The St. Johns herald., 1901-04-20
THE YELLOW KITTEN
7 wasthe yellow kitten who did il, 7"

] manner, and no one, not even Mr' l 'Lias Miller, pretended to contradic ? her.
 7 Its the truth, indeed" Mrs. Sara Crump agreed, with her fat, comfort able chuckle, and the society in bod 7. responded, That's so."
 Yes, the yellow kitten was responsi ble for the wedding that was to com , off tomorrow and that would thu unite forever not only two very attract i've young people, but also the well l. known families of Price and Campbell
 But we have begun at the wrong ent
 of the story, for Miss Priscilla ought t.
 have made, and in fact did make tn,
 remark about the yellow kitten at th'
 end of the narrative, and not at tht
 beginning. And thus, to get things
 straight, we will start over again in tht
 old-fashioned orthodox way.
 Once upon a time (not so very long
 ago, either) the little village of Pine
 vile fourished like a green bay tree
 It is true 1t had not arrived at trolley
 cars or electric lights, but it was very
 charming place to visit nevertheless.
 Bicycling was not entirely unheard of,
 though those who rode were scarce-a few visitors at the summer boarding
 house in the little hills just outside the | village had introduced the wheel, but 1 the most conservative Pinevillians,
 Miss Priscilla Price at the head, quite drowned down upon the sport, and Miss Rebecca Slow has said, in season and out of season, that If any niece of hers so demeaned herself as to be guilty of such an unladylike, worldly amuse- ment, she would be sorry, that's all" and then an expression of having al- ready made will would pass oyer her austere countenance.
 But to the story! There were two prominent families in the village who had lived there since the very existence of the settlement, and with whom all the best people craved to be connected in some way. They were the Campbells and the Prices, and Miss Priscilla, who
 
 If she were heroine, was one of the most respected members of the latter tribe. As 1t has been hinted before, this is an old-fashioned story, and has genuine heroine, to wit Mabel Camp bell. Of course, there is a hero, too, whom the girls said twas just too sweet to live" and their mothers de- clared that he was a perfectly safe young man, while the fathers and brothers, though not going quite so far, had only good words to say of Charlie Price, at your service.
 Now the gentle reader" or, as some writers prefer to say, the flair reader" has doubtless guessed the sequel. the wedding, though properly opposed by the powers that were, was natural consequence. But where or when did the yellow kitten come in? All in good time, my friends.
 The Campbells and the Prices had a feud of long standing, originating in the years gone by over the fence boundary, each head of the family claiming twelve feet more of ground than the other considered his due For tunately this feud was conducted in a quiet and perfectly lawful manner, and poison, bowie knives and pistols did not figure in 1t. But the feud was a posi- tive one, notwithstanding. No Camp IooI or Drioo bod ovar boaD y,nov1,, +c shake hands, not even at a church so- cial, which Mrs. 'Lias Miller and Miss Rebecca Slow denounced far and wide as "onChristianlike. But In spite Of the dlsapproval of many of their com mon friends, there was apparently no chance of any of the members making up until-well, just before this story was written.
 The places adjoined, as the disputed boundary line suggested; in fact the whole village had grown up around them. and what was once an old coun- try lane where their gates stood, was now a smart village street.
 AS children, our hero and heroine had several times displayed much contempt for the family fuss, and had been seen playing together, though often forcibly by indignant parents with threats of being sent Supperless to bed if the offense was repeated. Evidently they had inherited none of the i'll feel ing of their ancestors, which was mighty unnatural, Miss Priscilla thought, though, as she always said, l she blamed the mothers on both sides who certainly had not inculcated the proper spirit of righteous resentment and unappeased wrath in their off spring.
 But when childhood was over, Mabel l Campbell was estranged by circum- stance from Charlie Price as complete l ly as if an ocean had been between | them instead of paling fence. When | she was IS she came back from board Ing school and was, pronounced old i enough for picnics and socials, and | was. indeed. the acknowledged belle of i the Young Peoples Pleasure Club, and | the favorite even of maIronS and spin | sters at sewing bees and Dorcas socie ties, and perfect idol at home She | was an only child, and the love that | seemed to overflow from father and l mother was expended upon. innumer- able pets She had two fat Yorkshile puppies. a pug dog. a parrot, and a eat i who recently had added to the proces- sion yellow kitten, of the story. This small animal was up to mischief of all | kinds, and had the most exploring turn of mind, for she. was forever getting ost and being. returned to her mistress 1y little boys of the village, who thus