The Columbus journal., 1883-05-30
POOR KATIE.

t0e tunes Ln0t tn0 6WcCL OlfQS sing!
Lucy LdrcOm, in Widc-Atpdks.
POOR KATIE.
Mrs. Lowell, Katie's mother, was a
seamstress, and there were many days
when she had but little work to do, and
the pay was always small-only few
cents for garment that she must work
at the whole day long. But she strug-
gled hard to pay the rent and keep Tim
and Katie in school.
In schoOl-that was the great thing.
"Plenty of money may come one day,
little Ones" she would say, "but it will
not be worth much if you do not know
how to use it. This is the most won
derful country in the world, my brides.
Tim may be President and Katie Mrs.
President, and you can't know too much
of schoOl-bOoks. I'm sure that. when
you're grown up, you can never be glad
and thankful enough that your mother
sent you regularly to school. So don't
mind the patched clothes. but keep at
the head Of the class, if you haven't hat
for your head!'
But the winter Katie was eleven years
old, the brave little mother had less
money than ever before, and as the
spring-time came on they grew 50 very
poor that there was not always enough
of bread left after breakfast to make q
school-luncheon for Tim and Katie.
"Give it all to Tim," Katie would
say: II believe l don't want anything
at noon" Poor little Katie! How hard
she tried to think that she was not hun
cry! How empty her hands felt at first
as she trudged along without her din
ner! And how her heart beat. and how
the blood burnt in her cheeks, when the
nooning came, and she of all the girls
had no luncheon to eat! Oh, if any
body should notice it! she thought, and
she studied how she might behave that
nobody should know she was SO very
poor. The hunger in her stomach was
not half so hard to bear as the fear that
somebody would know that she had
nothing to eat.
But, after a few days, poor Katie be-
gan to think that the girls noticed that
she brought no luncheon. Then she
thought that perhaps if she brought
something that looked like one, they
would never think about her eating it.
How she thought it all out, can not
tell; but if any of you have ever been
in trouble and tried to think your way
out of it, perhaps you may remember
that you thought of some very foolish
and queer things, and this was the way
with Katie. She might tie up q few
Goals in a paper, she thought, but her
mother would need every coal to keep
up the fire. There were some blocks in
one corner of the small room-Tim's S
blocks, that Santa Claus had brought
him one Christmas, two or three winters
before. She could tie up some of those
in paper for q make-believe luncheon,
and nobody would know. So she tied
up few blocks neatly, and when her
mother noticed it as she started for
school, and asked in surprise what she
had in the paper, the poor child hung
her head. and then burst into tears.
"Oh, Mammal" she sobbed, II
wanted to make believe that had some
luncheon-it's only Tins blocks!''
For one moment the little mother did
not understand, and then suddenly it all
came into her mind-how the pride of
her child was wounded because she
could not appear as the other school
children did, and that she had fixed
upon that simple device to hide her
want. And how it made her heart ache
more than ever that her poor little girl
must 90 hungry! But she would not de-
prive Katie Of the poor comfort of try
ing to keep up appearances" and her
throat was too full of choking Jumps for
her to trust herself to say much; so she
smoothed the little girls hair and wiped
away the tears from her face, and said
bravely: "Never mind. Katie! Better
days will come! Mother feels sure of iti'
And then Katie slipped away with her
little bundle, and the poor little mother
sat down and sadly wept at the hard
ships that had befallen her little ones.
When the incoming came, Katie sat at
her desk with her make-believe dinner
before her. Her teacher noticed that
she kept her seat, and seeing her lunch
con, went to her and said: "Why do
you not go into the lunch-room and eat
your luncheon with the other girls?" at
the same time reaching out for Katie's
bundle.
"Oh, teacher!' cried Katie, bursting
into tears, "don't touch it! and oh,
teacher, don't tell, please! It's only
bLocksr'
"Only blocksr' softly repeated the
teacher, and tears filed her eyes. "Nev-
er mind. Katie. I'll not tell the girls.
You are brave and dear little girl,
and one of the best in the school!''
Poor, poor child! The kind words
we're like mama to her heart; but,
longing as the teacher was to give the
child portion of her own luncheon. she
would not hurt her pride by the offer
before others. But during q short ses-
sion of the teachers when school was
over, she related the incident, and
spoke in such high terms of praise of
the little girl, that each one resolved to
do all possible to bring ''better days" at
once to the poor mother; and early next
morning the better days began. No
one touched the brave little mothers
self-respect by offering her charity. but
plenty of work, with good pay, was car
ried to her, and enough of bread and
milk. and new shoes, and coal. and all
other needful things, soon came to their
home through the mothers industry.
And Tins blocks went back into their
corner, to stay there.
Happy little Katie!-Mary Wager
Fisher, in st. Nicholas.
The Magnetic Needle.
The magnetic needle is one of the
most sensitive and delicate of instru-
ments. 1t quivers like the aspen leaf
at the approach of any object that re-
pels or attracts it. 1t shakes with