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October 6, 1909. THE IrRESBYTERIA
grandma. 1 can't make anything pretty, eitner. 1 can
only tell you that I love you, and spend the pennies
for a postage stamp to send the letter.
"With lots of love, Mirabel."
"Well! well!" said grandma. "Bless the dear child!
That's the sweetest thing she could have done."
She put her other gifts away. But when it came to
finding a place for this gift?"Mirabel's letter"?she
got out the carved sandalwood box. Grandma's dearest
treasures were there. She looked with tender eyes
at the faded old letter in which so niajiy years before
grandpa had asked her to be his wife. She stroked
with loving fingers the fair, bright curl which had belonged
to dear little son who had died. She smiled at
a tiny bit of sewing, the very first stitches that mamma
had ever taken. Then she kissed Mirabel's letter, put
it in with the other treasures and safely locked the box.
So, one little girl, who thought that she could not do
anything: at all for mndmamma's hirthHav har\ on*
her grandmother the very sweetest gift that she received.?St.
Nicholas.
A BIRTHDAY PARTY IN THE MOUNTAINS.
< . . .
It was in California that Dorothy lived. She was
soon to celebrate her fourth birthday. It was very
wonderful to be four years old, Dorothy thought; and,
oh. wasn't it dreadful not to have a party!
If it had not been for those four years, 1 believe Dorothy
might have cried about it; but one musn't cry
when one is so old.
Mamma, too. thought it was dreadful not tr? havi> n
party; and all the week before the birthday she was
trying to think of something; and just the day before
Dorothy would be four years old she found a splendid
way to celebrate.
Dorothy lived away up in the mountains with her
parents, and there was not a child within ten miles of
them ; and, as Dorothy said, she had no one to plav
with but the birds, the squirrels, and the little baby
pigs at the barn. Dorothy's big cone, "Old Giant,"
solved the problem of her birthday party.
As it was still rather cool in the evening, they had
been keeping a fire in their tent every night; and one
dav Dorothv disrnvrrpd hr?r hitr ??roo n.wl
, ~.t, aim
stretching out its brown points all around. The heat
caused this; and each night it opened wider and wider,
until one day they found lying all around it pine nuts,
or pinions, in their brown, silky cases. When the
cone was shaken, so many more came tumbling out it
seemed hardly possible it could hold so many. The
pine nuts gave mamma a suggestion.
The day before Dorothy's birthday her mamma said:
"I am going to send out invitations for your party today,
Dorothy."
"Why, mamma, I can't have a party," Dorothy said;
"there are only the birds and squirrels here to play
with?not a single little girl or boy."'
"I know it," mamma said, laughing; "but let us in
vne mem. we will invite the squirrels to your party.
They will like it; you will see."
The invitations were the pine nuts in their silky
cases.
Papa nailed a box to the big pine tree, where the
squirrels so often played, and placed the invitations inside.
N
4 *
4
N OF THE SOUTH. n
There were invitations for Bun, Chap, Frisky, Swift
and Mamma Gray, with little Fuzzy Wuzzy Gray.
Oh, yes, one for Reddy, if he would only come! But
they feared he would not while Bun and Frisky were
there, as they always quarreled.
Dorothy watched them as they came chattering
down the tree to the box and got their invitations.
They seemed so pleased that mamma said she did
*1 ?-> ?- ? - -
iiicic wouiu ue any regrets sent in, and they
could expect every one?every one but Reddy; he
might not accept if he found out all the gray squirrels
were coming. .The next day was the party.
Papa filled the box with the pinons they had gathered
from "Old Giant," and Dorothy sat down to wait
for her guests. The first to arrive were Mrs. Gray
and Fuzzy Wuzzy. They were just wild with delight,
and chatted so loudly that Frisky, Bun, Chap and
Swift came racing over from the other trees in ereat
haste, lest they get left out of the feast.
What fun they had! They would run with the nuts
to a branch of the tree, pop down on their haunches,
and eat for all they were worth. And how they did
chatter! Dorothy wished she could understand all
they said; but the only thing they said plainly was:
"We like it' W* 1ik? i* I"
When at last the refreshments were all gone, they
raced and played games in the trees for a long time.
Once Reddy started toward them; but Bun and
Frisk saw him, and chased him back right to his very
door.
Dorothy felt sorry for poor little Reddy, and declared
she would shake "Old Giant" and get more
nuts for him.
At last they grew weary of play, and Mrs. Gray said
if WOC f 1 m n f/-* nr/\ A 1 1 T '
.. bo Liiuv iu gu Hume i su sue iook r uzzy wuzzy,
and they chattered "Good-night" to their little hostess.
The younger ones, Frisky, Bun, Chap and Swift, had
one more good race up the tree and down ; then they
skipped over the logs and were gone.
Dorothy clapped her hands as the last gray bushy
tail disappeared, and cried: "Mamma, that is the best
party I've ever had!"?Boys and Girls.
WHAT A GOOD START IS GOOD FOR.
A good start may become a dangerous snare. This
is not the fault of the good start, but of the oerson
who, having made it, rests backs comfortably on the
idea that things will now take care of themselves. Almost
anybody can make a good start. About one in a
hundred holds it. Printers know this by costly experience.
They know that the good pressman is not
the one who can turn out a faultlessly printed sheet
just after the make-readv and the color and the register
have been satisfactorily adjusted, but the one from
whose work VOU can nick r?nt at ranr1/-?r? 1 -r*-~
j 1 ??iiuvui a Oiitci dl LCI d
thousand, or ten thousand, or a hundred tliousand,
havf hf?f?n run atirt An/1 it ,li??....1t r? >
.uiiu imu h UUUV.UII iu s<iy irom wnat
part of the run it came. The man who holds out
through the entire job, whether it be printing, or
preaching, or living life in any other of its searching,
testii.g forms, is yet in the minority. A good start is
good for just as long as it lasts.?no longer.?S. S.
Times.