St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-07-06
THE FALSE ALARM.

| Two little girls in the early morning OF an
October were dressing in a sleepy
fashion, or rather one of them was dressing
and the other sat on the side of the bed look
ing at her
''There,'' said Bess, impatiently, "now
that mean old shoe-string must go aud
break, and know that BELLS just going to
ring. Turn over the leaf, Gussie, so we can
be learning the text while we do our hair.
Gussie got up on the bed and turned over
the leaf on a roll of texts which hung on the
wall, and then stood minute reading to
herself.
s'Why don't you hurry % said Bess, look
| ing up at her, ''you'll be awful late. Ny
senses me! What text to pick out for
folks! "A false balance is abomination to
the Lord Pears to me if l was Sunday
school committee, or whoever does print out
those verses, ia find some that had some
! sense to 'em.'
''Why, Bessie Maynard, that's in the Bible
and l should think you wouldn't dare to talk
So" said Gussie, with Mortified eyes.
''Well, don't mean just that way, of
course. mean sense for everybody. You
KNOW yourself JucTC' ulllClCuCC. luCIc ,
verses about wives, and husbands, and min
listers, and-aud grandmothers, and they
don't fit everybody l should think that
weigh things right, and l just wish they had
to learn it''
Its easy to learn anyhow said Gussie,
''only like to think about my verse. Some
of them seem just a purpose for me, like
| tDiIirant IN bI,ci nnl tWhatSnnUpr
thy hand.'''
''Yes," said Bess, complacently, ''you are
SO slow, Gusse, and such put-otfeP, but
there isn't a thing in this verse to thinl,
about
There was little silence, for Bessie was
brushing her thick, curly locks, and 1t took
all her patience to struggle through the
tangles.
''That's because you didn't brush it out
last night" said Gussie.
Il spose SO! But it is such bother.
Dear mel I'm just going to braid it this
way; can't stop"
ooh, Bessie! you know mamma won't like
it, and it spoils your hair said Gussie.
''I'll do it for once, said Bess; lit looks
all right, anyhow"
II wonder-'' began Gussie, and then
suddenly stopped.
''What!' inquired Bess.
II didn't know thought maybe that
might be what the text meant" said Gussie,
slowly; "sort of half doing thing-not give
quite so much as you pretend to-
''Gussie slapped, afraid Of offending the
sister of whose superior gifts she stood greatly
in awe; but Bess only laughed she an
swered: "You do think Of the queerest
things, Gussie' -
That is what they all said of Gussie, but
she kept on thinking.
1t was her day to dust the parlors.
''I'll help yCu,'' said Bessie; and then
you'll get through SO we can 60 for chest
nuts"
''But you don't do the corners, Bessie,
and you haven't moved any of the books, ?"
said Gussie, as she watched her sisters rapid
whisks of the buster.
''Whats the difference9n said Bcss ''it
looks all right; you s'spose anybody's going
to peek around atcr speck of dust! There,
now, that's done!''
But Gussie, with the thought of that false
balance in her queer little head, kept on un-
til the work was thoroughly done, saying to
herself: ''If | pretend to give mamma q
pound of work, and only give her half
pound, Pm sure that's deceitful balance. :"
The next thing in order was to pick
over the grapes for jelly, and even patient
Gussie sighed over the big basket, but, as
usual, Bessie's part was completed long be-
fore hers.
81 wish you could learn to be little
more nimble with your fingers, Gussie,"
said her mother and Bessie added in an I'M
dertone:
cts cause you fuss SO; s'sposin a bad
grape does go in now and then, who's going
to know ii when they're all smashed up!"
II don't care,'' said Gussie, feeling lit
tie touched by her mothers criticism. 81
shan't have any false balances bout my
work, cause the Lord can tell bad grape
if it is smashed up, and it isn't the grape
that matters it's putting it in"
Only one thing more stood between the
little girls and the holiday excursion for
chcstnuts. The history lesson must be
learned for Monday, and then they would be
as free as the birds. ''How | hate it, said
Bessie; ''stupid, dry stuff about adlnin-is-
terra tons. | don't see any use in knowing
1t anyhow"
sEI'I tell you what" said Bess, ''lets be-
gin about the middle, because the first of it
never does come to u.s.
''And then," said Gussie, 'Miss Marcy
will s'pose, OF course we know the begin
ming"
''Yes'' nodded Bess beginning to gable
over the words. ''Im going to finish in
half an hour-'On account of these things
it was plainly impossible. ~
"But we don't know what things" said
Gussie.
ono, and don't care"
''And if Marcy s'poses, we know and
gives us a credit it'll be deceitful balance
cause we make her think we know pound,
when we only know half a pound"
Bessie's face flushed a little. II just wish
Gussie Maynard, you wouldn't talk any
more about that grocery mans text. It's
just nonsense trying to make it fit u.s."
But, after ALL Bessie did not feel quite
comfortable, and she went back and learned
the beginning of her lesson.
''There," she said, ''that's good, full
weight, and l don't intend to be a bomina-
ton any more"