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Page 4
When dinner was announced, Mr. Maynard, with Marjorie, led the
procession to the diningroom. They were followed by Mrs. Maynard
and Rosamond, and after them came Kingdon and Kitty.
Kitty was a golden-haired little girl, quite in contrast to
Marjorie, who had tangled masses of dark, curly hair and large,
dark eyes. Her cheeks were round and rosy, and her little white
teeth could almost always be seen, for merry Marjorie was laughing
most of the time. To-night she wore one of her prettiest white
dresses, and her dark curls were clustered at the top of her head
into a big scarlet bow. The excitement of the occasion made her
cheeks red and her eyes bright, and Mrs. Maynard looked at her
pretty eldest daughter with a pardonable pride.
"Midge," she said, "there are just about a hundred things I ought
to tell you before you go to Grandma's, but if I were to tell you
now, you wouldn't remember one of them; so I have written them all
down, and you must take the list with you, and read it every
morning so that you may remember and obey the instructions."
Midge was one of the numerous nicknames by which Marjorie was
called. Her tumbling, curly hair, which was everlastingly escaping
from its ribbon, had gained for her the title of Mops or Mopsy.
Midge and Midget had clung to her from babyhood, because she was
an active and energetic child, and so quick of motion that she
seemed to dart like a midge from place to place. She never did
anything slowly. Whether it was an errand for her mother or a game
of play, Midge always moved rapidly. Her tasks were always done in
half the time it took the other children to do theirs; but in
consequence of this haste, they were not always done as well or as
thoroughly as could be desired.
This, her mother often told her, was her besetting sin, and
Marjorie truly tried to correct it when she thought of it; but
often she was too busy with the occupation in hand to remember the
good instructions she had received.
"I'm glad you did that, Mother," she replied to her mother's
remark, "for I really haven't time to study the list now. But I'll
promise to read it over every morning at Grandma's, and honest and
true, I'll try to be good."
"Of course you will," said her father, heartily; "you'll be the
best little girl in the world, except the two you leave here
behind you."
"Me's the bestest," calmly remarked Rosamond, who seemed
especially satisfied with herself that evening.
"You are," agreed King; "you look good enough to eat, to-night."
Rosamond beamed happily, for she was not unused to flattering
observations from the family. And, indeed, she was a delicious-
looking morsel of humanity, as she sat in her high chair, and
tried her best to "behave like a lady."
The table was decorated with June roses and daisies. The dinner
included Marjorie's favorite dishes, and the dessert was
strawberries and ice cream, which, Kitty declared, always made a
party, anyway.
So with the general air of celebration, and Mr. Maynard's gay
chatter and jokes, the little trace of sadness that threatened to
appear was kept out of sight, and all through the summer Marjorie
had only pleasant memories of her last evening at home.
After the dessert the waitress appeared again with a trayful of
parcels, done up in the most fascinating way, in tissue paper and
dainty ribbons.
This, too, was always a part of the farewell feast, and Marjorie
gave a little sigh of satisfaction, as the well-filled tray was
placed before her.
"That's mine! Open mine first!" cried Rosamond, as Marjorie picked
up a good-sized bundle.
"Yes, that's Rosy Posy's," said her mother, laughing, "and she
picked it out herself, because she thought it would please you.
Open it first, Midge."
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