Tombstone epitaph., 1891-01-11
TEN MINUTES A DAY.

MoIiie had given up her music Every oRs regretted iG Mamma missed the HSht touch of her daughters fingers on tbe piano, which sometimes stood silent fo< weeks, and re3oiced when Aollis de- elsTea herself to be in a musical mood, sissolEa sDs 0Diy played snatches o1 her old pieces, and those indiGerently well; and papa's requests for his favorite snelo- dies weTe Joo often met witA the uRsatis- factory answer that f'Mollis couldn't play them now-she was AH out of pFactiee'' v Brother Tom grambled when she failed fu his accompRniments. that, after all tue time she had spent drumming on that old piano, if she could not play simple things like thysse it was Q pity" His sister fully agreed with him, and did not change her naind ss time passed on and she was asked to play at several little gatherings Of her friends, where "Mollie's music'' bad always been one os the pleasantsst features of the evening, and she was obliged to decline on the tiresoIns pieA of 'Snot playing without her notes''
 ssf think it's to9 bad, a exclaimed Bes- sie Arlingtca, one of her special cronies 'sMoliie ased to play so lovely, and she was always so nice and ob3iging about ft, and played whenever she was asked; and there's no one to take her place but Eva Harris, and she has Co be teased so long SefoPs she will strike a note that ft spcIzs all the pleasure. "
 '.So it does, P said another voice. "And now that Alollie's out of school she oughs +-::S sss=s=s Ss5sls t5 Isrsesiee Ur -s5 soSrs a aay, if she wanted to."
 'aoh, Rose NeNton'' cried Amy Leslie, Atyoa don't know anything about it. Jusa sat til1 YOU leave school, and see how many hours you practice e= do anything regularly. It's swfnlly hard. You 6oaF accomplish ss much in a year as yOa would sn three months of school "
 "AD owing 10 lack of system,f said Bessie, with the tone and manner of one who had been through varied experiences and acquired vast stores of wisdom there from. The girls laughed.
 ''1 suppose it's sO," said Amy, 'sbus MO4ije Is systematic; rather, at least, shs means to be, v she added, not feeling quite sure of her ground. And she is busy al most sl the time.n
 ''She is dear girl, anyway" said her friend Helen Starr. ''And know she is too busy 70 practice, for it does take a lot of time Only it seems a pity"
 So it did, and 10 one realized fS more fian M0ilie. When she left school He year before, she had congratulated hersea on the fact that bsr tine was her owu, and she could spend 1t as she pleased. But. for that reason she would not waste if; sheJTould be very dfligent and though sIse should not study in the summer, she wonld continue her music She had 8 fair touch, was rapid reader, and played with expression and accuracy; her cns great Sajisng Has e dislike to steady prae- tsce--a lack Of psrseveranee. Snsh being the case, perhapz it was pot strange thas, amid the vacation gayeties, her h0urs of practice grew less and less frequent, and lnalIy ceased altogether, and she trusted to her memory and former instruction for her present skill. And so the days slipped by, bright with pleasures, that by aEd 0J woElld have giiGsd into joyful nlemoriesg aud the autumn came. and M0llie re~ turned to her home, but the nrzsjc waS not resumed. cit seemed as If she Beyei had any tiuae;" which often meant sbt did not take it. But, to MoIiie's credit, be 1t said hers was s busy winter; she stadied French and German, attended a literature clsss, and was member of a Shakespeare club; and 1t IS probable she Iaigit not have realized that her musical talent was decreasing, but that one day, wben she S&s playin2to her friends, ss9s broke down ia the middle of her piece and had Jo ieage the piano. Faithful practice ssar -tlle obe tlaing needful, and Moliis knew it; but, like many older and wisei souls, sl.e resolved aud planned, and failed t0 execufe.
 And the months rolled on, until one Gay in December she awOke with start e the fact akat the last day of the year bai arrived, and that she was utterly uB- Ablsto play a single piece correctly. For fifts4n minutes sfse sat silent, wrapped in Nwn study; then she took from the -,s,ss. Hy..,ls F,raF~fl anal ff,s
 sult of her reverie, wrote down the fol-
 ing
 That I. Moilie Winthrop, aged IS, on this Sist day of December. will, on each day of the year, commencing to morrow. deFete ten minutes to the practice of fiys an1er exercises and scales.
 s'fn tbe year of OUT Lord eighteen hun area and eighty Ave. ["
 sso{Ils read the paragraph sloHd, with a nSsosss exu7ession s'st sounds as # Y,sSera making nay wfil, z shc n1urmured A ssSveil. ss I am-dispcsing Of my time fnsfezd of my money, for my osxn beaeds t,i=fead of other people'sn She hid th' usfe book aside, and turned to the ''M'E 4 sl,a4,t cf Venice, the next sssblecs fer Che Ahskespeare club. She bad read . h {
 v tnlnstes wbe5 sseheard light pot.
 os on the staiEsSna thesoznd of gi iish
 ,bser. and pfSeBtfy her three spa rial
 sils entered fbe room.
 Ale4 Eoii. Nellie, my dear, how are yel t'
 ssxtay Ileslie. ..I have not seen J v fSF a S,erfeet age What have yen bee dssss svsta yourself all fbis long daJf''
 Nherenpofi 1aoliie produced her note tok and read them Der Resoivs-' I met vsff Any's eeFlihi approval; Heiea se3oe,I lar opinion, but Bessie looked in ereauioas n answer to Aoills's ques fienths eI nee she saId. biastly, i don4 iBelsexe ysasi Ii keep it, asSt aon' zee th' ne Of lt if you do"