Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1907-04-07
Gone at Five
 By...
 LOUISE MERRIFIELD. Copyright, la07, by E. C. Parcells.

have this fine old piece of black wal nut Must have cost at least $115 fifty years ago. Just observe the hand cary ing, will you: Every one of those punches of acorns is hand carved. Mir! TOT. real French bevel See that initia! hand carved right into the wood c.i top? That capital K stands for Kit tredge, and this here bureau is part of the original black walnut, marble top < ped bedroom suit that old Grandpa Kit tredge bought in Boston fifty-two years { ago. Amt that so, Mrs Kittredge:" @ Standing near the yeranda steps was { Grandma kittre3lge, slender, erect and dignified in her mourning. Her sweet 2 old face was tear stained, but cotr- ageous, as she watched her precious ,. furniture go under the hammer. piece x by piece. It was hard, nobody knew how hard, but they were all kind to her, and even old Billy Masters, the auctioneer, was making it just as easy for her as he could, and, standing EeEt to her, one arm around her waist and the other hand holding hers in q close
 asp of loving comfort, was Kitty
 ly, for whose sake the old home and
 t held were being sold
 AMfrrh that soft, young hand holding ners the strength came back to her a.; sl{e remembered what it meant for Kit ty(s sake each time one of the old dear things was sold, and now, even when the first piece of her wedding suit was put up, she smiled bravelE. closed her eyes to force back the tears and answered.:
 "That is so, Billy
 They had bought it on their wcdd;n@ trip-the black walnut set" as ss.> called it. It had been made to order jn Boston, and she remembered l.o-- proud she had been of even the initial op each headpiece, the initial that s.(. haS aken for her own through life onlA fe" weeks before.
 "There's nothing too good for n! bride to take back home with her Tom kittredge had said proudly. An: you shall have the marble tops, too Kitty, darling
 Marble tops! And today old Billy was telling her neighbors to bid up. that even the marble tops were worth buying for gravestones; real. good. fawless marble was getting so scarce. The tears forced their way through her lashes this time, and Kitty junior. seeing them fall on the hand she held. raised it to her lips and kissed them , away
 Don't cry, grandma" she whispered. sA Dent you cry"
 Then while Billy's voice sounded far Ef she closed her eyes to shut out his vdgure standing on one of her dining room chairs, shut out the scattered crowd of old neighbors and strangers that spread out over the lawn in front of the big colonial Kittredge home stead, and reasoned it all out with herself again-how it must be for Kit, 3 tvs sake, Kitty the Third, as they had called her when Kitty the Second had laughed and cried the first time her baby daughter was laid in her arms by Kitty the First. And today Kitty the z First was only poor old Grandma Kit tredge, and Kitty the Second lay up under the pines in the judges family lot on the hillside next to the judge old Kitty was left.
 It was right that the girl should have the full benefit from the old place, Grandma Kittredge told herself over and over again. She, too, would be z eleeping up under the pines before sElong, and then only little Kitty the Third would be left, and what good x would all the old fashioned furniture be to her? Dudley liked new things. sand they were going to live in New SSYork after they were married. She had heard him telling Kitty how ar Htstically and effectively he would fur ish up an apartment for her, "all in ' mission style.'
 Grandma Kittredge had wondered vaguely what the mission style was. but she said nothing It was perfectly natural for Kitty to want her own \ things, just as that other Kitty years ago had wanted to go up to Boston and have the Joy of buying her own things for the home wonderful. Of course Kitty the Third couldn't understand how she loved each piece of furniture. She was too young. How could she feel sad over the old bureau without the memory of the little baby gar ments that had been tucked away in its drawers years and years ago. of the dear old solid mirror that had re- dected the face of that other bride from Boston and beside her, bendin: over her shoulder. the laughing, merry, tender eyed Tom Kittredge? Fifty two years ago it was, but how could
 Kitty understand? But it was for the
 best-surely 1t was all for the best
 Grandma Kittredge kept telling her self, for the young people wanted to
 go to New York to live. and she was to
 go too. They were very. very kind to
 her. She could not stay in the oi{'
 house all alone, and, then, there was
 no money to keep it up with.