Patty at Home | Page 7

"we are instructed all day long in
school, and a good deal out of school, too, for that matter; and what we
need most is absolutely foolish recreation; the foolisher the better."
And so the Saturday afternoon meetings had developed into merely
merry frolics, with a cup of tea, which was often a figure of speech for
chocolate or lemonade, at the close.
There were no rules, and the girls took pleasure in calling themselves
unruly members. There were no dues, and consequently no occasion for
a secretary or treasures. Patty continued to be called the president, but

the title meant nothing more than the fact that she was really a chief
favourite among the girls. No one was bound, or even expected to
attend the meetings unless she chose; but, as a rule, a large majority of
the club was present.
And so to-day, in the library at Polly Stevens's house, nine members of
the Tea Club were chattering like nine large and enthusiastic magpies.
"Now we can go on with the entertainment," said Lillian Desmond, as
she sat on the arm of Patty's chair, curling wisps of the presidential hair
over her fingers. "If Patty had gone away, I should have resigned my
part in the show and gone into a convent. Where are you going to live,
Patty?"
"I don't know, I am sure; we haven't selected a house yet; and if we
don't find one we like, papa may build one, though I believe Marian has
one all picked out for us."
"Yes, I have," said Marian. "It's the Bigelow house on our street. I do
want to keep Patty near us."
"The Bigelow house? Why, that's too large for two people. Patty and
Mr. Fairfield would get lost in it. Now, I know a much nicer one.
There's a little house next-door to us, a lovely, little cottage that would
suit you a lot better. Tell your father about it, Patty. It's for sale or rent,
and it's just the dearest place."
"Why, Laura Russell," cried Marian, "that little snip of a house! It
wouldn't hold Patty, let alone Uncle Fred. You only proposed it
because you want Patty to live next-door to you."
"Yes; that's it," said Laura, quite unabashed; "I know it's too little, but
you could add ells and bay-windows and wings and things, and then it
would be big enough."
"Would it hold the Tea Club?" said Patty. "I must have room for them,
you know."

"Oh, won't it be fun to have the Tea Club at Patty's house!" cried Elsie.
"I hadn't thought of that."
"What's a home without a Tea Club?" said Patty. "I shall select the
house with an eye single to the glory and comfort of you girls."
"Then I know of a lovely house," said Christine Converse. "It's awfully
big, and it's pretty old, but I guess it could be fixed up. I mean the old
Warner place."
"Good gracious!" cried Ethel; "'way out there! and it's nothing but a
tumble-down old barn, anyhow."
"Oh, I think it's lovely; and it's Colonial, or Revolutionary, or
something historic; and they're going to put the trolley out there this
spring,--my father said so."
"It is a nice old house," said Patty; "and it could be made awfully pretty
and quaint. I can see it, now, in my mind's eye, with dimity curtains at
the windows, and roses growing over the porch."
"I hope you will never see those dimity curtains anywhere but in your
mind's eye," said Marian. "It's a heathenish old place, and, anyway, it's
too far away from our house."
"Papa says I can have a pony and cart," said Patty; "and I could drive
over every day."
"A pony and cart!" exclaimed Helen Preston. "Won't that be perfectly
lovely! I've always wanted one of my own. And shall you have
man-servants, and maid-servants? Oh, Patty, you never could run a big
establishment like that. You'll have to have a housekeeper."
"I'm going to try it," said Patty, laughing. "It will be an experiment, and,
of course, I shall make lots of blunders at first; but I think it's a pity if a
girl nearly sixteen years old can't keep house for her own father."
"So do I," said Laura. "And, anyhow, if you get into any dilemmas

we'll all come over and help you out."
The girls laughed at this; for Laura Russell was a giddy little
feather-head, and couldn't have kept house for ten minutes to save her
life.
"Much good it would do Patty to have the Tea Club help her keep
house," said Florence Douglass. "But we'll all make her lovely things to
go to housekeeping with. I shall be real sensible, and make her
sweeping-caps and ironing-holders."
"Oh, I can beat that for sensibleness,"