The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1884-05-14
HOW MARGIE WAS TEMPTED

+ day"
Margie was standing at the tabl
] near the window. She pricked W
her ears at this. Fruit-cake, sucl
!. as her mother made, was her de
, light.
"Oh! goody" she exclaimed.
at is very small piece you viii
have at best, child" said the moth
er; ''this is to be company cake
saw we were about cut when | was
down in the cellar
Margie's face fell. Company
cake was a name given to it by
viii and herself. Living in the
country, as they did, it was always
necessary to be prepared for sudden
and unexpected guests, and it seem
cd to the children as if the best of
mothers cooking" was always put
aside, to be served only at a time
when, as they had been taught, it
was shockingly rude TO ask for a
second piece.
Her face grew much longer when
her mother, giving her the bowl of
raisins, told her to stone them as
quickly as she could.
! She would have refused ifshe had
dared, but Mrs. Lees children were
brought up in the ld-fashiOned way,
to dc as they were told without a
word.
GLOW mean it isl she thought,
''to have to pick over these raisins,
when | hate it, and never to have
more than one little piece of cake !!
Oh, wish [ might once have lit
tie loaf all for myself. l think
mother might give me one. She
wont; she never will. I wish 1 was
grown up. What fun | should
haver
And here she fell to thinking so
deeply she quite forgot about the
raisins, until aroused by a sharp tap
on the head from her mother, who
told her to hurry and not waste
time in dreaming.
She worked rapidly after that,
and had them ready for her mother,
then stood a moment before run
ming out to her play to watch the
batter poured into the pans and the
whole put into the oven. AS the
last pan was going in she yentured
to ask:
"Could have little loaf for my
self mother ?"
"No, indeed" said Mrs. Lee,
briskly, as she closed the oven-deer
with a bang. II don't want you
eating such rich stuff. | will make
you a little loaf of spongs-cake, if
you want one"
But Margie did not care for the
sponge-cake, and, for the present,
the subject was dismissed.
Next day, she went down in the
cellar for an apple. While she was
there, she suddenly thought of the
cake baked the day before.
II wonder how it looks" she said
to herself. 'I think l will take a
peep at it."
1t was such little step from
where she stood to the crooks where
the cake was kept. Only one step.
She took it, and peeped in at the
cake. How nice it looked!
Before she had time to think, her
hand went in. 1t did not come out
empty, as her mouth could testify
soon after, if it had not been too full
to speak
Then she was so frightened at
what she had done, sne ran up
stairs and into the garden as fast as
she could. There she spent five
minutes in hating herself and wish
ing she had never done it. She
would not go into the cellar again
for ever so long-no, not until the
company" came and ate the dread
full cake.
But, alas for her resolutions, in
about an hour her mother sent her
into the cellar for something she
wanted. Margie noticed the cloth
which had covered the cake was
not put on as smoothly as when she
first went down. 1t had to be lifted
off and put on anew.
When she came up stairs, there
were crumbs on her frock. Mrs.
Lee was too busy to notice them.
"How long it took you, child T.
she said, as Margie handed her the
desired article, and, not waiting to
be questioned, ran out of the kitch-
en-.
After that, she went to the cellar
every day. 1t seemed as if the cake
had bewitched her; she could net
keep it out of her mind.
One day, her mother said: 4s
"You must not eat SO many ap-
Piles, yeu will be i'll. /"
Margis grew very red, but said
nothing.
Once she thought it very greedy
never to share the cake with Will,
and carried him a piece to where he