"Mr. Caruth and I feel envious, and want to know what you have done
that so much work should be bestowed on you?" said Mr. Frank
Hazeltine, joining the group around it.
"You see, Father, he is a sort of public benefactor; he gets up wonder
balls and takes us to the circus, so he has to be publicly rewarded,"
Louise explained gayly.
"I am sure I was Santa Claus once," said Mr. Caruth.
Supper was announced presently, and what a birthday supper it was!
Mandy and Sukey had done their best for Mr. William, and their best
was not to be sniffed at. Aunt Zelie contributed menu cards, each with
a flower and a quotation on it.
Dora thought hers the prettiest of all. On it were a thistle and a
wild rose, and the lines were:
"Duty, like a strict preceptor,
Sometimes frowns or seems to frown.
Choose her thistle for thy sceptre,
While youth's roses are thy crown."
"It was written by a poet for his own little daughter Dora," said Mrs.
Howard.
Aleck had:
"The heights by great men reached and kept
Were not attained by sudden flight,
But they while their companions slept
Were toiling upward in the night."
"Cousin Zelie thinks I am lazy," he said, laughing.
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