Connecticut western news., 1897-11-25

She put Tommy gently on the floor, crumbled some bread into the bowl of broth, cooled it carefully and set it down for him to eat
 Its pretty rich for me anyway" she said as she made out her supper with toast and tea
 It was perhaps we'll for Tommy that he took an early promenade next morning around the back yards of the neighbor- hood and secured several valuable tid- bits, for Miss Mattie had very little to offer him. She baked her delightful little puffs of biscuits and enjoyed them i'm. mensely, finding them lighter and more digestible without butter She read Thanksgiving psalm and went about try ing to sing in a little chirrupy voice like brown sparrow She brought in the small basket and flushed the unexpected treas ure trove, but took it kindly as a bit of neighborly good will The sweetbread. white and plump and all ready for cook ing, reminded her of old Mrs Morrison, just beginning to sit up and watch the people go by the window. What Q tooth some dainty this would be for her, and what a delight that she should be able to take it to her as she went to church-yes. and some of the celery. too, for a relish The chops were transferred to a plate on the shelf, the sweetbread wrapped in @ fine old napkin and laid back in the basket with the best half of the celery. and the biscuits Miss Mattie had saved for dinner
 "The cold bread will go just as we'll with chops," she reflected and prepared for church with a glow of happiness such as she had not known in a long time.
 It helped to a real feeling of thankful ness especially when she thought of old Mrs Morrison, and how pleased she had been with the unexpected gift. She laugh ed little to herself as she returned to her own door after service, remembering how when Sally Morrison had commiserated her on being alone Thanksgiving day she had assured her she had company invited Tommy Barnes from the next door, who was spending a couple of days with her, the rest of the family being away
 II hope 'twasn't sinful untruth, she said, smiling at Tommy, who lay peace fully sleeping on the braided rug, but if old Miss Morrison had set In to have me stay to dinner shouldn't t have known how to get away, and she is such talker.
 With long, clean apron over her best frock. Miss Mattie began cheerfully to make her small preparations for the Thanksgiving feast She had meditated leaving one chop for breakfast, but her walk and happiness had made her hungry md she decided to cook them all
 But where did she put these chops-she was getting so forgetful-she could have sworn she put them on the shelf Could she have left them in the basket after alli Her perplexed eyes fell from the shelf to the floor, and there, just peeping from be- hind the wood box, was the plate and two small, very small, bits of bone. gnaw- ed quite clean and white.
 Ungrateful Tommy Barnes, lying there In peaceful slumber, with those precious chops rounding out your yellow sides, if justice had befallen you then and there you might not have lived to steal again But into the midst of Miss Matties right eous wrath came the reflection that Tom. my must have been hungry, and the fault, after all, W as partly her own for putting temptation in his way, though how any thing could have been farther out of his way than that shelf I don't really sec. she added dolefully.
 At that minute Tommy Barnes walked from his nap, transformed himself into camel, yawned in 8 frightfully tigerish fashion and proceeded to sharpen his claws on the rug, the sacred rug, into which had been braided some precious old garments dear to Miss MAttie's heart It was straw too much to have insult added to injury, and. springing from her chair, she cuffed Tommy in such vigorous fashion that three or four hearty blows found their mark before the astonished sinner could withdraw his claws and bound out at the back door, left ajar in the search for the chops At that instant a resounding knock on the front door sent Miss Mat ties heart to her throat with a sudden leap, as if justice were already coming to take her in hand for unreasonable cruelty When Miss Mattie was peacefully batter ing about, unconscious of the cruel trick fate and Tommy Barnes had played her Mrs Deacon Giles was surveying her hus band with disturbed and fearful face. You don't mean to tell me, she re- | peated, "that the minister's folks ain't comin at all, and you and me has got to | eat this big dinner aloneP Here, l staid home from church to tend to it. Oh, you needn' t to look as if you thought it was a | judgment, Josiah 1 wouldn't be such a | hippercrit as to pertend to be thinkin of | spiritooal things when was wonderin if l Sarah Ellen would remember to baste the | turkey Seems to me they might let us I know sooner
 But told you, mother, 1t was tele- | gram come just before church You can t 1 reascrlate telegrams like the weekly news | paper. or stop folks from dyin unexpect ed
 "Then why didn't you rush round and | get somebody elseY Mercy sakesl Twon t seem like Thanksgivin at an'- Didn't seem to be anybody to ask but old Mis- Morrison and Marthy Ellison drove round by the Morrisons, but the old lady was just havin somethin relishin Miss Mattie had fetched in They said they invited her to dinner, but she had | comp 'ny-one of them Barneses next door | "Fiddlesticks" said the deacon's wife in a very disrespectful tone. You just | drive straight back and bring Marthy Fl | lison up here to dinner Tell her l don i take any excuse, and if she can't come | otherways she can bring her compny 1! along though the way them shif Hess | Barneses impose on her is mortal | shame. "
 Good Deacon Giles had learned docility in many years of experience. and the dou ble knock at Miss Mattie's door followec. as quickly as could be reasonably expected
 Miss Mattie attempted neither excuse nor hesitation, but accepted her good provi | dence with radiant delight
 "Mother said to fetch your comp'ny along, said the deacon. glancing doubt fully about the small room We heard you had one of the Barneses kinder hope tain't the cross eyed one that stole my pears. "
 "Oh, said Miss Mattie, laughing into the little mirror as she tied her bonnet, Ines had his dinner and he's gone out.
 She didn't say that he had eaten hers also, but at Mrs. Giles hospitable table, under the genial influence of generous fare and pleasant old time "reminiscences, she told the story of Tommy Barnes and
 the lamb chops in a way that made the
 deacon lose his breath with laughter And
 when she was tucked into the yellow sleigh
 for the ride home Mrs. Giles stopped at the
 door to say
 "l put some bits of bones and things ir
 2 basket under the seat for Tommy
 Takes sight of stuff to reely fill up cal
 fur 'nough to give his moral principles z
 fair showin
 Tommy was on the step waiting to wei
 come Miss Mattie, which shows his forgiv
 ing disposition, and, though he got a.