Waterbury Democrat., 1903-01-01

she boasted to Mrs Wilton on the next Monday morning as she ran her broad hand through the stearning suds.
 Some one going to send you nice basket" quiered Mrs. Wilton, thinking at once of the benevolent president to be.
 "Naw! yer away off" laughed the woman of labor. We've an invitation to the New Years dinner at Shelly Farms; got it in fine cover with the Berrie army coat blazed onto the corner of it"
 'fWhy Mrs. Malinda Meigs!" exclaimed the astonished Mrs. Wilton, "you are not joking me?'
 of the wringer an emphatic yank; its the Bible truth. And I was so tickled at what she writ onto the gold-aiged cards she sent me.
 teWhat was that?' asked Mrs. Wilton, desperately, the awfulness of philan- thropic movement" gripping her heart- strings.
 s'Why, she writ that she and her hns. band would turn the new leaf themselves this time and invite the worthy poor to dine with them on New Years day. And now" dropping her voice to one of pleasant interrogative, where be you agoin' to dine, New Years, ma am ?"
 q hardly know yet, answered Mrs. Wilton, truthfully; then she fled. to tine closet and studied the fine, new dinner dress, with conflicting thoughtsss For young chit from college to come Iording it into their midst and make such unheard of snubbing plans in her en- deavor to appear peculiar. was simply 1 outrageous! The Shelly Farms new leaf I was perfectly abominable! Sonet hing would have to be done to offset this dis 1 gusting philanthropy. as l ss Rvi2 fo1Ir a, o,clock that afternoon Mrs 1 Wilton had made the rounds of the insult ed elite of the countryside; and swell dinner-party had been arranged TOT, as Mrs Goldwaite's, for three solid reasons. First. to air their new toilettea3 seconds to soothe one another in their common l grievance, and third, the Goldwaite cot ! tage was so situated that they could cas- l fly see the coarse tide of the seconds and possibly the thirds flow to the I farms.
 l Punctually at the appointed time the I outraged upper current gathered at the appointed place to see the outrageous un- l der current set toward the philanthropie I president.
 By three o'clock all the indigent but re- l spectable people of the neighborhood had l gone by in their Sunday best. ,s
 Onions and sauerkraut!" drawled Mr. l Wilton, as German family passed on foot.
 l Our white necktie brigade comment- ed another first" as the pastor of a poor church, mile away, and the superinten-. l dent of its Sunday school, together with l a dozen scholars, went by in a double | sleigh. And the tfrsts, rustled their I silks and smiled in aristocratic cont4mpts
 Before the Goldwaite party broke up, however, messenger from the Farms bowed himself into their midst and out again, leaving the hostess looking sus. piciously at message in her hand, with 39the army coat blazed onto the corner, as Mrs Meigs would have said. She glanced timidly around the expectant circle and finally drew forth 2 daintily perfumed note and read:
 "A very happy New Year to all It has occurred to us, dear people, that you may not have comprehended our motive in bidding our guests for the day. As we all are interested in phlanthropio work, we will be understood when we
 say, the new leaf we turned is very time | ly and beautiful, and has made many
 hearts happy. Husband and turned the
 leaf suggested by Luke, the beloved physi-
 clan. We knew you were all well able to
 return the compliment, and so we bade
 those who could not recompense us.
 "We extend greetings and desire that
 you all rejoice with us. MT. and Mrs.
 John Berrie, Shelly Farms.'
 The "firsts" looked soberly at each
 other; the spirit of the note touched the
 good in them and the new dinner dresses
 were, for the time, forgotten.
 s'Yes," they said, "the whole neighbors
 hood has enjoyed Happy New Year to-
 day. Surely it is pleasant new leafr,
 But the philanthropic society has never
 been organized, although the prospective president is ready and waiting.