Middletown transcript., 1897-01-02

umSy- -WtmSy uauuk6IC1l0lS anu GQIuSS,
SO they think he's shop litter! Oh
you can't tell me anything about shop.
ping with man in a Christmas rush
I went with father last year."
''Poor little girl, she sha'nt be made
martyr of, no, she shan'tp' Tom
cried soothingly. "I'll go alone, I'll
go now, while the battle spirit moves
me. If come not back, know, dam
sci, I have been unjustly incarcerated
because confounded tidy has stuck to
my backl"
Philippa laughed.
"Wait, I'm going, too,n she called,
''to save the family honorl 1t won't
take me two minutes to get into my
jacket"
"Oh, mel Pm in for itl' she groaned,
on the way upstairs. "Tom's an old
dear, but he's man, poor boyl That's
bis only failing. And from man shop.
ping, good fates deliver mel Well, it'll
all be over at bedtime -
In the electric, going down town,
they made some plans. Tom took an
envelope out of his pocket and grsvely
drew careful diagram of the streets
and shops he wanted to visit.
'There,D he said, "that cross there
is for Paul & Bennett's-mother's pre-
sent. This cross here's for Kirtland's
-~.ah, your present my DEAR"
"Oh," murmured Philippa, "Kirt-
lands, what in the world? A haber
dasher'sI'
Tom went on, undisturbed.
''And that's Gormully & Hollis
Aunt Prudence; and this Lows
Norah."
"Low's-Norah? What are you talk.
ing about, Tom Decker? Lows is an
art store"
"Yes'm-good one, too. 1 always GO
to Lows when / want some thing
worth while. 1 shall get Norah's pre-.
sent at Lows"
81 never heard of such thing" " ex-
claimed Philippa. "Getting the cooks
Christmas at an art storel I sha'n't
let you. You'll just go to a dry-goods
shop and get her silk neck handker-
chief or bottle of cologne, like a
good boy"
"Think so? Whose circus is this,
my dearP You are only lay figure
no, a body guard. You must let me
gang my ain gait Phil; nobody'll lay
it up against you. I'm going to get
Norah photograph of Knaus's Holy
Family to hang in her room. If she
never owned beautiful thing before,
she will then and the lovely face of the
holy mother will do her more good than
bucketful Of. cologne. Hullo, here we
are so sooni''
He signaled, and with a gentle jolt.
the car came to standstill. Then be-
gan Ph ilippa martyrdom. Tom took
her hithe and thither and yon. into
amazing places after amazing things
into hardware shops after oil stoves
and, of all thingsl meat choppersl
"That's for Aunt Prue," Tom said
complacently, tucking the ungainly.
knobby bundle under his arm. "And
for all your little nose being tlp-titted,
my dear, and for all the uplift to your
eyebrows, Aunt Prue will say thank
you,' see if she doesn'tl She has longed
for meat chopper (how did find it
outp-never mind) in her dear old Sec
ret sould this many day."
They went to the art store and
bought Norah's beautiful Holy Fam
lily; they went to the harberdasher's
but Philippa was only allowed TO guess
at the neat, smooth bundle Tom ord
cred sent home from that place. she
was hidden to look at the sslatest sty-
les'' in trousers and coats while that
purchase was in progress. They got
an oil stove for mothers going-to-bed
on cold nights, Tom said; they got a
luxurious pair of felt slippers for fat
her to sstoast his toes in, y and. at the
same place, such thick, wool-lined,
woolsoled shoes "for grandmother to
have the rheumatism in" They got
fourteen-years-old Donald's present,
too, but you could never guess what it
was.
Philippa fairly gasped, but she said
nothing she was learning few little
lessons Of this queer. big. matter-of-
fact Tom.
An incubator That was DonaId,s
present, ordered to be delivered on
Christmas morning.
Won't it take the little chaps
breath awayr" chuckled Tom. We'll,
il will give him something to do, rails
ing litt1ak kchirpers for spring broilers.
= now as you've noticed it
Jon needs smoothing to do.
ad, and, just now, he's gone
80 this internal machine
Keep the boy busy, my
: stay home and be cred
i q He's 9 slear, good little
chap, wants looking after and
sshs Of bis little fads.
Seea''
Yes. / aee,n Philippe said gravaIy,
getting paw light OK brether-train
'sand I aee thAt yonsrs{ 4 Jewel, To
..bon's msEltioa e Z nquttersd =
IN modest conIosIoa