common entertainment.



Here the By-Laws ended. There was much laughter over them, especially
over the last.

"Why did you put that in, Rosy?" asked Ellen Gray: "it strikes me as
hardly necessary."

"Oh," replied Rose, "I put that in to encourage Silvery Mary there.
She's expecting a box soon, and I knew that she would pine to give
the Society a share, but would be too timid to propose it; so I
thought I would just pave the way."

"How truly kind!" laughed Clover.

"Now," said the President, "the entertainment of the meeting will
begin by the reading of 'Trailing Arbutus,' a poem by C. E. C."

Clover had been very unwilling to read the first piece, and had only
yielded after much coaxing from Rose, who had bestowed upon her in
consequence the name of Quintia Curtia. She felt very shy as she
stood up with her paper in hand, and her voice trembled perceptibly;
but after a minute she grew used to the sound of it, and read steadily.


TRAILING ARBUTUS.

I always think, when looking