Middletown transcript., 1894-12-22

t with such impetus as to almost knoc
t down his faithful retainer. "Shut uE
you idiot!" he said, in hoarse whisper
| "Drop that dog, and go home and fasteI
the vines up again."
"Howly Moses!" calculated Mike, a
he disappeared in hurry; is it mat
: he is?"
"Oh dearw exclaimed the maid, rails
, ing her pretty hands and eyebrow
as she caught sight of the "fnt
little fellow'so dirty paws and
dropping tail, "he's been in some mis-
chief, Pm sure he has; saw your man
What has he been doing, Mr.. Guernsey
In the kindness of your heart you're
screening him; l know you are. Oh
Waif Waif if you weren't lame, I'd
whip you. 1 picked him up in the
street one day, Mr. Guernsey''-the
pink roses were in full bloom now
"where some wicked boys had left him
after breaking his leg, and took him
home and nursed him we'll again, and
the poor thing became so attached to
me couldn't bear to leave him behind
when we left the city,
"Of course not" said Mr.. Guernsey,
adding, rather irrelevantly, 81 don't
wonder at it. Good morning" And
so the acquaintance began.
"What a fool I've beenw said Miles,
as, once more on his own porch, he
picked up his newspaper again, "but
bless me, who'd want to hurt lame
dog?"
A week passed away, during which
Mr.. Guernsey only caught occasional
glances of his fair neighbor, as she
came out into the garden among the
roses, with plain straw hat shading
her face anu tied with bit of blue RIB
bon under her chin. 81 always liked
blue ribbon" sighed the old bachelor.
"She used to wear it," "She" was the
young girl he had loved some twenty
years ago and from whom he had been
separated by the Vaccinations of his
father and her old maiden aunt.
All was calm and serene, when one
morning Mike burst into the library,
where his master sat. and gasped out,
"Thim lamb chops, Sur, the dilicate
tinder wuns 1 mint for yer dinner,
they're gone, an the burrid's most
frighted TO death, Sur, an no liss-or
may l niver shpake another wurrid-
than fourteen kittens in the wood-shed:
an all on account NV Miss Osborne's
cat, the thafe Nv the wurrild."
"This certainly must be stopped at
once" said Mr.. Guernsey. "Give ne
my hat, Mike, "and away he went grow
ing angrier and arglier at every step.
His lamb chops and no more to be
had until tomorrow w-gttd gracious
And fourteen gracious good!
ness Ito say nothing of the canary in
a fit, perhaps its power Of song scared
away forever.
He actually banged the gate of tbs
garden of roses but his anger which
vac up to ''butter melts," at least, fell
10 zero" when he entered the pretty
parlor. There sat the old maid, in a
low rocking chair, idly swaying TO and
fro, dressed in loose flowing White
wrapper, without ruffle or luff. with
a golden-heal ted daisy in her hair and
another at her threat, ard by her side
stood the lean, lank cat with a squall-
ing kitten haEging from its mouth
Poor Mary Ann !" she was saying
"but where, oh, where are the other"
when she raised her kind eyes and met
the not at all irate gaze of the old bach
elor. "Glad to see you again Mr..
Guernsey" she said in her frank voice
rising and holding cut her hand.
"Mother is much better, thank you"-
in answer to some rather indistinct
query on the subject. s'Run away with
your kittie"--to the cat. "Not very
handsome cat, is she, Mr.. Guernsey?
Poor thing she came to our door one
cruel cold night last winter, half star
we'd, and with the tips of her poor ears
frozen off. took her in, warmed and
fed her and she wouldn't 60 away
again. To tell the truth, | didn't try
very hard to make her and couldn't
bear to desert her, when we came here
anymore than l could Waif. He and
she, strange as it may seem, are very
fond of each other. But one bad habit,
Pm sorry to say, can't break her of,
or haven't as yet-a result Of her early
vagabond life in the streets: she steals"
Then suddenly noticing queer ex-
preston ON the face of her listner, she
continued, eagerly, ~ hope she hasn't
been annoying you in any way?"
Straight into those still chill-like
eyes did Mr.. Guernsey look, and say.
deliberately, "Oh no, not at all. Ieame
to ask if you-that is" (growing a
little incoherent), ''your mother--would
like fresh cucumber or two and some
green pease" with flush of pride)
Pm ahead of all the neighbors." He
meant the pease were
IA thousand thanks" said Miss
Osborne.
mime hundred and ninety-nine too
many" said Miles, actually smiling at
her. "Good-day." And when he re-
appeared in the study, he had daisy
in his button-hole.
Mike came out of the dining-room,
where he had been soothing the canary
with a crisp lettuce leaf. "Well, Surf"
said he.
Hang the birds cage where the cat
can't reach it, lock up the chops after
this, and drown thirteen of the kit
| NJ