Blandford Weekly News. — 1889-03-23 (Blandford, Dorset, England)

WHY MAMMA KNEW.  She set up in bed. The curtain was drawn up and she saw the moon, and it looked as if it were laughing at her.  " Yol need not look at me now, Moon," she said. "You don't know about it; you can't see in the daytime. Besides, lam going to sleep." _ _  _ She lay down and tried to go to sleep. Her clock on the mantel went " tick-tock, tick-tock." She Fenerally liked to hear it, but to-night it sounded as if it said, "Iknow, I know, I know."  "You don't know, either," said Minnie, opening her eyes wide. "You weren't there, you old thing, you were upstairs." Her loud noise awoke the parrot. He took his head from under his wing, and cried out" Polly did!" "That's a wicked story, you naughty bird," said Minnie. "You were in grandma's room, so now." Then Minnie tried to go to sleep again. She lay down and counted white sheep, just as grandma said she did when she couldn't sleep. But there was a big lump in her throat. "Oh, I wish I hadn't!" Pretty soon there came a patter of four little feet, and pussy jumped up on the bed and kissed Minnie's cheek, and then began to " pur.r-r, pur.r-r." It was very queer, but that, too, sounded as if pussy said, "1 know. I know."  " Yes, you do know, kitty," said Minnie, and she threw her arms around kitty's neck and cried bitterly " And—l guesa—l want—to—see—my— mamma ! "  Mamma opened her arms when she saw the little weeping girl coming, and then Minnie told her miser. able story. . . . . .  "I wit; -awfully naughty, mamma, but I did want the custard pie so bad, and so I ate it up, 'most a whole pie, and then—l—l—oh, I don't want to tell, but I 'mpect I must—l shut kitty in the pantry to make you think she did it. But I'm truly sorry, mamma."  Then mamma told Minnie that she had known all about it. But she had hoped that the little daughter would be brave enough to tell her all about it herself.  " But, mamma," she asked, "how did you know it wasn't kitty'?" "Because kitty would never have left a spoon in the pie," replied mamma, smiling.  A small boy, hearing people talk of "Father" Christmas, wants to know who is "mother '' Christmas! Why, Christmas Eve, of course.  Teacher (to class): "Why is procrastination called the thief of time ? " Boy (at foot of clue): "Because it takes a person so long to say Little Bessie dropped an armful of playthings. , "Did you break anything " asked the mother. "Nothing but the quiet,' she replied, "and that's mended already." A little four-year-old begged his mother to take him to a ball. She said he could not dance. "Yes, I tan dance," rejoined the little fellow ; "and my way is more diffitult than your way. I dance alone, but you have to be bolded up." Divine service was celebrated at the Belgrade Cathedral on Sunday in connection with the accession of King Alexander. The procession through the streets was in the midst of a blinding fall of snow; consequently the gathering of spectators was not large. .At the close of the service the metropolitan delivered an exhortation to the people. A domestic servant named Mary Murphy, aged 2(1, has been remanded at Limerick on a charge of murder. Ten months since, it is said, the prisoner gave birth to a male child, which a fortnight ago was found dead at Castleconnell, oounty Limerick. Murphy had been a servant at the Porturrma police barracks, her arrest takin,.; iiiaCe in county Galway.  (From Punek.)