The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1904-12-23
A Too Successful Prize Winner.
BY Carroll Watson Rankin.

ly. 1t was precisely what she wanted
for the Saturday evening concert; bu
her mother had shaken her head ant
said:
No, Virginia, it's very pretty ant
most beautifully made, but | can
afford to buy it for you. Why DOM
you take some of your work to the
fair? The premiums might pay fol-
it,"
81 did think of it, but Mrs. Blake
does everything l can do so much
better that she would surely take
all the first prizes. The second ones
aren't worth trying for"
After day with the entry-books
however. Virginia changed her mind
She had made mental note of the
articles after which only one entry
number, or perhaps no number at
all, had been placed; and she went
home prepared for business.
Tired as she was, when she had fin.
ished her supper she flew from cup.
board TO closet, from drawer to shelf,
literally from garnet to cellar, gather
ing up every article she had en-
broidered from the time she was
first able to hold a needle, every
sketch she had drawn, every poster
she had painted. Even the doubtful
result of her one attempt at preserv-
ing went to swell the pile in the CEN.
ter of her bedroom rug.
The resources of the house ex
hausted, Virginia flew to the garden,
candle in hand and stripped the SOL
itary, stunted plum-tree of two quarts
of plums-its entire crop. Those
from the sunny side Of the tree were
tinged with purple; the rest were IN
dersized and decidedly green.
Returning to her room, Virginia sat
down on the rug to label her exhibits.
Her three glasses Of strawberry pre-
serves received new names. The jar
in which whole berries were most in
evidence was relabeled HOMEGROWN
Strawberries" The one containing
much broken fruit was marked Straw
berry jam" Virginia removed the
cover from the third, stirred in little
ground cinnamon she had carried up
from the kitchen, and christened the
mixture "Spiced Strawberries"
Six plate doilies were compelled to
do duty as tray-cloth, a specimen
of silk embroidery, an embroidered
stand cover, bureau cover. a pin
cushion top and Kensington embroid-
cry. The posters, likewise, served as
water-color heads, figures and painted
panels. The prize for mere posters
was certain to go to Mrs. Blake.
When she reached the plums, Vir-
ginia divided them into two little
heaps, labelling the purple ones Brad
shaw" and the unripe ones Green
Cages"
why not?" questioned Virginia,
salving her conscience, and packing
her exhibits into capacious basket.
tits just what the farmers do with
their potatoes. There's everything in
knowing just how to enter things
There! I'm done, thank goodness! I'll
get Ned Hicks to take this out in the
when he takes his Belgian
hares."
Virginia was partly right about the
potatoes, although so wrong in her
There were farmers who
made one variety of potatoes
masquerade under various pseudo
nyms, but their example was not a
good one to follow. Virginia, how
ever, was young and very thoughtless.
Tired out from an exciting day, she
went to bed without realizing the
enormity of her offense.
Tho next morning Virginia offered
her neat list to Gilbert, who made the
came to a number of articles for the
children's department. 'How's this,
Virginia? You're over sixteen, aren't
you?"
Eyes, but made the things before I
was sixteen"
ooh, that's all right, them" re-
turned Gilbert. 81 wish everybody
would enter thingsas correctly labeled
as yours are. Only few of the old
exhibitors ever think of making a
list"
Virginia colored, partly with pleas
ire, partly with something else.
Things were beginning to take new
aspect by daylight
Twenty-four hours later the judges,
after a prolonged struggle with thirty
i've centrepieces of almost equal ex
,ellence, and nine crazy-quilts so near
y alike that only the owners could
nope to tell them apart, turned with
'elief to an extensive list of articles,
each followed by only one or two en-
ry numbers.