A Terrible Tomboy

ad many a h

gh, and lit

deserves a chapter all to herself; for she was one of the sweetest, gentlest, most unselfish of girls,

replied: 'Music.' She practised away patiently at the old piano, much to the d

ong ladies, zey have no more musique in zem zan an old hurdy-gurdy. All zat vill please ze

e very home and abode of the spirit of music, and made her sadly envious with accounts of the wonderful concerts and operas which

ardens; but she bravely hid her longings for better things, for she knew that a musical education would be an utter impossibility in the family circ

delight when she got the Rose Parlour all to herself, often composing little things of he

ere were great preparations at the Abbey. Rollo had been newly washed and combed, the rabbits' hutch had been scrubbed, the arbour

urmounted the gate, could command a view of the distant prospect

k ribbon round the neck of the pet lamb, whose toi

e it's Evelyn Proctor, and the two in the blue hats will be Susie and Mary. Oh, it is r

om his point of vantage, so as no

maginable, and that winning manner which seems specially to belong to the children of the Emerald Isle. Susie and Mary Hirst were the daughters of a rising Warford physician, and were p

with envious eye the row of bright machines neatly stacked agai

ly giving him a ride round the carriage sweep. 'But, you see

complained Bobby, determ

hool in the pouring rain or snow. It's no

ried Lilian; 'I have s

he garden, farmyard, and ruins. They duly admired the pet lamb, laughed at Jack, stroked the rabbits, declared Rollo to be a bl

and Aunt Helen enjoyed schoolgirls' society almost as much as the child

were emptied for the last time, and 'No, thank you's' be

grown-up among so many elder girls, and

le boys in here,' s

h the keyhole. 'I don't want to play with a lot of

andered round the room examining the maps and various specimens of art which adorned the walls. Doro

ile of old music inside the ottoman, and fishi

otly. 'Let me have that, Mary, please

girls, whose curiosity was natur

re, Peg!'

urned tell-tale, and

's made up herself,'

. 'I couldn't write a note of

u must!' echo

and pressed on to the music-stool, where, with many prote

PICCAN

the music-

the music-

Georgia where

es want to suck d

nd an' peepin', like

ring his stick an'

or

ccaninnies mus

ttle piccaninnie

in' you, de me

iccaninnies, '

e am blazin', an' Aunt

gather just to smell

nd de window like d

he get mad, an' tur

! piccanin

a-drivin' in de c

run behind to shou

come up, and use

s neber meant to h

! piccanin

admiring girls. 'Did yo

's talents. 'She has made lots of others, too. Lil, do let m

quite enough for one day. It's somebody

of scales or five-finger exercises, and none of the others could remember

the glass,' said Susie. 'What a cherub he looks,

the French window and admit the smiling Bobby, who entered with an expressi

' he said winningly, handing a noble box t

m!' murmured the girls as they colle

eetmeats she had expected lay a writhing mass of fat green caterpillars, newly picked from

ejoicing offender, who was off through the window and over the wall

et out the fire-shovel, Peggy mavourneen, and we'll be after sweeping them

uxuriously into the basket-chair, when the contents

few pages from an exercise-book, and hunting out a supply of

a young l

s she rode o

home from

e lady

on the face

y are folded up and shuffled, and everybody draws one, and you must write a nonsense rhyme about th

cult,' sighed Lucy. 'I'm no

gy, dealing out the pencils. 'It's

pencils in all the agonies of composition. When everyone had finished the slips were folded up and placed in a basket, and Lilian, who ha

was a French

he knew Engli

meant "I

d "I am

s all laugh,

selle's mistakes in English wer

that!' said Susie, w

, my dear,' answered Evel

r was headed

wild schoolgi

he bad pupil

started

Cambridg

e's surprise, c

,' laughed Mary, who was study

r,' said Lilian, unfolding ano

a young lad

ribly stron

e boys

set her

o not name

en, 'for you said the writing was hard to make ou

, but I shan't tell,' repl

er was describ

n old German

irator wor

weather

temper

he were muzzl

us for his bronchitis and his bad temper, and the general opinion ascribe

id Lilian, 'is

ived a maid n

a boat-rac

brought

red, she

l colour i

s to witness a grand boat-race between the Grammar School and a rival college from Oswestry. Many of the girls had brothers in the contest, and the Warford favours were freely distributed o

young Irishwoman. 'It's the shade of the tyrant, bad cess to it! and don't suit me co

s the subject o

ere was calle

omineering

assed by t

irls made

found out, a

e rhyme with James

,' began poor Lucy, then stopped in much

edly; 'I like it one of the best. Don't you

named Do

r eat anyt

biscuit

ank you,"

r cakes she

d if I discover the authorship, I'll bring an action

rt was on the

young fello

that name I

o know

puppy

why I take

dn't belong to anyone else. Well done, Peggy! You wil

that, if Warford were to be reached before darkness had fallen, it was getting time for the six bicycles to be set in motion. So there was a grand collecting of hats and gloves, and pumping of tyres, and ma