THE VILLAGE GIRL. 



One of the wildest and loveliest of hoydens was Kate Lis- 

 bourne. Her dark complexion, her glittering black eyes, and 

 the thick masses of her short curling hair, gave her a very 

 gipsey-like look, while she seemed to have imbibed no small 

 portion of the spirit of those free and lawless people. From 

 her childhood she had been a sad romp, and she could not be 

 brought to feel that at seventeen she was bound by any more 

 restrictions than she had been at seven. Her merry laugh rang 

 through the house from morning till night, and the sound of her 

 dancing footsteps, (for she never walked demurely, and properly 

 as a young lady should,) inspired every one with cheerfulness. 

 She was like an embodied sunbeam, for her presence diffused 

 light and joy wherever it appeared. 



Yet, sooth to say, pretty Kate was not one of the utilities of 

 a household. Books she regarded with a cordial hatred; 

 needlework was her detestation, for she could never master the 

 mysteries of side-stitching, gaging, overhanding and hemming ; 

 and music was a perfectly stupid affair when she was compelled 



