The Mt. Sterling advocate., 1915-05-12
CONE AT five
Then Came a Surprise.
By LOUISE MERRIFIELD.
BY LOUISE MERRlFIELD.

WdlnuC. MuSL nave cOSG at IedSt
$75 fifty years ago. just observe
the hand carving, will you? Every
one of those punches of acorns is
hand carved. Mirror real French
bevel. See that initial hand carved
right into the wood on top? That
capital X stands for Kittredge, and
this here bureau is part of the origi-
nal black walnut, marble topped
bedroom suit that old Granpa Kit
tredge bought in Boston fifty-two
years ago. Amt that so, Mrs. Kit
tredge?"
Standing near the veranda steps
was Grandma Kittredge, slender,
erect and digniGed in her mourning.
Her sweet old face was tear stained,
but courageous, as she watched her
precious furniture go under the
hammer, piece by piece. 1t 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 next to
her, one arm around her waist and
the other hand holding hers in a
close clasp of loving comfort, was
Kitty-Kitty, for whose sake the
old home and all it held were being
sold.
With that soft, young hand hold
ing hers the strength came back to
her as she remembered what it
meant for Kitty'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 bravely, closed her eyes to
force back the tears and answered:
"That is SO, Billy"
They had bought it on their we'd
ding trip-the black walnut Csc" "
as she called it. 1t had been made
to order in Boston, and she remem-
bered how proud she had been Of
even the initial on each headpiece,
the initial that she had taken for
her own through life only a few
weeks before.
"There's nothing too good for my
bride to take back home with her"
Tom Kittredge had said proudly.
"And you shall have the marble
tops, too, Kitty, darling"
Marble topsl And today old Billy
was telling her neighbors to bid up,
that even the marble tops were
worth buying for gravestones; real,
good, flawless 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 whis-
pered. 'G'll win it all back for you,
dearest. Don't you cry"
Then while Billy's voice sounded
far of she closed her eyes to shut
out his figure standing on one of
her dining room chairs, shut out the
scattered crowd of neighbors and
strangers that spread out over the
lawn in front of the big colonial
Kittredge homestead, and reasoned
it all out with herself again-how it
must be for Kitty's sake, Kitty the
Third, as they had called her when
Kitty the Second had laughed and
cried the first time her baby daugh-
ter was laid in her arms by Kitty
the First. And today Kitty the
First was only poor old Grandma
Kittredge, and Kitty the Second lay
up under the pines in the judges
family lot ON the hillside next to the
judge himself, and only little seven
teen-year-old Kitty was left.
1t was right that the girl should
have the full benefit from the old
place, Grandma Kittredge told her
self over and over again. She, too,
would be sleeping up under the
pines before long, and then only lit
tie Kitty the Third would be left,
and what good would all the old
fashioned furniture be to her? Dud-
ley liked new things, and they were
going to live in New York after
they were married. She had heard
him telling Kitty how artistically
and effectively he would furnish up
an apartment for her, call in mis-
sion STYLE"
Grandma Kittredge had wonder
ed vaguely what the mission style
was, but she said nothing. 1t 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