| Weeks have passed, but no trace of her has been discovered, and we relinquish all hope, tie a black ribbon to her basket, set aside her dish, and weep for her as one lost to us forever
A sympathizing friend sends the following gem:
A LAMENT
(FOR SPAT PAW)
We mourn the loss of our little pet,
And sigh o'er her hapless fate,
For never more by the fire she'll sit,
Nor play by the old green gate
The little grave where her infant sleeps
Is 'neath the chestnut tree
But o'er her grave we may not weep,
We know not where it may be
Her empty bed, her idle ball,
Will never see her more;
No gentle tap, no loving purr
Is heard at the parlor door
Another cat comes after her mice,
A cat with a dirty face,
But she does not hunt as our darling did,
Nor play with her airy grace
Her stealthy paws tread the very hall
Where Snowball used to play,
But she only spits at the dogs our pet
So gallantly drove away
She is useful and mild, and does her best,
But she is not fair to see,
And we cannot give her your place dear, dior
Nor worship her as we worship thee
As the President finished reading the paper (which I beg leave to assure my readers is a bona fide copy of one written by bona fide girls once upon a time), a round of applause followed, and then MrSnodgrass rose to make a propositionPresident and gentlemen," he began, assuming a parliamentary attitude and tone, "I wish to propose the admission of a new member--one who highly deserves the honor, would be deeply grateful for it, and would add immensely to the spirit of the club, the literary value of the paper, and be no end jolly and niceTheodore Laurence as an honorary member of the PCome now, do have him
Jo's sudden change of tone made the girls laugh, but all looked rather anxious, and no one said a word as Snodgrass took his seat
"We'll put it to a vote," said the President"All in favor of this motion please to manifest it by saying, `Aye'
"Contrary-minded say, `No'
Meg and Amy were contrary-minded, and MrWinkle rose to say with great elegance, "We don't wish any boys, they only joke and bounce black and white chanel aboutThis is a ladies' club, and we wish to be private and proper
"I'm afraid he'll laugh at our paper, and make fun of us afterward," observed Pickwick, pulling the little curl on her forehead, as she always did when doubtful
Up rose Snodgrass, very much in earnest"Sir, I give you my word as a gentleman, Laurie won't do anything of the sortHe likes to write, and he'll give a tone to our contributions and keep us from being sentimental, don't you see? We can do so little for him, and he does so much for us, I think the least we can do is to offer him a place here, and make him welcome if he comes
This artful allusion to benefits conferred brought Tupman to his feet, looking as if he had quite made up his mind
"Yes, we ought to do it, even if we are afraidI say he may come, and his grandpa, too, if he likes
This spirited burst from Beth electrified the club, and Jo left her seat to shake hands approvingly"Now then, vote againEverybody remember it's our Laurie, and say, `Aye!'" cried Snodgrass excitedly
"Aye! Aye! Aye!" replied three voices at chanel j10 watch knockoff once
"Good! Bless you! Now, as there's nothing like `taking time by the fetlock', as Winkle characteristically observes, allow me to present the new member And, to the dismay of the rest of the club, Jo threw open the door of the closet, and displayed Laurie sitting on a rag bag, flushed and twinkling with suppressed laughter
"You rogue! You traitor! Jo, how could you?" cried the three girls, as Snodgrass led her friend triumphantly forth, and producing both a chair and a badge, installed him in a jiffy
"The coolness of you two rascals is amazing," began MrPickwick, trying to get up an awful frown and only succeeding in producing an amiable smileBut the new member was equal to the occasion, and rising, with a grateful salutation to the Chair, said in the most engaging manner, "MrPresident and ladies--I beg pardon, gentlemen--allow me to introduce myself as Sam Weller, the very humble servant of the club
"Good! Good!" cried Jo, pounding with the handle of the old warming pan on which she leaned
"My faithful friend and noble patron," continued chanel sheepskin bag Laurie with a wave of the hand, "who has so flatteringly presented me, is not to be blamed for the base stratagem of tonightI planned it, and she only gave in after lots of teasing
"Come now, don't lay it all on yourselfYou know I proposed the cupboard," broke in Snodgrass, who was enjoying the joke amazingly
"Never mind what she saysI'm the wretch that did it, sir," said the new member, with a Welleresque nod to Mr"But on my honor, I never will do so again, and henceforth devote myself to the interest of this immortal club
"Hear! Hear!" cried Jo, clashing the lid of the warming pan like a cymbal
"Go on, go on!" added Winkle and Tupman, while the President bowed benignly
"I merely wish to say, that as a slight token of my gratitude for the honor done me, and as a means of promoting friendly relations between adjoining nations, I have set up a post office in the hedge in the lower corner of the garden, a fine, spacious building with padlocks on the doors and every convenience for the mails, also the females, if I may be allowed the wholesale sterling jewelry chanel expressio |