CHAPTER IX. EXTRACTS FROM THE FEBRUARY AND MARCH NUMBERS OF "OURMAGAZINE"
RESOLUTION HONOUR ROLL
Miss Felicity King.
HONOURABLE MENTION
Mr. Felix King. Mr. Peter Craig. Miss Sara Ray.
EDITORIAL
The editor wishes to make a few remarks about the Resolution HonourRoll. As will be seen, only one name figures on it. Felicity says shehas thought a beautiful thought every morning before breakfast withoutmissing one morning, not even the one we were at Peg Bowen's. Some ofour number think it not fair that Felicity should be on the honourroll (FELICITY, ASIDE: "That's Dan, of course.") when she only made oneresolution and won't tell us what any of the thoughts were. So wehave decided to give honourable mention to everybody who has kept oneresolution perfect. Felix has worked all his arithmetic problems byhimself. He complains that he never got more than a third of themright and the teacher has marked him away down; but one cannot keepresolutions without some inconvenience. Peter has never played tit-tat-xin church or got drunk and says it wasn't as bad as he expected. (PETER,INDIGNANTLY: "I never said it." CECILY, SOOTHINGLY: "Now, Peter, Bevonly meant that as a joke.") Sara Ray has never talked any mean gossip,but does not find conversation as interesting as it used to be. (SARARAY, WONDERINGLY: "I don't remember of saying that.")
Felix did not eat any apples until March, but forgot and ate seven theday we were at Cousin Mattie's. (FELIX: "I only ate five!") He soon gaveup trying to say what he thought always. He got into too much trouble.We think Felix ought to change to old Grandfather King's rule. It was,"Hold your tongue when you can, and when you can't tell the truth."Cecily feels she has not read all the good books she might, because someshe tried to read were very dull and the Pansy books were so much moreinteresting. And it is no use trying not to feel bad because her hairisn't curly and she has marked that resolution out. The Story Girl camevery near to keeping her resolution to have all the good times possible,but she says she missed two, if not three, she might have had. Danrefuses to say anything about his resolutions and so does the editor.
PERSONALS
We regret that Miss Cecily King is suffering from a severe cold.
Mr. Alexander Marr of Markdale died very suddenly last week. We neverheard of his death till he was dead.
Miss Cecily King wishes to state that she did not ask the question about"Holy Moses" and the other word in the January number. Dan put it in fora mean joke.
The weather has been cold and fine. We have only had one bad storm. Thecoasting on Uncle Roger's hill continues good.
Aunt Eliza did not favour us with a visit after all. She took cold andhad to go home. We were sorry that she had a cold but glad that she hadto go home. Cecily said she thought it wicked of us to be glad. But whenwe asked her "cross her heart" if she wasn't glad herself she had to sayshe was.
Miss Cecily King has got three very distinguished names on her quiltsquare. They are the Governor and his wife and a witch's.
The King family had the honour of entertaining the Governor's wife totea on February the seventeenth. We are all invited to visit GovernmentHouse but some of us think we won't go.
A tragic event occurred last Tuesday. Mrs. James Frewen came to tea andthere was no pie in the house. Felicity has not yet fully recovered.
A new boy is coming to school. His name is Cyrus Brisk and his folksmoved up from Markdale. He says he is going to punch Willy Fraser's headif Willy keeps on thinking he is Miss Cecily King's beau.
(CECILY: "I haven't ANY beau! I don't mean to think of such a thing forat least eight years yet!")
Miss Alice Reade of Charlottetown Royalty has come to Carlisle to teachmusic. She boards at Mr. Peter Armstrong's. The girls are all going totake music lessons from her. Two descriptions of her will be found inanother column. Felix wrote one, but the girls thought he did not do herjustice, so Cecily wrote another one. She admits she copied most of thedescription out of Valeria H. Montague's story Lord Marmaduke's First,Last, and Only Love; or the Bride of the Castle by the Sea, but saysthey fit Miss Reade better than anything she could make up.
HOUSEHOLD DEPARTMENT
Always keep the kitchen tidy and then you needn't mind if company comesunexpectedly.
ANXIOUS INQUIRER: We don't know anything that will take the stain outof a silk dress when a soft-boiled egg is dropped on it. Better not wearyour silk dress so often, especially when boiling eggs.
Ginger tea is good for colds.
OLD HOUSEKEEPER: Yes, when the baking-powder gives out you can usetooth-powder instead.
(FELICITY: "I never wrote that! I don't care, I don't think it's fairfor other people to be putting things in my department!")
Our apples are not keeping well this year. They are rotting; and besidesfather says we eat an awful lot of them.
PERSEVERANCE: I will give you the recipe for dumplings you ask for.But remember it is not everyone who can make dumplings, even from therecipe. There's a knack in it.
If the soap falls into the porridge do not tell your guests about ituntil they have finished eating it because it might take away theirappetite.
FELICITY KING.
ETIQUETTE DEPARTMENT
P-r C-g:--Do not criticize people's noses unless you are sure they can'thear you, and don't criticize your best girl's great-aunt's nose in anycase.
(FELICITY, TOSSING HER HEAD: "Oh, my! I s'pose Dan thought that wasextra smart.")
C-y K-g:--When my most intimate friend walks with another girl andexchanges lace patterns with her, what ought I to do? Ans. Adopt adignified attitude.
F-y K-g:--It is better not to wear your second best hat to church, butif your mother says you must it is not for me to question her decision.
(FELICITY: "Dan just copied that word for word out of the Family Guide,except about the hat part.")
P-r C-g:--Yes, it would be quite proper to say good evening to thefamily ghost if you met it.
F-x K-g:--No, it is not polite to sleep with your mouth open. What'smore, it isn't safe. Something might fall into it.
DAN KING.
FASHION NOTES
Crocheted watch pockets are all the rage now. If you haven't a watchthey do to carry your pencil in or a piece of gum.
It is stylish to have hair ribbons to match your dress. But it is hardto match gray drugget. I like scarlet for that.
It is stylish to pin a piece of ribbon on your coat the same colour asyour chum wears in her hair. Mary Martha Cowan saw them doing it in townand started us doing it here. I always wear Kitty's ribbon and Kittywears mine, but the Story Girl thinks it is silly.
CECILY KING.
AN ACCOUNT OF OUR VISIT TO COUSIN MATTIE'S
We all walked over to Cousin Mattie's last week. They were all wellthere and we had a fine dinner. On our way back a snow-storm came up andwe got lost in the woods. We didn't know where we were or nothing. If wehadn't seen a light I guess we'd all have been frozen and snowed over,and they would never have found us till spring and that would be verysad. But we saw a light and made for it and it was Peg Bowen's. Somepeople think she is a witch and it's hard to tell, but she was realhospitable and took us all in. Her house was very untidy but it waswarm. She has a skull. I mean a loose skull, not her own. She lets on ittells her things, but Uncle Alec says it couldn't because it was only anIndian skull that old Dr. Beecham had and Peg stole it when he died,but Uncle Roger says he wouldn't trust himself with Peg's skull foranything. She gave us supper. It was a horrid meal. The Story Girl saysI must not tell what I found in the bread and butter because it wouldbe too disgusting to read in Our Magazine but it don't matter becausewe were all there, except Sara Ray, and know what it was. We stayed allnight and us boys slept in straw. None of us had ever slept on strawbefore. We got home in the morning. That is all I can write about ourvisit to Cousin Mattie's.
FELIX KING.
&nbs
p; MY WORST ADVENTURE
It's my turn to write it so I suppose I must. I guess my worst adventurewas two years ago when a whole lot of us were coasting on Uncle Rogershill. Charlie Cowan and Fred Marr had started, but half-way down theirsled got stuck and I run down to shove them off again. Then I stoodthere just a moment to watch them with my back to the top of the hill.While I was standing there Rob Marr started Kitty and Em Frewen off onhis sled. His sled had a wooden tongue in it and it slanted back overthe girls' heads. I was right in the way and they yelled to me to getout, but just as I heard them it struck me. The sled took me between thelegs and I was histed back over the tongue and dropped in a heap behindbefore I knew what had happened to me. I thought a tornado had struckme. The girls couldn't stop though they thought I was killed, but Robcame tearing down and helped me up. He was awful scared but I wasn'tkilled nor my back wasn't broken but my nose bled something awful andkept on bleeding for three days. Not all the time but by spells.
DAN KING.
THE STORY OF HOW CARLISLE GOT ITS NAME
This is a true story to. Long ago there was a girl lived in charlottetown. I dont know her name so I cant right it and maybe it is just aswell for Felicity might think it wasnt romantik like Miss Jemima Parrs.She was awful pretty and a young englishman who had come out to make hisfortune fell in love with her and they were engaged to be married thenext spring. His name was Mr. Carlisle. In the winter he started off tohunt cariboo for a spell. Cariboos lived on the island then. There aintany here now. He got to where it is Carlisle now. It wasn't anythingthen only woods and a few indians. He got awful sick and was sick forever so long in a indian camp and only an old micmac squaw to wait onhim. Back in town they all thought he was dead and his girl felt bad fora little while and then got over it and took up with another beau. Thegirls say that wasnt romantik but I think it was sensible but if it hadbeen me that died I'd have felt bad if she forgot me so soon. But hehadnt died and when he got back to town he went right to her houseand walked in and there she was standing up to be married to the otherfellow. Poor Mr. Carlisle felt awful. He was sick and week and it wentto his head. He just turned and run and run till he got back to the oldmicmac's camp and fell in front of it. But the indians had gone becauseit was spring and it didnt matter because he really was dead this timeand people come looking for him from town and found him and buryed himthere and called the place after him. They say the girl was never happyagain and that was hard lines on her but maybe she deserved it.
PETER CRAIG.
MISS ALICE READE
Miss Alice Reade is a very pretty girl. She has kind of curly blackishhair and big gray eyes and a pale face. She is tall and thin but herfigure is pretty fair and she has a nice mouth and a sweet way ofspeaking. The girls are crazy about her and talk about her all the time.
FELIX KING.
BEAUTIFUL ALICE
That is what we girls call Miss Reade among ourselves. She is divinelybeautiful. Her magnificent wealth of raven hair flows back in glisteningwaves from her sun-kissed brow. (DAN: "If Felix had said she wassunburned you'd have all jumped on him." (CECILY, COLDLY: "Sun-kisseddoesn't mean sunburned." DAN: "What does it mean then?" CECILY,EMBARRASSED: "I--I don't know. But Miss Montague says the LadyGeraldine's brow was sun-kissed and of course an earl's daughterwouldn't be sunburned. "THE STORY GIRL: "Oh, don't interrupt the readinglike this. It spoils it.") Her eyes are gloriously dark and deep, likemidnight lakes mirroring the stars of heaven. Her features are likesculptured marble and her mouth is a trembling, curving Cupid's bow.(PETER, ASIDE: "What kind of a thing is that?") Her creamy skin is asfair and flawless as the petals of a white lily. Her voice is like theripple of a woodland brook and her slender form is matchless in itssymmetry. (DAN: "That's Valeria's way of putting it, but Uncle Rogersays she don't show her feed much." FELICITY: "Dan! if Uncle Roger isvulgar you needn't be!") Her hands are like a poet's dreams. She dressesso nicely and looks so stylish in her clothes. Her favourite colour isblue. Some people think she is stiff and some say she is stuck-up, butshe isn't a bit. It's just that she is different from them and theydon't like it. She is just lovely and we adore her.)
CECILY KING.