THE LADIES’ FLORAL CABINET. 
133 
climate was unfavorable to him, and he was afflicted with 
rheumatism, which caused him to limp painfully and to 
require the assistance of a cane. The other boarder, 
Charlie Edgars, was a Vermont boy; a good-tempered, 
good-looking young fellow, whom the fun-loving Kitty 
delighted in introducing on every possible occasion as 
“a Vermont young man,” in much the same tone as if 
she had been recommending Vermont butter or Vermont 
maple sugar, until the poor fellow was tempted to anathe¬ 
matize his native State for the boasted superiority of its 
productions. 
Miss Kitty found it very convenient to have young gen¬ 
tlemen in the house by whom she could send an excuse 
when her lessons were so poorly prepared that she dared 
not trust herself in the recitation-room, and who would 
bring the mail on stormy nights when she could not go to 
the post-office; and if in her leisure moments—which 
were many—she made use of the same young gentlemen 
as a sort of intellectual grindstone on which she sharpened 
her youthful wits, or as dummies on which she tried her 
immature coquetries, it is to be hoped she will not be too 
severely blamed. 
But Kitty was not yet satisfied with their family ar¬ 
rangements; in her opinion another inmate was still 
needed. The ruling desire of Kitty’s heart had always 
been for a sister, but, having found that unattainable, she 
now decided that she must have a room-mate. To this, 
however, her mother would not consent; having given 
up her chambers to the two students, she had but one 
sleeping-room left besides the one which she and Kitty 
occupied together. 
“ Where could you put her ? ” she asked, as Kitty per¬ 
sisted in her entreaties. 
“ She and I would sleep in the spare-room, of course,” 
replied Kitty. 
“ But there is no way of warming it and she could not 
study there,” replied Mrs. Deming. 
“ She could get her lessons in the sitting-room, as I do,” 
insisted Kitty. 
“ No girl would wish to pay for such accommodations,” 
declared her mother, “ so you need not mention it again.” 
Kitty labored under the delusion that she learned her 
lessons in the sitting-room; but the truth was that she 
studied them, if at all, all over the house. She came to 
the breakfast table repeating glibly, “ a mo, anias, uniat, 
amamus, amatis, a mant," until Ralph would clap his 
hands over his ears in distress, while Charlie would say 
laughingly: 
“ Do mend your accent, Kitty ; it is amo, «mas, amat.” 
“That is just what I said, a mo, amas, amat; I may 
not be doing much in French, but I am making remark¬ 
able progress in Latin,” would be Kitty’s brisk reply. 
She would wipe the dishes for her mother and, at the 
same time, sing at the top of her voice, to the tune of 
Yankee Doodle, stray bits of physiology, like— 
“ The trachea like a tree appears. 
The bronchia are two branches, 
Whose subdivisions are the twigs 
And the air-cells are the buds.” 
She would appear in the pantry, where her mother was 
preparing dessert for dinner, and announce : 
“ Relatives must agree with their antecedents; do yon 
hear that, mamma ? relatives must agree; do you agree 
with your relatives? I heard you say the other day that 
you disagreed with Uncle James ; now, you musn't do so 
any more, it is very ungrammatical; I’m afraid your edu¬ 
cation was sadly neglected when you were young.” And 
Mrs. Deming would say : 
“ Oh, Kitty! do run away with your nonsense ; go 
into the sitting-room and study your lessons properly.” 
But Kitty would answer : “ I can’t study in there alone ; 
when my room-mate comes, I will study there.” 
“ Don’t let me hear anything more about a room-mate,” 
exclaimed her mother; “ I don’t want another young but¬ 
terfly to look after.” 
But a day or two before the spring term opened, Mrs. 
Deming, answering a ring at the door, was confronted 
by an elderly gentleman, who, after inquiring if he ad¬ 
dressed Mrs. Deming, introduced a young lady by his 
side as “ my daughter Serena, who is to board with you 
this term.” Mrs. Deming in the surprise and bewilder¬ 
ment of the moment, knew not what to say, but stam¬ 
mered out, “ I did not expect her.” 
“ No, madam,” replied Serena’s father, “ I suppose you 
were not expecting her until to-morrow, but as I have 
business engagements for to-morrow, I was obliged to 
bring her to-day. I hope it will not seriously incommode 
you to receive her a day earlier.” 
Mrs. Deming had by this time regained her wits, and 
was about to assure him that he had come to the wrong 
place, when Kitty, who had followed her mother to the 
door, interposed, saying : 
“It is my new room-mate, mamma, Miss Hoyt,” and 
she proceeded to shake hands with the daughter and 
direct the father as to the disposal of the trunk. 
Mrs. Deming’s consternation can only be imagined, but 
she discreetly reserved all expression of it for Kitty’s 
private ear, and outwardly made the best of the situation r 
so that Serena Hoyt never knew that her advent in that 
house was wholly a surprise to its mistress, and that 
Kitty was without authority when she engaged her as 
boarder. When Serena appeared at the tea-table that 
night Kitty introduced the young gentlemen to her, after 
her own lawless fashion, to which the students were by 
this time»well accustomed. 
“ Miss Hoyt, allow me to introduce you to Mr. Morti¬ 
mer, whom you will find both aristocratic and rheumatic, 
also, when offended very emphatic. Mr. Edgars, a Ver¬ 
mont gentleman, who, I’m sorry to admit, is not always 
as sweet as the maple sugar of his native State or as 
well-flavored as the widely-known Vermont butter, but 
you will find him as sharp as Vermont cider.” 
Miss Hoyt and the two students thus introduced ex¬ 
changed bows, and' Charley Edgars remarked, “ You'll 
find, Miss Hoyt, that sharpness is the only quality in de¬ 
mand here; we have need of sharpness to hold our own 
against Miss Kitty.” 
Serena Hoyt proved to be an agreeable accession to the 
small household, and came to be liked by them all. Mrs. 
Deming found her a safe and desirable companion for 
Kitty, and therefore became much attached to her; Se¬ 
rena was tall, well-formed, dignified in her bearing, fair,. 
