door stood forlorn figure with Woe
full face and tear-swol1en eyes, and
such hair.
"What's the matter with your hair,
N child?" cried her mother, in aston
lshment and alarm.
"Gr-r-r-racious!r exclaimed her elder
brother.
sJe-whillikins!!p' shouted her young
er brother.
No wonder. Her hair hung in stiff
strings and sticks, looking as if it were
made Of split shingles: