Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1892-06-22
HOW ALICE SPENT TW ENTY
FIVE DOLLARS.

Twenty-Five dollarsl what lot of
money! what heap of it," shouted
Alice, IN a little ecstasy, which she
couldn't possibly restrain.
There was no need of her tryir., to
restrain it. Twenty-Five dollars is a
sum of money which does not come
every day even to rich boys and girls.
And to Alice Brown it had never come
at all efore. Not even once. Indeed,
she had never known the time when
she had more than a dollar. And to
have twenty-five dollars, all her own,
all at one time, all to spend as she
pleased, or not to spend if she pleased,
was enough to quite turn her head.
1t was too good to believe.
care you quite sure?" asked Mrs.
Brown of Mr.. Brown. "Quite sure
she'll get it? That there's no mistake
about it?'
"Quite sure" replied Mr.. Brown,
showing her letter. Lawyer Wise
man has Just written. You know Alice
was always a favorite with Miss Plimp-
kins."
Miss Pumpkins was an old lady who
had lived in the Brown family for
year or two when Alice was small
child, and she had been very fond of
Alice indeed Now she was dead, and
she had left Alice a present in the
shape of twenty-five dollars.
"What'l you do with it?" asked Mr..
Brown of Alice. "Whatll you do
with so much money!"
Alice was sitting at the table with a
piece of paper and pencil in her hand.
She was trying to think how twenty
stNll n
dering, when the money came, whether
she would like 1t In two tens and five,
or five fives, or twenty-five ones. She
was Just deciding on the twenty five
ones, because they would look so much
bigger than the others, when her father
spoke.
That's what I'm thinking of" said
Alice with sparkling eyes There are
so many things!"
"Yes," said Mrs. Brown, $50 many
things. Only be sure and get the
right ones"
"There's no dsnger" cried Alice,
flying out of the room up stairs to
look over her col ection of valuables
And to tell the truth there wasn't
much danger, for Alice had had SO
little money she know how to value it,
and wouldn't be likely to spend it fool
isbly.
But anyway, foolishly or not, Alice
began to spend the twenty-five dollars
right away.
In her own room Alice saw a little
shelf of books with faded covers, and a
few cheap prints without any frames;
in one of the bureau drawers was n
scanty lot of ribbons; and the one
plain gold ring her father had given
her looked very, very plain to her just
then.
'Iil have some books the first
thingl" said Alice to herself; and she
Immediately took down three or four
of tho oldest ones to make room for
"Grimm's Tales" "Leslie Gold
thwaIte," and the rest of Mrs. Whit
! ney's books, and Alice's Adventures in
I Wonderland" She had always won
dered unat that other Alice's adven-
lures could be.
"ThereT she exclaimed, with her
head on one side to get the effect oi
the new bindings better. you're
mine after all" "
Next, I'll have a picture" and Alice
looked quite disapprovingly at the old
prints that hung on the walls. Let
me see! that large picture they called
Peneloper Eli have that"
To tell the truth, the lovely face OF
little penelope" In her quaint cap
had never once gone out of Alice's
memory since she saw it HANGING in the
art store in all its magnificence of blue
! frame. How she had loved it and
longed for It'll But it had been as far
, beyond her reach as the moon. She
had not even dared to ask the price OF
it.
'This is the best place for it," said
Alice, taking down one of the old
prints, and deciding that the new
conner should hang there. And she
actually kissed the imaginary "Pene-
! lope" in an intense little rapture OF
| admiration.
Then she went to her bureau and
! opened her ribbon drawer. What a
poor little collection of ribbons it was,
, to be surel
"Now I'll have cardinal-red sashl''
cried Alice, and her heart fairly
+ bounded and sang sith the newness
ond splendor of tn idea. She took
out an old roll of cheap ribbon, very
narrow and faded, and tied it round
her to see how many yards of the car.
! d'nal it would take. She turned round
and round before the glass to make
sure.
! "Splendid" cried Alice, dancing up
/ and down the room, quite the same q.
though she had the sash on. "Oh,
you dear Miss Plimpkins!"
Just thon her mother opened the
door and looked in. "What's the
matter, dear?" asked she, hearing the
noise. ''Come, Jenny Allingham he:
come to spend the afternoon with
you" So Alice took off the narrow old
ribbon, and ran down to see her friend,
just as if nothing had happened-jusi
as if she hadn't been buying books and
pictures and ribbons.
Late in the afternoon, when the two
girls had swung and played games and
beaten each other at croquet, they sat
down in a snug corner of the piazza to
! talk.
Jenny" began Alice, very mys-
teriously, 'if you had twenty-five dol
lars what would you do with it?" She
| hadn't said a word about it before, and
s.e dr't tell now. I'm only sup.
posing, you know" said she.