Miss Donothy's Thanksgiving.

yo have always with yon , and a faint blush suffused her somewhat faded cheek . Just at this juncture a timid knock sounded on thc door . Afc Miss Dorothy's invitation to enter , a little girl came timidly into tho room . Thc child ' s dress of faded calico was both short and scant , anil her little hands looked blue with cold . Her hair hung in tangled

yellow curls over her shoulders , and her eyes showed signs of recent tears . " 0 , Miss Dorothy , " she said , witb a half-sob , " Mamma saiel wo couldn't have any dinner to-day , ' cause she's sick , and Bessie hasn't got any money to buy any with . " " Tho poor ye liavealways with you ! " Miss Dorothy thought again . " Come here , Minnie , " she said , drawing

the child to her . " Will you stay here and eat dinner with mc ? I'm going to have turkey , and mince pie , aud ever so many nice things besides . Woultl you like to stay .-mil eat dinner with me ? " she asked again , having suddenly come to thc conclusion that cold pic

nnd baked beans would not do for a Thanksgiving dinner at all . Minnie ' s eyes sparkled , but a wistful look shone in them , as he asked , " Will mamma autl Bessie havo some t oo ?" Miss Dorothy inntlc another sudden resolution .

" Yes , she said ; mamma and Bessie shall have some , too ! But we must got- dinner all ready first , " she added , ami in an incredibly short time a fire was roaring in the little cooking stove , the turkey was spluttering in the oven , and Miss Dorothy was busily rolling out the flaky pie-crust which was destined to cnfonil ) some of the richest mince-meat any prudent

thnnksgiviT would wish to ins ( o . A hungry tram ]) , fortunately for himself , happened along , ant ] was made thc happy recipient of the cold beans , pie , etc ., upon which Miss Dorothy herself had half inlended lo dine . Little Minnie was helping nnd hindering her hostess

all she could , anil had already taken the edge off her own appi-iite by the consumption of a huge slice of fruit cake , which was frosted ami oriiaii'ented with plump , home-niade capitis , done in icing , and also stuffed as full of plums as was King Arthur ' s " bagputldiug . " so justly celebrated in nursery lore .

Al last , the huge turkey lay on his hack , crisp , and brown , and savory . The pies looked ready to melt in one ' s mouth . The table was spread , the dainty service of eliinii , and cut-trlass , and here and there a bit . of rare , old silver , sett ing oil" tho turke-v-rod cloth and snowy napkins to great advantage . The turnips ami squash were done , the plum-pudding was still steaming and

spluttering over thc ( ire . Thc celery vvas crisp ancl green , and ( he cranberry sauce and the currant jelly were quivering in cut-glass bowls of rare and antique pattern . Now , Miss Dorothy dunned her vv iiii ' -i-olenired merino dress , fastened up her hair with n high-hacked silver comb , and pinned around her neck a rnllle of lii mv while lace . She had already brushed out Minnie ' s

long yellow curls , and tied a pretty blue ribbon round the chilli ' s head . Taking a largo japanned tray , sho spread over it a white towel and proceeded to arrange tqion it the invalid ' s portion of the thanksgiving dinner . A china plnli 1 , which held a generous slice of the turkey's breast , was Hanked by dishes of vegetables , saucers of currant jelly and cranberry sauce , sections of

pie , both iniiiee and pumpkin , and a . slice of the fruit cake , with one of the over-grown cupids perched upon it . In addition to the well-laden tray , sho carried a pitcher of hot coffee , enriched hy real cream , for Miss Dorothy kept a cow . " If Mrs . Willis is too sick to cat it all , if will ilo for tho children , afterwards , " she thought as she spread a towel over the fray , and with

Minnie ut her side , crossed the street and knocked at the door of a very plain frame house . Bessie , a pretty girl of fourteen , opened the door . She stared in astonishment at the unexpected visitor , but Miss Dorolhy walked straight to tho invalid ' s bed-side "Mrs . Willis , " she said , "I want to beg you to let Minnie and Bessie conic and help me cat my

Thanksgiving dinner ; you know 1 m all alone , and it will be a real charily to let thorn como . And to save timo and trouble , I ' ve brought your dinner along , " anti having placed the ( my on the table beside tho bed , she drew off the towel which covered it , and displayed the tempting viands . At this unexpected kindness poor Mrs . Willis seemed

to have lost her voice entirely , but she clasped . Miss Dorothy ' s hand , and looked the thanks she could not Speak . At this moment . Miss Dorothy felt how much inure blessed it was to give than to receive ; but to make the favour seeni as slight ns possible , she I urned away , carelessly and quickly ; turned , to find herself confronted by a t-trimircr , a man six foot high , wilh

dark , handsome eyes and a blonde moustache . " Dolly , " cried tho apparition , eagerly holding out his baud . " . lack ! " cried Miss Dolly , blushing to the roots of her hair , but giving her hand to be clasped in his . Mrs . Willis suddenly found her voice . " Why , Miss Dorothy ! " she asked " how did you come to know my

cousin Jack r * Miss Dorothy blushed again , and stammered , but . lack eanie lo the rescue ami toltl the whole story . Afterwards , with Minnie and Bessie , ho accompanied Miss Dolly lo assist in disposing of ihe thanksgiving diuiu'i " , audit is but reasonable to suppose that the hostess was not suvry she had changed her mind about dining on the " cold Wtlles , " ; ,. s . she had at Iirst i ; i-( enileil .

J'liat night , ns Miss Dorothy gazed upon the diamond engagement-ring which sparkled on her linger , she could Scarcely decide which to be most thankful for : ihat Jack had como home , rich , handsome , and as much in

Miss Donothy's Thanksgiving.

love with her as ever , or that , through the grace of Providence , she had been enabled to read aright thc simple text , " The poor yo have always with you . "The Voice of Masonry .

Under The Mistletac Baugh.

Under the Mistletac Baugh .

EMMA C . VOGELGESANG . piS ^ lgEAB ., dear , " -said Aunt Lucy , wiping the moisture SljiP from her glasses , " what a timo Christmas is ! s j ! ca ? ' For the last six weeks there hare been bits of \ $ v silk and worsted , scraps of this and ends of that iff scattered all over the house . I wonder if the * anticipation is not more pleasant than thc reality . " Aunt Lucy and Uncle John had a large , comfortable

home , in a pretty place , and never spared any effort to make it pleasant for guests . At Christmas time , particularly , relatives and strangers shared thc most bounteous hospitality . Aunt Lucy , though " atiufc " only in name , was . as my littlo sister described her , " the darlingosfc woman , " who always made one feel comfortable aud perfectly afc home ,

while Uncle John was as full of fun as n boy , and always led in our sports . Their two datigTitcrs , Nellie and Gertrude , were as different as two girls could be , Nellie , the eldest , being tall , pale and quiet , with light hair and dark blue eyes , hut Gertie was small and dark , always in mischief anil always saving something she did nofc mean to say or

meaning something she did not say , a splendid match i ' or her roguish brother Will . The next morning after my arrival I skipped into the sitting-room in time to see Nellie thrust some work hastily in her pocket , while she sang in a careless voice , " I love to hear the ringing of Chir . simas hells ajar . " "' I do not believe . : i word of it , " said Gertie ,

lainrhingly , " not a word Nellie Brooks , else v-oti would not- ho so cool and indifferent to all flint is going on . . Tnst think of it , only one day more until Christmas , and so many coming , so much to do . Oh Nellie , do wake up and get just a little excited to keep me company !" " Will has promised to put me up a mistletoe bough , and—"

Yes , so I did , said \\ ill , bobbing his head in at Ihe doorway , " and , by the way , you can expect Hubert Leicester here to-diiy . I met , hint at Low-point , and he said Christ mas was such a bore ; some one always expected something he did not want to give , anil he always expected something he wouldn ' t , get , so 1 invited him here to while away the dull time . A beau for you ,

. May , " he said , with a comical whikat mo , " a lord iVoni flic ) Sandwich Islands ; you will want to fix your cap , put on your best bib and tucker , and look youi sweetest . " "Is ho from the Sandwich Islands ? " ! asked , innocently . Gertie laughed but Nellie looked annoyed . "Ho is

from the West Indies , a perfect gentleman , educated and refined , but rather odd and easy , and we tako advantage of his good humour , " she said , with more than usual animation . " Now Nellie , " said Gertie , "did you not say there was a buy climate in the land of his birth , and you thought it must have infected the people , and then the boys toll

such stone's about his being out of money and asking loans , and when you remember , May , that he has a splendid education , is u gootl musician , ami has brains enough to really do something great in tlio world if ho would only apply himself to work , that nt times he has almost nothing ; and yet in spite of all everybody likes him , you can judge that he is quite an uncommon

mortal , but ho would shnro his last cent with ono in need , so I tlo not know but that tho good and bad arc equal . Lord Magnifico wo call him , and I am so glad ho is coming , aren ' t you ?" " The more tho merrier , " you know , and ho makes fun enough for a dozen , " said Nellie . " I wonder if I can get him to compose some music

for my rhymes"At your service , ladies ; without a doubt you can have what you wish , Miss Gertie . " A careless , easy tone , a slight drawl to the words , a careless cosylooking fellow , too . " 1 beg your pardon , ladies , for coining in so iiiiecremoiiioiisly , " he said , " but Will told me to walk right in anil put my traps on the centre

table for ornaments , or hang them on the chandelier , as I chose . " " We arc very glad to seo you , " Nellie said , in her quit 1 ! , ein-nest way , and Gertie , chasing away the annoyed look , burst out with , " What a surprise ! Did you drop from the moon or come on a telegraph wire ?"

" Neither , Miss Gertie ; I am indebted to the steam cars and a fust horse for the pleasure of being here , hut , I promised Will to return immediately und examine his new firearms , and , as they are indisputable arguments in his hands , 1 am afraid of rousing his auger , so if you will excuse me 1 will lake a short leave of absence . "

" Do yon flunk he heard what . I said ? asked Gertie , when tlie door had closed after him . "What is the next scrape I will be in ? We did not . introduce yon either . Nellie ' . Nellie ! where were your thoughts i Yon know I am never expected to do anything right . "

"Nevermind , I - said , "( here will be plenty of time , runt I do not think if will make any diU ' erenee to him . " 1 cannot tell what my first impression of Robert Leieesler was . lie was not handsome , and 1 did not Ihink he was either good enough or smart enough for Nellie , anil vet , as Gertie said , " in spite of ulll ' onc

Under The Mistletac Baugh.

liked him . " His fun was irrepressible , and his wit bubbled up like a spring in the wild wood . He had a keen edge to his tongue , too—a bitter sarcasm—which he never used , however , except on rare occasions ; and no speech of Nellie's could over provoke anything but a pleasant reply . " Do you believe in ghosts ? " be said to me tho first

day I met him . "Ghosts ? No . How could I ?" " Well , I have seen one , " he said , " and seeing is believing they say . " Whether it was only a sell for mc , or whether ho

believed ifc , I coultl not tell . I looked straight into his eyes , and he looked straight into mine without smiling or moving a muscle . " Will ifc scare you to hear a ghost story ? " he asked . " Oh no , " I said , " for no matter how strange , I know it can bc explained by perfectly natural causes . "

" Well , I will tell you . There was a little tumbledown shanty , iu a grove quite near my father ' s place , that bore the name of being haunted . Nothing in tho world could have induced a negro to go near thc place at night , or in the daytime , either for aught I know . One evening , three of ns , eager for excitement , set out for the old place . ' Do Debhil's tlar , shua . Massa

Robert , don't you go . Iso seen the light ot tho sulphur he carries mor ' n once ; you'll shua got kotchetl , ' said one of the servants , rolling his eyes with fright . " We laughed at his warning and started off . It did not take long to reach the place , and there was only one room below with a pair of rickety old stairs loading to a loft , above . It was unsafe to ascend the stairs , so we

halloed and shouted and told the ghost , if there was any ghost ( here , to come down and see us ; but nothing made its appearance , so wc just put out our lights and concluded to wait . Wc saw nothing , heard nothing , until . 1 think , it was sometime after midnight , I beaitl a whirring sound in the loft- above . I give my friend nearest me a nudge . 'Do you hear that , Al ? ' I

whispered , but ho diel not . answer . I saw something wlnto conic clown the old staircase so lightly and easily they did not even creak ; then 1 gave each of the hoys a decided nudge , but neither moved a muscle . ' Heavens !' I thought , ' arc they scared to death ? ' I had heard of people dying from fright . Miss May , yon see how straight my hair now is ; before that night ifc was curly ,

horror made it perfectly straight . lie looked at mc so gravely and earnestly , and I looked so inquiringly at him that ] am sure I must have appeared idiotic . " It was coming nearer and nearer , and making a mournful sound , " lie continued . " I yelled to the boys if there was any breath in them to get a light , and then

Joe raised up , but his hand shook so , the matches fell fo ihe Door . I felt it touch me . I was frantic . 1 seized a match , had a light , and , Miss May , as true as I live , there was—as nice a looking cat as you over saw . " The laughing that followed— the jests at my expense —I shall never forget ; and to this day I am asked to givo the " natural causes" for a cat ghost .

Will put ii ]) tho mistletoe in the farthest corner of the library , " for safety , ' . ' ho said , I never go into that room during the holidays , it is too far from where the cooking is done , so I know I nm safe . Christinas Eve camo with Christmas Eve sports , and the wildest set of school children could not have acted worse than we .

During the evening , I do not know how it camo about , some of us woro drawn into a discussion about Government K , anil Mr . Leicester mado somo pointed remarks against , American policy and American government , ami spoko grandiloquently , to use Gertie ' s term , of "Her Majesty tho Queen" and "Her Majesty's Dominions . " If there is ono thing more than another

that will ronso Nellie s anger it is a word against her country , anil that evening she defended it with moro than usual spirit . I watched him sharply us she mado her keen retorts , but could not detect a shade of anger or annoyance . Ho waited until sho bail spoken , then walked leisurely to another part of tho room , and in a few moments wns singing a rollicking song of love ,

nonsense , ant ] fun . Nellie left tho room before ho had finished , and 1 knew he was going in search of hor as soon as ho went to the door . He looked in the parlour but she was not there , so lie went quietly to tho library , and there , under the mistletoe , tho flush nil gono from her cheeks , was Nellie , sitting in Aunt Lucy ' s easy chair . Before

she was aware of his presence Robert Leicester was seated beside her . " Do you think all I am good for is to create laughter for somo people and aggravate ) others ? " he asked in a quick , passionate tone . "Oh Nellie , don ' t think mo so utterly worthless and

good-fornoilimg ; give me tho right to prove to you that I can he a defender and supporter ! " I ilo not know what sho said , but I know he asked her if it was not legal to claim a forfeit , and sho granted the right to his claim . The organ pealed out tho grand music

to" Shout the triad tubules , exultinirly sine ; ; Jerusalem triumphs , Me ^ iah is Kini-. " We wished each other good-night and a merry Christmas , with laughing anti hand-shaking , and then , Aunt Lucy , Nellie , Gertio , and I held a meeting just by ourselves . Why was I in that meeting ? Oh , 1 forgot to tell vou I helped Will to put up the Mistletoe Hough ,

anil well , vve had a double wedding in Juno ; and Nellie married , not a true and loyal subject of Her Majesty the Queen , but a naturalised American citizen . 1 cannot see anything easy or careless about him now , " .-ill owing , " he says , with one of his merry laughs , " to the engagement 1 made with Nellie under the Mistletoe . ' *' — Tlie I ' oii-i . ' of Masonry .