Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-04-06


talked over the days of the boyhood that
had been passed here, and hearing about
which made it seem as if Florida IS dear
father must be close at hand.
In the night Florida stirred once or
twice to hear the wind screaming around
: tie gables of the house and wailing in
tie chimney, and then she
d opped off to sleep again. But
'.shen she woke in the morning a gale
WAS bowling all about them-and
where was any of yesterday scarlet
and gold spiendor? A sudden mountain
suowstorm was driving through the sky;
the air was thick with the whiTling
flakes; the trees, the shrubs, the fences
were transformed and wrapped in white
shrOuds "Oh!p cried Florida, spring
ing TO the window. "'Then yesterday
was all a dream, and the other thing was
Teali 1t is the North! The frozen
North! The dead and frozen North! I
might have known, for Phyllis told me
so,'' And nothing would pacify her.
AS bad as any of il was the fact that the
boughs and sprays of leaves which she
had brought in yesterday were shrivelled
and faded and without color
But the smoking breakfast, the cake
of honey and the golden winter pears dis
tracted her attention for a little while,
although she had to leave the table sew
eral times in order to run TO the window
and take a view of the landscape.
"They told me it was frozen, - she said,
swallowing a.sOb with each mOuthful.
"But they never told me it was anything
like this. The sky is all coming to pieces
it is all coming down, you see! What
are we going to do about It?' she cried,
imperiously. "Wn il be black up there
then? VIII people stay alive down
here?''
"When the sky falls you can catch
larks, - said Aunt Priscilla, lightly.
"It's only a snowstorm, said little
Serena. "Didn I you ever see a snow
storm before? Why, we viii have them
now all winter and
conf cried Florida, running to the
unfailing refuge in her mothers arms,
81 don Z wonder my dear papa went
away from here and came down to our
own pleasant country! And I wish he
would come and take US back! l wish
oh, wish were where he is, wherever
II isI'' And the old aunts, who had
looked for much enjoyment over Flor
ida delight IN her first snow-stOrm,
felt almost as badly as she did. But
later in the day, clOaked and muffled,
she went up in the attic to play with
Serena in q wilderness of old spinning
wheels and warming-pans and chests OF
drawers and swinging cOunterpanes, ana
quite forgot the storm. And then they
boiled candy and went to pour it out on
the snow to cool, and found the snow had
changed TO fine, sharp sleet. And then
it was dark and Aunt Alice played the
minister's cat with them. 1.-THE minis
ter's cat, - said she, sis an amiable
cat. -
1.-The minister's cat" said Aunt
Tric 80 a hau17fifr11 -
''The minister's cat,' said Aunt
Susanna, ''is a capital cat
1.-THE minister's cat,'' said her
mother, sis dear cat. -
1.-The minister's cat, - said Hubby,
going through the room, els an ener-
getic cat. -
1.-The minister's cat - said Serena,
els Florida's cat!" For, just then an
energetic cat, that was not the minis
ter's, bounded into Florida's lap and
began TO fawn about her and caress her,
and they all laughed and SAID puss had
chosen whose cat she would be. And il
was not so bad after all when Huldv with
plate of hot tea and cakes in her hand
announced tea, and then very soon
came bed time, and all the rest of the
winter that cat was a great comfort to
Florida.
But the next morning brought Florida
her third surprise, when out of a sky as
blue as sapphire the golden sunshine
poured over white and sparkling world
where countless icicles glittered
like clusters of jewels. The storm
was over, only now and then
a long, slow puff of wind lifted
bough and shook off a cloud of silvery
dust, and the men were digging the
paths with such smooth walls that it
seemed to Florida she must go out and
dig too. And, by and by, Hubby took
her and Serena, bundled up to the tips
of their noses, on a sled to coast down
the avenue, where they went over
the glistening crust with a wild,
sweet exhilsration. CTS just
if we had WINGS cried
Florida, "and were flying through the
air.' And when the others had had
enough and wanted TO go in, she begged
for one more and one more, till. when at
last they did go in, a wild cutlery greeted
them, and the three auuts few at her,
ran for hsndfulls of snow, and caught
her and rubbed her nose and her
cheeks till they began to smart, to burn,
10 ache, while she struggled, half fright
ened out of her senses by their behavior.
''Oh, she is froZen!'' cried her mother
imprudently. And then, in an agony of
horror and apprehension, Florida remem-
bered that she WAS in the frozen North
again.
It was only little frost-bite on her
tender face; the skin peeled of, and in a
few days she was all right again. But
she recollected it afterwards with a sort
Of horror, and it was difficult to induce
her TO set foot out doors again that win
ter, so horror-struck was she by the mis-
hap. However, the winter had begun
with such unexpected haste and vigor,
storm following storm with only q par
tial clearing away into leaden sky and
high wind, with another storm following
after, that, if she had been willing to
go out much, it would hardly have been
prudent to allow her 10 do so. The
roads were so drifted that there was no
sleighiug; the snow was so
powdery that there was no
coastiug; the ponds were spoiled for
skating, and then her mother was far too
delicate TO venture into the unaccustomed
air, and Florida would not leave her.
She used TO wake in the night when her
mother was softly crying and put her