CHAPTER XXXI. THE LAST NUMBER OF OUR MAGAZINE
EDITORIAL
It is with heartfelt regret that we take up our pen to announce thatthis will be the last number of Our Magazine. We have edited ten numbersof it and it has been successful beyond our expectations. It has to bediscontinued by reason of circumstances over which we have no controland not because we have lost interest in it. Everybody has done his orher best for Our Magazine. Prince Edward Island expected everyone to dohis and her duty and everyone did it.
Mr. Dan King conducted the etiquette department in a way worthy of theFamily Guide itself. He is especially entitled to commendation becausehe laboured under the disadvantage of having to furnish most of thequestions as well as the answers. Miss Felicity King has edited ourhelpful household department very ably, and Miss Cecily King's fashionnotes were always up to date. The personal column was well looked afterby Miss Sara Stanley and the story page has been a marked success underthe able management of Mr. Peter Craig, to whose original story inthis issue, "The Battle of the Partridge Eggs," we would call especialattention. The Exciting Adventure series has also been very popular.
And now, in closing, we bid farewell to our staff and thank them one andall for their help and co-operation in the past year. We have enjoyedour work and we trust that they have too. We wish them all happinessand success in years to come, and we hope that the recollection ofOur Magazine will not be held least dear among the memories of theirchildhood.
(SOBS FROM THE GIRLS): "INDEED IT WON'T!"
OBITUARY
On October eighteenth, Patrick Grayfur departed for that bourne whenceno traveller returns. He was only a cat, but he had been our faithfulfriend for a long time and we aren't ashamed to be sorry for him. Thereare lots of people who are not as friendly and gentlemanly as Paddy was,and he was a great mouser. We buried all that was mortal of poor Pat inthe orchard and we are never going to forget him. We have resolvedthat whenever the date of his death comes round we'll bow our heads andpronounce his name at the hour of his funeral. If we are anywhere wherewe can't say the name out loud we'll whisper it.
"Farewell, dearest Paddy, in all the years that are to be We'll cherishyour memory faithfully."[1]
MY MOST EXCITING ADVENTURE
My most exciting adventure was the day I fell off Uncle Roger's loft twoyears ago. I wasn't excited until it was all over because I hadn't timeto be. The Story Girl and I were looking for eggs in the loft. It wasfilled with wheat straw nearly to the roof and it was an awful distancefrom us to the floor. And wheat straw is so slippery. I made a littlespring and the straw slipped from under my feet and there I was goinghead first down from the loft. It seemed to me I was an awful long timefalling, but the Story Girl says I couldn't have been more than threeseconds. But I know that I thought five thoughts and there seemed to bequite a long time between them. The first thing I thought was, what hashappened, because I really didn't know at first, it was so sudden. Thenafter a spell I thought the answer, I am falling off the loft. And thenI thought, what will happen to me when I strike the floor, and afteranother little spell I thought, I'll be killed. And then I thought,well, I don't care. I really wasn't a bit frightened. I just was quitewilling to be killed. If there hadn't been a big pile of chaff on thebarn floor these words would never have been written. But there was andI fell on it and wasn't a bit hurt, only my hair and mouth and eyesand ears got all full of chaff. The strange part is that I wasn't a bitfrightened when I thought I was going to be killed, but after all thedanger was over I was awfully frightened and trembled so the Story Girlhad to help me into the house.
FELICITY KING.
THE BATTLE OF THE PARTRIDGE EGGS
Once upon a time there lived about half a mile from a forrest a farmerand his wife and his sons and daughters and a granddaughter. The farmerand his wife loved this little girl very much but she caused them greattrouble by running away into the woods and they often spent haf dayslooking for her. One day she wondered further into the forrest thanusual and she begun to be hungry. Then night closed in. She asked a foxwhere she could get something to eat. The fox told her he knew wherethere was a partridges nest and a bluejays nest full of eggs. So he ledher to the nests and she took five eggs out of each. When the birds camehome they missed the eggs and flew into a rage. The bluejay put on histopcoat and was going to the partridge for law when he met the partridgecoming to him. They lit up a fire and commenced sining their deeds whenthey heard a tremendous howl close behind them. They jumped up and putout the fire and were immejutly attacked by five great wolves. The nextday the little girl was rambelling through the woods when they saw herand took her prisoner. After she had confessed that she had stole theeggs they told her to raise an army. They would have to fight over thenests of eggs and whoever one would have the eggs. So the partridgeraised a great army of all kinds of birds except robins and the littlegirl got all the robins and foxes and bees and wasps. And best of allthe little girl had a gun and plenty of ammunishun. The leader of herarmy was a wolf. The result of the battle was that all the birds werekilled except the partridge and the bluejay and they were taken prisonerand starved to death.
The little girl was then taken prisoner by a witch and cast into adunjun full of snakes where she died from their bites and people whowent through the forrest after that were taken prisoner by her ghost andcast into the same dunjun where they died. About a year after the woodturned into a gold castle and one morning everything had vanished excepta piece of a tree.
PETER CRAIG.