Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1885-12-03
A FAMOUS THURSDAY.
How Miss White Made It a Jolly
Thanksgiving.

Not that Miss Winifred White, who
married fright" This Miss White
never married at all, but lived in neat
little cottage all alone. There was not
another house in the village quite as
neat as hers The interior was spot
less. Never a stray speck or shipping
could be found on her carpets; never a
particle of dust anywhere; no spider
ever dared to invade even the most OBJ
scure hooks and corners. The sun
shine never faded her pretty furniture,
although now and then it did venture
in between the barred shutters to make
a nice round warm spot for the cat to
bask IN. Her cat was very proper,
too. He seldom went out on a damp
or stormy day, and if he did 90 he tar
ried long while by the back door,
near the scraper, to make sure that his
feet were thoroughly clean before he
ventured to enter the kitchen.
The exterior of her home was equally
neat. Dry leaves never chased each
other merrily in her door-yard; not
even stray goose feather had ever
been seen among the blades of her
Henderson's best lawn grass. Miss
White kept geese. She was not scare
less of the comfits and cushions of life"
To the latter she was especially de-
voted. Her geese were her treasures.
No other geese in the village could
c,,oh g.,
happened that her beds, her pillows
and her holsters were marvels of soft
ness and comfort. And, of course, she
possessed no end of sofa pillows and
chair cushions, not to mention a most
enticing feathery arrangement for her
cat.
Miss White never invited children to
visit her. ''They do upset things so,"
she said, ''and are sure to get the
things awry, and to make such general
confusion, that it takes at least a week
to get things righted again. The vii
layers all thought Miss White very
nice, but rather fussy. Not one of them
dreamed of the existence of warm,
tender corner in her heart, where a
deed of kindness was tucked away,
which was to be brought out and well
aired on bright Thanksgiving Day.
On one corner of the valley road
there was big tree. The village car
penter had fastened to it a good-sized
board, which was used as sort of bull
letin. All the festivals and fairs and
school meetings and political meetings.
were posted upon it for the benefit of
the passers-by. Not far from the tree
there lived a little girl named Nellie
Bird. She was sweet child. Her life
was like little song, and she was al
ways trying to do something to put
song into the lives of others. One day
when she was in the city a gentleman
gave her number of little books and
cards. On the cards verse was print
ed which pleased Nellie very much:
and she began at once to try to contrive
some place where she could put a card,
where ever SO many people could see
it. All at once she thought of the corner
tree, and resolved to tack it up there.
But she did not want her left hand to
know what her right hand was about;
and so she had to plan some way by
which she could get the card on the
bulletin, and keep it for secret of
her own, letting no one know who had
put it there.
There was time about the middle
of the morning when the village seemed
to be mapping. Every one had been
after the mail and had returned home
again; the factory hands were busy at
their work, the children were in school:
the mothers were in the kitchen max
ing dessert, not forgetting the turn
overs for the hungry youngsters; the
grandmothers were knitting by the
tireside, and the streets were deserted
Nellie did not 60 to school, so she
chose that quiet hour to perform her
little mission. And with the card in
one hand and pin in the other she
ran down TO the big tree. She found a
stone which would answer for a ham,
mer, and soon fastened the card on the
bulletin board.
Miss White went out to wa that
afternoon. She was going down to the
store to buy half-pOund of Clipped
beef, and she passed the big tree by the
way. That little card in the middle of
the large board looked so queer that
she stopped to read it. The words she
read made great impression upon
her; she could not seem to forget them
All the rest of that day and all the zaxt
day they kept humming in her ears,
and as her ears were large the hum
ming was very loud: "IeXpect to pass
through the world but once: any good
thing that / can do or any kindness
that l can show to u human being, or
any word ! can speak for the good of
others-let me do it now. Let me not
neglect or defer it, for shall not pass
this way again"