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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13324 ***
+
+APPLES, RIPE AND ROSY, SIR,
+
+AND OTHER STORIES,
+
+FOR BOYS AND GIRLS,
+
+
+
+
+MARY CATHERINE CRAWLEY,
+
+
+
+
+REPRINTED FROM THE "AVE MARIA."
+
+
+
+
+OFFICE OF THE "AVE MARIA:"
+
+NOTRE DAME, IND.
+
+
+
+
+COPYRIGHT:
+
+D. E. HUDSON, C. S. C.
+
+1893.
+
+
+
+
+
+BECKTOLD & Co., Printers and Binders,
+
+ST. Louis, Mo.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+Apples, Ripe and Rosy, Sir
+
+Better than Riches
+
+Building a Boat
+
+A May-Day Gift
+
+Tilderee
+
+A Little White Dress
+
+A Miser's Gold
+
+That Red Silk Frock
+
+A Lesson with a Sequel
+
+Uncle Tom's Story
+
+Hanging May-Baskets
+
+
+
+
+APPLES, RIPE AND ROSY, SIR.
+
+
+"APPLES, RIPE AND ROSY, SIR."
+
+I.
+
+What a month of March it was!  And after an unusually mild season, too.
+Old Winter seemed to have hoarded up all his stock of snow and cold
+weather, and left it as an inheritance to his wild and rollicking heir,
+that was expending it with lavish extravagance.
+
+March was a jolly good fellow though, in spite of his bluster and
+boisterous ways.  There was a wealth of sunshine in his honest heart,
+and he evidently wanted to render everybody happy.  He appeared to have
+entered into a compact with Santa Claus to make it his business to see
+that the boys and girls should not, in the end, be deprived of their
+fair share of the season's merrymaking; that innumerable sleds and
+toboggans and skates, which had laid idle since Christmas, and been the
+objects of much sad contemplation, should have their day, after all.
+
+And he was not really inconsiderate of the poor either; for though,
+very frequently, in a spirit of mischief, he and his chum Jack frost
+drew caricatures of spring flowers on their window-panes, knocked at
+their doors only to run away in a trice, and played other pranks upon
+them, they did not feel the same dread of all this that they would have
+felt in December.  He would make up for it by being on his best and
+balmiest behavior for some days following; would promise that milder
+weather, when the need and the price of coal would be less, was surely
+coming; and that both the wild blossoms of the country fields, and the
+stray dandelions which struggle into bloom in city yards, would be on
+time, as usual.
+
+On the special day with which we have to do, however, March was not in
+"a melting mood."  On the contrary, the temperature was sharp and
+frosty, the ground white, the clouds heavy with snow.  The storm of the
+night before had only ceased temporarily; it would begin again
+soon,--indeed a few flakes were already floating in the air.  At four
+o'clock in the afternoon the children commenced to troop out of the
+schools.  How pleasant to watch them!--to see the great doors swing
+open and emit, now a throng of bright-eyed, chattering little girls, in
+gay cloaks and hoods and mittens; or again a crowd of sturdy boys,--a
+few vociferating and disputing, others trudging along discussing games
+and sports, and others again indulging in a little random snowballing
+of their comrades, by the way.  Half an hour later the snow was falling
+thick and fast.  The boys were in their element.  A number of them had
+gathered in one of the parks or squares for which the garden-like city
+of E------ is noted, and were busy completing a snow-fort.  The jingle
+of sleigh-bells became less frequent, however; people hurried home; it
+was sure to be a disagreeable evening.
+
+These indications were dolefully noted by one person in particular, to
+whom they meant more than to others in general.  This was the good old
+Irishwoman who kept the apple and peanut stand at the street corner,
+and was the centre of attraction to the children on their way to and
+from school.
+
+"Wisha, this is goin' to be a wild night, I'm thinkin'!" sighed she,
+wrapping a faded and much-worn "broshay" shawl more securely about her,
+and striving to protect both herself and her wares beneath the shelter
+of a dilapidated umbrella, one of the ribs of which had parted company
+with the cotton covering,--escaped from its moorings, as it were, and
+stood out independently.  "Glory be to God, but what bad luck I've had
+the day!" she continued under her breath, from habit still scanning the
+faces of the passers-by, though she had now faint hope that any would
+pause to purchase.  "An' it's a bigger lot than usual I laid in, too.
+The peanuts is extry size; an' them Baldwins look so fine and rosy, I
+thought it ud make anybody's mouth water to see them.  I counted upon
+the schoolb'ys to buy them up in a twinklin', by reason of me markin'
+them down to two for a cent.  An' so they would, but they're so taken
+up with sportin' in the snow that they can think of nothin' else.  An'
+now that it's turned so raw, sure I'm afraid it's cold comfort any one
+but a lad would think it, settin' his teeth on edge tryin' to eat them.
+I'll tarry a bit longer; an' then, if no better fortune comes, I'll
+take meself to me little room, even though I'll have to drink me tea
+without a tint of milk or a dust of sugar the night, and be thankful
+for that same."
+
+Patiently she waited.  The clock struck five.  As no other customers
+appeared, the old woman, who was known as Widow Barry, concluded that
+she would be moving.  "Though it is too bad," she murmured; "an' this
+the best stand anywhere hereabouts."
+
+In reality, the stand consisted of a large basket, a camp-seat, the
+tiresome privilege of leaning against two feet of stone-wall, and the
+aforesaid umbrella, which was intended to afford, not only a roof, but
+an air of dignity to the concern, and was therefore always open, rain
+or shine.
+
+To "shut up shop," though it meant simply to lower the umbrella, gather
+up the goods and depart, was to the apple-vender a momentous affair.
+Every merchant who attempts, as the saying is, to carry his
+establishment, finds it no easy task; yet this is what the widow was
+obliged literally to do.  To make her way, thus laden, in the midst of
+a driving snowstorm was indeed a difficult matter.  Half a dozen times
+she faltered in discouragement.  The street led over a steep hill; how
+was she to reach the top?  She struggled along; the wind blew through
+her thin garments and drove her back; the umbrella bobbed wildly about;
+her hands grew numb; now the basket, again the camp-seat, kept slipping
+from her grasp.  Several persons passed, but no one seemed to think of
+stopping to assist her.  A party of well-dressed boys were coasting
+down the middle of the street; what cared they for the storm?  Several,
+who were standing awaiting their turn, glanced idly at the grotesque
+figure.
+
+"What a guy!" cried Ed Brown, with a laugh, sending a well-aimed
+snowball straight against the umbrella, which it shook with a thud.  He
+was on the point of following up with another.
+
+"Oh, come!" protested a carelessly good-natured companion.  "That's no
+fun.  But here--look out for the other double-runner!  Now we go,
+hurray!"
+
+And, presto, they whizzed by, without another thought of the aged
+creature toiling up the ascent.  No one appeared to have time to help
+her.
+
+Presently, however, she heard a firm, light step behind her.  The next
+moment a pair of merry brown eyes peered under the umbrella; a face as
+round and ruddy as one of her best Baldwins beamed upon her with the
+smile of old friendship, and a gay, youthful voice cried out:
+
+"Good afternoon, Missis Barry!  It's hard work getting on to-day, isn't
+it?"
+
+A singularly gentle expression lighted up the apple-woman's
+weather-beaten features as she recognized the little fellow in the
+handsome overcoat, who was evidently returning from an errand, as he
+carried a milk can in one hand while drawing a sled with the other.
+
+"Indade an' it is, Masther Tom!" she replied, pausing a second.
+
+"Let us see if we can't manage differently," he went on, taking her
+burden and setting it upon the sled.  "There, that is better.  Now give
+me your hand."
+
+She had watched him mechanically; but, thus recalled to herself, she
+answered hastily:
+
+"Oh, thank ye kindly, sir!  It's too much for ye to be takin' this
+trouble; but I can get along very well now, with only the umbrelly to
+carry."
+
+"No trouble at all," said he.  "Look, then,--follow me; I'll pick out
+the best places for you to walk in,--the snow is drifting so!"
+
+He trudged on ahead, glancing back occasionally to see if the basket
+and camp-seat were safe, or to direct her steps,--as if all this were
+the most natural thing in the world for him to do, as in truth it was;
+for, though he thought it a great joke that she should call him "sir,"
+will not any one admit that he deserved the title which belongs to a
+gentleman?  He and Widow Barry had been good friends for some time.
+
+"Sure, an' didn't he buy out me whole supply one day this last
+January?" she would say.  "His birthday it was, and the dear creature
+was eleven years old.  He spent the big silver dollar his grandfather
+gave him like a prince, a treatin' all the b'ys of the neighborhood to
+apples an' peanuts, an' sendin' me home to take me comfort."
+
+Tom, moreover, was a regular patron of "the stand."  He always declared
+that "she knew what suited him to a T."  During the selection he was
+accustomed to discuss with her many weighty questions, especially Irish
+politics, in which they both took a deep if not very well-informed
+interest.
+
+"Guess I'll have that dark-red one over there.  Don't you think Mr.
+Gladstone is the greatest statesman of the age, Missis Barry?--what?
+That other one is bigger?  Well!--and your father knew Daniel O'Connell
+you say?--ah, I tell you that's a fine fellow!"
+
+Whether he meant the patriot or the pippin it might be difficult to
+determine.  This, however, is but a specimen of their conversation.
+Then in the end she would produce the ripest and rosiest of her
+stock--which she had been keeping for him all the while,--and, leaving
+a penny in her palm, he would hurry away in order to reach St. Francis'
+School before the bell rang.
+
+This particular afternoon, when he had helped her over the worst part
+of the way, she glanced uneasily at the can which he carried, and said:
+
+"Faith, Masther Tom, it's afraid I am that they'll be waitin' at home
+for the milk ye were sent for.  Sure I wouldn't want ye to be blamed
+for not makin' haste, avick!  An' all because of yer doin' a kindly
+turn for a poor old woman."
+
+"No fear of that, ma'am," answered Tom, confidently.  "There is no
+hurry; the milk won't be needed till supper time."
+
+Then, noticing that she was tired and panting for breath, he took out
+the stopper and held the can toward her, saying impulsively,
+
+"Have a drink, Missis Barry,--yes, it will do you good."
+
+A suspicious moisture dimmed the widow's faded eyes for a moment, and
+her heart gave a throb of grateful surprise at the child's ingenuous
+friendliness; but she drew back with a deprecating gesture, saying,
+
+"Well, well, Masther Tom, ye're the thoughtfullest young gentleman that
+ever I see!  An' I'm sure I thank ye kindly.  It isn't for the likes of
+me to be tellin' ye what is right an' proper, but what would yer mother
+say to yer not bringin' the milk home just as ye got it from the store,
+an' to ye givin' a poor creature like me a drink out of the can?"
+
+"Oh, she wouldn't care!" replied Tom.  "Didn't she say you were welcome
+at the house any time, to have a cup of tea and get warm by the kitchen
+fire?  Do you think she'd grudge you a sup of milk?"
+
+"It isn't that; for I know she wouldn't, God bless her!" said the
+apple-woman, heartily.  "Still, asthore, take heed of what I say.
+Never meddle with what's trusted to ye, but carry it safe an' whole to
+the person it's meant for, or the place ye are told to fetch it to.
+It's the best plan, dear."
+
+"I suppose it is, Missis Barry, generally," agreed Tom.  "I remember
+once Ed Brown and I made away with half of a big package of raisins
+that mother sent me for, and she scolded me about it.  But that was
+different, you know.  Pshaw!  I didn't mean to tell you it was Ed.
+Here we are at your door, ma'am.  I'll put your things inside--oh, no!
+Never mind.  I was glad to come.  Really I oughtn't to take it.  Well,
+thank you.  Good-bye!"
+
+And Tom scampered off with an especially toothsome-looking apple, which
+the woman forced into his hand.
+
+"Ah, but he's the dear, blithe, generous-hearted b'y!" she exclaimed,
+with a warmth of affectionate admiration, as she stood looking after
+him.  "There's not a bit of worldly pride or meanness about him.  May
+the Lord keep him so!  The only thing I'd be afraid of is that, like
+many such, he'd be easily led.  There's that Ed Brown now,--Heaven
+forgive me, but somehow I don't like that lad.  Though he's the son of
+the richest man in the neighborhood, an' his people live in grand
+style, he's no fit companion for Masther Tom Norris, I'm thinkin'."
+
+
+
+II.
+
+Tom lost no time now in getting home.  A little later he had entered a
+spacious brick house on Florence Street, deposited the milk can on the
+kitchen table, set the cook a laughing by some droll speech, and,
+passing on, sought his mother in her cheerful sitting-room.
+
+"Why, my son, what delayed you so long?" she inquired, folding away her
+sewing; for it was becoming too dark to work.
+
+"Oh, I went home with Missis Barry!" he answered, with the
+matter-of-fact air with which he might have said that he had been
+escorting some particular friend of the family.
+
+Mrs. Norris smiled and drew nearer to the bright fire which burned in
+the grate.  Tom slipped into a seat beside her upon the wide,
+old-fashioned sofa, which was just the place for one of those cosy
+twilight chats with mother, which boys especially love so much, and the
+memory of which gleams, star-like, through the mists of years, exerting
+even far greater influence than she dreams of upon their lives.  Tom
+considered this quiet half hour the pleasantest of the day.  Mrs.
+Norris, with a gentle wisdom worthy of wider imitation, encouraged him
+to talk to her about whatever interested him.  She was seldom too tired
+or too preoccupied at this time to hear of the mechanism of the
+steam-engine, the mysteries of the printing-press, or the feats that
+may be performed with a bicycle,--of which "taking a header," or the
+method by which the rider learns to fly off the machine head foremost
+into a ditch with impunity, appeared to be the most desirable.  Her
+patience in this respect was rewarded by that most precious possession
+to a mother, a son's confidence.
+
+Tom liked to tell her of various things that happened during the day;
+to compare notes, and get her opinions of matters in general; at the
+same time giving his own, which were often quaint and entertaining.
+
+"Really, mother, Missis Barry knows a lot!" he now exclaimed, abruptly,
+clasping his knee and staring at the fire in a meditative manner.
+
+Mrs. Norris looked amused, but she did not venture to question the
+apple-vender's wisdom.  One or two kindly inquiries about the old
+woman, however, prompted him to speak of her further,--of his meeting
+her as she struggled along with her burden, his drawing it on the sled,
+and last of her refusal of the drink he offered.
+
+"You would not have minded, would you, mother?" he asked.
+
+"No, not for the sake of the milk, certainly," responded Mrs. Norris,
+laughing; "but--" then she hesitated.  How could she hamper the mind of
+this ingenuous little lad of hers with false and finical ideas of
+refinement and delicacy!  Why should she suggest to him that it is at
+least not customary to go about giving the poor to drink out of our own
+especial milk cans?  There came to her mind the noble lines which but
+frame as with jewels the simple Christian precept,--the words spoken to
+Sir Launfal when, weary, poverty-stricken, and disheartened, the knight
+returns from his fruitless search for the Holy Grail; when humbly he
+shares his cup and crust with the leper at the gate,--the leper who
+straightway stands before him glorified, a vision of Our Lord, and
+tells him that true love of our neighbor consists in,
+
+  "Not what we give, but what we share;
+  For the gift without the giver is bare."
+
+And then the mother's hands rested lovingly a moment upon Tom's head,
+as again she repeated more softly: "No, certainly."
+
+      *      *      *      *      *
+
+As Widow Barry had surmised, the keynote of Tom's nature was that he
+was easily led, and therein rested the possibilities of great good or
+evil.  The little confidential chats with his mother were a strong
+safeguard to him, and laid the foundation of the true principles by
+which he should be guided; but, as he mingled more with other boys, he
+was not always steadfast in acting up to his knowledge of what was
+right, and was apt to be more influenced by his companions than his
+best friends cared to see him.  At present he was inclined to make a
+chum of Ed Brown, who, though only a year older, was so precociously
+shrewd, and what the world calls "smart," that, according to good Widow
+Barry's opinion, "he could buy and sell Masther Tom any day."
+
+The old woman had, indeed, many opportunities for observation; for is
+not sometimes so simple a transaction as the buying of an apple a real
+test of character?  If a boy or man is tricky or mean or unjust in his
+business dealings, is it likely that we shall find him upright and
+honorable in other things?  Though Mrs. Norris was not as well posted
+as the apple-vender, one or two occurrences had caused her to
+positively forbid Tom to have any more to do with Ed,--a command which
+he grumbled a good deal about, and, alas! occasionally disobeyed.
+
+But to continue our story.  The following Saturday morning the skies
+were blue, the sun shone bright, the gladness of spring was in the
+air,--all promised a long, pleasant holiday.  The apple stand at the
+corner had a prosperous aspect.  The umbrella, though shabbier and more
+rakish-looking than ever, wore a cheery, hail-fellow-well-met
+appearance.  Widow Barry had, as she told a neighbor, "spruced up her
+old bonnet a bit,"--an evidence of the approach of spring, which the
+boys recognized and appreciated.  Now she was engaged in polishing up
+her apples, and arranging the peanuts as invitingly as possible; a
+number of pennies already jingled in the small bag attached to her
+apron-string, in which she kept her money.
+
+"Ah, here comes Masther Tom!" she exclaimed, presently.  "An' right
+glad I am; for he always brings me a good hansel."
+
+"Hello, Missis Barry!" cried he.  "How's trade to-day?  Too early to
+tell yet?  Well, see if I can't boom it a little.  Give me a dozen
+apples, and one--yes, two quarts of nuts."
+
+Pleased and flustered at this stroke of fortune, she busied herself in
+getting out two of the largest of her paper bags, and filling the
+munificent order.  But Tom was not like himself this morning.  He had
+plenty to say, to be sure; but he talked away with a kind of reckless
+gaiety that appeared a trifle forced, and he was eager to be off.
+
+The old woman paused a second, as if suddenly impressed by the
+difference in his manner; then, by a shake of the head, she strove to
+banish the thought, which she reproached herself for as an unworthy
+suspicion, and smiled as if to reassure herself.  With a pleasant word
+she put the well-filled bags into Tom's hands, and received the silver
+he offered in payment--three bright new dimes.  At that moment she
+caught a glimpse of Ed Brown lurking in the area way of a house at the
+other end of the block.  The sight filled her with a vague misgiving
+which she could not have explained.  She glanced again at Tom; he was
+nervous and excited.
+
+"Wait a bit," said she, laying a restraining hand upon his arm.
+
+"What is the matter?  Didn't I give you just the price?" he inquired,
+somewhat impatiently.
+
+The old woman bent forward and peered anxiously into his face; her kind
+but searching eyes seemed to look down into his very soul, as, in a
+voice trembling with emotion, she replied: "Yes: but tell me, asthore,
+where did ye get the money?"
+
+Tom's countenance changed; he tried to put her off, saying, "Pshaw!
+Why do you want to ask a fellow such a question?  Haven't I bought more
+than this of you before?"
+
+"Troth an' ye have, dear; but not in this way, I'm thinkin'," she
+answered.
+
+"It's all right.  Do let me go, Missis Barry!" cried he, vexed and
+beginning to feel decidedly frightened.
+
+"Hi, Tom, come on!" called Ed Brown, emerging from the area.
+
+"Look here, Masther Tom, darlin'!  You'll not move a step with them
+things, an' I'll not put up that money till I know where it came from."
+
+"Well, then," said Tom, doggedly, seeing that escape was impossible, "I
+got it at home, off the mantel in the sitting-room."
+
+"Oh, yes!" ejaculated Mrs. Barry, raising her eyes toward heaven, as if
+praying for the pardon of the offence.
+
+"Why, that's nothing!" he went on.  "Ed Brown says lots of boys do it.
+Some take the change out of their father's pockets even, if they get a
+chance.  His father don't mind a bit.  He always has plenty of cash, Ed
+has."
+
+"Ah, yes, that ne'er-do-well, Ed Brown!" said the old woman, shaking
+her fist at the distant Ed, who, realizing that Tom had got into
+trouble, disappeared in a twinkling.
+
+"An' his father don't mind!  Then it's because he knows nothin' about
+it.  They'll come a day of reckonin' for him.  An' you--"
+
+"Oh, the folks at home won't care!" persisted Tom, thoroughly ashamed,
+but still anxious to excuse himself.  "Mother always says that
+everything in the house is for the use of the family.  If we children
+should make a raid on the pantry, and carry off a pie or cake, she
+might punish us for the disobedience, but she wouldn't call it
+stealing."  He blushed as he uttered the ugly word.
+
+"Yes, but to take money is different, ye know," continued his
+relentless mentor, whose heart, however, was sorrowing over him with
+the tenderness of a mother for her child.
+
+Tom was silent; he did know, had really known from the first, though
+now his fault stood before him in its unsightliness; all the pretexts
+by which he had attempted to palliate it fell from it like a veil, and
+showed the hateful thing it was.  He could not bring himself to
+acknowledge it, however.  Sullenly he set down the apples and peanuts,
+murmuring, "I never did it before, anyhow!"
+
+"No, nor never will again, I'm sure, avick!  This'll be a lifelong
+lesson to ye," returned the old woman, with agitation, as she put the
+dimes back into his hand.  "Go right home with them now, an' tell yer
+father all about it."
+
+"My father!" faltered Tom, doubtful of the consequences of such a
+confession.
+
+"Well, yer mother, then.  She'll be gentle with ye, never fear, if ye
+are really sorry."
+
+"Indeed I am, Missis Barry," declared Tom, quite breaking down at last.
+
+"I'm certain ye are, asthore!" continued the good creature, heartily.
+"An', whisper, when ye get home go to yer own little room, an' there on
+yer bended knees ask God to forgive ye.  Make up yer mind to shun bad
+company for the future; an' never, from this hour, will we speak
+another word about this--either ye to me or I to ye,--save an' except
+ye may come an' say: 'I've done as ye bid me, Missis Barry.  It's all
+hunkey dory!'"
+
+The old woman smiled with grim humor as she found herself quoting the
+boy's favorite slang expression.
+
+Tom laughed in spite of himself, so droll did it sound from her lips;
+but at the same time he drew his jacket sleeve across his eyes, which
+had grown strangely dim, and said:
+
+"I will, Missis Barry.  You may trust me: I will."
+
+And Tom did.  From that day he and the honest old apple-woman were
+better friends than ever.  Meanwhile her trade improved so much that
+before long she was able to set up a more pretentious establishment,--a
+genuine stand, with an awning to replace the faithful umbrella, which
+was forthwith honorably retired from service.  Here she carried on a
+thriving business for several years, Tom, though now a student at St.
+Jerome's College, often bought apples and peanuts of her.
+
+"You see that old woman?" said he to a comrade one day.  "Don't look
+much like an angel, does she?"
+
+His friend, glancing at the queer figure and plain, ordinary features,
+was amused at the comparison.
+
+"And yet," continued Tom, earnestly, "she proved a second Guardian
+Angel to me once, and I'll bless her all my life for it."
+
+
+
+
+"BETTER THAN RICHES."
+
+I.
+
+"Cash!  Cash! here!" cried an attendant at the stationery counter of
+one of New York's great shopping emporiums.  At the summons a
+delicate-looking little girl came wearily up, and held out a small
+wicker basket for the goods and the money.  "Be quick now: the lady's
+in a hurry."
+
+Notwithstanding the injunction, the child started off with no special
+attempt at haste.  The same words were dinned into her ears a hundred
+times a day.  She did not see why ladies should be in a hurry.  The
+ladies of her world seemed to have nothing to do but to wear pretty
+clothes, and to shop, which meant principally the buying of more pretty
+clothes.  It was all very well to make an extra effort to oblige one
+occasionally; but if she did it every time she was exhorted to, surely
+her tired feet would give out before the end of the day.
+
+"Cash is so poky!" complained the salesgirl to her companion behind the
+counter.
+
+"Hie you, Cash!  Hustle I say!" called the floor-walker peremptorily,
+as he passed.
+
+Thus warned, the child skurried away, and reappeared after a very brief
+interval.  As she rushed up with the parcel, an awkward accident
+occurred.  The lady heedlessly stepped backward.  Cash dodged; but,
+alas!  before she could stop herself, she had dashed into a pyramid of
+note-paper that stood upon the end of the counter, and sent the boxes
+scattering over the floor in dire confusion.
+
+"Oh!--oh, my!" exclaimed the salesgirl, distressed, as she contemplated
+the wreck of the architectural display.
+
+The disturbance at once brought the floor-walker to the spot.
+"Stupid!" he muttered, taking poor Cash by the shoulder.  "Why don't
+you look where you're going?  If you can't mind what you're about, we
+have no use for you here; remember that!"
+
+"Please do not blame the child," interposed the lady who had
+unwittingly caused the trouble.  "It was my fault: I carelessly got in
+her way.  I am very sorry."
+
+"Don't mention it, Mrs. M----.  It is not of the slightest
+consequence," said the floor-walker, with a bland smile and a bow.
+(Mrs. M---- was a desirable customer, and he would have said the same
+thing if she had happened to tip the show-case over.)  "We have to keep
+our employees up to the mark, you know," he added in a low tone, by way
+of apology for his brusqueness.  "The best of them become careless.
+But Cash has found a friend this time, so we'll let it pass."
+
+Cash, who was busily picking up the boxes, made a little grimace to
+herself at his change of manner.  The lady politely inclined her head
+by way of acknowledgment, and the floor-walker left abruptly, having
+suddenly discovered that something required his immediate attention in
+another part of the store.
+
+When he had disappeared, the little girl looked up and faltered
+gratefully: "Thank you, ma'am!"
+
+Mrs. M---- now for the first time took notice of the individual to whom
+she had just rendered a service.  She glanced down upon a freckled face
+of the complexion described as pasty, a pair of greyish-blue eyes, and
+a tangle of reddish curls just long enough to admit of being tied back
+with the bit of crumpled ribbon which kept them tidy.  Cash was not of
+prepossessing appearance; yet perhaps because, the grateful glance
+touched a chord common to humanity in the heart of the stranger, or
+because one naturally warms to any creature whom one has befriended, or
+perhaps simply from the sweet womanliness which finds all childhood
+attractive,--whatever the motive, upon the impulse of the moment the
+lady did a very graceful thing.  Taking a rose from the bunch of
+jacqueminots she wore, she fastened it to the breast of the child's
+black apron, and was gone before the latter could recover from her
+astonishment.
+
+It was only a little incident, but it changed the whole aspect of
+Cash's day.  The beautiful flower glowed against the dark uniform, like
+a bit of joy vouchsafed to a sombre life.
+
+"How lovely!" exclaimed the salesgirl.  "Aren't you lucky, Cash!  Don't
+you want to exchange with me?  I'll give you a delicious orange I
+brought with my lunch for that posie."
+
+Cash shook her head.  As soon as she could, she stole away to the room
+where the girls kept their cloaks and hats.  Here, after a furtive look
+around to see that ho one was by who might snatch, it away, she
+unpinned the rose and slipped it into a small card-board box, having
+first carefully wrapped the stem in a piece of well moistened paper.
+Then she tucked the box into the pocket of her jacket, and ran
+downstairs to the store again.
+
+For the next two or three hours it happened that Cash was kept running
+to and fro almost without intermission; but she did not mind it now.
+The kindly word spoken in her behalf by the truly gracious lady, the
+simple gift of a flower, had given her new spirit.  Her heart, like a
+little bird, kept singing a cheery song to itself; while, as she
+journeyed hither and thither, her feet seemed to keep time to its
+gladness.
+
+"Why, Cash, you're getting smart!  What has waked you up?" said the
+salesgirl, when, well on in the afternoon, the child sat down by the
+counter for a few seconds.  Then, without waiting for a reply, she
+continued: "Now, aren't you sorry you did not exchange with me?  See,
+you've lost your rose!"
+
+"Oh, 'taint losted," answered the girl.
+
+"You did not give it to any one after I made the first bid?" (The
+inquiry was in a sharper tone.)
+
+"No: I'm keeping it for Ellie."
+
+"Oh, sure enough!  Poor Ellie! how is she?  Cash, you're a good little
+thing to remember her so kindly.  Here, I have the orange still; take
+it to her, too."
+
+The child's eyes sparkled with pleasure as the salesgirl put the golden
+ball into her hand.  "Ellie'll be awful pleased.  I'll tell her you
+sent it, Julia," she said.
+
+Cash had, of course, another name: it was Katy Connors.  Katy lived way
+over on the east side of the city, in a house which was once a handsome
+dwelling, but had long since been divided into tenements and given up
+to ruin.  The Connors were known among their neighbors as a
+respectable, hard-working family.  The father was a day-laborer; the
+mother went out washing; Joe, a boy of fourteen, was in the district
+messenger service; after him came Katy, who was employed in
+McNaughton's store; and then Ellie, the little invalid.  Two younger
+children had died in infancy.
+
+Poor Ellie was fast becoming helpless.  How different it had been a few
+months before!  What a sturdy, active, child she was, when one morning
+she set out in gay spirits "to earn money for mother!"  Like Katy, she
+had obtained a position as cashgirl in McNaughton's.  And how quick and
+smart she was about her duties!  The floor-walker commended her twice
+during the week, and said he would speak for an increase in her wages.
+How proud she felt when Saturday came, and she knew she would have two
+dollars and a half to take home!  Unfortunately, it was to be dearly
+gained.
+
+Saturday afternoon it happened that the store was unusually crowded;
+everything was stir and confusion.  Little Ellie and her companions
+dashed now here, now there, in response to the unceasing cry of "Cash!
+Cash!"  In the midst of the hurry, the floor-walker gave Ellie a
+message to deliver to one of the clerks in the basement.  "Don't
+delay!" he called after her.  Eager to please, the child made her way
+through the throng, and was on the point of darting down the stairs,
+when, alas! her foot caught, she tripped, gave a little scream, and was
+precipitated down the entire flight.  In an instant several employees
+from the neighboring counters rushed to pick her up; but, to their
+alarm, though she strove to be brave, when they attempted to move her
+she could not repress a low moan of anguish.  The superintendent sent
+at once for a doctor, who discovered that she had sustained a severe
+injury, having struck against the edge of one of the iron steps.
+
+Where was now the proud home-coming?  Ellie was taken to the hospital,
+whither frightened Mrs. Connors was summoned.  Upon one of the cots in
+the accident ward lay the child, her small face wan with pain, and in
+her eyes the startled expression noticeable in those of a person who
+has had a serious fall.  In one feverish hand she held something
+tightly clasped--something for which she had asked before being carried
+from the store.  When the doctor turned aside she beckoned to her
+mother, and, with a pathetic little smile, folded into the palm of the
+weeping woman a small yellow envelope.  The next moment she fainted
+away, Mrs. Connors' tears flowed faster as she beheld the precious
+offering--Ellie's first wages, and the last which she was likely ever
+to earn.
+
+The firm of McNaughton & Co. investigated the accident, to see if they
+could by any means be liable to an action for damages brought by an
+employee.  But there was no loose nail in the stairway, not the least
+obstruction.  The proprietors were not to blame; it was simply the
+child's heedlessness, they said.  In fact, the fault was with Ellie's
+shoes: the sole of one, being broken, caught on the top step and caused
+her fall.
+
+And she was to have had a new pair that very evening.  Mrs. Connors had
+quietly determined that her first earnings should be expended in this
+way.  Poor Ellie! she would not need shoes now: the doctors feared she
+would never walk again.  The firm sent a twenty-dollar bill to the
+child's mother, another "Cash" was engaged to take Ellie's place, and
+the matter was speedily forgotten.
+
+
+
+II.
+
+Not growing better at the hospital, Ellie begged to be taken home.
+Rather than live apart from those she loved, she strove to be content
+to remain alone day after day, propped up by an inverted chair upon a
+wretched bed.  Or, when she felt stronger, with the aid of a pair of
+rude crutches, she would drag herself to the window to watch patiently
+for the return of the dear bread-winners, whose toil she would so
+willingly have shared.
+
+There, in a little stuffy room, upon the top floor of the old house,
+she spent the long, sultry summer; there she remained when autumn came;
+there the approaching Christmas holidays were likely to find her.
+
+How was it, then, that Ellie was generally cheery and blithe?  Perhaps
+her mother's prayer each morning, as she bade her good-bye to go to
+work, had most to do with it.  "May Jesus and His Blessed Mother watch
+over you, mavourneen!" the good woman would say, with a sigh at the
+necessity for leaving her.
+
+Frequently, when the child could have wept for loneliness, the words
+would keep echoing in her heart.  She was a well-disposed little
+creature, and those hours spent alone often brought serious thoughts,
+which molded and beautified her character.  But Ellie was a thoroughly
+natural child: there was none of the story-book goodness about her.
+She was keenly interested in everything that went on.  She thought
+there was no one like mother, but it was Katy who represented the world
+to her,--the world of McNaughton's store, with its brightness and
+beautiful wares, and its ever-changing crowd of handsomely costumed
+ladies intent upon the pleasures of shopping.  Any scrap of news which
+one fagged out little cashgirl brought home at the close of the day was
+eagerly listened to by the other; who found her enforced idleness so
+irksome.
+
+Katy had a great deal to narrate at the close of the day upon which our
+story opened.  Sitting upon the foot of Ellie's bed, she told how she
+upset the pyramid of note-paper; and what trouble she would have been
+in, but for the kind lady who so promptly came to the rescue.  To
+Ellie's quick imagination the story had all the charm of a fairy tale.
+And when, at the close, her sister placed in her hands the orange and
+the tiny box wherein lay the rose, still quite fresh and fragrant, her
+face beamed with delight; and Katy went to bed very happy, feeling
+herself more than repaid for having treasured them so carefully.
+
+The next morning, when Katy reached the store, she found everybody in a
+state of pleasurable excitement over the opening of the holiday goods;
+for it wanted but three weeks to Christmas.  At the end of the
+stationery counter, where the pyramid of note-paper had been, an
+immense stack of dolls was now attractively displayed.  The little
+cashgirl stood before it, lost in admiration.  There were little dolls
+and big ones; dolls with blue eyes, and others with brown; some with
+light hair, and some with dark; _bebee Jumeau_ and _bebee Brue_; rubber
+dolls, and rag dolls with _papier-mache_ faces.
+
+"How lovely they are!" she murmured to herself, including even the
+plainest and least among them in her appreciation of the gorgeous
+company.  "Don't I wish Ellie could see them!" she continued.  "I'll
+have to count them, so as to tell her how many there are; for I don't
+believe that by herself she could imagine such a lot of dolls together."
+
+Katy and Ellie had never had a doll in their lives,--that is, a real
+_boughten_ one, as they called those not of home manufacture.
+
+The kind salesgirl who had sent the orange to Ellie, from her post
+behind the counter, noticed the child's wonderment.
+
+"Will you look at Cash!" she said to a companion.  Katy was oblivious
+of them, however.  After watching her a few moments, Julia called out:
+
+"Well, Cash, which do you like best?"
+
+The little girl looked the dolls over again with much deliberation; and
+finally, pointing to a good-sized one, with golden hair and large eyes,
+said:
+
+"This."
+
+"Oh, one of those ninety-seven cent dolls!" responded Julia.  "They
+_are_ handsome for the price.  Sawdust bodies, to be sure; but what
+fine heads?--red cheeks, splendid eyes, and hair that will comb out as
+well as that of some costlier ones, I'll be bound."
+
+"Ninety-seven cents!" repeated Katy, with a sigh.  It was an
+unattainable sum, as far as she was concerned.  The salesgirl remarked
+the sigh.
+
+"Say, Cash, why don't you buy it?" she urged.  "Your mother'll let you
+keep part of your wages for yourself Christmas week, won't she?  And
+you wouldn't get such another bargain in a doll if you hunted a year
+and a day.  You'd better speak for it quick, though; for when the rush
+of trade comes, there's no knowing how long the lot will last."
+
+Katy shook her head.  "I wouldn't want to buy a Christmas present for
+myself," she answered.  "But I was wishing--only there is really no use
+in wishing; still, just supposing there was--I was thinking if I could
+only get that doll for Ellie, how happy she would be.  You know she has
+to be alone so much, and she gets awful blue sometimes; though she
+won't let on, 'cause it would fret mother.  But the doll would be great
+company for her.  We've neither of us ever had one."
+
+She continued to gaze longingly at the rosy beauty, while the salesgirl
+meditatively dusted the show-case.
+
+"Stop!  I'll tell you how you can manage to get it," Julia said,
+suddenly.  "It's the rule of this store that on Christmas Eve, after
+all the customers are gone, each employee may choose as a present from
+the firm some article worth a quarter of his or her wages for the week.
+Let's see: you're paid three dollars, aren't you?"
+
+Katy nodded.
+
+"That would count for seventy-five cents on the doll; then all you
+would have to put to it would be twenty-two cents.  Couldn't you do
+that somehow?"
+
+"Yes!" cried Katy, delighted.  "Sometimes I run errands for a
+dressmaker who lives in the block below us, and she gives me pennies,
+or once in a while a nickel.  And when my aunt's husband comes to see
+us--he's a widder man and sorter rich; he drives a truck,--well, when
+he comes 'casionally, he gives each of us children as much as ten
+cents; and I guess he'll be round about Christmas time.  Oh, yes, I'm
+almost sure I can make up the twenty-two cents!"
+
+"But, then, when the doll is yours, won't you hate to give it away?"
+queried Julia; for Katy already began to assume an air of possession.
+
+"Oh, not to Ellie!  And, you know, she'll be sure to let me hold it
+sometimes" was the ingenuous reply.
+
+The quick tears sprang to the salesgirl's eyes, and she turned abruptly
+away, to arrange some dolls upon the shelves behind her.
+
+"After all, love is better than riches," she reflected, as the picture
+of the crippled child in the humble home arose in her mind, and she
+gave a sidelong glance at Katy's thin face and shabby dress.
+
+"You will be sure to save this very doll for me, won't you?" pleaded
+the child.
+
+"I can't put it aside for you," she explained, "because the
+floor-walker would not allow that; but I'll arrange so you will have
+one of the lot, never fear."
+
+"But I want this one," declared Katy.
+
+"My goodness gracious, you foolish midget!  They're all as much alike
+as rows of peas in a pod," exclaimed her friend, a trifle impatiently.
+
+"No," insisted the little girl.  "All the others have red painted
+buckles on their shoes, but this doll has blue buckles; and I'm sure
+Ellie would prefer blue buckles, 'cause we've often talked about it
+when we played choosing what we'd like best."
+
+"Well, well!" laughed Julia.  "All right, Katy: I'll save it, if I can."
+
+Satisfied by this promise, the child ran away; for customers began to
+come in, and to loiter would be to lessen her chance of gaining the
+treasure which to herself she already called Ellie's.
+
+McNaughton & Co. did a great business within the next two weeks; the
+employees were "fearfully rushed," as they expressed it.  Katy had no
+opportunity for further conversation with the sociable attendant at the
+end of the stationery counter, now given over to toys, upon the subject
+oftenest in her thoughts.  She had been transferred to another
+department; but every day she took occasion to go around and look at
+the doll, to make sure that it was still there; and the kindly
+salesgirl always found time to give her an encouraging nod and a smile.
+
+One afternoon, however, a few days before Christmas, when Julia
+returned from her lunch she met Katy, who was crying bitterly.  The
+cause of her distress was soon told.  A new girl had been put at the
+counter that morning; she knew nothing about Katy's doll, and now, as
+luck would have it, was just in the act of selling it to a big,
+bluff-looking man, who said he wanted it for his little daughter.
+
+Julia rushed to her post.  The man was upon the point of paying for the
+doll, and had decided that he would take the parcel with him.
+
+"Have you seen the brown-eyed dolls?" she interposed, pleasantly.  The
+other girl scowled at the interference with 'her sale,' but she
+persisted.  "The brown-eyed ones are considered the most desirable."
+
+"Are they?" the man hesitated.  "Well, I believe I'll take one, then,
+instead of this.  My little maid likes brown eyes."
+
+Katy's doll was saved.  The child, in a fever of suspense, had watched
+the transaction from behind a pile of dry-goods.  Now she turned toward
+her friend a face bright with gratitude, as she hurried away in
+response to the imperative call of "Cash."
+
+When Julia recovered from her flurry, she explained matters to her
+associate.  The girl's ill-humor quickly vanished once she understood
+the situation, and she willingly agreed to help retain the doll if
+possible.
+
+
+
+III
+
+On the morning of the day before Christmas, Katy appeared at the
+counter and offered the twenty-two cents which she had succeeded in
+getting together--the balance to be paid on her present.
+
+"Can't I take the doll now, please?" she begged.
+
+"You will have to ask the floor-walker," replied Julia.
+
+She did so, but he said she must wait until evening; he could not make
+any exceptions.  So she was obliged to control her impatience.
+
+Scarcely five minutes afterward a crash was heard.  The equilibrium of
+the rack of dolls had been disturbed, and the whole collection was
+dashed to the floor.  Fortunately, only three or four of the dolls were
+broken; but, alas! among them was the one Katy had set her heart upon
+giving to her sick sister.
+
+The commotion brought her to the scene at once.  Poor Katy!  She did
+not burst out crying, as Julia expected; but just clasped her hands and
+stood looking at the wreck of the doll, with an expression of hopeless
+disappointment, which would have seemed ludicrous, considering the
+cause, had it not been so pathetic.  It aroused the ready sympathy of
+Julia.
+
+"Don't feel so bad, midget!" she whispered, picking up the pieces.
+"See: only the head is spoiled.  There's another with the feet knocked
+off.  I'll get permission to take the two dolls up to the toy-mender's
+room, and have the head of the other put on your doll; that will make
+it as good as new."
+
+When order was restored, she made her request of the floor-walker.
+
+"All right," he answered.  "It will cut down the loss by ninety-seven
+cents; so you may have it done, if they can spare the time upstairs.
+That is an awkward corner, anyhow; it will have to be left free in
+future."
+
+At noon Julia snatched a few moments from the short interval allowed
+her to get her lunch, and hurried up to the toy-mender's quarters.  She
+prevailed upon him to have the doll repaired in the course of an hour
+or two; he promised to do so, and it was sent back to her early in the
+afternoon.
+
+That day Katy's duties, fortunately for her peace of mind, brought her
+frequently into the vicinity of the doll counter.  Now she hastened to
+it, in a quiver of excitement, to witness the success of the process.
+When the cover was taken off the box, her cheeks crimsoned with
+indignation and her eyes blazed, as she turned inquiringly to Julia.
+
+"Indeed, Katy, it is none of my doings," protested the salesgirl;
+though the result of the experiment was so funny she had not the heart
+to laugh.  The doll with the beautiful blue buckles on her shoes had
+now a mop of darky wool, and a face as black as the ace of spades.
+
+Julia's quick wit at once jumped at the correct conclusion regarding
+the apparent blunder.  The toy-mender's two thoughtless apprentices had
+played a joke upon the little cashgirl.
+
+"It is only the nonsense of those rogues upstairs.  I'll take the doll
+back and tell them they must fix it to-night, or I'll complain of them
+for their fooling at this busy time," she announced, energetically; for
+she noted the twitching around the corners of Katy's mouth,
+notwithstanding the child's brave effort at self-control.
+
+Katy went off partially comforted.
+
+"It's mean to tease a child in that way," added Julia, in an audible
+aside, as she laid the doll on the shelf behind, and wished that the
+lady to whom she was showing some very handsome dolls would finish her
+choice, so that she might get a free minute to run up to the mending
+room again.  But the interest of the customer had been awakened by the
+little drama enacted before her.
+
+"What is the matter?" she inquired, cordially.
+
+Julia looked disconcerted; but the lady had such a sweet and noble
+face, and her manner was so winning, that the girl found herself
+telling briefly not only the history of Katy's doll, but of Katy and
+Ellie too.  It was not a waste of time either; for while she talked the
+purchaser made one or two additional selections, and then, after giving
+directions concerning them, passed on.
+
+"Do you know who that was?" asked Katy, rushing up as the lady turned
+into another aisle of the store.
+
+"Yes: Mrs. M----, of 34th Street.  Of course she left her address for
+the parcels," replied Julia.
+
+"It's my Rose-lady, as I call her,--don't you remember the one who gave
+me the pretty flower?" cried the child.
+
+"Why, so it is!" rejoined Julia.  "Well, she's a lovely lady certainly.
+She happened to ask what the trouble was about the doll; and was so
+interested I couldn't help telling how you had saved and planned to get
+it for Ellie, and all about it."
+
+"Mercy! did you?" answered the child, in confusion.  "My, but you're
+the talker, Julia!  What would the likes of her care to hear about
+that!"
+
+The store kept open till half-past eleven Christmas Eve; but at length
+the last customer was gone, and the employees were allowed to choose
+their presents.  Katy skipped around with joy when the doll was put
+into her arms.  After a moment, however, Julia whisked it away again,
+and sent it to be packed in a box.  The box proved to be large and
+clumsy, but this was accounted for upon the plea of haste.
+
+"Well, good-night and merry Christmas, Julia!" said the little
+cashgirl, gratefully.  "I don't know how to thank you enough for being
+so good, and helping me so much,--indeed I don't!"
+
+"Never mind trying," answered Julia, brightly, but with an earnestness
+unusual to her.  "Isn't this Christmas Eve, and didn't the Infant Jesus
+come to help us, and teach us to do what we can for one another?  Just
+say a prayer for me at Mass to-morrow; that is all I ask."
+
+"You may be sure I will," Katy responded, heartily.
+
+"Good-night!  Merry Christmas to you all, and especially to Ellie!"
+added Julia, hurrying away.
+
+Katy's father was waiting for her at one of the entrances of the store.
+After a slight demur, she allowed him to carry the package, while she
+trudged along at his side.  The stores were closed, the gay throng of
+shoppers had disappeared.  People were still abroad upon the great
+thoroughfares; but the side streets were deserted, except when, now and
+again, overtaxed workers like herself were to be met making their way
+home.  The lamps burned dim, save where, occasionally, an electric
+light flared up with a spectral glare.  The glitter of the world had
+departed.  It was past midnight; in the deep blue of the winter's sky
+the stars glowed with a peaceful radiance.  Looking up at them, Katy
+began to think, in her own simple fashion, of the meaning of Christmas
+and of Christmas gifts; of Bethlehem, the Virgin Mother, and the Divine
+Child; of the Love that came into the world on that holy night of long
+ago, to kindle in all hearts a spirit of kindliness and helpfulness
+toward one another, making it more blessed to give than to receive.
+The little girl realized the happiness of making others happy, when she
+handed to Ellie the bulky package over which she had kept watch all the
+way to the house.
+
+The usually pale face of the young invalid flushed with excitement,
+while, with trembling fingers, she unfastened the wrappings and opened
+the box.
+
+"O Katy!" she exclaimed, as she beheld the hard-won present,--"O Katy!"
+It was all she could say, but the tone and the look which accompanied
+it were quite enough.
+
+At first neither of the children could think of anything besides the
+doll; but after a while Ellie made another discovery.  As she trifled
+with the box, she cried:
+
+"Why, there's something else here!"
+
+The next moment she drew out a doll precisely like the first, except
+that its shoes had red buckles; at the sight of which Katy immediately
+concluded that, for herself, she liked red buckles better.  Attached to
+it was a card on which was written: "For an unselfish little sister."
+
+"It did not get there by mistake: it's for you, Katy," said Ellie,
+ecstatically.
+
+"Then the Rose-lady must have sent it," declared Katy, feeling as if
+she were in a dream.
+
+That her conjecture was correct was evident the next day; for about
+noon a carriage stopped at the door of the dilapidated house in ----
+street; and a visitor, who seemed to bring with her an additional share
+of Christmas sunshine, was shown up to the Connors' tenement.  She was
+followed by a tall footman, who quietly deposited upon the table a
+generous basket of the season's delicacies.
+
+"The Rose-lady, mother!" cried Katy, pinching her own arm to see if she
+could possibly be awake.
+
+It was all true, however; and that day the Connors family found a
+devoted friend.  Henceforth the Rose-lady took a special interest in
+Ellie.  She induced a celebrated doctor to go and see her.  The great
+man said there was a chance that the crippled child might be cured by
+electricity; and it was arranged that the mother should take her
+regularly to his office for treatment, Mrs. M---- offering the use of
+her carriage.
+
+Now Ellie can walk almost as well as ever.  She is growing stronger
+every day, and will probably before long be able to attain her
+ambition--"to earn money to help mother."
+
+"And to think, Katy," the little girl often says, affectionately, "it
+all came about through your wanting to give me that Christmas doll!"
+
+
+
+
+BUILDING A BOAT.
+
+I.
+
+"Oh, if we only had a boat, what jolly fun we might have!" exclaimed
+Jack Gordon regretfully, following with his eyes the bright waters as
+they rushed along,--now coursing smoothly, now leaping in the sunshine;
+again darkened for the moment, and eddying beneath the shade of the
+overhanging branches of a willow tree; then in the distance coming
+almost to a standstill, and expanding into the clear, floating mirror
+of the mill-pond.
+
+"That's so," answered Rob Stuart, laconically.  The two boys were
+lounging on the bank of the creek, which, though dignified by the name
+of Hohokus River and situated in New Jersey, is not considered of
+sufficient importance to be designated on the map of that State, even
+by one of those wavering, nameless lines which seem to be hopelessly
+entangled with one another for the express purpose of confusing a
+fellow who has neglected his geography lesson until the last moment.
+
+"Yes, if we had a boat we might explore this stream from source to
+mouth," continued Jack, who was always in search of adventures.
+
+"A canoe?" suggested Rob.
+
+"That would be just the thing," agreed Jack.  "But a regular canoe,
+made of birch bark or paper, would cost too much.  I'll tell you what
+it is, Rob.  Jim and I have next to nothing in the treasury at present.
+We haven't had a chance to earn much lately."
+
+"I'm about dead broke, too," replied Rob.
+
+"I say," exclaimed Jack, after a moment of silence, "suppose we make
+one?"
+
+"Make one!" echoed Rob, surprised.
+
+"Why, yes.  All we need is a flat-bottomed boat; and it ought not to be
+hard to put one together.  Uncle Gerald promised to give me some boards
+for my chicken-coops; perhaps he would add a few more if he knew what
+we wanted them for.  Let's go over and see if he is at home now,"
+
+"All right," answered Rob, preparing to start.
+
+Jack and Rob might almost always be found together.  They were of about
+the same age,--Jack being fourteen on his last birthday, the 22d of
+January, and Rob on the 30th of the following March.  They lived within
+a stone's-throw of each other, and had been friends from the time they
+were little chaps.
+
+Mr. Gerald Sheridan was a merchant who did business in New York, but he
+was now taking a few days' vacation, to look a little after the work
+upon his farm, which was in charge of a hired man.  His house, situated
+a short distance down the road, was large and spacious.  The boys
+walked briskly toward it, planning as they went.
+
+At Uncle Gerald's the latch string was always out--that is, if the door
+was not standing hospitably open, as was usually the case in pleasant
+spring or summer weather; one had only to turn the knob and walk in.
+Just as they were about to enter the square, home-like hall, lined with
+old-fashioned settles and adorned with fowling-pieces, fishing-rods,
+tennis rackets, and the like, Jack's cousin, eleven-year-old Leo, came
+out of an adjoining room and said;
+
+"Hello!  You want to see father?  Well, he's over yonder"--pointing to
+a sunny patch of ground toward the south,--"showing Michael how he
+wants the vegetable garden planted.  Wait a minute and I'll go with
+you."
+
+Leo's hat having been discovered in a corner where he had tossed it an
+hour or two earlier, they started on a race to the garden, and brought
+up suddenly in front of Uncle Gerald, who now, in a dark blue flannel
+shirt, trousers to match, and a broad-brimmed hat of grey felt, was
+evidently dressed for the _role_ of a farmer.  He was a pleasant man,
+tall and slight in figure, with blue eyes, a brown beard, and a cheery,
+kindly manner, which made him a favorite with everybody, and especially
+with boys, in whose projects he was always interested.
+
+"Give you the wood to build a boat?" he repeated, when told what Jack
+and Rob wanted to accomplish.  "Willingly.  I am glad to have you
+attempt something of the kind.  I have always maintained that boys
+should be taught to work with their hands.  Every youth ought to learn
+the use of tools, just as a girl learns to sew, to cook, and help her
+mother in household duties.  Then we should not have so many awkward,
+stupid, bungling fellows, who can not do anything for themselves.  It
+is as disgraceful for a lad not to be able to drive a nail straight
+without pounding his fingers or thumb as it is for a girl not to know
+how to stitch on a button.  But I am letting my hobby run away with me,
+and no doubt you are anxious to be off.  You will find the lumber piled
+in the storeroom of the barn.  Take what you need.  Perhaps Leo will
+lend you his pony to draw the load home."
+
+"Thank you, sir!" answered Jack, heartily.
+
+Now that the means of carrying out his plan were insured to him, he did
+not feel in such a hurry; and, furthermore, though quite satisfied that
+he should have no trouble about it, he would not have objected to a few
+hints as to how to begin.
+
+"Can you tell me, Uncle," asked the boy, half jocosely, "if any of the
+distinguished men you are thinking of ever attempted to make a boat?"
+
+"To be sure," returned the gentleman.  "There was Peter the Great, who,
+though a tyrannical ruler, might have earned fair wages as a
+ship-builder.  But we shall have to talk about him another time, when I
+have leisure; for I see that at present Michael wants me to devote all
+my attention to tomato plants, peas, beans, and seed potatoes.  If you
+wait till tomorrow, I will show you how to set to work."
+
+"Oh, I guess we can get on!" returned Jack, becoming impatient again,
+and feeling that it would be impossible to delay, with the whole bright
+day before them.  Rob seemed to be of the same opinion.
+
+Uncle Gerald smiled, reflecting that, since manual training does not
+begin with boat-building, they would soon discover the task so
+confidently undertaken to be a far greater one than they realized.  He
+made no comment, however; and the boys started for the barn-loft, where
+they selected the wood best suited to their purpose, and carried it
+down to the yard, where Leo had dragged out the pony wagon.
+
+"Here," said he, "you may stow the boards into this; and I'll lend you
+Winkie to draw them home, if you'll promise to let Jim and me see you
+build the boat."
+
+Jack's brother Jim was a year older than Leo; but the two chummed
+together, and were accustomed to stand up for each other, and thus hold
+their own against the big boys, who were sometimes rather too much
+inclined to adopt a patronizing tone toward them.
+
+Jack and Rob now exchanged significant glances, which said plainly that
+they would prefer the loan of the pony without any conditions.  It
+would be annoying to have the little fellows "tagging after them."  But
+there was no help for it.  The pony belonged to Leo, and they could not
+take it without his permission.
+
+"Oh--ahem--I suppose so!  Hey, Rob?" said Jack, shutting one eye
+expressively.
+
+"Well--yes," agreed Rob, appreciating the situation.
+
+They went round to the front of Winkie's stall.  Immediately a shaggy
+head protruded through the window-like opening, a pair of bright eyes
+passed over the other visitors and rested upon Leo, with a look which
+might well be interpreted as one of affection; and a rough nose rubbed
+up against the boy's arm, this being Winkle's way of expressing delight
+at seeing his master.  He rather resented any attempt at petting from
+Jack or Rob, however; which led them to tease him, much as they would
+play with a dog,--for he was only a little Shetland pony, hardly larger
+than a good-sized Newfoundland.
+
+"Kittelywink!" exclaimed Rob, giving him his full name, which had been
+shortened for the sake of euphony.  "What in the world did you call him
+that for?"
+
+"Well, I can't exactly say," replied Leo; "but somehow it's a name
+that's all jumbled up and confused like, and, that is just about how
+you feel when he gets playing his pranks.  Presto, change! you know.
+Now you're here, and now you don't know where you are, but most likely
+it is in the middle of a dusty or muddy road.  Oh, you don't mind the
+fall, 'cause he has an accommodating way of letting you down easy; but
+it hurts your feelings awful, especially if there's anybody round.  You
+don't seem as big as you were a few moments before.  He doesn't act
+that way with me now, because I try to be always kind and gentle with
+him.  But you just attempt to really plague him, and see who'll get the
+best of it."
+
+"Thank you, I guess I won't mind," responded Rob, in a dry tone, which
+made the others laugh.  He already knew by experience something of the
+pony's capers, though it had been in Leo's possession only a few weeks;
+while Jack, having been away on a visit, had never driven Winkie.
+
+"Perhaps if you changed his name he would behave better," suggested Rob.
+
+"I did think of that," answered Leo, seriously.  "I had half a mind to
+call him Cream Puff; you see he's just the color of those lovely ones
+they sell at the baker's."
+
+Both the boys laughed heartily.
+
+"Crickey! that is an odd name, sure enough, and would suit him
+splendidly!" said Rob.
+
+"Yes, and he'd have to be sweet and nice all the time, in order to live
+up to it," added Jack.
+
+"Oh, you must not think he is ugly or vicious!" continued Leo.  "He
+never tried to run away, and most of his antics are nothing but sport.
+He is not really bad, only a bit contrary occasionally, as Michael
+says.  Mother declares that he reminds her sometimes of a boy who has
+forgotten to say his prayers in the morning, 'cause then he (the boy,
+you know) is apt to be fractious, and keeps getting into trouble all
+day."
+
+"Ha, Leo, what a dead give away!" exclaimed Jack, in a badgering
+manner.  "That's the way it is with you, is it?"
+
+"That's the way with most fellows, I'll wager!" mumbled Leo, growing
+red, and wishing he had not been quite so communicative.
+
+Neither of the others replied to this, but each secretly admitted that
+there was a good deal of truth in what he said.
+
+They all assisted in harnessing Kittelywink, who appeared to think this
+great fun.  However, when it became evident that he was expected to
+draw the little wagon laden with the lumber, he protested decidedly.
+
+"He doesn't want to be used as a dray-horse," observed Leo,
+sympathetically.
+
+Whether Winkie's pride was indeed hurt at being put to menial
+employment, or whether he simply felt it an imposition to require him
+to carry a pile of boards and three sturdy lads in addition, it is
+impossible to say.  At all events, he refused to budge.
+
+"Pshaw!" said Jack.  "You fellows had better get off.  I'll drive."
+
+There was nothing to be done but for Rob and Leo to scramble down.
+
+"Geet a-a-p!" cried Jack, giving the pony a sharp lash with the whip.
+
+Winkle bounded forward, and darted up the road at what may be called
+literally a rattling speed; for the boards clattered away at every
+revolution of the wheels, and the driver found some difficulty in
+keeping his seat.  Jack became excited.  He sawed at the pony's mouth
+and drew him up so suddenly as to pull him back on his haunches.
+Winkie resolutely objected to these proceedings, and forthwith
+absolutely declined to go a step farther.
+
+Rob and Leo came running up.
+
+"Jingo, but he's a beauty!", exclaimed Rob, with admiring sincerity.
+
+Winkie, in truth, looked very handsome and roguish as he stood there,
+with his head bent doggedly, his shaggy mane blown about by the wind,
+and his bright eyes mischievously asking as plainly as they could:
+"Well, what are you going to do about it?"
+
+"Huh!  Handsome is that handsome does!" grumbled Jack.  "But I'll teach
+him to behave himself."
+
+He raised the whip once more, but Leo caught his arm, crying,
+
+"No, you must not whip him.  Father says a horse can be managed by
+kindness better than in any other way."
+
+"Oh, I _must_ not!" repeated Jack, ironically; but, glancing at Leo's
+face, he saw that his cousin looked flushed and determined.  It would
+not do to quarrel with such a little fellow as Leo, so he checked the
+sharp words that rose to his lips, and answered with an effort to be
+good-natured: "Try it yourself, then.  I'll just sit here and hold the
+reins, and you can reason with him all you have a mind to."
+
+Leo went up to the pony's head, patted and spoke gently to him.  Winkie
+arched his neck, then put down his nose and coolly rubbed it all over
+his young master's face, as if deprecating his misconduct, while making
+his complaint, as it were, that he had not been fairly treated.
+
+"If he isn't the cutest chap!" ejaculated Rob, delighted at his
+sagacity.
+
+Jack could not help being amused also.
+
+"Come now, Kittelywink, go 'long!" said he.  "You shall have some sugar
+when I get home."
+
+Most horses are very fond of sugar, and Winkie was no exception.  He
+turned his ears back, with what Rob called "a pleased expression," at
+this propitiatory tone.  But, although he enjoyed the petting now
+lavished upon him from all quarters, his sensibilities had apparently
+been too deeply wounded to admit of his being at once conciliated.
+
+"I know!" suggested Jack, unwilling to relinquish the reins.  "Suppose
+I ride on his back?"
+
+Leo demurred till he saw that the pony did not oppose Jack's endeavor
+to mount.  Winkie appeared to be under the impression that they were
+now to leave the wagon and the despised load behind.  To the surprise
+of the boys he started ahead willingly, and Jack's spirits rose.
+
+"Ha-ha! that's a good fellow!" he began.
+
+Winkie went on a few rods.  Presently he discovered that his
+expectations were not to be realized.  The wagon was unusually heavy
+still; the clattering boards set up a racket every time he moved.  He
+could not get away from them.  It might be a good plan to try again,
+though.  He capered and danced, then plunged onward.  Jack did not look
+like a model horseman at this juncture.  The boys screamed at him,
+giving contrary advice; though this made no difference, for his utmost
+exertions were directed to clinging to his refractory steed.
+
+The pony was only annoyed, not frightened.  He seemed to find Jack's
+efforts to keep from falling off quite entertaining.  Suddenly a new
+idea occurred to him.  What a wonder that he did not think of it
+before!  He veered toward the side of the way, stopped abruptly, and,
+bending his head, sent Jack flying over it into the ditch.  A grand
+success!  With a satisfied air Winkie followed up his victory,
+approached his prostrate antagonist, regarded him for a moment,
+and--for he wore no check-line--putting down that clever nose of his,
+by a playful push with it he rolled the boy fairly over, and then set
+off in a steady trot along the highway.
+
+
+
+II.
+
+Winkie had just reached the gate of Jack's home, when our young friends
+caught up with him.  Leo was now allowed to assume control, and, by
+dint of much coaxing and encouragement, at length succeeded in leading
+him to Mr. Gordon's barn.  The wagon was here unloaded, after which Leo
+leaped into it, crying, "Come on, old fellow; that's all!"  And Winkie,
+shaking his mane, as if felicitating himself that the disagreeable task
+was over, started off with much satisfaction.
+
+"I'll be back again this afternoon," his little master shouted to the
+others as he drove away; "but--I think I'll walk!"
+
+For the next fortnight the lads spent the greater part of the time in
+the Gordon barn.  Such a hammering and sawing as went on there!  At
+first the proceedings were enveloped in an air of mystery.  Jack's
+father suspected that they were preparing for an amateur circus
+performance.  His mother wondered at the interest manifested in the
+repair of the chicken-coops.  Some experiment was in progress, she was
+sure; but what?  At last the secret came out.  They were building a
+boat!
+
+Jack and Rob did it all.  "The little boys"--as they were accustomed to
+call Jim and Leo, much to the chagrin of the latter--were not permitted
+to have anything to say.  They were to keep their eyes open and learn
+by observation.  This they did, though not with exactly the result that
+had been intended.  Before long they understood very well what not to
+do in building a boat.  But we are all liable to make mistakes; and are
+we not continually teaching others, at least by our experience?
+
+In season and out of season the work went on.  Little Barbara Stuart
+was constantly coming over to ask: "Is Rob here?  Mother wants him; he
+hasn't half finished what he had to do at home." Leo kept getting into
+trouble because he would stop at his cousin's, instead of going
+directly home from school as his father wished him to do.  Jim, who had
+a decided, but, alas! entirely uncultivated, taste for drawing, spoiled
+his new writing-book with extraordinary sketches meant to represent
+every kind of boat, from a punt or dory to an ocean steamer; and in
+consequence was not on good terms with the schoolmaster, who did not
+appreciate such evidences of genius.
+
+Jack--well, everything seemed to go wrong with him.  "Where is
+Jack?"--"Oh, bother, over at the barn!"  The answer soon became a
+byword.  The barn was at some distance from the house, and what a time
+there was in summoning the boy!  The method was sufficiently telling,
+one would think, since it informed the whole neighborhood when he was
+wanted.  It consisted in blowing the horn for him.  Now, this was no
+common horn, but the voice of a giant imprisoned in a cylinder.  Jack
+could have explained it upon the principle of compressed air, for he
+was studying natural philosophy; but Mr. Sheridan's Michael once
+described it in this way:
+
+"Sure, it's the queerest thing that ever ye saw!  Ye just jam one piece
+of tin pipe into another piece of tin pipe, as hard as ye can; an' it
+lets a wail out of it that ye'd think would strike terror to the heart
+of a stone and wake the dead!"
+
+Whatever effect it might have upon granite or ghosts, however, Jack was
+usually so engrossed with the boat as to be deaf to its call.  If Mrs.
+Gordon wanted him to harness a horse for her in a hurry, there was no
+use in sounding a bugle blast; she might try again and again, but in
+the end she would have to send some one over to him with the message.
+If he was sent up to the village on an errand, or told to do anything
+which took him away from his work, he either objected, or complied with
+a very bad grace.
+
+"I'll tell ye one thing," said Mary Ann the cook, one day when neither
+Jack nor Jim would go to the store for her, though it would only have
+taken a few minutes to make the trip on the bicycle,--"I'll tell ye one
+thing, young sirs.  Ye can't expect to have a bit of luck with that
+boat ye're buildin'."
+
+"No luck!  Why not, I'd like to know?" inquired Jack.
+
+"Because all four of ye boys are neglectin' what ye ought to do, and
+takin' for this the time which by right should be spent on other
+things; because ye've given yer fathers and mothers more cause to find
+fault with ye durin' the last two or three weeks than for long before,
+all on account of it; because ye're none of ye so good-natured as ye
+used to be.  I've heard that havin' a bee in the bonnet spoils a body;
+but faith I think a boat on the brain is worse.  There's one thing,
+though, that my mind's made up to.  I'll make no more cookies for young
+gentlemen that are not polite and obligin'."
+
+Here was a threat!  But, though the boys were secretly somewhat
+disconcerted, they would not give Mary Ann the satisfaction of seeing
+that either her prophecy or warning had any effect upon them.
+
+"Pshaw, Mary Ann, you're so cross to-day!" declared Jim.
+
+"It isn't always the good people who seem to have the best luck,"
+continued Jack, braving it out.  "And how can you tell whether we'll
+succeed or not?  You are not a fortune-teller."
+
+"Heaven forbid!" ejaculated Mary Ann, devoutly.  "And, to be sure,
+there's plenty of people that gets on very successfully in the world,
+that don't seem to deserve to prosper half as much as others we know
+of.  But God sees what we don't, and this much we may be certain of:
+wrong-doin' is always punished sooner or later; while we know that, in
+the end, those that tries to do right gets their full share of
+blessin's and a good bit over and above.  I'm not sayin' indeed that ye
+won't build yer boat, only that if ye neglect yer duty ye'll have
+reason to regret it."
+
+"Well, don't cast an 'evil eye' on the boat, anyway," said Jim; "for if
+we don't finish it, how can we ever give you a row on the creek?"
+
+"Is it _I_ ride in yer boat!" exclaimed Mary Ann, who was stout and
+short-breathed.  The idea of trusting herself to the tender mercies of
+the lads, and venturing into any craft of their construction, was so
+ludicrous that she forgot her vexation and laughed heartily.  "Faith,
+it's fine ballast I'd be for ye!" she said.  "And is it in the middle
+of the river ye'd be landin' me?  Thank ye kindly, but I'll not go a
+pleasurin' with ye.  And as for an 'evil eye,' troth ye're but makin'
+game of my want of book-larnin'.  But well I know there's no such
+thing; and if there was, it could never harm ye or yer work if ye were
+doin' right.  So now be off with ye to the store, and bring me five
+pounds of sugar, quick as ye can.  And if ye take the molasses jug
+along and get it filled--well, this once I'll beat up a batch of
+cookies, so ye can have some for yer lunch at school to-morrow."
+
+
+
+III.
+
+At last the wonderful boat was pronounced finished.  It had obviously
+not been modeled with an eye to beauty--was flat as the barn floor,
+square at both ends, and entirely lacking in the curves which
+constitute the grace of the seabird-like craft which are the delight of
+yachtmen.  Nevertheless, the boys were proud of it.  It was their own:
+they had built it themselves.
+
+"There she is, complete from bow to stern!" exclaimed Jack, with a
+satisfied air.
+
+"Yes," responded Leo, admiringly.  "But"--hesitating--"but--which is
+the bow and which the stern, you know--eh?"
+
+"Why, this end, stupid!  Don't you see I've marked it with a cross?"
+answered Jack.
+
+"Perhaps I _am_ stupid," thought Leo; "for I don't understand now how
+one end can be both.  I wish Jack would be a little more particular
+about explaining a thing.  It's queer how few fellows are!  They jumble
+their words all up, and think that because _they_ know what they mean,
+you ought to understand, of course."
+
+"Well," observed Jim, quizzically, "she isn't quite as handsome as the
+barges on the lake in the park, that float up and down, looking like
+white swans.  Yes, I guess she'll do."
+
+"We didn't set out to build a gondola, to paddle children and nursery
+maids around in," retorted Rob, with a withering glance.  "She's a
+good, serviceable boat, and safe--"
+
+"Oh, safe as a tub!" agreed Jim, hastily, intending the remark as
+conciliatory.
+
+"Huh!  Perhaps you never tried to pilot a tub," interposed Leo.  "I did
+the other day, just for practice, so I'd know how to row when the time
+came to use this here punt--if that's what you call it.  Jimminy!  I
+got tipped over into the creek, and a scolding besides when I went
+home!  I'd be sorry to have her act like that."
+
+"A tub is a tub and a boat is a boat," said Jack, sententiously.  "This
+one couldn't tip over if it tried.  Don't you see it's most square?  In
+fact, we didn't mean to get it quite so wide; but, after all, it is
+better than those canoe-like things, which are always rocking from one
+side to the other."
+
+"What are you going to name it?" asked Jim.
+
+Jack looked nonplussed.  This necessity had not occurred to him before.
+He appealed to Rob.
+
+"Suppose," replied the latter, after mature deliberation,--"suppose we
+call it the Sylph?  There's a, story in the _Boys' Own_ about a
+beautiful boat called the Sylph."
+
+"Cricky!  it looks about as much like a sylph as--well, as Mary Ann
+does!" said Jim.  Since the stout, good-natured cook was heavy, and
+nearly square in figure, the comparison was amusingly apt.
+
+"Do you remember the tents at Coney Island in summer, where a regular
+wooden circus procession goes round in a ring, keeping time to the
+music?" asked Leo.
+
+"Yes, and by paying five cents you can take your choice, and ride on a
+zebra or a lion or a big gold ostrich, or anything that's there.   And
+once we chose a _scrumptious_ boat, all blue and silver, and drawn by
+two swans," responded Jim.
+
+"Well, what was the name of that?" said Leo.
+
+"I think the man told us she was known as the _Fairy_," answered Jim.
+
+Again they looked at the boat and shook their heads.  It would not do.
+
+"I did not mean the name of the blue and silver barge, but of the whole
+thing--the ring and all?" added Leo.
+
+"Oh, the _Merry-go-Round_," said Jack.
+
+"Why would not that be a good name?" argued Rob, pleased with the
+sound, and, like many a person whose fancy is caught by the jingle of a
+word, paying little attention to its sense.
+
+"That is what I thought," began Leo, delighted to find his motion
+seconded, as he would have explained in the language of the juvenile
+debating society, which met periodically in that very barn.
+
+"Why! do you expect this boat to keep going round and round when we get
+it out into the middle of the creek?" said practical Jack, pretending
+to be highly indignant at the imputation.
+
+"No indeed," disclaimed Rob.  "Only that she would go around
+everywhere--up and down the stream, you know; and on an exploring
+expedition, as we proposed."
+
+"That is not so bad," Jack admitted.  "Still, I think we could get a
+better name.  Let us see!  The Merry Sailor,--how's that?"
+
+"N--no--hardly," murmured Bob.
+
+"The Jolly Sail--I have it: the Jolly Pioneer!"
+
+"Hurrah!" cried Jim.  "The very thing!"
+
+"Yes, I guess that fits pretty well," acknowledged Rob.
+
+"It's capital!" volunteered Leo.
+
+And so the matter was finally settled.  The _Jolly Pioneer_ was still
+destitute of paint, but the boys were in so great a hurry to launch her
+that they decided not to delay on this account.  They carried her down
+to the creek, and by means of a board slid her into the water.  Jack
+got into the boat first, while the others held the side close to the
+bank.  After him came Rob.  Jim and Leo were to follow, but the _Jolly
+Pioneer_ seemed to have dwindled in size, and did not look half so big
+or imposing as when in the barn.
+
+"Hold on!" cried Jack.  "I'm afraid you will be too heavy.  It won't do
+to crowd at first.  We'll just row gently with the current a short
+distance, and then come back and let you have a turn."
+
+Though disappointed, the little fellows did not demur, but handed him
+the oars, and waited to see the two boys glide away.  But, alas!
+though the _Jolly Pioneer_ moved a little, it was not with the freedom
+and confidence which was to be expected of her in her native element.
+She seemed to shrink and falter, "as if afraid of getting wet," as Jim
+laughingly declared.
+
+"Hello! what's that?" exclaimed Rob, as he felt something cold at his
+feet.  He looked down: his shoes were thoroughly wet; the water was
+coming in through the crevices of the boat.
+
+"Pshaw!" cried Jack.  "That is because it is new yet; when the wood is
+soaked it will swell a bit.  Hurry and bail out the water, though."
+
+"But we haven't anything to do it with," returned Rob, helplessly.
+
+"Oh, take your hat, man!  A fine sailor you'd make!" Jack answered,
+setting the example by dipping in his own old felt.  Rob's was a new
+straw yet.  Unfortunately for its appearance during the remainder of
+the summer, he did not think of this, but immediately went to work.
+Their efforts were of no use: the _Jolly Pioneer_ sank slowly but
+surely.
+
+"Don't give up the ship!" cried Jack, melodramatically.
+
+So as neither of the boys attempted to get out, and thus lessen the
+weight, down, down it went, till it reached the pebbly bed of the
+creek, and they found themselves--still in the boat to be sure, but
+standing up to their waists in water.  The worst of the mortification
+was that the little fellows, high and dry on the bank, were choking
+with laughter, which finally could no longer be suppressed, and broke
+forth in a merry peal.
+
+"What do you want to stand there guffawing for?" called Jack,
+ill-naturedly.  "Why don't you try to get the oars?"
+
+Thus made to realize that they might be of some assistance, Jim and Leo
+waded in heroically, unmindful of the effect upon shoes, stockings, and
+clothing generally, and rescued the oars, of which poor Jack had
+carelessly relaxed his hold in the effort to bail out the boat, and
+which were being carried swiftly away by the current.
+
+In the meantime Jack and Rob succeeded in raising the _Jolly Pioneer_
+and hauling her up on the bank.  While they stood there, contemplating
+her in discouragement, and regardless of their own bedraggled
+condition, who should come along but Uncle Gerald.
+
+"Hie! what is the matter?" he called from the road, suspecting the
+situation at once.
+
+"Something is wrong with the blamed boat, after all!" Jack shouted
+back, impatiently.
+
+Uncle Gerald leaped over the low wall, which separated the highway from
+the meadow, and was presently among them, surveying the unfortunate
+_Pioneer_, which now did not look at all jolly, but wore a dejected
+appearance, one might fancy, as if out of conceit with itself at having
+proved such a miserable failure.
+
+"There!  I suppose he'll say, 'If you had not been so positive that you
+knew all about boatbuilding--if you had come to me for the advice I
+promised you,--this would not have happened,'" thought Jack; feeling
+that (like the story of the last straw placed upon the overladen
+pack-horse, which proved too much for its strength) to be thus reminded
+would make the burden of his vexations greater than he could bear.
+
+Uncle Gerald might indeed have moralized in some such fashion, but he
+considerately refrained, and only remarked, kindly:
+
+"Do not be disheartened.  This is not such bad work for a first
+attempt.  The boat would look better if it were painted, and that would
+fill up a few of the cracks too.  As some of the boards are not
+dovetailed together, you should have calked the seams with oakum."
+
+"To be sure!" responded Jack.  "How could we have had so little
+gumption as not to have thought of it?"
+
+"Oakum is hemp obtained from untwisting old ropes," continued Uncle
+Gerald.  "In genuine ship-building, calking consists in crowding
+threads of this material with great force into the seams between the
+planks.  When filled, they are then rubbed over with pitch, or what is
+known as marine glue,--a composition of shellac and caoutchouc.  It
+will not be necessary for you to do all this, however.  Oakum is often
+used for packing goods also.  I dare say if you hunt around in the barn
+you will find a little lying about somewhere.  But, bless me, you young
+rogues!  Here you are all this time in your wet clothes.  Leo, your
+mother will be worried for fear you may take cold.  Run home as fast as
+you can and get into a dry suit.  And you other fellows, come!  We'll
+take the _Jolly Pioneer_ back to the workshop without delay; and then
+you must hurry and do the same."
+
+
+
+IV.
+
+Many days had not passed before the boys succeeded in making the punt
+water-tight.  Yet the carpentering still went on at the barn.
+
+"What is all the hammering for now?" asked Mr. Gordon one afternoon.
+"I thought the _Jolly Pioneer_ was in splendid trim and doing good
+service."
+
+"So she is," answered Jack.  "But--well, she doesn't quite come up to
+our expectations; so Rob and I have given her to the little boys.  We
+are building a larger boat for ourselves."
+
+Upon the principle "Never look a gift-horse in the mouth," Jim and Leo
+were not disposed to find anything amiss with the present.  In the
+first flush of their pride of possession they were quite jubilant.
+
+It was shortly after this that Jim came in to dinner one day, tattooed
+in a manner which would remind one of a sachem in full Indian
+war-paint.  There was a patch of blue low down on one cheek, a daub of
+red high up on the other, a tip of chrome-yellow on the end of his
+nose, and a fair share of all three upon his hands, and the sleeve of
+his jacket as well.
+
+"Why, my son!" exclaimed Mrs. Gordon, as this vision met her eyes.
+
+"Can't help it, mother,--it won't come off.  I've scrubbed and
+scrubbed!" the little fellow protested, apologetically.
+
+"Plenty of hot water and soap will prove effectual.  But you must
+persevere," she went on, good-naturedly.  "But what is the reason of
+this extraordinary decoration?  Do you want to be taken for the
+'missing link'?"
+
+Mrs. Gordon was always good friends with her boys.  She had a bright,
+cheery way of talking to them, of entering into their plans.  She
+thoroughly appreciated a joke, even a practical one, when it was not
+perpetrated at the expense of anybody's feelings.  And the lads could
+always count upon her interest and sympathy.  It was not easy to impose
+upon her, though.  "I tell you, if a fellow tries, he is always sure to
+get the worst of it!" Jim used to say.
+
+"Ah, that is better!" said she, when Jim returned to the dining-room,
+his face at last restored to its usual sunburnt hue, and shining from
+the effect of a liberal lather of soap-suds, and his hands also of a
+comparatively respectable color.  "Now, do tell us what you have been
+attempting."
+
+"Haven't been attempting anything," he mumbled.  "Leo and I were
+painting our boat, that is all.  We hurried so as to finish it before
+dinner.  I suppose that is the reason the paint got splashed around a
+little."
+
+Jim's temper had manifestly been somewhat ruffled by the necessity of
+repeating the soap and water process.  He frowned like a thundercloud.
+
+Mrs. Gordon, however, always had great consideration for a hungry boy.
+Without appearing to notice that Jim was out of sorts, she merely
+remarked, while helping him bountifully to beefsteak: "You have painted
+the _Jolly Pioneer_?  How well she must look!  I believe I'll walk over
+to the barn after dinner and see her."
+
+"Will you really, mother?" he exclaimed, brightening at once.
+
+"Yes, certainly.  What color did you choose?"
+
+"Blue, with red and yellow trimmings," answered the boy, exultingly.
+
+His mother smiled.  She had inferred so.  But Jim's ill-humor had
+vanished like mists before the sun.  The next moment he was explaining
+to her the merits of various kinds of paint, and discussing the
+question with Jack, in the best possible spirits.
+
+
+
+V.
+
+Jack and Rob took counsel with Mr. Sheridan in the construction of the
+new boat, and very creditable and satisfactory was the result.  The
+ceremonies of the launch were now to be observed with as much formality
+as if she were the crack yacht of the season,--"Barrin' the traditional
+bottle of champagne, which it is customary to break over the bows of
+the new skiff as she plunges into the sea," laughed Uncle Gerald; "and
+that would not do at all for you, boys."
+
+"No, sir," answered Jack, decidedly.  "If it was as cheap and as
+plentiful as soda-water, we wouldn't have it."
+
+"I am glad to hear you say that," continued Leo's father, warmly.  "It
+is one of the best resolutions to start in life with."
+
+"You know, we have joined the temperance cadet corps which Father
+Martin is getting up," explained Rob.
+
+"An excellent plan.  I had not heard of it," responded the gentleman.
+"Persevere, and you will find that by encouraging you in this, Father
+Martin has proved one of the truest friends you are ever likely to
+have.  However, the old custom of christening a boat, as it is called,
+may be carried out quite as effectively with a bottle of ginger-pop,
+which Leo has stowed away somewhere in that basket.  It is the part of
+common-sense to unite true poetry and prose, just as we now propose to
+combine a picturesque custom with temperance principles.  So, boys,
+hurrah for ginger-pop, say I!"
+
+The lads entered into the spirit of his mood with great gusto, and
+cheered hilariously.  The basket was produced, and at this moment Mrs.
+Gordon was seen coming across the meadow.  "Just in time, mother!"
+cried Jack, starting off to meet her.
+
+"You must christen the boat!" vociferated all.
+
+"And is that the reason why Uncle Gerald sent for me, and brought me
+away from my morning's mending?" she exclaimed, in a tone which was
+intended to be slightly reproachful, though she looked prepared for
+anything that might be required of her; for Mrs. Gordon, somehow,
+managed never to be so busy as to be unable to enter into the pleasures
+of her boys.
+
+"Yes," acknowledged Uncle Gerald; "and I have been doing my utmost to
+delay the proceedings, so that you would not miss them.  You see, Leo
+and I have prepared a little surprise for the company."
+
+After a comprehensive glance at the basket, which certainly appeared
+well packed, she asked:
+
+"And what is to be the name of the boat?"
+
+"We have not quite decided yet, Mrs. Gordon," began Rob.
+
+"No," interposed Jack.  "We think _this_ ought to be the _Jolly
+Pioneer_.  We let Jim and Leo have the other boat, but we didn't mean
+to give them the name too.  We chose it, and we can't think of any we
+like so well."
+
+"Oh, keep it, then!" answered Jim, with a wave of the hand like that of
+a stage hero resigning a fortune.  (It was evident that the subject had
+been broached before.)  "We are quite able to choose a name ourselves;
+we could think of half a dozen others if we wanted to, so you are
+welcome to call your boat whatever you please."
+
+The permission might, indeed, have been more graciously expressed; but
+as Jim's words were accompanied by a good-natured smile.  Jack wondered
+if he might not accept it.
+
+Mrs. Gordon stood, with the bottle in her hand, waiting for the
+decision, but wisely refraining from comment; the boys always settled
+their little disputes for themselves.
+
+"Well, what shall it be?  Speak!" she said.
+
+"The _Jolly Pioneer_!" cried both.
+
+The next moment there was a crash of broken glass and a dash of
+ginger-pop on what was called by courtesy the bow.
+
+"Bravo!  The Jolly Pioneer is a new recruit enlisted into the
+temperance cadet corps," said Uncle Gerald, laughing.
+
+There was a shifting of planks by Rob and Jack, and in another moment
+the little craft was dancing gaily upon the bright waters.
+
+"Hurrah, hurrah!" cried the boys in chorus.
+
+By turns they rowed a short distance down the stream and back.  There
+was no danger of sinking this time.  Then they gathered under the tree,
+where Mrs. Gordon and Uncle Gerald had unpacked the basket and set
+forth a tempting lunch upon a tablecloth on the grass.  As hunger is
+said to be the best sauce, so good-humor sweetens the simplest fare.
+Our friends enjoyed their sandwiches and doughnuts, and milk rich with
+cream, as much as if a banquet had been spread before them.  There was
+plenty of fun, too; and though the wit was not very brilliant, it was
+innocent and kindly, and served its purpose; for the company were quite
+ready to be pleased at any one's effort to be entertaining or amusing.
+
+After an hour or more, Mrs. Gordon announced her intention of returning
+to the house.
+
+"And I must be off also; for I have to drive two or three miles up
+country, about some business," added her brother.
+
+"We shall all have to leave now," said Jack.  "Father Martin is going
+to drill the cadets for a short time in the early part of the
+afternoon."
+
+"What arrangements have you made for fastening your boat?" asked Uncle
+Gerald.  "To guard against its being tampered with by meddlesome
+persons, as well as to prevent its drifting away, you ought to secure
+it to a stake near the bank by means of a padlock."
+
+"We forgot to get one," returned Jack.  "No one will touch it here.
+I'll tie it to a tree with this piece of rope, so that it won't go
+floating off on an exploring expedition on its own account."
+
+The next day was Sunday, and the boys had no chance to use the boat
+again until Monday after school.  When they hurried to the spot where
+it had been moored, alas! the _Jolly Pioneer_ was nowhere to be seen.
+
+"Do you think she broke away?" asked Leo.
+
+"Pshaw!  The _Jolly Pioneer_ isn't a pony!" impatiently answered Jack.
+
+"But the rope might have snapped," said Jim.
+
+"No: the boat has been stolen," muttered Bob, gloomily.
+
+"I don't believe that," continued Jim.  "Perhaps some of the fellows
+around have hidden her, just to plague us."
+
+"I bet it was those Jenkins boys!" declared Jack.  "Don't you remember,
+Rob, how we made them stop badgering little Tommy Casey in the
+school-yard the other day, and how mad they were about it?"
+
+"Yes, and they swore they'd be even with us," answered Rob.
+
+The Jenkins boys were the children of a drunken father, a slatternly
+mother.  Brought up in a comfortless, poverty-stricken home, without
+any religious teaching or influences, what wonder that they became
+addicted to most of the petty vices,--that they acquired an unenviable
+reputation for mischief, mendacity, and thieving in a small way?
+
+Jack's inference could hardly be called a rash judgment.  A glimpse of
+a derisive, grinning face among the neighboring bushes confirmed his
+suspicions.  Without a word he made a dash toward the thicket.  His
+companions understood, however, and were not slow to follow his
+example.  There was a crackling of the brambles, succeeded by a
+stampede.  Jack, with all his alertness, had not been quite quick
+enough.  With a jeering whoop, two shabby figures escaped into the road.
+
+"The question is, where's the boat?" said Rob, as the party paused for
+breath, finding that pursuit was useless.
+
+They searched about in the vicinity without avail, but after some time
+the _Jolly Pioneer_ was finally discovered half a mile farther down the
+stream, entangled among a clump of willows, where the pirates, as Jim
+designated the Jenkins boys, had abandoned it.  To return to the place
+from which they had taken the boat, in order to enjoy the discomfiture
+and dismay of those against whom they had a grudge, was characteristic
+of them.
+
+"Good!  I knew we'd find the boat all right!" began Leo, joyfully.
+
+"By Jove! pretty well damaged, I should say!" cried Jack.
+
+"Well, the paint is a good deal scratched, and the seats have been
+loosened; but, after all, there is no great harm done," said Rob, more
+hopefully.
+
+Upon further examination, his view of the case proved to be correct.
+He and Jack experienced but little difficulty in rowing back to the
+original moorings, Jim and Leo following along the bank and applauding
+their skill.
+
+After this occurrence the _Jolly Pioneer_ and the _Merry-go-Round_ were
+each fastened to a sapling, that grew near the water's edge, by chain
+and padlock, which rendered them secure from interference.
+
+And what merry times our friends had with them upon the creek that
+summer!  The _Jolly Pioneer_ proved worthy of its name, was always the
+best of company, and led the way in many pleasant excursions up and
+down the stream.  The _Merry-go-Round_ was never far behind, and shared
+the honors of all its adventures.
+
+"I tell you now," exclaimed Leo, admiringly, one day when the lads were
+preparing for a row, "I don't believe you'd find two such boats in all
+the country about here."
+
+A critical observer might have facetiously agreed with him, but the
+boys were content with what they had, not being able to obtain anything
+better; and is not that one way to be happy?
+
+"Well, they may not be beauties," continued Jim; "and you can't exactly
+call them racers; but, somehow, they keep afloat, and one can manage
+them first-rate."
+
+"And we've had enough fun with them to repay us for all the trouble we
+had in making them," added Rob.
+
+Jack laughed at the recollection.
+
+"Yes," remarked Uncle Gerald, who had just come up, on his way to the
+meadow pasture.  "And I think, boys, you will all acknowledge that you
+learned a good many useful things while building a boat."
+
+
+
+
+A MAY-DAY GIFT.
+
+I.
+
+Early on the morning of the 1st of May, Abby Clayton ran downstairs,
+exclaiming by way of greeting to the household:
+
+"A bright May Day!  A bright May Day!"
+
+"It isn't very _bright_, I'm sure!" grumbled her little brother Larry,
+who clattered after her.  "There's no sunshine; and the wind blows so
+hard I sha'n't be able to sail my new boat on the pond in the park.
+It's mighty hard lines!  I don't see why it can't be pleasant on a
+holiday.  Think of all the shiny days we've had when a fellow had to be
+in school.  Now, when there's a chance for some fun, it looks as if it
+were going to rain great guns!"
+
+"Well, it won't," said Abby, pausing in the hall to glance back at him,
+as he perched upon the baluster above her.  "It won't rain great guns,
+nor pitchforks, nor cats and dogs, nor even torrents.  It's going to
+clear up.  Don't you know that some people say the sun generally
+shines, for a few minutes anyhow, on Saturdays in honor of the Blessed
+Virgin?"
+
+"This isn't Saturday," objected Larry, somewhat indignantly.
+
+"Yes, but it is the 1st of May; and if that is not our Blessed Mother's
+day too, I'd like to know what is!" said his sister.
+
+"I don't believe that about the sun shining," continued Larry.  "If you
+are ten--only two years older than I am,--you don't know everything.
+I'm going to ask mother."
+
+The children entered the breakfast room, greeted their father and
+mother, and then slipped into their places.
+
+"Mother," began Larry, as he slowly poured the maple syrup over the
+crisp, hot pancakes upon his plate, "is it true that the sun always
+shines on Saturday in honor of the Blessed Virgin?"
+
+"It is a pious and poetic saying," replied Mrs. Clayton.  "But a
+legendary sentiment of this kind often hides a deeper meaning.  For
+those who are devoted to the Blessed Virgin, there is never a day so
+dark but that the love of Our Lady shines through the gloom like a
+sunbeam, changing to the rosy and golden tints of hope the leaden
+clouds that shadowed their happiness; and blessing the closing day of
+life, which, to look back upon, seems but as the ending of a week."
+
+Mrs. Clayton had hardly finished speaking, when a long ray of yellow
+light fell upon the tablecloth.
+
+"There! the sun's out now, anyway!  Crickey, I'm so glad!" exclaimed
+Larry.
+
+"The clouds were only blown up by the wind," said his father.  "I do
+not think we shall have rain to-day."
+
+"Mother, may I put on a white dress and go to buy my May wreath?" asked
+Abby.
+
+"The air is too cold for you to change your warm gown for a summer one,
+dear," returned Mrs. Clayton.  "You may get the wreath, though; but be
+sure that you wear it over your hat."
+
+Abby seemed to think it was now her turn to grumble.
+
+"Oh, dear!" she murmured.  "All the girls wear white dresses, and go
+without hats on May Day.  I don't see why I can't!"
+
+Her complaint made no impression, however; so she flounced out of the
+room.
+
+"My mother is the most exaggerating person!" exclaimed the little girl,
+as she prepared for her shopping excursion.  She meant aggravating;
+but, like most people who attempt to use large words the meaning of
+which they do not understand, she made droll mistakes sometimes.
+
+Abby had fifteen cents, which her grandma had given her the day before.
+
+"I'll hurry down to the Little Women's before the best wreaths are
+gone," she said to herself.
+
+The place was a fancy store, kept by two prim but pleasant spinster
+sisters.  Besides newspapers, stationery, thread and needles, and so
+forth, they kept a stock of toys, candies, and pickled limes, which
+insured them a run of custom among the young folk, who always spoke of
+them as the Little Women.  Not to disappoint the confidence placed in
+them by their youthful patrons, they had secured an excellent
+assortment of the crowns of tissue-paper flowers which, in those days,
+every little girl considered essential to the proper observance of May
+Day.
+
+Abby selected one which she and the Little Women made up their minds
+was the prettiest.  It usually took both of the Little Women to sell a
+thing.  If one showed it, the other descanted upon its merits, or
+wrapped it up in paper when the bargain was completed.  Neither of them
+appeared to transact any business, even to the disposal of "a pickle
+lime" (as the children say), quite on her own responsibility.
+
+After Abby had fully discussed the matter with them, therefore, she
+bought her wreath.  It was made of handsome white tissue-paper roses,
+with green tissue-paper leaves, and had two long streamers.  There was
+another of pink roses, which she thought would be just the thing for
+Larry to buy with the fifteen cents which he had received also.  But
+Larry had said:
+
+"Pshaw!  I wouldn't wear a wreath!"  Abby didn't see why, because some
+boys wore them.
+
+On the way home she met a number of her playmates.  Several of them
+shivered in white dresses, and all were bareheaded except for their
+paper wreaths.  Not one of the wreaths was so fine as Abby's, however.
+But, then, few little girls had fifteen cents to expend upon one.  Abby
+perceived at a glance that most of those worn by her companions were of
+the ten-cent variety.  The Little Women had them for eight; and even
+five copper pennies would buy a very good one, although the roses of
+the five-cent kind were pronounced by those most interested to be
+"little bits of things."
+
+Abby talked to the girls a while, and then went home to exhibit her
+purchase.  Her mother commented approvingly upon it; and the little
+girl ran down to the kitchen to show it to Delia the cook, who had
+lived with the family ever since Larry was a baby.
+
+Delia was loud in her admiration.
+
+"Oh, on this day they do have great doings in Ireland!" said she; "but
+nowadays, to be sure, it's nothing to what it was in old times.  It was
+on May eve, I've heard tell, that St. Patrick lit the holy fire at
+Tara, in spite of the ancient pagan laws.  And in the days when the
+country was known as the island of saints and of scholars, sure
+throughout the length and breadth of the land the monastery bells rang
+in the May with praises of the Holy Mother; and the canticles in her
+honor were as ceaseless as the song of the birds.  And 'twas the
+fairies that were said to have great power at this season--"
+
+"Delia, you know very well there are no fairies," interrupted Abby.
+
+"Well, some foolish folk thought there were, anyhow," answered Delia.
+"And in Maytide the children and cattle, the milk and the butter, were
+kept guarded from them.  Many and many an evening I've listened to my
+mother that's dead and gone--God rest her soul!--telling of an old
+woman that, at the time of the blooming of the hawthorn, always put a
+spent coal under the churn, and another beneath the grandchild's
+cradle, because that was said to drive the fairies away; and how
+primroses used to be scattered at the door of the house to prevent the
+fairies from stealing in, because they could not pass that flower.  But
+you don't hear much of that any more; for the priest said 'twas
+superstition, and down from the heathenish times.  So the old people
+came to see 'twas wrong to use such charms, and the young people
+laughed at the old women's tales.  Now on May Day the shrines in the
+churches are bright with flowers, of course.  And as for the innocent
+merrymakings, instead of a dance round the May or hawthorn bush, as in
+the olden times, in some places there's just perhaps a frolic on the
+village green, when the boys and girls come home from the hills and
+dales with their garlands of spring blossoms--not paper flowers like
+those," added Delia, with a contemptuous glance at Abby's wreath,
+forgetting how much she had admired it only a few moments before.
+
+Somehow it did not now seem so beautiful to Abby either.  She took it
+off, and gazed at it with a sigh.
+
+"Here in New England the boys and girls go a-Maying," she said.  "Last
+year, when we were in the country, Larry and I went with our cousins.
+We had such fun hanging May-baskets!  I got nine.  But," she went on,
+regretfully, "I don't expect any this year; for city children do not
+have those plays."
+
+She went upstairs to the sitting-room, where Larry was rigging his boat
+anew.  He had been to the pond, but the wind wrought such havoc with
+the little craft that he had to put into port for repairs.
+
+Half an hour passed.  Abby was dressing her beloved doll for an airing
+on the sidewalk,--a promenade in a carriage, as the French say.  While
+thus occupied she half hummed, half sang, in a low voice, to herself, a
+popular May hymn.  When she reached the refrain, Larry joined, and
+Delia appeared at the door just in time to swell the chorus with honest
+fervor:
+
+  "See, sweet Mary, on thy altars
+    Bloom the fairest flowers of May.
+  Oh, may we, earth's sons and daughters,
+    Grow by grace as fair as they!"
+
+"If you please," said Delia at its close, "there's a man below stairs
+who says he has something for you both."
+
+"For us!" exclaimed the children, starting up.
+
+"Yes: your mother sent me to tell you.  He says he was told to say as
+how he had a May-basket for you."
+
+"A May-basket, Delia?  What!  All lovely flowers like those I told you
+about?" cried the little girl.
+
+"Sure, child, and how could I see what was inside, and it so carefully
+done up?" answered Delia, evasively.
+
+They did not question further, but rushed downstairs to see for
+themselves.
+
+In the kitchen waited a foreign-looking man, with swarthy skin, and
+thin gold rings in his ears.  On the floor beside him was a large,
+rough packing-basket.
+
+"_That_ a May-basket!" exclaimed Abby, hardly able to restrain the
+tears of disappointment which started to her eyes.
+
+"_Si, signorita_," replied the man.
+
+Her frown disappeared.  It was certainly very nice to be addressed by
+so high-sounding a title.  She wished she could get Delia to call her
+_signorita_.  But no; she felt sure that Delia never would.
+
+"Pshaw!  It's only a joke!" said Larry, after a moment.  "Somebody
+thinks this is April-fool Day, I guess."
+
+"Have patience for a leetle minute, please," said the man, as he cast
+away the packing bit by bit.  The children watched him with eager
+interest.  By and by he took out a little bunch of lilies of the
+valley, which he handed to Abby with a low bow.  Next he came to
+something shrouded in fold after fold of tissue-paper.
+
+"And here is the fairest lily of them all," he said, in his poetic
+Italian fashion.
+
+"What can it be, mother?" asked the little girl, wonderingly.
+
+Mrs. Clayton smiled.  "It is from Sartoris', the fine art store where
+you saw the beautiful pictures last week; that is all I know about it,"
+she replied.
+
+The man carefully placed the mysterious object on the table.
+
+"It is some kind of a vase or an image," declared Larry.
+
+"Why, so it is!" echoed Abby.
+
+In another moment the tissue veil was torn aside, and there stood
+revealed a beautiful statue of the Blessed Virgin.
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed Larry, in delight.
+
+"How lovely!" added his sister.
+
+The image was about two feet high, and of spotless Parian, which well
+symbolized the angelic purity it was intended to portray.  To many,
+perhaps, it might appear simply a specimen of modeling, but little
+better than the average.  However, those who looked on it with the eyes
+of faith saw before them, not so much the work itself, as the ideal of
+the artist.
+
+The graceful figure or Our Lady at once suggested the ethereal and
+celestial.  The long mantle, which fell in folds to her feet, signified
+her modesty and motherly protection; the meekly folded hands were a
+silent exhortation to humility and prayer; the tender, spiritual face
+invited confidence and love; the crown upon her brow proclaimed her
+sovereignty above all creatures and her incomparable dignity as Mother
+of God.
+
+"And is this beautiful statue really ours--just Larry's and mine?"
+asked Abby.
+
+"So the messenger says," returned Mrs. Clayton.
+
+"Who could have sent it, I wonder?" inquired Larry.
+
+The Italian pointed to the card attached to the basket.  Abby took it
+off and read:
+
+
+"To my little friends, Abby and Larry Clayton, with the hope that,
+especially during this month, they will try every day to do some little
+thing to honor our Blessed Mother.
+
+"FATHER DOMINIC."
+
+
+"From Father Dominic!" exclaimed the boy, in delight.
+
+"How very good of him!" added Abby, gratefully.
+
+Father Dominic--generally so called because his musical Italian surname
+was a stumbling-block to our unwieldy English speech--was a particular
+friend of Mr. and Mrs. Clayton, who appreciated his culture and
+refinement, and admired his noble character and devotion to his
+priestly duties.  He was an occasional visitor at their house, and took
+a great interest in the children.
+
+"How nice of him to send us something we shall always have!" Abby ran
+on.  "Now I can give the tiny image in my room to some one who hasn't
+any."
+
+"May we make an altar for our statue, mother?" asked Larry.
+
+Although as a rule a lively, rollicking boy, when it came to anything
+connected with his prayers, he was unaffectedly and almost comically
+solemn about it.
+
+"Yes," responded Mrs. Clayton.  "And I think it would be a good plan
+also to frame the card and hang it on the front of the altar, so that
+you may not forget Father Dominic's words: 'Try every day to do some
+little thing to honor our Blessed Mother.'"
+
+
+
+II.
+
+"O mother!" cried Abby, the day after the arrival of the unique
+May-basket from Father Dominic, "now that we have such a lovely statue
+of the Blessed Virgin, don't you think we ought to make a regular
+altary."
+
+"A what!" exclaimed Mrs. Clayton, at a loss to understand what her
+little daughter could possibly mean.  "I told you that you might have
+an altar, dear.  And you may arrange it whenever you please."
+
+"No, but an altary," persisted Abby.   "The Tyrrells have an altary in
+their house, and I wish we could have one too.  Why, you must know what
+it is, mother,--just a little room fitted up like a chapel; and the
+family say their prayers there night and morning, and at other times if
+they wish."
+
+"Oh, an oratory!" observed Mrs. Clayton, trying to repress a smile.
+
+"Perhaps that _is_ the name," admitted Abby, a trifle disconcerted.
+"Anyhow, can't we have one?"
+
+"Well--yes," said her mother, after a few moments' reflection.  "The
+small room next to the parlor might be arranged for that purpose."
+
+"That would make a beautiful al--chapel!" exclaimed Abby.  She did not
+venture to attempt the long word again.
+
+"I think I could get enough out of the carpet that was formerly on the
+parlor to cover the floor," mused Mrs. Clayton aloud.  "The square
+table, draped with muslin and lace, would make a pretty altar.  Then,
+with the pictures of the Sacred Heart and the Bouguereau Madonna to
+hang on the walls, and my _prie-dieu_--yes, Abby, I think we can manage
+it."
+
+"Oh, how splendid!" cried the little girl.  "When shall we begin to get
+it ready?"
+
+"Perhaps to-morrow," answered her mother; "but I can not promise to
+have the preparations completed at once.  It will take some time to
+plan the carpet and have it put down."
+
+Abby was not only satisfied, but delighted.  She told Larry the minute
+he came into the house.  He had been over to the pond with his boat
+again.
+
+"That will be grand!" said he.  "When you get everything fixed, I'll
+bring you the little vase I got for Christmas, and my prayer-book,
+and--oh, yes, my rosary, to put on the altar.  And, then," he went on,
+quite seriously, "there's my catechism, and the little chalk angel,
+and--"
+
+"The little chalk angel!" repeated Abby, scornfully.  "Why, that has
+lost its head!"
+
+"But it's a little chalk angel all the same," argued Larry.  "And if I
+find the head, it can be glued on."
+
+"Oh--well; we don't want any trash like that on our altar!" rejoined
+his sister.  "And the books and rosary can be kept on the shelf in the
+corner.  It would be nice to have the vase, though."
+
+Larry, who at first had been rather offended that his offerings were
+not appreciated, brightened up when he found he could at least furnish
+something to adorn the shrine.
+
+The following day was Saturday.  There was, of course, no school, and
+Abby was free to help her mother to get the little room in order.  She
+was impatient to begin.  But alas for her plans!  About nine o'clock in
+the morning Mrs. Clayton suddenly received word that grandma was not
+feeling well, and she at once prepared to visit the dear old lady.
+
+"I may be away the greater part of the day, Delia," she said, as she
+tied the strings of her bonnet; "but I have given you all necessary
+directions, I think,--Larry, do not go off with any of the boys, but
+you may play in the park as usual.--And, Abby, be sure that you do not
+keep Miss Remick waiting when she comes to give you your music lesson."
+
+"But what about the altary--oh, oratory I mean?" asked Abby, dejectedly.
+
+"There is a piece of muslin in the linen press which you may take to
+cover the altar," said her mother; "but do not attempt to arrange
+anything more.  I will attend to the rest next week.  I am sorry to
+disappoint you and Larry; but, you see, I can not help it."
+
+She harried away; and the children ran up to the parlor, which was on
+the second story of the house, to take another look at their precious
+statue, which had been placed on the marble slab in front of one of the
+long mirrors.  Then they went into the small room which was to be the
+oratory.  The only furniture it contained was the square table which
+they had brought there the evening before.  Abby got the muslin, and
+began to drape the table to resemble an altar; Larry looking on
+admiringly, volunteering a suggestion now and then.  She succeeded
+pretty well.  Larry praised her efforts; he was prouder than ever of
+his sister,--although, as he remarked, "the corners _would_ look a
+little bunchy, and the cloth was put on just a _teenty_ bit crooked."
+
+Presently the little girl paused, took several pins out of her
+mouth--which seemed to be the most available pincushion,--and glanced
+disconsolately at the pine boards of the floor.
+
+"What is the use of fixing the altar before the floor is covered!" she
+said.  "I am almost sure I could put down the carpet myself."
+
+"Oh, no, you couldn't!" said Larry.  "You'd be sure to hammer your
+fingers instead of the tacks--girls always do.  But if you get the
+carpet all spread out, _I'll_ nail it down for you."
+
+The roll of carpet stood in the corner.  It had been partially ripped
+apart, and there were yards and yards of it; for it had covered the
+parlor, which was a large room.  Mrs. Clayton intended to have it made
+over for the dining-room, and estimated that there would be enough left
+for the oratory.  She had not thought it necessary to explain these
+details to Abby, however.
+
+"We'll do it," declared the latter.  "Mother said to wait, but I don't
+believe she'll care."
+
+"Course she won't," agreed Larry.
+
+Both the children felt that what they had decided upon was not exactly
+right,--that it would be better to observe strictly their mother's
+instructions.  But, like many people who argue themselves into the
+delusion that what they want to do is the best thing to be done, Abby
+tried to compromise with the "still small voice" which warned her not
+to meddle, by the retort: "Oh, it will spare mother the trouble!  And
+she'll be glad to have it finished."  As for Larry, the opportunity to
+pound away with the hammer and make as much noise as he pleased, was a
+temptation hard to resist.
+
+Abby opened the roll.
+
+"What did mother mean by saying she thought she could get enough out of
+this carpet to cover the floor?" said the little girl, with a laugh.
+"She must have been very absent-minded; for there's lashin's of it
+here, as Delia would say."
+
+"Oh, my, yes--lashin's!" echoed Larry.
+
+Abby was what is called "a go-ahead" young person.  She was domestic in
+her tastes, and, for her years, could make herself very useful about
+the house when she chose.  Now, therefore, she had no diffidence about
+her ability to carry out her undertaking.  And Larry, although he
+frequently reminded her that she did not know _every_thing, had a
+flattering confidence in her capacity.
+
+"I'll have it done in less than no time," she said, running to get her
+mother's large scissors.
+
+Click, click went the shears as she slashed into the carpet, taking off
+breadth after breadth, without attempting to match the pattern, and
+with little regard for accuracy of measurement.  Instead of laying it
+along the length of the room, she chose to put it crosswise, thus
+cutting it up into any number of short pieces.
+
+"No matter about its not being sewed," she went on; "you can nail it
+together, can't you, Larry?"
+
+"Oh, yes!" said Larry.
+
+The more hammering the better for him.  He hunted up the hammer and two
+papers of tacks, and as fast as Abby cut he nailed.
+
+Delia was unusually busy; for it was house-cleaning time, and she was
+getting the diningroom ready for the new carpet.   Therefore, although
+she heard the noise upstairs, she gave herself no concern about it;
+supposing that Larry was merely amusing himself, for he was continually
+tinkering at one thing or another.
+
+By and by Larry remarked: "Say, Abby, you've got two of these pieces
+too short."
+
+Abby went over and looked at them.  "Gracious, so I have!" she said.
+"Well, put them aside, and I'll cut two more."
+
+Click went the scissors again, and the carpet was still further
+mutilated.  Then, as a narrow strip was required, a breadth was slit
+down the centre.  Finally the boards were covered.
+
+"There!" she cried triumphantly.  "It is all planned.  Now, I'll nail."
+
+Larry demurred at first, but Abby was imperious.  Moreover, the
+constant friction of the handle of the hammer had raised a blister in
+the palm of his hand.  Abby had an ugly red welt around her thumb,
+caused by the resistance of the scissors; for it had been very hard
+work to cut the heavy carpet.  But she did not complain, for she felt
+that she was a martyr to industry.
+
+At last the work was completed; and, flushed and tired, with her
+fingers bruised from frequent miscalculated blows from the hammer, and
+her knuckles rubbed and tingling, she paused to admire the result of
+her toil.  The carpeting was a curious piece of patchwork certainly,
+but the children were delighted with their achievement.
+
+The lunch bell rang.
+
+"Don't say anything about it to Delia," cautioned Abby.
+
+Larry agreed that it would be as well not to mention the subject.  They
+did not delay long at the meal, but hastened back to their self-imposed
+task.
+
+"Now let's hurry up and finish the altar," said Abby.
+
+Having completed the adornment of the table, by throwing over the
+muslin a fine lace curtain, from the linen press also, and decking it
+with some artificial flowers found in her mother's wardrobe, Abby
+brought the statue from the parlor, and set it upon the shrine which
+she and Larry had taken so much trouble to prepare.  Larry placed
+before the lovely image his little vase containing a small bunch of
+dandelions he had gathered in the yard.  He was particularly fond of
+dandelions.  Abby had nothing to offer but her May wreath, which she
+laid beside it.  But the decorations appeared too scanty to satisfy her.
+
+"I'll get the high pink vases from the parlor," said she.
+
+"Yes," added Larry.  "And the candlesticks with the glass hanging all
+round them like a fringe, that jingles when you touch them."
+
+The little girl brought the vases.  Then she carried in the candelabra,
+the crystal pendants ringing as she walked in a way that delighted
+Larry.  She knew perfectly well that she was never allowed to tamper
+with the costly ornaments in the parlor; but she excused herself by the
+plea: "I'm doing it for the Blessed Virgin."  Larry also had a certain
+uneasiness about it, but he said to himself: "Oh, it must be all right
+if Abby thinks so!  She is a great deal older than I am, and ought to
+know."
+
+The shrine was certainly elaborate now.  The children were so engrossed
+with admiring it that they did not hear the house door open and close.
+A step in the hall, however, reminded the little girl of her music
+lesson.
+
+"Gracious, that must be Miss Remick!" she said, in confusion.
+
+She quietly opened the door of the oratory, intending to peep into the
+parlor to see if the teacher was there.  To her surprise she
+encountered her mother, who had just come up the stairs.  But Mrs.
+Clayton was much more astonished by the sight which greeted, her eyes
+when she glanced into the oratory.
+
+"O Abby," she exclaimed, in distress and annoyance, "how could you be
+so disobedient!  O Larry, why did you help to do what you must have
+known I would not like?"
+
+Larry grew very red in the face, looked down, and fumbled with one of
+the buttons of his jacket,
+
+"But, mother," began Abby, glibly, "it was for the Blessed Virgin, you
+know.  I was sure I could put down the carpet all right, and I thought
+you would be glad to be saved the trouble."
+
+"Put it down all right!" rejoined her mother.  "Why, you have ruined
+the carpet, Abby!"
+
+Both children looked incredulous and astonished.
+
+"Don't you see that you have cut it up so shockingly that it is
+entirely spoiled?  What is left would have to be so pieced that I can
+not possibly use it for the dining-room, as I intended."
+
+Abby was mortified and abashed.  Larry grew more and more uncomfortable.
+
+"And, then, the vases and candelabra!" continued Mrs. Clayton.  "Have
+you not been forbidden to lift or move them, daughter?"
+
+"Yes, mother," acknowledged the little girl.  "But I thought you
+wouldn't mind when I wanted them for the altar.  I didn't suppose you'd
+think anything you had was too good for the Blessed Virgin."
+
+"Certainly not," was the reply.  "I had decided to place the candelabra
+on your little shrine.  The pink vases are not suitable.  But these
+ornaments are too heavy for you to carry.  It was only a happy chance
+that you did not drop and break them.  And, then, the statue!  Do you
+not remember that I would not permit you to move it yesterday?  How
+would you have felt if it had clipped from your clasp and been dashed
+to pieces?"
+
+A few tears trickled down Abby's cheeks.  Larry blinked hard and stared
+at the wall.
+
+"My dear children, that is not the way to honor our Blessed Mother,"
+Mrs. Clayton went on to say.  "Do you think that she looked down with
+favor upon your work to-day?  No.  But if you had waited as I told
+you,--if each of you had made a little altar for her in your heart and
+offered to her the beautiful flowers of patience, and the votive lights
+of loving obedience,--then indeed you would have won her blessing, and
+she would have most graciously accepted the homage of such a shrine.
+As it is, you see, you have very little, if anything, to offer her."
+
+
+
+III.
+
+For two or three days Mrs. Clayton suffered the oratory to remain as
+the children had arranged it.  They said their prayers there morning
+and evening; and to Abby especially the ridges and patches in the
+carpet, which now seemed to stare her out of countenance, the pink
+vases, and the candelabra, were a constant reproach for her
+disobedience.  Larry, too, grew to hate the sight of them.  He often
+realized poignantly also that it is not well to be too easily
+influenced by one's playmates; for if he happened to be late and ran
+into the room and popped down on his knees in a hurry, he was almost
+sure to start up again with an exclamation caused by the prick of one
+of the numerous tacks which he had inadvertently left scattered over
+the floor.
+
+When the good mother thought that the admonition which she wished to
+convey was sufficiently impressed, she had the carpet taken up,
+repaired as much as possible, and properly laid.  Then she hung soft
+lace curtains at the window, draped the altar anew, took away the pink
+vases, and put the finishing touches to the oratory.  It was now a
+lovely little retreat.  Abby and Larry never tired of admiring it.
+They went in and, out of the room many times during the day; and the
+image of the Blessed Virgin, ever there to greet them, by its very
+presence taught them sweet lessons of virtue.  For who can look upon a
+statue of Our Lady without being reminded of her motherly tenderness,
+her purity and love; without finding, at least for a moment, his
+thoughts borne upward, as the angels bore the body of the dead St.
+Catherine, from amid the tumult of the world to the holy heights, the
+very atmosphere of which is prayer and peace?
+
+Whenever Abby felt cross or disagreeable, she hid herself in the
+oratory until her ill-humor had passed.  This was certainly a great
+improvement upon her former habit, under such circumstances, of
+provoking a quarrel with Larry, teasing Delia, and taxing her mother's
+patience to the utmost.  She liked to go there, too, in the afternoon
+when she came in from play, when twilight crept on and deepened, and
+the flame of the little altar lamp that her father had given her shone
+like a tiny star amid the dusk of the quiet room.  Larry liked it
+better when, just after supper, the candles of the candelabra were all
+lighted, and the family gathered around the shrine and said the Rosary
+together.
+
+To Abby belonged the welcome charge of keeping the oratory in order;
+while Larry always managed to have a few flowers for his vase, even if
+they were only dandelions or buttercups.  He and his sister differed
+about the placing of this offering.
+
+"What a queer boy you are!" said Abby to him one day.  "Your vase has a
+pretty wild rose painted on it, yet you always set it with the plain
+side out.  Nobody'd know it was anything but a plain white vase.  You
+ought to put it round this way," she added, turning it so that the rose
+would show.
+
+"No, I won't!" protested Larry, twisting it back again.  "The prettiest
+side ought to be toward the Blessed Virgin."
+
+"Oh--well--to be sure, in one way!" began Abby.  "But, then, the shrine
+is all for her, and this is only a statue.  What difference does it
+make which side of the vase is toward a statue?  And it looks so funny
+to see the wrong side turned to the front.  Some day we'll be bringing
+Annie Conwell and Jack Tyrrell, and some of mother's friends, up here;
+and just think how they'll laugh when they see it."
+
+Larry flushed, but he answered firmly: "I don't care!--the prettiest
+side ought to be toward the Blessed Virgin."
+
+"But it is only a statue!" persisted Abby, testily.
+
+"Of course I know it is only a statue," replied her brother, raising
+his voice a trifle; for she was really too provoking.  "I know it just
+as well as you do.  But I think Our Lady in heaven understands that I
+put the vase that way because I want to give her the best I have.  And
+I don't care whether any one laughs at it or not.  That vase isn't here
+so Annie Conwell or Jack Tyrrell or anybody else will think it looks
+pretty, but only for the Blessed Virgin,--so there!"
+
+Larry, having expressed himself with such warmth, subsided.  Abby did
+not venture to turn the vase again.  She was vaguely conscious that she
+had been a little too anxious to "show off" the oratory, and had
+thought rather too much of what her friends would say in regard to her
+arrangement of the altar.
+
+It was about this time that Aunt Kitty and her little daughter Claire
+came to stay a few days with the Claytons.  Claire was only four years
+old.  She had light, fluffy curls and brown eyes, and was so dainty and
+graceful that she seemed to Abby and Larry like a talking doll when she
+was comparatively quiet, and a merry, roguish fairy when she romped
+with them.
+
+"How do you happen to have such lovely curls?" asked Abby of the
+fascinating little creature.
+
+"Oh, mamma puts every curl into a wee nightcap of its own when I go to
+bed!" answered the child, with a playful shake of the head.
+
+Larry thought this very droll.  "Isn't she cunning?" he said.  "But
+what can she mean?"
+
+"Your mother puts your hair into a nightcap!" cried Abby.  "Those are
+curl papers, I suppose."
+
+"No, nightcaps," insisted the little one.  "That's the right name."
+
+The children puzzled over it for some time; but finally Aunt Kitty came
+to the rescue, and explained that she rolled them on bits of muslin or
+cotton, to give them the soft, pretty appearance which Abby so much
+admired; because Claire's father liked her to have curls, and the poor
+child's hair was naturally as straight as a pipe stem.
+
+"Come and see our chapel, Claire," said Abby; the word oratory did not
+yet come trippingly to her tongue.
+
+Claire was delighted with the beautiful image, and behaved as
+decorously as if she were in church.  Afterward the children took her
+to walk.  They went into the park, in which there were many handsome
+flower-pots, several fountains, and a number of fine pieces of marble
+statuary.  Claire seemed to be much impressed with the latter.
+
+"Oh, my!" she exclaimed, pointing to them reverently.  "Look at all the
+Blessed Virgins!"
+
+The children laughed.  She stood looking at them with a little frown,
+not having quite made up her mind whether to join in their mirth, or to
+be vexed.  When her mistake was explained to her, she said, with a pout:
+
+"Well, if they are not Blessed Virgins, then I don't care about them,
+and I'm going home."
+
+The children had promptly sent a note to Father Dominic thanking him
+for his appropriate May-Day gift.  Each had a share in the composition
+of this acknowledgment, but it had been carefully copied by Abby.
+Later they had the satisfaction of showing him the oratory.  While
+Claire was with them, he happened to call again one evening just as the
+young people were saying good-night.
+
+"Larry," whispered Abby, when they went upstairs and she knelt with her
+brother and cousin before the little altar,--"Larry, let's say our
+prayers real loud, so Father Dominic will know how good we've got to be
+since we've had the lovely statue."
+
+"All right," said Larry, obediently.
+
+They began, Abby leading off in clear, distinct accents, and Larry
+following in a heavy alto; for his voice was unusually deep and
+sonorous for such a little fellow.  Baby Claire listened wonderingly.
+Then, apparently making up her mind that the clamor was due to the
+intensity of their fervor, she joined with her shrill treble, and
+prayed with all her might and main.
+
+To a certain extent, they succeeded in their object.  The din of their
+devotions soon penetrated to the library, where their friend Father
+Dominic was chatting with Mr. and Mrs. Clayton.  In a few moments the
+latter stepped quietly into the lower hall.
+
+"Abby!" she called, softly.
+
+The little girl pretended not to hear, and kept on.
+
+"Abby!"--there was a decision in the tone which was not to be trifled
+with.
+
+"What is it, mother?" she asked, with an assumption of innocence,
+breaking off so suddenly as to startle her companions.
+
+"Not so loud, dear.  You can be heard distinctly in the library."
+
+Abby and Larry snickered; Claire giggled without knowing why.  Then
+Abby applied herself with renewed earnestness and volubility to the
+litany.  She did not intend any disrespect: on the contrary, she meant
+to be very devout.  But she not only believed in the injunction "Let
+your light shine before men," but felt that it behooved her to attract
+Father Dominic's attention to the fact that it _was_ shining.  Clearer
+and higher rose her voice; deeper and louder sounded Larry's; more
+shrilly piped Claire.
+
+"Abby!" called Mrs. Clayton again, with grave displeasure.  "That will
+do.  Children, go to your rooms at once."
+
+The others stole off without another word, but Abby lingered a minute.
+Father Dominic was going, and she could not resist the impulse to wait
+and learn what impression their piety had made.  Leaning over the
+balusters, she saw him laughing in an amused manner.  Then he said to
+her mother:
+
+"Tell Abby she has such a good, strong voice, I wish I could have her
+read the prayers for the Sodality.  She would surely be heard all over
+the church."
+
+He went away, and Abby crept upstairs with burning cheeks and an
+unpleasant suspicion that she had made herself ridiculous.
+
+Mrs. Clayton suspected that her little daughter had overheard the
+message.  She therefore spared the children any reference to the
+subject.  But the next time they met Father Dominic he alluded, as if
+casually, to the devotions suitable for May, and then quite naturally
+went on to speak of the virtues of the Blessed Virgin, especially of
+her humility and love of retirement; saying how, although the Mother of
+God, she was content to lead a humble, hidden life at Nazareth, with no
+thought or wish to proclaim her goodness from the house-tops.  The
+lesson was gently and kindly given, but Abby was shrewd enough and
+sufficiently well disposed to understand.  She felt that she was indeed
+learning a great deal during this Month of Mary.
+
+About the middle of the month there was a stir of pleasurable
+excitement at St. Mary's School.
+
+"Suppose we get up a May drama among the younger pupils?" suggested
+Marion Gaines, the leading spirit of the graduating class.
+
+The proposition was received with enthusiasm, and Mother Rosalie was
+applied to for permission.
+
+"Yes," she answered, "you have my consent to your plan; but on one
+condition--that you arrange the drama and drill the children
+yourselves.  It will be good practice for you in the art of
+composition; and, by teaching others, you will prove whether or not you
+have profited by Professor Willet's lessons in elocution."
+
+The Graduates were delighted.
+
+"That is just like Mother Rosalie," said Marion.  "She is willing to
+trust us, and leaves us to our own resources, so that if we succeed all
+the credit will be ours.  Now we must draw up a plan.  Shall we decide
+upon a plot, and then each work out a portion of it?"
+
+"Oh, dear, I never could think of anything!" declared one.
+
+"I should not know how to manage the dialogue.  My characters would be
+perfect sticks," added a second.
+
+"I can't even write an interesting letter," lamented some one else.
+
+"I respectfully suggest that Marion and Ellen be requested to compose
+the drama," said the first speaker, with mock ceremony.
+
+"I agree with all my heart!" cried one.
+
+"And I,"--"and I!" chimed in the others.
+
+"It is a unanimous vote," continued their spokesman, turning to the
+young ladies in question, with a low bow.
+
+"But we shall have all the work," objected Marion.
+
+"No: we will take a double share at the rehearsals, and they will be no
+small part of the trouble."
+
+"I'll do it if you will, Ellen," began Marion.
+
+"I don't mind trying," agreed Ellen.
+
+Thus the matter was settled.
+
+"Let us first select the little girls to take part in our drama,"
+Marion continued.
+
+"There's Annie Conwell," said one.
+
+"And Lucy Caryl," interposed another.
+
+So they went on, till they had chosen ten or twelve little girls.
+
+"As it is to be a May piece, of course we must have a Queen," said
+Ellen.
+
+"Yes; and let us have Abby Clayton for the Queen," rejoined Marion.
+"Abby is passably good-looking and rather graceful; besides, she has a
+clear, strong voice, and plenty of self-confidence.  She would not be
+apt to get flustered.  Annie Conwell, now, is a dear child; but perhaps
+she would be timid, and it would spoil the whole play if the Queen
+should break down."
+
+After school the little girls were invited into the Graduates'
+class-room; and, although not a word of the drama had yet been written,
+the principal parts were then and there assigned.  Lucy Caryl was to
+have the opening address, Annie as many lines as she would undertake,
+and so on.
+
+Abby was delighted to find that she was chosen for the most prominent
+_role_.  She ran all the way home, and skipped gaily into the house and
+up to the sitting-room, where Mrs. Clayton was sewing.
+
+"O mother!" she exclaimed, tossing off her hat and throwing her books
+upon the table, "we are to have a lovely drama at our school, and I'm
+to be the May-Queen!"
+
+
+
+IV
+
+"Just think, Larry!" said Abby to her brother, when he came home after
+a game of ball, "I'm to be Queen of May!"
+
+"You!" he cried, in a disdainful tone.
+
+"Yes, indeed!  And why not?  I'm sure I don't see why you should look
+so surprised.  I've been chosen because I can speak and act the best in
+our division."
+
+"But the Blessed Virgin is Queen of May," objected Larry.
+
+"Oh, of course!" Abby said.  "But this will be only make believe, you
+know.  We are going to have a drama, and I'm to be Queen,--that is all."
+
+"I should think you would not even want to play at taking away what
+belongs to the Blessed Virgin," persisted Larry, doggedly.  "She is the
+Queen of May, and no one ought to pretend to be Queen besides."
+
+"Oh, you silly boy!  There is no use in trying to explain anything to
+you!" cried Abby, losing patience.
+
+For the next half hour she was not so talkative, however, and after a
+while she stole away; for in spite of her petulance at Larry's words,
+they had suggested a train of thought which made her want to be by
+herself.  She went up to the oratory and stayed there a long time, amid
+the twilight shadows.  Finally the ringing of the supper bell put an
+end to her musings.  She knelt a few minutes before the statue, and
+then ran down to the dining-room.  She was very quiet all the evening;
+and, to Mrs. Clayton's surprise, the family heard no more of the May
+drama.
+
+The next day, at school, Abby waylaid Marion Gaines in one of the
+corridors.
+
+"I want to speak to you," she began.
+
+"Well, what's the matter, Abby?  What makes you so serious this
+morning?" inquired Marion.
+
+"Nothing--only I've been thinking about the May piece, and I want to
+tell you that I'd rather not be Queen," faltered the little girl,
+
+"You'd rather not be Queen!" repeated Marion, in astonishment.  "Why
+not?  I thought you were delighted to be chosen."
+
+"So I was--yesterday," the little girl hastened to say; for she would
+not have Marion think she did not appreciate the compliment.
+
+"Then what has caused you to change your mind so suddenly?" Marion went
+on.  "What a fickle child you are, to be sure!"
+
+"It is not that," stammered poor Abby, a good deal confused;
+"but--but--well, you know the Blessed Virgin is Queen of May, and it
+seems as if we ought not even to play at having any other Queen."
+
+Marion stared at her incredulously.  "And so missy has a scruple about
+it?" she said, smiling.
+
+"No," returned Abby; "but my brother Larry thought so.  And if it looks
+that way even to a little boy like him, I think I would rather not
+pretend to be Queen."
+
+"A May piece without a Queen!  Why, it would be like the play of Hamlet
+with Hamlet left out!" declared Marion.  "Did you not think that if you
+declined the part we might give it to some one else?"
+
+Abby colored and was silent.  This had, indeed, been the hardest part
+of the struggle with herself.  But there was an element of the heroic
+in her character.  She never did anything by halves; like the little
+girl so often quoted, "when she was good, she was very, _very_, good."
+
+Marion stood a moment looking at her.  "And do you really mean," she
+said at length, "that you are ready to give up the _role_ you were so
+delighted with yesterday, and the satisfaction of queening it over your
+companions if only for an hour?--that you are willing to make the
+sacrifice to honor the Blessed Virgin?"
+
+With some embarrassment, Abby admitted that this was her motive.
+
+A sudden thought occurred to Marion.  "Then, Abby, you shall!" said
+she.  "I'll arrange it; but don't say a word about it to any one.  Let
+the girls think you are to be Queen, if they please.  Why, missy," she
+went on, becoming enthusiastic, "it is really a clever idea for our
+drama.  We shall have a lovely May piece, after all."
+
+Marion hastened away, intent upon working out the new plan which her
+quick fancy had already sketched in outline.  To be sure, she and Ellen
+had devised a different one, and agreed that each should write certain
+scenes.  Ellen had taken the first opportunity that morning to whisper
+that she had devoted to the drama all the previous evening and an hour
+before breakfast.  Marion, indeed, had done the same.
+
+"But it will not make any difference.  We can change the lines a
+little," she said to herself, after reading the manuscript, which Ellen
+passed to her at the hour of German study,--a time they were allowed to
+take for this particular composition.
+
+Ellen, however, thought otherwise.
+
+"What!  another plan for the May piece!" she said, when Marion
+mentioned the subject.  "Why, see all I've written; and in rhyme, too!"
+
+"But it can be altered without much trouble," explained her friend.
+
+"No, it can't.  You will only make a hodge-podge of my verses," she
+answered, excitedly.  "I do think, Marion, that once we agreed upon the
+plan, you ought to have kept to it, instead of changing everything just
+because of a notion of a little girl like Abby Clayton.  Here I've been
+working hard for nothing,--it was just a waste of time!"
+
+Marion pleaded and reasoned, but without avail.  Ellen's vanity was
+wounded.  She chose to imagine that her classmate, and sometimes rival,
+did not care whether her lines were spoiled or not.
+
+"No, no!" she reiterated.  "I'll have nothing to do with your new plan.
+You can get up the whole piece yourself."
+
+"At least give me what you have written," urged Marion.  "We are so
+hurried, and the children ought to have their parts as soon as
+possible."
+
+But Ellen remained obdurate.
+
+Marion consulted the others of the class, and, after some discussion,
+they decided in favor of the later design.  For the next few days she
+devoted every spare moment to the work.  By the end of the week she had
+not only finished the portion she had been expected to write, but also
+much of what Ellen was to have done; and the parts were distributed
+among the children.  There were still wanting, however, the opening
+address and a dialogue, both of which Ellen had completed.
+
+"Oh, dear," cried Marion, "that address of Ellen's is so pretty and
+appropriate!  If she would only let us have it!  As we planned it
+together, if I write one the principal ideas will be the same; and
+then, likely as not, she will say I copied from hers.  How shall I
+manage?"
+
+Ellen remained on her dignity.  She would have nothing to do either
+with Marion or the drama, and kept aloof from her classmates generally.
+
+The intelligence had spread through the school that the two graduates
+had differed over the May piece.  The exact point in dispute was not
+known, however: for Marion wished to keep her design a secret, and
+Ellen would not condescend to explain.  In fact, she did not clearly
+understand it herself; for she had been too vexed at the proposal to
+change the plan to listen to what Marion said upon the subject.
+
+During this state of affairs poor Abby was very unhappy.  She felt that
+she was the cause of all the trouble; and it seemed hard that what she
+had done with the best of intentions should have made so much
+ill-feeling.  This disastrous occurrence was followed by another, which
+made her think herself a very unfortunate little girl.
+
+As has already been explained, it was Larry's delight to keep always a
+few fresh blossoms in his pretty vase before the beloved statue of the
+Blessed Virgin.  This he attended to himself, and no one ever
+interfered with the vase.  On the day referred to Abby had been
+rehearsing with Marion, and thus it happened that they walked part of
+the way home together.  Marion stopped at a florist's stand and bought
+a little bunch of arbutus.
+
+"Here, put this on your altar," she said, giving it to Abby.  She had
+heard all about the oratory.
+
+When the little girl reached the house Larry had not yet come in, and
+the flowers had not been renewed that day.
+
+"I'll surprise him," she said to herself.  "How pleased he will be to
+see this nice little bouquet!"
+
+She took the vase, threw away the withered violets it contained,
+replaced them with the May-flowers, and put it back.  But, alas! being
+taken up with admiring the delicate pink arbutus, and inhaling its
+fragrance, she did not notice that she had set the vase in an unsteady
+position.  The next moment it tipped over, fell to the floor, and lay
+shattered at the foot of the altar.  Abby stood and gazed at it
+hopelessly, too distressed even to gather up the fragments.
+
+"Oh, what will Larry say!" she cried, wringing her hands.  "He thought
+so much of that vase!  What shall I do?"
+
+While she was thus lamenting she heard Larry's voice.  He was coming
+straight up to the oratory.  In another minute he threw open the door;
+he had a little cluster of buttercups in his hand, and was so intent
+upon putting them in the vase that he was half-way across the room
+before he noticed the broken pieces on the floor.  When he did so, he
+stopped and glared at his sister.
+
+"O Larry," she stammered, contritely, "it was an accident!  See!
+Marion Gaines gave me those lovely May-flowers, and I thought you'd be
+pleased to have them in your vase.  Just as I went to put it back, it
+fell over.  I'm awfully sorry!"
+
+Larry's eyes flashed angrily, and his face grew crimson.
+
+"Abby Clayton," he broke out, "you are always meddling!  Why can't you
+let things that don't belong to you alone?"'
+
+A storm of reproaches would no doubt have followed, but just then his
+angry glance turned toward the statue.  There stood the image of Our
+Lady, so meek and beautiful and mild.  And there, in a tiny frame at
+the front of the altar, hung father Dominic's words of advice: "Try
+every day to do some little thing to honor our Blessed Mother."
+
+Larry paused suddenly; for his indignation almost choked him.  But in
+that moment of silence he had time to reflect.  What should he do
+to-day to honor the Blessed Virgin, now that his little vase was
+broken?  He looked again at the statue.  The very sight of the sweet
+face suggested gentler thoughts, and counselled kindness, meekness, and
+forbearance.
+
+"Well, Abby," he blurted out, "I suppose I'll have to forgive you; but,
+oh, how I wish I were only six years old, so that I could cry!"
+
+So saying, Larry laid the buttercups at the feet of Our Lady's statue,
+and rushed from the room.
+
+The next day it happened that Ellen discovered Abby in tears at the
+window of the class-room.  Ellen, although quick-tempered and
+impulsive, was kind-hearted.
+
+"What is the trouble now, child?" she asked, gently, taking Abby's hand
+in hers.
+
+"Oh," sobbed Abby, "I feel so dreadfully to think that you and Marion
+don't speak to each other!  And it's all my fault; because from
+something I said to Marion she thought that, instead of taking one
+among ourselves, it would be much nicer to choose the Blessed Virgin
+for our May-Queen."
+
+"And was that Marion Gaines' plan?" asked Ellen, in surprise.
+
+"Why, yes!  But surely she must have told you!" said the little girl.
+
+"I see now that she tried to," replied Ellen, with a sigh at her own
+impetuosity.  "But I was too vexed to listen.  I did not really
+understand before.  Dry your tears, Abby; I'll do my best to make
+amends now.  How foolish I've been!" she ejaculated, as Abby ran off in
+gay spirits.  "And how I must have disedified the other girls!  I must
+try to make up for it."
+
+She found the verses she had written; and, on looking them over,
+concluded that, after all, they needed only the change of a few words
+here and there.  Then she wrote a little note to Marion, as follows:
+
+
+"DEAR MARION:--I did not realize until today what you wanted to do
+about the May piece.  If my verses would be of any use at this late
+hour, you are welcome to them.  I should like to do all I can to help
+now, to make up for lost time."
+
+  "ELLEN."
+
+
+Marion gladly accepted the overtures of peace.  The May drama was duly
+finished, the rehearsals went on smoothly, and on the last day of the
+Month of Mary the performance took place.
+
+It had been rumored in the school that Abby was not to be Queen, and
+there was much speculation as to which of the little girls had been
+selected instead.  As the drama progressed, and the plan was unfolded,
+the audience was taken completely by surprise.  Everyone had been eager
+to see the May-Queen; but there was a general murmur of appreciation
+when, at the close, the curtain rose upon a beautiful tableau; a shrine
+glittering with many lights, in the midst of which was enthroned a
+lovely image of Our Lady, at whose feet the children laid their crowns
+of flowers--a crown to honor each transcendent virtue,--and paid their
+homage to their beautiful Queen of May.
+
+A few days later Father Dominic called at the Claytons.
+
+"Well, children," he asked, incidentally, "have you done anything to
+please the Blessed Virgin during the past month?"
+
+Abby and Larry were silent, but their mother kindly answered:
+
+"I think they have tried, Father Dominic.  And as for your lovely
+May-Day gift, the presence of the statue seems to have drawn down a
+blessing upon the house."
+
+
+
+
+TILDEREE.
+
+I.
+
+Quite happy indeed was the home of Tilderee Prentiss, though it was
+only a rough log house on a ranch, away out in Indian Territory.  Her
+father was employed by the owner of the ranch.  He had, however, a
+small tract of land for himself, and owned three horses and several
+cows.  Her mother's duties included the management of a small dairy and
+poultry yard, the products of which were readily sold at the military
+post some miles distant.
+
+There were two other children: Peter, thirteen years old; and Joanna,
+or Joan as she was called, who had just passed her eleventh birthday.
+They took care of the fowl, and were proud when at the end of the week
+they could bring to their mother a large basket of eggs to carry to the
+Fort.
+
+The only one of the family who could afford to do nothing was
+six-year-old Tilderee, though they thought she did a good deal--that
+is, all except Joan; for she seemed to make everybody's else burden
+lighter by her merriness, her droll sayings, and sweet, loving little
+ways.
+
+Yet she was continually getting into mischief; and to see her trotting
+to and fro, eager to be of use, but always lending a little hindering
+hand to everything, one would hardly consider her a help.  "How should
+I ever get on without the child!" her mother would often exclaim; while
+at the same moment Tilderee might be dragging at her gown and
+interfering with her work at every step.
+
+How frequently Mrs. Prentiss laughed, though with tears in her eyes, as
+she thought of the time when Tilderee, a toddling baby, was nearly
+drowned by tumbling head-foremost into a pailful of foaming milk, and
+no one would have known and rushed to save her but for the barking of
+the little terrier Fudge!  Then there was the scar still to be found
+beneath the soft ringlets upon her white forehead, a reminder of the
+day when she tried to pull the spotted calf's tail.  How frightened
+"papa" was at the discovery that his mischievous daughter had been at
+his ammunition chest, played dolls with the cartridges, and complained
+that gunpowder did not make as good mud pies as "common dirt!"
+
+Peter and Joan could add their story, too.  Peter might tell, for
+instance, how Tilderee and Fudge, the companion of most of her pranks,
+frightened off the shy prairie-dogs he was trying to tame; saying they
+had no right to come there pretending to be dogs when they were only
+big red squirrels, which indeed they greatly resembled.  Still he was
+very fond of his little sister.  He liked to pet and romp with her, to
+carry her on his back and caper around like the friskiest of ponies.
+When he paused for breath she patted his sun-burned cheek with her
+dimpled hand, saying, in her cooing voice, "Good brother Pippin!" which
+was her nickname for him.  Then he forgot that she delighted to tease
+him,--that her favorite pastime was to chase the young chicks and cause
+a tremendous flutter in the poultry yard; and how vexed he had been
+when she let his mustang out of the enclosure, "because," she said,
+"Twinkling Hoofs needs a bit of fun and a scamper as well as anybody;
+and he was trying to open the gate with his nose."  It took two days to
+find the mustang and coax him back again.  Tilderee was penitent for
+fully ten minutes after this escapade; but she endeavored to console
+herself and Peter by declaring, "I know, Pippin, that the Indians must
+have Twinkling Hoofs by this time.  And he's so pretty they'll keep him
+for a chief to ride; a big, fat chief, with a gay blanket and a feather
+headdress, and red and blue paint on his face.  Won't Twinkling Hoofs
+be s'prised at all that?  But never mind, Pippin; papa will let you
+ride the old grey horse!"
+
+No one knew better than Joan, however, just how tantalizing Tilderee
+could be,--how she dallied in the morning playing hide-and-seek,
+refusing to have her face washed and her tangled hair brushed into
+shining curls; this, too, when Joan was in the greatest hurry to go and
+give the fluffy chicks and the grave old fowl their breakfast.  It was
+very well for Peter to say, "What should we do without Tilderee?"  If
+she bothered him he could take his rifle and go shooting with Abe, the
+old scout; or jump upon Twinkling Hoofs and gallop all over the ranch.
+How would he like the midget to tag after him all day, to have the care
+of her when mother went to the Fort to sell the butter and eggs?
+"Indeed I could get on very well without the little plague," Joan
+sometimes grumbled--"just for a _teenty_ bit of a while," she generally
+added, hastily; for she really loved her little sister dearly.  Joan
+tried hard to be patient, but she had a quick temper, and occasionally
+forgot her good resolutions.  This happened one day when her mother had
+gone to dispose of the dairy products.  The provocation was certainly
+great.
+
+Joan had a lovely French doll--the only French doll in the Territory,
+and probably the most beautiful one to be found within many hundred
+miles.  Mrs. Miller, the wife of one of the officers at the Fort,
+brought it to her from Chicago; and the little girl regarded it as more
+precious than all the family possessions combined.  What, then, was her
+consternation this morning to see Fudge dash around the corner of the
+house dangling the fair Angelina by the blue silk dress, which he held
+between his teeth, and Tilderee following in wild pursuit!  Joan rushed
+out and rescued her treasure; but, alas! it was in a sadly dilapidated
+condition.  She picked up a stick and started after the dog, but
+Tilderee interfered.
+
+"Oh, please, dear Joan!" she cried, holding her back by the apron
+strings.  "Fudge isn't the most to blame.  I took Angelina.  I s'pose
+he pulled off the wig and broke the arm, but I pushed the eyes in;
+didn't mean to, though--was only trying to make them open and shut.
+Tilderee's so sorry, Joan!"
+
+The explanation ended with a contrite sob and what Mr. Prentiss called
+"a sun shower."  But the sight of the child's tears, instead of
+appeasing, only irritated Joan the more.  Giving her a smart shake, she
+said excitedly:
+
+"Tilderee Prentiss, you're a naughty, naughty girl!  I wish you didn't
+live here.  I wish mother had let you go with the lady at the Fort who
+wanted to adopt you.  I wish I hadn't any little sister at all!"
+
+Tilderee stopped crying, and stood gazing at the angry girl in
+astonishment; then, swallowing a queer lump that came in her throat,
+she drew herself up with a baby dignity which would have been funny but
+for the pathetic expression of her sweet face, as she lisped slowly:
+"Very well.  P'rhaps some day Tilderee'll go away and never come back
+again!"
+
+She turned and went into the house, with Fudge at her heels.  As he
+passed Joan his tail, which had drooped in shame at his conduct,
+erected itself defiantly, and he uttered a growl of protest.
+
+Joan remained disconsolately hugging and weeping over the ill-fated
+Angelina.  But, somehow, she did not feel any better for having yielded
+to her anger.  "Tilderee deserved a good scolding," she said to herself
+over and over again.  Still there was a weight upon her heart, not
+caused by the ruin of the doll; for, notwithstanding all the excuses
+she could muster, her conscience reproached her for those unkind,
+bitter words.  After a while, remembering that she had been cautioned
+not to let Tilderee out of her sight, she started to look for her.  The
+culprit was soon discovered in the corner of the kitchen cupboard,
+which she called-her "cubby-house," engaged in lecturing Fudge for
+running away with Angelina.
+
+"Never meddle with what does not belong to you!" she said, laying down
+the law with her mite of a forefinger; and, to make her words more
+impressive, giving him an occasional tap on the nose.  He listened
+dutifully, as if he were the sole transgressor; but interrupted the
+homily now and then by lapping the hand of his little mistress with his
+tiny red tongue, as a token of the perfect understanding between them.
+
+When they looked up and saw Joan, both glanced at her deprecatingly,
+but quite ready to assume a defensive attitude.  Ashamed of having
+allowed her indignation to carry her so far, she was, however, inclined
+to be conciliatory; and therefore, with an effort, managed to say, as
+if nothing had happened:
+
+"Come, Tilderee!  Watch at the window for father, while I get dinner
+ready."
+
+Tilderee at once sprang to her feet gaily, threw her arms around Joan's
+waist, and held up her rosy mouth for the kiss of mutual forgiveness,
+Fudge wriggling and wagging his tail.
+
+Joan now busied herself about the mid-day meal, for which her mother
+had made the principal preparation before setting out.  She said
+nothing about the tragedy of the morning when her father came in,
+partly because she felt that nobody could appreciate the depth of her
+grief but mother, and because she had made up her mind not to complain
+of Tilderee,--a conclusion which she secretly felt entitled her to rank
+as a heroine.  But Tilderee related the occurrence herself as soon as
+her mother returned.
+
+"Fudge and me broke Joan's beauty doll.  We didn't mean to, and we're
+awful sorry,--honest and true we are!"
+
+"But that will not mend Angelina," said Mrs. Prentiss, gravely.
+
+Tilderee hung her head.  She now realized for the first time, that no
+matter how grieved we are, we can not always repair the wrong we have
+done.  The mother, though a plain, uneducated woman, had plenty of good
+sense, and did her best to train her children well.  She now talked
+very seriously to her little daughter, and Tilderee promised to be less
+meddlesome and more obedient in the future.
+
+"Fudge and me wants to be good," she said, penitently; "but we forgets.
+P'rhaps if we were other folks, and our names were something else
+'sides Tilderee and Fudge, we might be better."
+
+"I'm afraid Fudge is a hard case," sighed her mother, restraining a
+smile; "and I should not like to see my little girl changed into any
+one else.  But I expect we ought to call you as you were christened,
+and that is Matilda.  It is a saint's name, you know; and you can pray
+to your name saint to help you."
+
+The little lass was delighted to have the question settled in this
+manner, and from that time strove to insist upon her proper title.  But
+it was not easy to drop the pet name, and Tilderee she was oftenest
+called, till long after the date of this story.  For several days she
+tried very hard to be good; she said her prayers night and morning with
+special earnestness, always closing with: "Please, God, take care of
+Tilderee, and keep her and Fudge out of mischief."
+
+Joan, on her part, endeavored to be more gentle with her little sister;
+for, while every day she lamented the fate of the doll, she could not
+think of it without feeling a trifle uncomfortable about the way she
+had spoken to Tilderee.
+
+The two little girls were not allowed to go beyond the enclosure which
+surrounded the house, unless accompanied by their father or mother.
+The few Indians in the vicinity had hitherto been peaceable and
+friendly; but it was considered well to be cautious, and the country
+was too sparsely settled to render it safe for one to wander about
+alone.  When Mrs. Prentiss, mounted on the old grey horse, rode to the
+Fort to sell her butter and eggs, Peter went with her on Twinkling
+Hoofs; and each took the precaution to carry a pistol for self-defence
+in case of attack.
+
+This being the state of affairs, great was the alarm of all one day as
+it became evident that Tilderee was missing.  The ranch was a scene of
+intense excitement when, after an exploration of the neighborhood, the
+child was not found.  The news spread like a prairie fire.  The
+settlers for miles around joined the party which set out to continue
+the search.  The poor mother was frantic.  The father went about
+helplessly, like a man dazed by a terrible blow.  Peter galloped wildly
+to and fro upon Twinkling Hoofs, without an idea where he was going.
+Joan cried as though her heart would break.
+
+Fudge had disappeared also.  Had he gone with Tilderee?  There was a
+grain of comfort in the suggestion; yet, even so, what could a poor
+baby do, astray and with no other defender?  Evening came, and still
+there was no trace of the child.  All through the night they continued
+to seek her, guided by the light of the stars and the glimmer of their
+pine torches.  But in vain.
+
+
+
+II.
+
+On that memorable day, shortly after dinner, if mother had not been so
+absorbed by the discovery that certain wee, blundering fingers had
+sprinkled sugar instead of salt over her new batch of butter; or if
+Joan, instead of going for the third time since morning to the lowest
+drawer of the deal clothes-press which contained the family wardrobe,
+to take an aggrieved look at Angelina,--if either had glanced out of
+the doorway, she would have seen a diminutive figure tripping down the
+trail in happy unconcern, with Fudge gambolling along in front.
+
+Tilderee did not mean to be disobedient: she had no intention of
+running away; but it was so easy to forget that she had passed the
+bounds which love had set for her, when the May breezes, like eager
+playmates, seemed to beset her to frolic with them, catching at her
+frock, tip-tilting her pretty print sunbonnet (the one with the tiny
+pink roses scattered over a blue ground), ruffling her chestnut curls,
+and whisking her little plaid shawl awry.  A patch of yellow wild
+flowers by the way appeared all at once endowed with wings, as from
+their midst arose a flight of golden butterflies.  What fun to chase
+them!  Fudge thought so too, and a merry pursuit followed.  Tired and
+out of breath, Tilderee paused at last.  Fudge returned with a bound to
+her side, and stood panting and wagging his tail, as if to ask: "Well,
+what shall we play next?"  They were now half a mile from home, but
+neither turned to look back.
+
+"Fudge, I'm going to pick a lovely bouquet for mother," Tilderee
+confided to him, patting his shaggy head.  He sniffed his approval, and
+trotted after her as she flitted hither and thither culling the bright
+blossoms.  Now she left the lowlands called the prairie, and climbed
+Sunset Hill in search of prettier posies.  Beyond this rocky knoll was
+an oak wood, from the direction of which came the noise of running
+water.  At the sound Tilderee remembered that she was thirsty.  "There
+must be a brook in yonder," she said.  "Come, Fudge, let us go and
+see." Trampling among the brambles, the little girl pushed on, and soon
+came to a small stream dashing along over a stony course.  Forming an
+oak leaf into a cup, as she had often seen Joan do, Tilderee dipped it
+into the clear current; and by this means, and the sips between times
+which she took up in the hollow of her hand, succeeded in obtaining a
+refreshing drink; while from the opposite bank Fudge put down his head
+and took his share with less ceremony.
+
+Tilderee chose a seat upon a log and rested.  To amuse herself she
+broke off pieces of the underbrush and began to strip them of their
+leaves.  "To make horsewhips, you know," she explained, with a teasing
+glance at Fudge.  He understood very well, and shrank away a trifle;
+but the next minute the baby hands caressed his rough coat, and she
+added lovingly: "No, no, Fudge!  Nobody shall touch such a good dog!"
+Throwing aside the sticks, she tried to weave the leaves into garlands,
+as Joan had taught her.  The attempt was hardly a success.  As the
+wreath with which Fudge submitted to be crowned speedily fell apart,
+she concluded that, instead of making a chain for herself, it would be
+nicer to carry the oak twig for a sun-shade.  At present, however, she
+laid it carefully on the ground beside her flowers, and proceeded to
+play in the stream, with bits of bark for boats.  Fudge enjoyed this
+too for a while, but soon he grew restless.
+
+All at once the child became aware that the woods had grown darker; the
+sunlight no longer glanced in among the green boughs; through the
+foliage she caught a glimpse of the western sky, which was flecked with
+flame and beryl and amber.  Next she realized that it must be a great
+while since dinner.  With the sense of hunger came a feeling of dismay.
+Where was she, and how should she get home?  "It must be most supper
+time, Fudge," she said, choking down a sob.  The little dog looked up
+into her face with affectionate concern, and thrust his cold nose into
+her hand, as if to say encouragingly: "Trust me, and I will lead you
+back."  He began to sniff the ground; and, having found the scent,
+endeavored to prevail upon his young mistress to follow his guidance.
+But Tilderee was sure that she knew best.  "No, Fudge," she called;
+"not that way.  This is the right path, I'm sure.  Come quick!"  Vainly
+the sagacious animal used all his dumb arts to induce her to rely upon
+him; vainly he crouched and whined, and begged her to go _his_ way.
+Tilderee obstinately stumbled on in the opposite direction.  Fudge laid
+down and watched her despairingly for a few moments; then, with a sigh
+almost like that of a human being, he sprang after her.  If actions
+speak louder than words, could he have said more plainly: "Well, if you
+_will_ get lost, I must go with you to take care of you?"
+
+They wandered on, far beyond the source of the stream, emerged from the
+wood, and strayed along the side of a deep gorge or canon.  At every
+step the surroundings grew wilder, the way more rocky and precipitous.
+If she had been older, what terrors would have affrighted the child!
+An appalling dread of the Indians, fear of the wild cattle of the
+wilderness, the apprehension of countless dangers.  But in her baby
+innocence, Tilderee knew nothing of these perils.  She only felt that
+she was weary and chilled, and faint for want of food.  "Oh Fudge, if
+we could only get home to mother!" she moaned.  "Tilderee's so tired
+and sleepy, and it will be dark night soon."  At the thought she threw
+herself on the ground and began to cry bitterly.
+
+Fudge looked disconsolate.  A second he stood irresolute and
+distressed, but presently drew nearer, and, with unobtrusive sympathy,
+licked away the salt tears that rolled down her chubby cheeks.  Then he
+roused himself, as if he comprehended that something must be done, and
+ran to and fro, barking with all his might, and poking about with his
+nose to the earth.  At length he came upon a nook under a projecting
+rock, which seemed to promise a slight shelter from the cold night air.
+Perhaps it was the instinct of self-preservation which led him to
+attract the attention of his helpless companion to it.  Several times
+he returned to her, looked beseechingly into her face, then ran back to
+the rock.
+
+"You want me to go in there, Fudge?" she faltered at last, noticing his
+antics.  "Well, I will.  P'rhaps it'll be warmer.  And I'm afraid
+nobody'll come now till morning."
+
+Dispirited, Tilderee dragged herself to the refuge he had found.  "I
+'xpect it's time for night prayers," she said, with a tremor in her
+voice; "and I always say them with mother or Joan."  Now she knelt upon
+the damp mould, made the Sign of the Cross, and, clasping her
+brier-scratched hands, repeated the "Our Father" and "Hail Mary" more
+devoutly than ever before.  When she came to the special little
+petition at the close, "Please, God, take care of Tilderee, and keep
+her and Fudge out of mischief," she broke down again, and, weeping
+convulsively, threw her arms around the neck of her obstreperous but
+loyal playmate and friend, exclaiming, "Oh Fudge! if we ever get safe
+home we'll never be naughty again, will we?"
+
+Yet exhausted nature stills even the cry of grief and penitence.
+Tilderee, moreover, felt wonderfully comforted by her prayer.  To the
+pure heart of a child Heaven is ever "close by."  From her rude asylum
+under the cliff the little wanderer looked across at the sky.  It was
+clear and bright with myriad stars.  Suddenly one flashed across the
+broad expanse, blazed from the very zenith, and sped with incredible
+velocity down, down, till it disappeared in the depths of the ravine.
+"Ah," said she, with eyes still fixed upon the spot whence had gleamed
+the meteor, "p'rhaps it was an angel flying down to me!  I won't be
+afraid, 'cause I know God will take care of me."  Drawing the small
+plaid shawl from her shoulders, she spread it over herself like a
+blanket; sparing a corner for Fudge, however, who stationed himself
+upon it, prepared to ward off all dangers from his charge.  And thus
+she fell asleep, cheered by the presence and warmed by the breath of
+the faithful little dog, her sole protector, humanly speaking, in that
+lonely wilderness.
+
+      *      *      *      *      *
+
+During the long night, while the searching party was scouring the
+country, Mrs. Prentiss remained at home, keeping a bright light in the
+window, a fire on the kitchen hearth, the kettle on the crane, and
+everything ready to gladden and revive her darling in case, as she
+persisted in hoping, the dear little rover should, with the aid of
+fudge, find her way back of her own accord.  How many times she started
+up, thinking she heard the patter of childish feet!  How many times she
+rushed to the door at some sound which to her eager heart seemed like a
+cry of "Mother!"  But Joan, who now kept as close to her as Tilderee
+was accustomed to do, would murmur sadly, after they had listened a
+while: "It is only the wind or the call of a bird."  At which the
+unhappy woman, with a great effort to be calm, would sigh: "Let us say
+the Rosary again."  Joan, whose face was stained with tears, and her
+eyes swollen and red from weeping, responded as best she could between
+her sobs.
+
+Poor Joan learned in those hours what a terrible punishment is that of
+remorse.  Amid all her thoughts of Tilderee one scene was ever before
+her: the picture of a rosy culprit, with tangled curls and beseeching
+eyes, grieved at the mischief she had done, and stammering, "I'm so
+sorry, Joan!"  And then herself, as she snatched up the doll and
+answered harshly: "You naughty girl!  I wish you didn't live here!  I
+wish I hadn't any little sister at all!"  Well, her wish had come true:
+Tilderee was gone.  Perhaps she would never live in the log house
+again.  There was no "little plague" to vex or bother Joan now.  The
+lighter chores, which were her part of the housework, could be finished
+twice as soon, and afterward she would have plenty of time to do as she
+liked: to play with and sew for Angelina, for instance.  Angelina!--how
+she hated the very name!  She never wanted even to see the doll again.
+Tilderee might get up a "make-believe" funeral, and bury it under the
+white rosebush.  Yes, that would be the prettiest spot; and for old
+affection's sake the thing should be done properly if she came back,
+--ah, _if_!  And then Joan would put her head down upon the table or a
+chair, whichever happened to be near, or hide her face in the folds of
+her apron, and cry: "What _shall_ I do without Tilderee!  Oh, if God
+will only give her back to us, I will never say a cross or angry word
+again!"
+
+Dawn brought no news of the lost child, and the dreary night of
+suspense was succeeded by a day of anguish.  At intervals the seekers
+sent a message back to the desolate home.  Sometimes it was: "Keep up
+your courage; we trust all will be well."  Or, "Though we have not yet
+found the child, please God we will soon restore her to you," and so
+on.  But, soften it as they could, the fact remained--their expedition
+had been fruitless: Tilderee was still lost.  They at length despaired
+of gaining trace or tidings of her, and agreed that it was useless to
+continue the search.
+
+"She must have fallen over a precipice," maintained one of the men.
+
+"If so, we should have met with some sign--" argued another, hesitating
+at the thought of what that sign might be.
+
+"It is probable that she has been stolen by the Indians," said
+Lieutenant Miller, of the Fort; "and we must adopt other means to
+recover her."
+
+Once more dusk was approaching, and they were about to turn back,
+when--hark! there was a shout from the borders of the canon beyond.  A
+few moments before, Abe, the old scout, had disappeared in that
+direction.  As he pressed onward he presently discovered that, in a
+wavering line, the brambles seemed to have been recently trodden down.
+A little farther on, almost hidden among the briers and dry leaves, lay
+a withered wild flower, like those that grew in the plain below; and
+farther still, caught upon a bush, was a bit of the fringe of a shawl,
+so small that it might have escaped any but his "hunter's eye."  As he
+stood still, with senses alert, he heard a sound amid the brush; and,
+turning quickly, saw that which made him send forth the ringing halloo
+to his comrades.  It was a little dog crawling down toward a hollow,
+where a spring of water gushed from the ground.
+
+"Fudge!" he called, softly.  The dog started, fawned upon him with a
+low whine; and, with many backward glances to make sure that he was
+following, led the way to a high rock which shelved inward, forming a
+sort of canopy above the bank.  There, in the rude recess, as he felt
+confident would be the case, was the lost child.  At first he feared
+she might be dead, so pale and motionless she lay; but when he
+whispered gently, "Tilderee!" the white eyelids fluttered, then
+unclosed; the dull eyes lighted up in recognition, and she smiled a
+wan, weak little smile.  Once more Abe's cheery voice rang out,
+calling, "Found! found!" and the woods and cliffs made merry with the
+echoes.  His companions hastened toward the ravine; but he met them
+half way, carrying the little one in his arms.
+
+What a shout of joy greeted the sight!  What a feeling of thankfulness
+filled each heart!  Mr. Prentiss, strong man though he was, at the
+relaxing of the terrible tension, fainted like a woman.  For a second
+Peter felt his brain in a whirl, then he leaped upon Twinkling Hoofs,
+whom he had been leading by the bridle, breathed a word in the ear of
+the clever mustang, and sped away like the wind, "to tell them at
+home."  Who could describe the emotions of the fond mother when, half
+an hour later, she clasped her darling to her breast?
+
+What a happy stillness reigned in the house for hours, while Tilderee
+was tenderly brought back from the verge of starvation!  In the
+beginning she was too feeble to speak; but after a while Mrs. Prentiss
+noticed that she wanted to say something, and, bending over her, caught
+the tremulous words: "Oh mother, I'll never be disobedient any more!"
+It was then that the good woman, who, as the saying is, "had kept up"
+wonderfully, was overcome, and wept unrestrainedly.
+
+As for Joan, it seemed to her that there could never be any mourning or
+sadness again.  When she had done everything possible for Tilderee, she
+lavished attentions upon Fudge, and announced to him that henceforth he
+was to be called Fido (faithful); at which he wagged his tail, as if he
+found the _role_ of hero quite to his liking.  Joan's heart was so
+light that she wished everyone in the world could share her happiness;
+but whether she laughed or chattered, or hummed a little song to
+herself, the refrain of all this gladness was "Oh, how good God is!
+How good God is!"
+
+
+
+
+A LITTLE WHITE DRESS.
+
+"Only three weeks more, Constance.  Aren't you glad?" said Lillie to
+her little companion and neighbor as they hurried to school.
+
+"Indeed I am.  But it's so long in coming!" sighed Constance.  "The
+days never seemed to go so slowly before."
+
+"I have made a calendar, and every morning I cross off a date; there
+are already seven gone since the 1st of May," explained Lillie, with a
+satisfied air, as if she had discovered the secret of adding "speed to
+the wings of time."  "We shall not have a great while to wait now."
+
+Was it a grand holiday that our young friends were anticipating so
+eagerly, or the summer vacation, now drawing near? One might suppose
+something of the kind.  But not at all.  On the approaching Feast of
+the Ascension they were to make their First Communion; and, being
+convent-bred little girls, every thought and act had been directed to
+preparation for this great event, to which they looked forward with the
+artless fervor natural to innocent childhood.  No one must imagine,
+however, that they were diminutive prudes, with long faces.  Is not a
+girl or boy gayest when his or her heart has no burden upon it?  In
+fact, it would have been hard to find two merrier folk, even upon this
+bright spring morning.
+
+Lillie was a sprightly creature, who, somehow, always reminded Sister
+Agnes of one of the angels in Murillo's picture, "The Immaculate
+Conception,"--a lively, happy-go-lucky, rollicking angel, who plays
+hide-and-seek among the folds of Our Lady's mantle, and appears almost
+beside himself with the gladness of heaven's sunlight.  Yet Lillie was
+by no means an angel.  She had her faults of course, and these often
+sadly tried the patience of the good Sister.  She was quick-tempered,
+volatile, inclined to be a trifle vain.  Alas that it is so hard to
+keep a child's heart like a garden enclosed as with a fragrant hedge,
+laden with the blossoms of sweet thoughts,--safely shut in from the
+chilling winds of worldliness!  She was lovable withal, generous,
+affectionate, and would make a fine woman if properly trained.
+
+Constance, a year older, was more sedate, though with plenty of quiet
+fun about her.  But, as a general thing, she knew when to be serious
+and when to play,--a bit of wisdom which Sister Agnes frequently wished
+she could manage to impart to the others of the band of aspirants, of
+whom the gentle nun had special charge.
+
+Constance and Lillie were nearly always together.  Now, as they
+tripped, onward, they were as happy as the birds in the trees above
+them, and their voices as pleasant to hear.  Having turned the corner,
+they began to meet a company of children, who came along, sometimes in
+groups, again in detachments of twos and threes, all clad in white,
+with white veils upon their heads and floating about them as they
+passed joyously on, as if keeping time to the music of their own happy
+hearts.  Poor children they were, most of them, with plain, ordinary
+faces, but upon which now shone a light that made one think of old
+sweet stories,--of St. Ursula and her throng of spotless maidens; of
+Genevieve, the child-shepherdess of Nanterre.  Who that has ever
+witnessed such a scene can forget it!--this flock of fair, spotless
+doves amid the dust or mire of the city streets, that by their very
+passing bring even to the indifferent spectator a thought above gain or
+traffic,--a memory perhaps of guileless days and noble aspirations, as,
+looking up at the blue, calm sky, perchance he likens them to the snowy
+cloudlets that gather nearest to the sun and are irradiated by its
+brightness.
+
+"Why," exclaimed Constance, "here come the first communicants of St.
+Joseph's parish!  They must be just going home from Mass.  How happy
+they all are, and how pretty in their white dresses!"
+
+"They do look lovely," assented Lillie, readily.  "How could they help
+it?  And some of the dresses are nice, but surely you see, Connie, that
+others are made of dreadfully common material, and the veils are coarse
+cotton stuff."
+
+"Well, I suppose they couldn't afford any better," returned Constance,
+regretfully.
+
+"I declare there's Annie Brogan, whose mother works for us!--don't you
+know?" cried Lillie, darting toward a girl who had parted with several
+others at a cross-street and was walking on alone.
+
+As Constance did know, she hastened to greet her, and to vie with
+Lillie in congratulating her.  "O Annie, what a happy day for
+you!"--"What a favored girl you are!"--"I almost envy you!"--"We have
+three whole weeks to wait yet!" This is about what they said, again and
+again, within the next few minutes; while Annie turned from one to the
+other, with an added gentleness of manner, a smile upon her lips, and a
+more thoughtful expression in her grey eyes.
+
+Yes, she was happy; she felt that this was indeed the most beautiful
+day of her life.  To be almost envied, too, by such girls as Lillie
+Davis and Constance Hammond!  This was almost incredible; and so she
+continued to smile at them, putting in a word now and then, while they
+chattered on like a pair of magpies, and all three were in perfect
+sympathy.
+
+Presently Lillie chanced to glance at the little communicant's white
+gown, which, though fresh and dainty as loving hands could make it, was
+unmistakably well worn, and in some places had evidently been carefully
+darned; indeed, her sharp eyes discovered even a tiny tear in the
+skirt, as if Annie had unwittingly put her fingers through it when
+searching for the pocket.
+
+"Why, Annie Brogan," she exclaimed, thoughtlessly, "you did not wear
+that dress to make your First Communion!"
+
+"Yes, to be sure.  Did not mother do it up nicely?" answered Annie,
+with naive appreciation of the patient, painstaking skill which had
+laid the small tucks so neatly, and fluted the thin ruffles without
+putting a hole through them.  "And mother was saying, when she was at
+work on it, how thankful we ought to be to have it; since, much as she
+wished to buy a dress for me, she would not have been able to do so,
+with the rent and everything to pay; and how good your mamma was to
+give it to me."
+
+"Pshaw!" rejoined Lillie.  "I could have given you a dress ten times
+better than that if I had only remembered.  Mamma just happened to put
+that in with a bundle of some of my last summer's clothes, which she
+hoped Mrs. Brogan might find useful.  But she never dreamed you would
+wear it to-day."
+
+"I thought it was so nice!" said Annie, coloring, while a few tears of
+chagrin and disappointment sprang to her eyes; somehow, a shadow seemed
+to have unaccountably arisen to dim the brightness of this fairest of
+days,--a wee bit of a shadow, felt rather than defined.
+
+"So it is nice!" declared Constance, frowning at impulsive Lillie, to
+warn her that she had blundered.  "It is ironed perfectly; your mother
+has made it look beautiful.  And what a pretty veil you have!"
+
+"Yes, I did buy that," replied Annie, in a more cheerful tone.
+
+"Oh, it's all right!  And Our Lord must have welcomed you gladly,
+Annie, you are so good and sweet," added Lillie.  "I didn't mean any
+harm in noticing your dress; it was only one of my stupid speeches."
+
+Lillie looked so sorry and vexed with herself that Annie laughed.  The
+shadow was lifted; the children wished one another good-bye; Annie went
+homeward, while the others quickened their pace, fearing that they
+would be late for school.
+
+But the circumstance had made an impression, especially upon Lillie;
+and at the noon recreation, which the first communicants spent
+together, she hastened to tell her companions about it.
+
+"Just imagine!" she cried; "Annie Brogan made her First Communion this
+morning, and she wore an old dress of mine,--an old dress, all mended
+up, that mamma gave her!"
+
+"The idea!"--"What was she thinking of?" etc., etc.; such were the
+exclamations with which this announcement was greeted.  Most of the
+girls did not know in the least of whom Lillie was speaking, but it was
+the fact which created such a sensation.
+
+"Why didn't she get a new one?" inquired Eugenia Dillon, a girl of a
+haughty disposition, who attached a great deal of importance to costly
+clothes.
+
+"Hadn't any money," responded Lillie, nibbling at a delicious pickled
+lime which she had produced from a corner of her lunch basket.
+
+"Then I'd wait till I had--"
+
+"Oh, not put off your First Communion!" protested one of the group.
+
+"Why, yes," returned Eugenia, conscious that she had scandalized them a
+little and trying to excuse herself.  "It is not respectful or proper
+not to be fitly dressed for such a great occasion."
+
+"But Annie was as neat as could be," said Constance; "and looked as
+pretty as a picture, too.  I'm sure Our Lord was as pleased with her as
+if she were dressed like a princess, because she is such a good little
+thing."
+
+"Come, Connie, don't preach!" objected Eugenia, impatiently.  "Besides,
+how could she have looked pretty in a mended dress?  I wish you could
+see the one I'm going to have!  It's to be of white silk,--the best
+that can be got at Brown's."
+
+"It won't be any more beautiful than mine.  I'm to have tulle," said
+Lillie.
+
+"And I--" continued Constance.
+
+"Mine is to be trimmed with point-lace," broke in another.
+
+"And I'm to wear mamma's diamonds," boasted somebody else.
+
+"You can't," demurred a quiet girl, who had not spoken before.  "Sister
+Agnes said that we are not to be allowed to wear jewelry or silk
+either; and that, though the material for the dresses may be of as fine
+a quality as we choose, they ought not be showy or elaborate."
+
+"That is all very well to say," answered Eugenia.  "The nuns can
+enforce these rules in their boarding-schools, but hardly in a
+day-school like this.  We'll wear what we please, or what our mothers
+select.  Mamma has decided to get the white silk for me, because so
+many of our friends will be present, and she wants my dress to be the
+handsomest of any."
+
+This information was received without comment, but it aroused in some
+foolish little hearts a feeling of envy, and in others a desire of
+emulation.
+
+Eugenia Dillon was the richest girl in the school.  Her father, a
+plain, sensible man, who had lacked early advantages, had within a few
+years amassed a considerable fortune, which he would gladly have
+enjoyed in an unostentatious, unpretending manner.  This, however, did
+not suit his wife at all.  Mrs. Dillon, though a kind-hearted,
+charitable woman, was excessively fond of style, lavishly extravagant,
+and inclined to parade her wealth upon all occasions.  She did not
+realize that the very efforts she made to attain the position in
+society which would have come to her naturally if she had but the
+patience to wait, caused her to be sneered at as a _parvenu_ by those
+whose acquaintance she most desired.  Unconscious of all this, she
+pursued her way in serene self-satisfaction,--a complacency shared by
+Eugenia, who delighted in the good fortune and bad taste which
+permitted her to wear dresses of silk or velvet to school every day in
+the week, and caused her to be as much admired as a little figure in a
+fashion-plate by those of her companions who were too unsophisticated
+to know that vain display is a mark of vulgarity.
+
+"Oh children, children!" exclaimed Sister Agnes, who caught the drift
+of the conversation as she came into the room.  "Do not be troubling
+your precious little heads about the fashions.  We must all trust
+something to the good sense of your mammas that you will be suitably
+gowned.  Certainly it is eminently fitting that one should be
+beautifully attired to honor the visit of the King of kings.
+Considered in this light, no robe could be too rich, no ornament too
+splendid.  But, lest a small thought of vanity should creep in to spoil
+the exalted motive, the custom is to adopt a lovely simplicity.  If you
+notice, we never think of the angels as weighed down with jewels.
+Bestow some of this anxiety upon the preparation of your hearts; see
+that you are clothed in the royal robes of grace; deck yourself with
+the jewels of virtue,--rubies for love, emeralds for hope, pearls for
+contrition, diamonds for faith, and purity.  It was with gems like
+these that the holy maidens, Saints Agnes, Philomena, and Lucy, chose
+to adorn themselves, rather than with the contents of their trinket
+caskets."
+
+Thus the nun continued to speak to the band of little girls, who had
+eagerly gathered around her; thus was she wont to teach them lessons of
+wisdom in a sprightly, gay, happy-hearted way, as if generosity,
+unselfishness and self-denial were the most natural traits imaginable,
+and the whole world fair because it is God's world, and we are all His
+children.  Was it this spirit of joyousness which attracted young
+people especially to her, and gave her such an influence with them?
+
+"Somehow, when Sister Agnes talks to me," even so flighty a little
+personage as Lillie Davis said one day, "I feel as if I could make any
+sacrifice quite as a matter of course, and without a speck of fuss
+about it."
+
+"Yes," agreed Connie.  "She seems to take your hand in her strong one
+and to lead you up a stony, hilly path; and then, when you come to the
+roughest, steepest places, she almost carries you onward; and you are
+ashamed to complain that you are tired, because, though she is so
+gentle with you, she does not mind such trifles at all herself--"
+
+"She makes me think," interrupted Lillie, "of the pleasant, sunshiny
+breeze that comes up sometimes on a cloudy morning, and chases away the
+mists through which everything looks so queerly, and lets us see things
+as they really are."
+
+Lillie's quaint comparison was an apt one, as was proved in the present
+instance.
+
+When Sister Agnes had gone the subject which the girls had been
+discussing presented a different aspect, and the keynote of her
+character which always impressed them--"Do noble deeds, not dream them
+all day long,"--caused them now to feel dissatisfied with themselves
+and to cast about for something to do.  This reminded Constance again
+of Annie Brogan and the white dress that Lillie had regarded with so
+much scorn.
+
+"Girls," said she, "wouldn't it be nice if we could give a dress and
+veil, and whatever is necessary, to some poor child who is to make her
+First Communion on the same day as ourselves?  Perhaps, too, we could
+arrange to have her make it with us.  Don't you think this would make
+us happy, and be a good way to prepare?"
+
+"It's a grand idea, Connie!" proclaimed Lillie, with ready enthusiasm.
+
+"How could we do it?" asked the quiet girl, coming to the practical
+question at once.
+
+"By giving up some of our ribbons and candies and knickknacks during
+the next few weeks, maybe," continued Constance earnestly, thinking it
+out as she went along.  "Suppose we all agree to get the pretty dresses
+the nuns wish us to wear on that day, instead of the showy ones we
+want?  They would not cost as much, and our mothers would, I am sure,
+let us use the extra money in this way."
+
+"What! give up the white silk!  Oh, I couldn't!"   objected Eugenia,
+disconcerted.  "Anyhow, I don't believe mamma would like to have me do
+it."
+
+"Tulle is so lovely!" sighed Lillie.  "And I never did like plain mull."
+
+On the whole, the proposal was not received with favor.  It was
+discussed with much animation, but the bell rang before any decision
+had been arrived at.  Later, however, after a consultation with Sister
+Agnes, who promised her cordial co-operation, the children concluded to
+adopt Connie's suggestion, if their mothers would consent.
+
+"I must acknowledge that I am disappointed," remarked Mrs. Davis to her
+husband that evening.  "To-day I ordered the material for Lillie's
+First Communion dress,--an exquisite tulle.  But she came home from
+school with a story about furnishing an outfit for a poor child, and
+she assures me that her companions are to wear plain dresses for the
+occasion." Thereupon the lady proceeded to give the details of the plan
+as she had understood it.
+
+"A very creditable determination," said Lillie's papa, approvingly.  "I
+endorse it heartily.  If attired simply, the children will not be
+distracted by the thought of their gowns, while at the same time some
+deserving little girl will be provided with an appropriate costume.  I
+advise you to send back the tulle by all means, my dear, and apply the
+difference in price between it and the fabric agreed upon to the fund
+the children are trying to make up."
+
+"Well, I suppose it will be best to do so," decided his wife.  "Anyhow,
+tulle is so delicate a tissue, and Lillie is such a heedless little
+creature, that it would probably be badly torn before the end of the
+ceremonies."
+
+"I am sorry," soliloquized Connie's mother when she heard of the
+project.  "Connie's First Communion will be so important an event for
+her that I feel as if I could not do enough in preparation for it.  I
+should like to dress her more beautifully than on any day in her life.
+If she were grown and about to enter society, or if I were buying her
+wedding-dress, I would select the handsomest material procurable,--why
+not now, for an occasion so great that I ought hardly mention it in
+comparison?  But, after all," mused she, later, "the children's
+arrangement is the best.  I am happy that Constance is so free from
+frivolity, and has shown so edifying a spirit."
+
+For Eugenia Dillon, the giving up of the white silk was, as the girls
+generously agreed, "the biggest act of all."  At first Mrs. Dillon
+would not hear of it; "though," said she, "I am quite willing to buy
+the dress for the poor child myself, if you wish, Eugenia."  But
+Eugenia explained that this would not do, unless she carried out the
+plan like the others.  In fact, she found that one of the hardest
+things in the world is to argue against what we want very much
+ourselves.  At last, however, her mother good-naturedly yielded the
+point, saying, with a laugh, "Oh, very well, child!  But I never before
+knew you to object to having a pretty dress."  And Eugenia was very
+sure she never had.
+
+The great day finally arrived.  To picture it, or to describe the joy
+which filled the soul of each of our first communicants, is not the
+purpose of this story.  But as the white-robed band entered the convent
+chapel, to the incongruous throng of fashionable people there assembled
+their appearance was the strongest possible sermon against vanity.
+Their soft white gowns were as simple as the most refined taste could
+make them, and as beautiful; their fleecy veils enfolded them as with
+holy thoughts; their wreaths of spotless blossoms signified a fairer
+crown.  They numbered seven originally, but now among them walked
+another.  Which little girl was the stranger, however, only one mother
+knew,--a humble woman, who, as she knelt amid the congregation,
+silently invoked a blessing upon the children who by their
+thoughtfulness had made possible her pious desire that her child might
+be appropriately and respectfully attired to welcome the coming of Our
+Lord.
+
+The first communicants remained at the convent till dusk.  During the
+afternoon somebody noticed, indeed, that Eugenia's dress, though of
+mull like the rest, was more fanciful, and her satin sash twice as wide
+as that of any one else.  But the discovery only caused a smile of
+good-humored amusement; for it was hardly to be expected that Eugenia
+would conform absolutely to the rule they had laid down for themselves.
+
+After Benediction, as they prepared to go home, they said to one
+another: "What a truly happy day this has been!  How often we shall
+think of it during our lives!"
+
+
+
+
+A MISER'S GOLD.
+
+I.
+
+"Never mind, mother!  Don't fret.  We'll get on all right.  This little
+house is much more comfortable than the miserable flat we have been
+living in.  The air is good, and the health of the children will be
+better.  It is quite like having a home of our own again.  Now that
+Crosswell & Wright have raised my wages, we shall be able to make both
+ends meet this winter,--you'll see!"
+
+"Yes, dear, I'm sure we shall," Mrs. Farrell forced herself to respond,
+though her tone did not express the absolute conviction which the words
+implied.  But Bernard was in great spirits, and for his sake she assumed
+a cheerfulness which she was far from feeling, as she bade him good-bye,
+and from the window watched him hasten away to his work.
+
+"God bless his brave heart!" she murmured.  "He is a good boy and
+deserves to succeed.  It worries me that he has such a burden upon his
+young shoulders; but Father Hamill says this will only keep him steady,
+and will do him no harm if he does not overtax his strength.  What a
+shabby, contracted house this is!  Well, I must try to make it as bright
+and pleasant as possible.  I wish the girls were older and able to earn a
+trifle; every penny helps nowadays.  Mary, indeed, might find a place to
+run errands for a dressmaker, or something of the kind; but I can not
+bear to think of her going around alone down town, becoming pert and
+forward.  Besides, she is so bright and smart that it seems a pity to
+interfere with her studies.  She will need all the advantages she can
+get, poor child!"
+
+With a sigh the mother returned to her duties, prepared breakfast for the
+other children and in the course of an hour hurried them off to school.
+There were three: Mary, just twelve years old; Lizzie, ten; and Jack, who
+had attained the precocious and mischief-loving age of seven.  Bernard
+was eighteen, and the head of the family,--a fact which Mrs. Farrell
+strove to impress upon the minds of the younger members, as entitling him
+to special respect and affection.  He was also the principal
+bread-winner, and had ten dollars a week, which was considered a fine
+beginning for one so young.  Still, it was not a great deal for them all
+to rely on, and his mother endeavored to eke out their scanty livelihood
+by taking sewing, and in various other ways.
+
+Life had not always been such a struggle for the Farrells.  Before the
+death of the husband and father they had been in good circumstances.  Mr.
+Farrell held for years a responsible position as book-keeper and
+accountant in one of the largest mercantile establishments of the city.
+He had a fair salary, which enabled him to support his family
+comfortably.  But, alas! how much often depends upon the life and efforts
+of one person!  An attack of pneumonia, the result of a neglected cold,
+carried him out of the world in three days.  There had been only time to
+attend to his religious duties, and no opportunity to provide for the
+dear ones he was about to leave, even if any provision had been possible.
+When the income derived from the father's daily labor ceased, they found
+themselves suddenly plunged into comparative poverty.  His life-insurance
+policy had not been kept up; the mortgage on the pretty home had never
+been paid off, and was now foreclosed.  The best of the furniture was
+sold to pay current expenses, and the widow removed with her children to
+the third floor of a cheap apartment house,--one of those showy,
+aggressively genteel structures so often seen in our Eastern cities, with
+walls of questionable safety and defective drainage and ventilation.
+
+Mrs. Farrell was now obliged to dismiss her maid-of-all-work, and attend
+to the household duties herself.  This was a hardship, for she was not a
+strong woman; but she did not complain.  Bernard, fortunately, had taken
+two years of the commercial course at St.  Stanislaus' College, and was
+therefore in a measure fitted for practical affairs.  He obtained a place
+as clerk in the law office of Crosswell & Wright.  As he tried to keep
+his mind on his duties, and was willing and industrious, his employers
+were well pleased with him, and he had been several times advanced.  But
+the means of the family grew more and more straitened.  The following
+year the rent of the flat was found to be higher than they could afford.
+They sought other quarters, and settled at last, just as winter was
+approaching, in the little house where we have discovered them, in a
+humble neighborhood and unpaved streets, with no pretensions
+whatever,--in fact, it did not appear to have even the ambition to be
+regarded as a street at all.
+
+The young people took possession of the new dwelling in high glee.  They
+did not see the drawbacks to comfort which their mother could have
+pointed out; did not notice how much the house needed painting and
+papering, how decidedly out of repair it was.  Only too glad of their
+satisfaction, she refrained from comment, tried to make the best of
+everything, and succeeded in having a cosey home for them, despite all
+difficulties.  For there was not a room of the small house into which at
+least a ray of sunlight did not find its way sometime during the day.  It
+shone upon threadbare carpets and painted floors; upon sofas the
+upholstering of which had an unmistakable air of having been experimented
+with; and chairs which Mrs. Farrell had recaned, having learned the art
+from a blind boy who lived opposite.  Yet the sunlight revealed as well
+an air of thrift and cheeriness; for the widow, despite her days of
+discouragement, aimed to train her children to look upon the bright side
+of life, and to trust in Providence.
+
+"Bernard," said she one evening, "I have been thinking that if I could
+hire a sewing-machine I might get piecework from the shops, and earn more
+than by looking to chance patronage.  I have a mind to inquire about one."
+
+The boy was silent.  She began to doubt if he had heard, and was about to
+repeat the remark when he answered:
+
+"No, mother, don't.  There are too many women doing that kind of sewing
+at starvation prices.  But I'll tell you what would be a fine thing if
+you really had the time for it, though I do not see how you could,--it
+seems to me we keep you busy."
+
+"What is your idea?" inquired Mrs. Farrell eagerly, paying no heed to the
+latter part of his speech.
+
+"Well, if we could manage to pay the rent of a type-writing machine, I
+could probably get you copying from the firm as well as from some of the
+other lawyers in the building.  I was wondering the other day if I could
+do anything at it myself, and thus pick up an additional dollar or two in
+the week.  Of course, you would accomplish more than I could, and it
+would be a hundred times better than stitch! stitch!  How I hate the whir
+of the thing!"  And Bernard, with his juggler gift of mimicry, proceeded
+forthwith to turn himself into a sewing-machine, jerking his feet up and
+down in imitation of the motion of the treadle, and making an odd noise
+in his throat.
+
+Mrs. Farrell laughed, as she replied: "I do not know that there is much
+choice between this and the click of the type-writer.  But, anyhow, your
+plan, though it sounds plausible, would not do, because I should not be
+able to work the type-writer."
+
+"There would be no difficulty about that," argued Bernard.  "You know how
+to play the piano, and the fingering is very much easier.  It will come
+naturally."
+
+His mother laughed again, yet she sighed as well.  Her father had given
+her a piano as a wedding present, but this had been the first article of
+value to be dispensed with when the hard times came.  Bernard was so
+sanguine, however, that she consented to his project.  He spoke to Mr.
+Crosswell on the subject; that gentleman became interested, succeeded in
+obtaining a type-writer for Mrs. Farrell on easy terms, and promised to
+send her any extra copying he might have.  The manipulation of the
+machine did not, indeed, come quite as naturally as Bernard predicted,
+but after a few weeks of patient practice she mastered it sufficiently to
+produce a neat-looking page.  Bernard brought her all the work she could
+do; it was well paid for, and a more prosperous season seemed to have
+dawned upon the little home.
+
+Just at this time the children took scarlet fever at school.  They had
+the disease lightly, but what anxiety the mother endured!  Thank God,
+they got through it safely; but there was the doctor's bill to be
+settled, and funds were at a low ebb once more.  To cap the climax, when
+the house had been thoroughly fumigated by the board of health, and Mrs.
+Farrell was prepared to take up her occupation again, an attack of
+rheumatism crippled her fingers and rendered them almost powerless.  Then
+it was that, worn out and disheartened, she broke down and cried:
+
+"Oh! why does not God help us?"
+
+Her son's usually happy face wore an expression of discouragement also as
+she turned to him with the appeal.  His lips twitched nervously; but in a
+moment the trustfulness which she had taught him was at hand to comfort
+her.
+
+"Indeed, mother, He will--He _does_," said Bernard tenderly, though in
+the matter-of-fact manner which he knew would best arouse her.  "You are
+all tired out, or you would not speak in that way.  You must have a good
+rest.  Keep the rooms warm, so that you will not take any more cold, and
+before long you will be able to rattle the type-writer at a greater speed
+than ever.  That reminds me, mother," he continued--seeing that she was
+beginning to recover herself, and wishing to divert her thoughts,--"one
+of the things we have to be thankful for is that this house is easily
+heated.  It beats all the way coal does last here!  The ton we got two
+months ago isn't gone yet,"
+
+"That is the way coal lasts when there is not any one to steal it, as
+there was in the flat, where the cellars were not properly divided off,"
+answered Mrs. Farrell, brightening up.
+
+"No, there's nobody living immediately around here whom I'd suspect of
+being mean enough to steal coal," returned Bernard, carelessly,--"except,
+perhaps, Stingy Willis, I don't think I'd wager that old codger wouldn't,
+though."
+
+"I am afraid I should not have entire confidence in him, either," agreed
+Mrs. Farrell.
+
+But the intelligence that there was still coal in the bin had cheered her
+wonderfully.  Repenting of her rash conclusion, she hastened to qualify
+it by adding, "That is, if half of what the neighbors say is true.  But,
+then, we have no right to listen to gossip, or to judge people."
+
+Stingy Willis, the individual who apparently bore an unenviable
+reputation, was a small, dried-up looking old man, who lived next door to
+the Farrells,--in fact, under the same roof; for the structure consisted
+of two houses built together.  Here he dwelt alone, and attended to his
+household arrangements himself, except when, occasionally, a woman was
+employed for a few hours to put the place in order.  He was accustomed to
+prepare his own breakfast and supper; his dinner he took at a cheap
+restaurant.  He dressed shabbily, and was engaged in some mysterious
+business down town, to and from which he invariably walked; not even a
+heavy rain-storm could make him spend five cents for a ride in a
+horse-car.  And yet he was said to be very wealthy.  Persons declared
+they knew "upon good authority" that he held the mortgage which covered
+the two connecting houses; that, as the expression is, he "had more money
+than he knew what to do with." Others, who did not profess to be so
+scrupulously exact in their determination to tell only a plain,
+unvarnished tale, delighted in fabulous stories concerning his riches.
+They said that though the floor of his sitting-room was carpetless, and
+the bay-window curtainless but for the cobwebs, he could cover the one
+with gold pieces and the other with bank-notes, if he pleased.  Many were
+convinced he had a bag of treasure hidden up the chimney or buried in the
+cellar; this they asserted was the reason he would not consent to having
+the upper rooms of the house rented, and so they remained untenanted
+season after season.  Thus, according to the general verdict (and
+assuredly the circumstantial evidence was strong), he was a miser of the
+most pronounced type,--"as stingy as could be," everybody agreed; and is
+not what everybody says usually accepted as the truth?
+
+Certain it is that Stingy Willis acted upon the principle, "a penny saved
+is a penny gained,"--denied himself every luxury, and lived with extreme
+frugality, as the man who kept the meat-market and grocery at the corner
+frequently testified.  Even in the coldest weather, a fire was never
+kindled in the house till evening; for over its dying embers the solitary
+man made his coffee the following morning.  A basket of coal lasted him a
+week, and he sifted the cinders as carefully as if he did not know where
+to find a silver quarter to buy more fuel.  He had nothing to do with his
+neighbors, who really knew very little about him beyond what they could
+see of his daily life.  They were almost all working people, blessed with
+steady employment; though they had not more than enough of this world's
+goods, there was no actual poverty among them.  They were respectable,
+honest, and industrious; as Bernard said, not one of the dwellers in the
+street would ever be suspected of being "mean enough to steal coal,"
+unless indeed Stingy Willis.
+
+
+
+II.
+
+Gloomy days continued for the Farrells; yet the outside world never
+dreamed of the straits to which they were reduced, for a spirit of worthy
+independence and pardonable pride led them to keep their trouble to
+themselves.  Mrs. Farrell would have died, almost, rather than reveal
+their need to any one; nothing save the cry of her children asking in
+vain for bread would bring her to it.  Well, they still had bread and
+oatmeal porridge, but that was all.
+
+Who would have imagined it!  The little house was still distinguished
+from the others of the row by an appearance of comfort.  Although Mrs.
+Farrell could not do any type-writing, the children were neat and trim
+going to school; Bernard's clothes were as carefully brushed, his boots
+as shining, linen as fresh, his mien as gentlemanly as ever.  And they
+found great satisfaction in the reflection that no one was aware of the
+true state of affairs.  The mother and Bernard agreed, when they began
+housekeeping under their changed circumstances, to contract no bills;
+what they could not afford to pay for at the time they would do without.
+So now no butcher nor baker came clamoring for settlement of his account.
+The doctor was willing to wait for his money; all they owed besides was
+the rent.  Only the landlord knew this, and he was disposed to be
+lenient.  Mrs. Farrell still tried to hope for the best, but sometimes
+she grew dejected, was sorely tempted to repine.
+
+"Mother," little Jack once asked, "aren't people who, as you say, 'have
+seen better days' and become poor, much poorer than people who have
+always been poor?"
+
+"It seems to me they are, my child," answered the widow, dispiritedly.
+"But why do you think so?"
+
+"Because," replied the young philosopher, "we are much poorer than the
+woman who used to wash for us.  She appeared to have everything she
+wanted, but we have hardly anything."
+
+It was unreasonable, to be sure, but sometimes Mrs. Farrell used to
+wonder how her neighbors could be so hard-hearted as to go past
+unconcernedly, and not notice the necessities which, all the while, she
+was doing her best to keep from their knowledge.  Often, too, as Stingy
+Willis went in and out of the door so close to her own, she thought: "How
+hard it is that this man should have riches hidden away, while I have
+scarcely the wherewith to buy food for my children!  Walls are said to
+have ears,--why have they not also tongues to cry out to him, to tell him
+of the misery so near?  Is there nothing which could strike a spark of
+human feeling from his flinty heart?"  Then, reproaching herself for the
+rebellious feeling, she would murmur a prayer for strength and patience.
+
+The partition between the two houses was thin.  She and Bernard could
+frequently hear the old man moving about his dreary apartments, or going
+up or down the stairs leading to the cellar.  "Old Willis is counting his
+money-bags again, I guess!" Bernard would say lightly, as the familiar
+shuffling to and fro caught his ear; while his mother, to banish the
+shadow of envious discontent, quietly told a decade of her Rosary.
+
+The conversation anent the subject of the coal kept recurring to her mind
+with odd persistency.  Repeatedly of late she had awakened in the night
+and heard the miser stumbling around; several times she was almost
+certain he was in her cellar, and--yes, surely, _at the
+coal_,--purloining it piece by piece, probably.  Then just as, fully
+aroused, she awaited further proof, the noise would cease, and she would
+conclude she must have been mistaken.  At last, however, it would seem
+that her suspicions were confirmed.
+
+On this occasion Mrs. Farrell had not retired at the usual hour.  It was
+after midnight, yet she was still occupied in a rather hopeless effort to
+patch Jack's only pair of trousers; for he evinced as remarkable an
+ability to wear out clothes as any son of a millionaire.  The work was
+tedious and progressed slowly, for her fingers were stiff and the effort
+of sewing painful.  Finally it was finished.  With a sigh of relief she
+rested a moment in her chair.  Just then the silence was broken by a
+peculiar sound, like the cautious shifting of a board.  That it proceeded
+from the cellar was beyond question.  A singular rattling followed.  She
+rose, went into the hall and listened.  Yes, there was no delusion about
+it: somebody was at the coal,--that coal which, she remembered bitterly,
+was now but a small heap in the bin.  That the culprit was Stingy Willis
+there could be little doubt.
+
+Bernard had fallen asleep on the sofa an hour or more before.  His mother
+stole to his side, and in a low voice called him.  He stirred uneasily.
+She called again, whereupon he opened his eyes and stared at her in
+bewilderment.
+
+"Hark!" she whispered, signalling to him not to speak.
+
+Once more came the noise, now more distinct and definable.  The heartless
+intruder had become daring; the click of a shovel was discernible; he was
+evidently helping himself liberally.
+
+Bernard looked at his mother in perplexity and surprise.
+
+"Stingy Willis?" he interrogated.
+
+She nodded.
+
+"And at the coal, by Jove!" he exclaimed, suddenly realizing the
+situation, and now wide awake.
+
+He started up, and presently was creeping down the stairs to the kitchen.
+Mrs. Farrell heard him open the cellar door with the least possible
+creak.  She knew he was on the steps which led below, but he made no
+further sound.  She had no other clue to his movements, and could only
+distinguish the rumble of the coal.  She waited, expecting momentarily
+that it would cease, dreading the altercation which would follow, and
+regretting she had aroused her son.
+
+"He is quick-tempered," she soliloquized.  "What if words should lead to
+blows,--if he should strike the old man!  How foolish I was to let him go
+alone!"
+
+The suspense was ominous.  What was the boy going to do?  Why all this
+delay?  Why did he not promptly confront the fellow and order him to be
+gone?  In reality, only a few minutes had elapsed since she first heard
+the noise, but it seemed a quarter of an hour even since he left her.
+Should she go down herself, or call out to him?  While she hesitated
+Bernard suddenly reappeared.  She leaned over the banisters to question
+him; but, with a gesture imploring her to be silent, the astonished boy
+said, hardly above his breath: "Mother, come here!"
+
+Cautiously she descended to the entry.  He led her through the kitchen to
+the cellar steps.  All the time the shovelling continued.  Whispering
+"Don't be afraid," Bernard blew out the candle he carried, and, taking
+her hand, added: "Look!"
+
+From the corner of the cellar in which the coal-bin was situated came the
+light of a lantern.  Crouching down, Mrs. Farrell could see that it
+proceeded from a hole in the wall which separated the two houses.  There
+was no one upon her premises, after all; but at the other side of the
+partition was Stingy Willis, sure enough!  Through the opening she could
+just catch a glimpse of his grey head and thin, sharp features.
+Trembling with indignation, she peered forward to get a better view.
+Yes, there was Stingy Willis certainly; but--oh, for the charity, the
+neighborliness which "thinketh no evil!"--he was shovelling coal from his
+own _into_ the Farrells' bin!  As this fact dawned upon her she felt as
+if she would like to go through the floor for shame.  Drawing back
+abruptly, she groped her way to the kitchen, and sank into a chair, quite
+overcome by emotion.  Bernard, having relighted the candle, stood gazing
+at her with an abashed air.  In a moment or two the shovelling ceased,
+and they could hear the old man, totally unconscious of the witnesses to
+his good deed, slowly ascending to his cheerless rooms again.
+
+Stingy Willis alone had discovered their need.  With a delicacy which
+respected their reticence, and shrank from an offer of aid which might
+offend, he had hit upon this means of helping them.  Clearly, he had been
+thus surreptitiously supplying them with fuel for weeks,--a little at a
+time, to avoid discovery.  And Mrs. Farrell, in her anxiety and
+preoccupation, had not realized that, with the steady inroads made upon
+it, a ton of coal could not possibly last so long.
+
+"That, of all people, Stingy Willis should be the one to come to our
+assistance!" exclaimed the widow.
+
+"And to think he is not _Stingy_ Willis at all!  That is the most
+wonderful part of it!" responded Bernard.
+
+"Often lately," continued the former, "when I happened to meet him going
+in or out, I fancied that his keen old eyes darted a penetrating glance
+at me; and the fear that they would detect the poverty we were trying to
+hide so irritated me that sometimes I even pretended not to hear his
+gruff 'Good-morning!'"
+
+"Well, he's a right jolly fellow!" cried Bernard, enthusiastically,
+
+His mother smiled.  The adjective was ludicrously inappropriate, but she
+understood Bernard's meaning, and appreciated his feelings as he went on:
+
+"Yes, I'll never let anybody say a word against him in my hearing after
+this, and I'll declare I have proof positive that he's no miser."
+
+"He is a noble-hearted man certainly," said Mrs. Farrell.  "I wish we
+knew more about him.  But, for one thing, Bernard, this experience has
+taught us to beware of rash judgments; to look for the jewels, not the
+flaws, in the character of our neighbor."
+
+"Yes, indeed, mother," replied the youth, decidedly.  "You may be sure
+that in future I'll try to see what is best in everyone."
+
+The next morning Mrs. Farrell went about her work in a more hopeful mood.
+Bernard started for the office in better spirits than usual, humming
+snatches of a song, a few words of which kept running in his mind all day:
+
+  "God rules, and thou shall have more sun
+  When clouds their perfect work have done."
+
+That afternoon Mr. Crosswell, the head of the firm, who seemed suddenly
+to have become aware that something was wrong, said to him:
+
+"My lad, how is it that your mother has not been doing the extra
+type-writing lately?  I find a great deal of it has been given to some
+one else."
+
+"She has been sick with rheumatism, sir," answered the boy; "and her
+fingers are so stiff that she cannot work the machine."
+
+"Tut! tut!" cried the lawyer, half annoyed.  "You should have told me
+this before.  If she is ill, she must need many little luxuries" (he
+refrained from saying _necessaries_).  "She must let me pay her in
+advance.  Here are twenty-five dollars.  Tell her not to hesitate to use
+the money, for she can make up for it in work later.  I was, you know, a
+martyr to rheumatism last winter, but young Dr. Sullivan cured me.  I'll
+send him round to see her; and, remember, there will be no expense to you
+about it."
+
+"I don't know how to thank you, sir!" stammered Bernard, gratefully.
+Then he hurried home to tell his mother all that had happened, and to put
+into her hands the bank-notes, for which she could find such ready use.
+
+Doctor Sullivan called to see Mrs. Farrell the following day,
+
+"Why," said he, "this is a very simple case!  You would not have been
+troubled so long but for want of the proper remedies."
+
+He left her a prescription, which wrought such wonders that in a
+fortnight she was able to resume her occupation.
+
+From this time also Mr. Crosswell gave Bernard many opportunities by
+which he earned a small sum in addition to his weekly salary, and soon
+the Farrells were in comfortable circumstances again.
+
+By degrees they became better acquainted with old Willis; but it was not
+till he began to be regarded, and to consider himself, as an intimate
+friend of the family that Bernard's mother ventured to tell him they knew
+of his kind deed done in secret,--a revelation which caused him much
+confusion.  Bernard had discovered long before that their eccentric
+neighbor, far from being a parsimonious hoarder of untold wealth, was, in
+fact, almost a poor man.  He possessed a life-interest in the house in
+which he dwelt, and the income of a certain investment left to him by the
+will of a former employer in acknowledgment of faithful service.  It was
+a small amount, intended merely to insure his support; but, in spite of
+his age, he still worked for a livelihood, distributing the annuity in
+charity.  The noble-hearted old man stinted himself that he might be
+generous to the sick, the suffering, the needy; for the "miser's gold"
+was only a treasure of golden deeds.
+
+
+
+
+THAT RED SILK FROCK.
+
+I.
+
+You could not help liking little Annie Conwell; she was so gentle, and
+had a half shy, half roguish manner, which was very winning.  And,
+then, she was so pretty to look at, with her pink cheeks, soft blue
+eyes, and light, wavy hair.  Though held up as a model child, like most
+people, including even good little girls, she was fond of her own way;
+and if she set her heart upon having anything, she wanted it without
+delay--right then and there.  And she usually got it as soon as
+possible; for Mr. Conwell was one of the kindest of fathers, and if
+Annie had cried for the moon he would have been distressed because he
+could not obtain it for her; while, as the two older children, Walter
+and Josephine, were away at boarding-school, Mrs. Conwell, in her
+loneliness at their absence, was perhaps more indulgent toward her
+little daughter than she would otherwise have been.
+
+Annie's great friend was Lucy Caryl.  Lucy lived upon the next block;
+and every day when going to school Annie called for her, or Lucy ran
+down to see if Annie was ready.  Regularly Mrs. Conwell said:
+"Remember, Annie, I want you to come straight from school, and not stop
+at the Caryls'.  If you want to go and play with Lucy afterward, I have
+no objection, but you _must_ come home first."
+
+"Yes, um," was the docile answer she invariably made.
+
+But, strange as it may seem, although Annie Conwell was considered
+clever and bright enough in general, and often stood head of her class,
+she seemed to have a wretched memory in regard to this parting
+injunction of her mother, or else there were ostensibly many good
+reasons for making exceptions to the rule.  When, as sometimes
+happened, she entered the house some two hours after school was
+dismissed, and threw down her books upon the sitting-room table, Mrs.
+Conwell reproachfully looked up from her sewing and asked: "What time
+is it, dear?"
+
+And Annie, after a startled glance at the clock, either stammered, "O
+mother, I forgot!" or else rattled off an unsatisfactory excuse.
+
+"Very well!" was the frequent warning.  "If you stay at Lucy Caryl's
+without permission, you must remain indoors on Saturday as a punishment
+for your disobedience."
+
+Nevertheless, when the end of the week came, Annie usually managed to
+escape the threatened penalty.  For Saturday is a busy day in the
+domestic world; and Mrs. Conwell was one of the fine, old-fashioned
+housekeepers--now, unfortunately, somewhat out of date--who looked well
+after the ways of her household, which was in consequence pervaded by
+an atmosphere of comfort and prosperity.
+
+One especial holiday, however, she surprised the little maid by saying,
+
+"Annie, I have told you over and over again that you must come directly
+home from school, and yet for several days you have not made your
+appearance until nearly dusk.  I am going down town now, and I forbid
+you to go out to play until I return.  For a great girl, going on ten
+years of age, you are too heedless.  Something must be done about it."
+
+Annie reddened, buried her cheeks in the fur of her mother's sable muff
+with which she was toying, and gave a sidelong glance at Mrs. Conwell's
+face.  The study of it assured her that there was no use in "begging
+off" this time; so she silently laid down the muff and walked to the
+window.
+
+Mrs. Conwell, after clasping her handsome fur collar--or tippet, as it
+was called--over the velvet mantle which was the fashion in those days,
+and surveying in the mirror the nodding plumes of her bonnet of royal
+purple hue, took up the muff and went away.
+
+"A great girl!" grumbled Annie, as she watched the lady out of sight.
+"She always says that when she is displeased.  'Going on ten years of
+age!'  It is true, of course; but, then, I was only nine last month.
+At other times, when persons ask me how old I am, if I answer 'Most
+ten,' mother is sure to laugh and say, 'Annie's just past nine.'  It
+makes me so mad!"
+
+There was no use in standing idly thinking about it though, especially
+as nothing of interest was occurring in the street just then; so Annie
+turned away and began to wonder what she should do to amuse herself.
+In the "best china closet" was a delicious cake.  She had discovered
+that the key of the inner cupboard, where it was locked up, was kept in
+the blue vase on the dining-room mantel.  She had been several times
+"just to take a peep at the cake," she said to herself.  Mrs. Conwell
+had also looked at it occasionally, and it had no appearance of having
+been interfered with.  Yet, somehow, there was a big hole scooped in
+the middle of it from the under side.  The discovery must be made some
+day, and then matters would not be so pleasant for the meddler; but, in
+the meantime, this morning Annie concluded to try "just a crumb" of the
+cake, to make sure it was not getting stale.
+
+Having satisfied herself upon that point, and being at a loss for
+occupation, she thought she would see what was going on out of doors
+now.  (If some little girls kept account of the minutes they spend in
+looking out of the window, how astonished they would be at the result!)
+At present the first person Annie saw was Lucy Caryl, who from the
+opposite sidewalk was making frantic efforts to attract her attention.
+
+"Come into my house and play with me," Lucy spelled with her fingers in
+the deaf and dumb alphabet.
+
+Annie raised the sash.  "I can't, Lucy!" she called.  "Mother said I
+must stay in the house."
+
+"Oh, do come--just for a little while!" teased naughty Lucy.  "Your
+mother will never know.  She has gone away down town: I saw her take
+the car.  We'll watch the corner; when we see her coming, you can run
+around by the yard and slip in at the gate before she reaches the front
+door."
+
+The inducement was strong.  Annie pretended to herself that she did not
+understand the uneasy feeling in her heart, which told her she was not
+doing right.  The servants were down in the kitchen, and would not miss
+her.  She ran for her cloak and hood--little girls wore good, warm
+hoods in those days,--and in a few moments was scurrying along the
+sidewalk with Lucy.
+
+The Caryls lived in a spacious brown stone house, which exteriorly was
+precisely like the residence of the Conwells.  The interior, however,
+was very different.  Contrasted with the brightness of Annie's home, it
+presented an appearance of cheerless and somewhat dingy grandeur.  The
+parlors, now seldom used, were furnished in snuff-colored damask, a
+trifle faded; the curtains, of the same heavy material, had a stuffy
+look, and made one long to throw open the window to get a breath of
+fresh air.  The walls were adorned with remarkable tapestries in great
+gilt frames, testimonials to the industry of Mrs. Caryl during her
+girlhood.  Here and there, too, hung elaborate souvenirs of departed
+members of the family, in the shape of memorial crosses and wreaths of
+waxed flowers, also massively framed.  They were very imposing; but
+Annie had a nervous horror of them, and invariably hurried past that
+parlor door.
+
+The little girls usually played together in a small room adjoining the
+sitting-room.  They had by no means the run of the house.  Annie,
+indeed, felt a certain awe of Lucy's mother, who was stern and severe
+with children.
+
+"I'm sure I shouldn't care to go to the Caryls', except that Lucy is so
+seldom allowed to come to see me," she often declared.
+
+On this particular afternoon Mrs. Caryl had also gone out.
+
+"My Aunt Mollie sent me some lovely clothes for my doll," said Lucy.
+"The box is up on the top story.  Come with me to get it."
+
+Remembering the "funeral flowers," as Annie called them, she had an
+idea that Lucy's mother kept similar or even more uncanny treasures
+stored away "on the top story," which her imagination invested with an
+air of mystery.  So she hesitated.
+
+"Come!" repeated Lucy, who forthwith tripped on ahead, and looked over
+the baluster to see why she did not follow.
+
+Annie hesitated no longer, but started up the steps.  Just at that
+moment a peculiar sound, like the clanging of a chain, followed by a
+strange, rustling noise, came from one of the rooms above.  A foolish
+terror seized upon her.
+
+"O gracious! what's that?" she panted; and, turning, would have fled
+down the stairs again, had not Lucy sprung toward her and caught her
+dress.
+
+"It's nothing, goosie!" said she, "except Jim.  He's been a naughty
+boy, and is tied up in the front room.  Ma thought she'd try that plan
+so he could not slip out to go skating.  I suppose I ought to have told
+you, though.  Maybe you thought we had a crazy person up here."
+
+Annie forced herself to laugh.  Reassured in a measure, and still more
+curious, she ventured to go on.  When she reached the upper hall, she
+saw that the door of the front room was open, and, looking in, beheld a
+comical spectacle.  Fastened by a stout rope to one of the high posts
+of an old-fashioned bedstead was a rollicking urchin of about eight
+years of age, who seemed to be having a very good time, notwithstanding
+his captivity.  Upon his shoes were a pair of iron clamps resembling
+spurs, such as were used for skates.  It was the clank of these against
+the brass balls, of which there was one at the top of each post, which
+made the sound that had so frightened Annie.
+
+"Hello!" he called out as he caught sight of her.  And, fascinated by
+the novelty of the situation, she stood a moment watching his antics,
+which were similar to those of a monkey upon a pole.  Again and again
+he climbed the post, indulged in various acrobatic performances upon
+the foot-board, and then turned a double somersault right into the
+centre of the great feather-bed.  And all the while his villainous
+little iron-bound heels made woful work, leaving countless dents and
+scratches upon the fine old mahogany, and catching in the meshes of the
+handsome knitted counterpane.
+
+"You'd better stop that!" Lucy called to him.
+
+In response to her advice, he clambered over and seated himself upon
+the mantel.
+
+"Oh! oh!" she expostulated in alarm, lest the shelf should fall beneath
+his weight.
+
+As that catastrophe did not occur, he coolly shifted his position, made
+a teasing grimace at her, and when she turned away slipped down and
+resumed his gymnastic exercises.
+
+There was nothing else on the top story to excite Annie's surprise, but
+she was glad when Lucy secured the box and led the way downstairs.
+
+
+
+II.
+
+"When the little friends were again in their accustomed play corner,
+Lucy, with much satisfaction, displayed her present.
+
+"Your Aunt Mollie must be awful nice!" exclaimed Annie.  "How lucky you
+are!  Three more dresses for your doll!  Clementina has not had any new
+clothes for a long time.  I think that red silk dress is the prettiest,
+don't you?"
+
+"I haven't quite decided," answered Lucy.  "Christabel looks lovely in
+it; but I think the blue one is perhaps even more becoming."
+
+They tried the various costumes upon Lucy's doll, and admired the
+effect of each in turn.
+
+"Still, I like the red silk dress best," said Annie.
+
+"It would just suit Clementina, wouldn't it?" suggested Lucy.
+
+"Yes," sighed Annie, taking up the little frock, and imagining she saw
+her own doll attired in its gorgeousness.  After regarding it enviously
+for a few moments, she said: "Say, Lucy, give it to me, won't you?"
+
+"Why, the idea!" cried Lucy, aghast at the audacity of the proposal.
+
+"I think you might," pouted Annie.  "You hardly ever give me anything,
+although you are my dearest friend.  I made you a present of
+Clementina's second best hat for Christabel, and only yesterday I gave
+you that sweet bead ring you asked me for."
+
+These unanswerable arguments were lost upon Lucy, however.  She
+snatched away the tiny frock, and both little girls sulked a while.
+
+"Lucy's real mean!" said Annie to herself.  "She ought to give it to
+me,--she knows she ought!  Oh, dear, I want it awfully!  She owes me
+something for what I've given her.--I am going home," she announced
+aloud.
+
+"Oh, no!" protested Lucy, aroused to the sense of her duties as
+hostess.  "Let us put away the dolls and read.  There is a splendid new
+story this week in the _Young Folks' Magazine_."
+
+Taking Annie's silence for assent, she packed Christabel and her
+belongings away again, and went to get the book.  Annie waited
+sullenly.  Then, as her friend did not come back immediately, she began
+to fidget.
+
+"Lucy need not have been in such a hurry to whisk her things into the
+box," she complained.  "To look at the red dress won't spoil it, I
+suppose.  I _will_ have another look at it, anyhow!"
+
+She raised the cover of the box and took out the dainty dress.  Still
+Lucy did not return.  A temptation came to Annie.  Why not keep the
+pretty red silk frock?  Lucy would not miss it at once; afterward she
+would think she had mislaid it.  She would never suspect the truth.
+Annie breathed hard.  If she had quickly put the showy bit of trumpery
+back into the box and banished the covetous wish, all would have been
+well; but instead, she stood deliberating and turning the little dress
+over and over in her hands.  Meantime a hospitable thought had occurred
+to Lucy.  She remembered that there was a new supply of apples in the
+pantry, and had gone to get one for Annie and one for herself.  On her
+way through the dining-room she happened to look out of the window.
+
+"Goodness gracious!" she exclaimed; for there was Mrs. Conwell getting
+out of the car at the corner!
+
+At Lucy's call of, "Annie, here comes your mother!" Annie started,
+hesitated, glanced at the box, and, alas! crammed the red silk frock
+into her pocket.  Then she caught up her cloak and hood, and rushed
+down the stairs.  Lucy ran to open the yard gate for her, and thrust
+the apple into her hand as she passed.
+
+Flurried and short of breath, she reached home just as Mrs. Conwell
+rang the door-bell.  She did not hasten as usual to greet her mother;
+but, hurrying to her own little room, shut herself in, and sat down on
+the bed to recover from her confusion.
+
+It happened that the cook claimed Mrs. Conwell's attention in regard to
+some domestic matter, and thus she did not at once inquire for her
+little daughter, supposing that the child was contentedly occupied.
+Annie, therefore, had some time in which to collect her thoughts.  As
+her excitement gradually died away, she found that, instead of feeling
+the satisfaction she expected in having spent the afternoon as she
+pleased and yet escaped discovery, she was restless and unhappy.  Upon
+her neat dressing-table lay the apple which Lucy had given her.  It was
+ripe and rosy, but she felt that a bite of it would choke her.  Above
+the head of the bed hung a picture of the Madonna with the Divine
+Child.  Obeying a sudden impulse, she jumped up and turned it inward to
+the wall.  Ah, Annie, what a coward a guilty conscience can make of the
+bravest among us!
+
+Glancing cautiously around, as if the very walls had eyes and could
+reveal what they saw, she drew from her pocket the red silk frock.  She
+sat and gazed at it as if in a dream.  It was as pretty as ever, yet it
+no longer gave her pleasure.  She did not dare to try it on Clementina;
+she wanted to hide it away in some corner where no one would ever find
+it.  Tiny as it was, she felt that it could never be successfully
+concealed; Remorse would point it out wherever it was secreted.  Annie
+began to realize what she had done.  She had stolen!  She, proud Annie
+Conwell, who held her head so high, whom half the girls at school
+envied, had taken what did not belong to her!  How her cheeks burned!
+She wondered if it had been found out yet.  What would Lucy say?  Would
+she tell all the girls, and would they avoid her, and whisper together
+when she was around, saying, "Look out for Annie Conwell!  She is not
+to be trusted."
+
+She covered her face with her hands, and burst into tears.  And all the
+while a low voice kept whispering in her heart with relentless
+persistency, till human respect gave way to higher motives.  She
+glanced up at the picture, turned it around again with a feeling of
+compunction, and, humbled and contrite, sank on her knees in a little
+heap upon the floor.
+
+A few moments afterward her mother's step sounded in the hall.  When
+one finds a little girl's cloak flung on the baluster, stumbles over a
+hood on the stairs, and picks up an odd mitten somewhere else, the
+evidences are strong that the owner has come home in a hurry.  Mrs.
+Conwell had, therefore, discovered Annie's disobedience.  She threw
+open the door, intending to rebuke her severely; but the sight of the
+child's flushed and tear-stained face checked the chiding words upon
+her lips.
+
+"What is the matter, Annie?" she inquired, somewhat sternly.
+
+"O mother, please don't scold me!  I'm unhappy enough already,"
+faltered Annie, beginning to cry again.
+
+Then, as the burden of her miserable little secret had become
+unendurable, she told the whole story.  Mrs. Conwell looked pained and
+grave, but her manner was very gentle as she said:
+
+"Of course, the first thing for you to do is to return what you have
+unjustly taken."
+
+Annie gave a little nervous shudder.  "What! go and tell Lucy I stole
+her doll's red silk dress?" she exclaimed.  "How could I ever!"
+
+"I do not say it is necessary to do that," answered her mother; "but
+you are certainly obliged to restore it.  I should advise you to take
+it back without delay, and have the struggle over."
+
+She went away, and left the little girl to reflect upon the matter.
+But the more Annie debated with herself, the more difficulty she had in
+coming to a decision.  Finally she started up, exclaiming,
+
+"The longer I think about it the harder it seems.  I'll just _do it_
+right off."
+
+She picked up the dress, darted down the stairs, hurriedly prepared to
+go out, and in a few moments was hastening down the block to the
+Caryls'.  Lucy saw her coming, and met her at the door.
+
+"Did you get a scolding?  Was your mother very much displeased?" she
+asked; for she perceived immediately that Annie had been crying, and
+misinterpreted the cause of her tears.
+
+"Oh, no!--well, I suppose she was," hesitated Annie.  "But she did not
+say much."
+
+"How did she happen to let you come down here again?" continued Lucy,
+leading the way to the sitting-room.
+
+Annie cast a quick glance at the table.  The box which contained
+Christabel and her wardrobe was no longer there.  It was useless, then,
+to hope for a chance to quietly slip the red dress into it again.
+
+Lucy repeated the question, wondering what had set her playmate's
+thoughts a-wool-gathering.
+
+"I'm not going to stay," began Annie.
+
+Lucy's clear eyes met hers inquiringly.  To her uneasy conscience they
+seemed to accuse her and to demand the admission of her fault.  Her
+cheeks grew crimson; and, as a person in a burning building ventures a
+perilous leap in the hope of escape, so Annie, finding her present
+position intolerable, stammered out the truth.
+
+"I only came to bring back something.  Don't be vexed, will you, at
+what I'm going to tell you?  I took that red silk dress home with me;
+but here it is, and I'm sorry, Lucy,--indeed I am!"
+
+A variety of expressions flitted across Lucy's face as she listened.
+Incredulity, surprise, and indignation were depicted there.  Annie had
+stated the case as mildly as possible, but Lucy understood.  After the
+first surprise, however, she began to comprehend dimly that it must
+have required a good deal of moral courage thus openly to bring back
+the little dress.  She was conscious of a new respect for Annie, who
+stood there so abashed.  For a few moments there was an awkward pause;
+then she managed to say:
+
+"Oh, that is all right!  Of course I should have been vexed if you had
+not brought it back, because I should have missed it as soon as I
+opened the box.  I was mean about it, anyway.  I might have let you
+take it to try on Clementina.  Here, I'll give it to you now, to make
+up for being stingy."
+
+Annie shook her head, and refused to take the once coveted gift from
+her companion's outstretched hand.
+
+"Then I'll lend it to you for ever and ever," continued Lucy,
+impulsively.
+
+"No, I don't want it now," answered Annie.  "Good-bye!"
+
+"Will you go to walk with me to-morrow after Sunday-school?" urged
+Lucy, as she followed her to the door.
+
+"P'rhaps!" replied her little friend, hastening away.
+
+The inquiry brought her a feeling of relief, however.  Lucy evidently
+had no thought of "cutting" her acquaintance.  The sense of having done
+right made her heart light and happy as she ran home.  The experience
+had taught her that one must learn to see many pretty things without
+wishing to possess them; and also that small acts of disobedience and a
+habit of meddling may lead further than one at first intends.
+
+Annie became a lovely woman, a devoted daughter, a most
+self-sacrificing character, and one scrupulously exact in her dealings
+with others; but she never forgot "that red silk frock."
+
+
+
+
+"A LESSON WITH A SEQUEL."
+
+"How strange that any one should be so superstitious!" said Emily
+Mahon.  Rosemary Beckett had been telling a group of girls of the
+ridiculous practices of an old negro woman employed by her mother as a
+laundress.
+
+"People must be very ignorant to believe such things," declared Anna
+Shaw, disdainfully.
+
+"Yet," observed Miss Graham, closing the new magazine which she had
+been looking over, "it is surprising how many persons, who ought to
+know better, are addicted to certain superstitions, and cannot be made
+to see that it is not only foolish but wrong to yield to them."
+
+"Well," began Rosemary, "I am happy to say that is not a failing of
+mine."
+
+"I think everything of the kind is nonsensical," added Kate Parsons.
+
+"I'm not a bit superstitious either," volunteered Emily.
+
+"Nor I," interposed Anna.
+
+"I despise such absurdities," continued May Johnston.
+
+"My dear girls," laughed Miss Graham, "I'll venture to say that each
+one of you has a pet superstition, which influences you more or less,
+and which you ought to overcome."
+
+This assertion was met by a chorus of indignant protests.
+
+"Why, Cousin Irene!" cried Emily.
+
+"O, Miss Graham, how _can_ you think so!"
+
+"The very idea!" etc., etc., chimed in the others.
+
+Everybody liked Miss Irene Graham.  She lived with her cousins, the
+Mahons, and supported herself by giving lessons to young girls who for
+various reasons did not attend a regular school.  Her classes were
+popular, not only because she was bright and clever, and had the
+faculty of imparting what she knew; but because, as parents soon
+discovered, she taught her pupils good, sound common-sense, as well as
+"the shallower knowledge of books."  Cousin Irene had not forgotten how
+she used to think and feel when she herself was a young girl, and
+therefore she was able to look at the world from a girl's point of
+view, to sympathize with her dreams and undertakings.  She did not look
+for very wise heads upon young shoulders; but when she found that her
+pupils had foolish notions, or did not behave sensibly, she tried to
+make them see this for themselves; and we all know from experience that
+what we learn in that way produces the most lasting impression.
+
+The girls now gathered around her were members of the literature class,
+which met on Wednesday and Saturday mornings at the Mahons'.  As they
+considered themselves accomplished and highly cultivated for their
+years, it was mortifying to be accused of being so unenlightened as to
+believe in omens.
+
+"No, I haven't a particle of superstition," repeated Rosemary,
+decidedly.  "There's one thing I won't do, though.  I won't give or
+accept a present of anything sharp--a knife or scissors, or even a
+pin,--because, the saying is, it cuts friendship.  I've found it so,
+too.  I gave Clara Hayes a silver hair-pin at Christmas, and a few
+weeks after we quarrelled."
+
+"There is the fault, popping up like a Jack-in-the box!" said Miss
+Irene.  "But, if I remember, Clara was a new acquaintance of yours in
+the holidays, and you and she were inseparable.  The ardor of such
+extravagant friendship soon cools.  Before long you concluded you did
+not like her so well as at first; then came the disagreement.  But is
+it not silly to say the pin had anything to do with the matter?  Would
+it not have been the same if you had given her a book or a picture?"
+
+"If I'm walking in the street with a friend, I'm always careful never
+to let any person or thing come between us," admitted Kate Parsons.
+"It's a sure sign that you'll be disappointed--"
+
+"Oh, it will be all right if you remember to say 'Bread and butter!'"
+interrupted Anna, eagerly.
+
+They all laughed; but Miss Irene saw by the tell-tale faces of several
+that they clung to this childish practice.
+
+"We used to do so in play when we were little girls," said Emily,
+apologetically; "and I suppose it became a habit."
+
+"The other day," Miss Graham went on, "I heard a young lady say: 'If
+you are setting out upon a journey, or even a walk, and have to go back
+to the house for anything, be sure you sit down before starting off
+again.' It is bad luck not to do so.'"
+
+Emily colored.
+
+"Yes, we are very particular about that!" cried Rosemary, impulsively,
+as her companions did not contradict the avowal; it was evident that
+she knew what she was talking about.
+
+The conversation turned to other subjects.  Presently Anna and Rosemary
+were planning an excursion to a neighboring town.
+
+"To visit Elizabeth Harris, who was at the convent with us last year,"
+explained the latter.  "Suppose we go to-morrow?"
+
+"I have an engagement with the dentist," was the doleful reply.
+
+"Well, the day after?"
+
+"Let me see," mused Anna.  "Oh, no!" she added, hastily.  "I could not
+start on a journey or begin any work on a Friday; it would not be
+lucky, you know!"  Then she flushed and looked toward Miss Irene, who
+shook her head significantly and wrote in her note-book, "Superstitious
+practice No. 4."
+
+As it was Emily's birthday, the girls had been invited to stay for
+luncheon.  Emily now led the way to the dining-room, where a pretty
+table was spread.  Everything was as dainty as good taste and handsome
+auxiliaries could make it: the snowy damask, fine glass, and old family
+silver; the small crystal bowls filled with chrysanthemums, and at each
+plate a tiny bouquet.
+
+Mr. Mahon was down town at his business, but there stood Mrs. Mahon, so
+kind and affable; and the boys and girls of the family were waiting to
+take their seats.  The party paused, while, according to the good
+old-fashioned custom (now too often neglected), grace was said; and
+Cousin Irene, contemplating the bright faces and pleasant surroundings,
+thought she had seldom seen a more attractive picture.  But now she
+noticed that May, after a quick look around, appeared startled and
+anxious.  The next moment the foolish girl exclaimed:
+
+"O Mrs. Mahon, there are thirteen of us here!  You do not like to have
+thirteen persons at your table, do you?  Pardon me, but I'm so nervous
+about it!"
+
+A shadow of annoyance flitted across Mrs. Mahon's motherly countenance,
+but she answered gently: "My dear, I never pay any attention to the
+superstition.  Still a hostess will not insist upon making a guest
+uncomfortable.  Tom," she continued, addressing her youngest son, "you
+will oblige me by taking your luncheon afterward."
+
+Tom scowled at May, flung himself out of his chair, mumbled something
+about "stuff and nonsense;" and, avoiding his mother's reproving
+glance, went off in no amiable humor.
+
+May was embarrassed, especially as she felt Miss Irene's grave eyes
+fixed upon her.  But Mrs. Mahon was too courteous to allow any one to
+remain disconcerted at her hospitable board.  With ready tact she
+managed that the little incident should seem speedily forgotten.  After
+a momentary awkwardness the girls began to chatter merrily again, and
+harmony was restored.
+
+On their return to the drawing-room, May whispered to Miss Graham: "I
+hope Mrs. Mahon will excuse me for calling her attention to the number
+at table.  I did not mean to be rude, and I suppose it is silly to be
+so superstitious; but, indeed, I can not help it."
+
+"Do not say that, dear; because you can help it if you wish," was the
+gentle reply,  "Mrs. Mahon understood, I am sure, that you did not
+intend to be impolite; but I know she must have felt regret that you
+should give way to such folly."  Then, turning to the others, Miss
+Irene continued: "Well, girls, considering the revelations of this
+morning, perhaps you will admit that you have, after all, a fair share
+of superstition."
+
+"I'm afraid so," acknowledged Rosemary; and no one demurred.
+
+"Do you know how these superstitions originated, Miss Graham?" asked
+Anna, who was of an inquiring mind.
+
+"Many of them are very ancient," replied Cousin Irene.  "That which
+predicts that the gift of anything sharp cuts friendship probably dates
+back farther than the days of Rome and Greece, and is almost as old as
+the dagger itself.  No doubt it originated in an age of frequent wars
+and quarrels, when for a warrior to put a weapon in the hands of a
+companion was perhaps to find it forthwith turned against himself.  In
+those days of strife also, when men were more ready in action than in
+the turning of phrases, and so much was expressed by symbolism, the
+offering of a sword or dagger was frequently in itself a challenge, and
+a declaration of enmity.  Thus, you see, that what was a natural
+inference in other times is meaningless in ours.  The adage which
+advises the person obliged to turn back in his journey to be careful to
+sit down before setting out anew, was at first simply a metaphorical
+way of saying that having made a false start toward the accomplishment
+of any duty, it is well to begin again at the beginning.  The custom
+which restrained comrades in arms, or friends walking or journeying
+together, from allowing anything to come between them, had also a
+figurative import.  It was a dramatic manner of declaring, 'Nothing
+shall ever part us,--no ill-will nor strife, not even this accidental
+barrier, shall interrupt our friendly intercourse.'  In the times, too,
+when there were few laws but that of might, when danger often lurked by
+the wayside, it was always well for a traveller to keep close to his
+companion, and not to separate from him without necessity.
+
+"Many other superstitions, as well, have a symbolical origin.  But the
+nineteenth century does not deal with such picturesque methods of
+expression.  We pride ourselves upon saying in so many words just what
+we mean; therefore much of the poetic imagery of other days has no
+significance in ours.  And is it not symbolism without sense which
+constitutes one of the phases of superstition?  As for your
+bread-and-butter exorcism, Anna, I presume it was simply the expression
+of a hope that nothing might interfere between hungry folk and their
+dinner.  This is, indeed, but a bit of juvenile nonsense; just as
+children will 'make believe' that some dire mishap will befall one who
+steps on the cracks of a flagged sidewalk; and so on through a score of
+funny conceits and games, innocent enough as child's play, but hardly
+worthy of sensible girls in their teens.
+
+"You know, the practice of refraining from beginning a journey or
+undertaking on Friday," continued Miss Irene, "arose from a religious
+observance of the day upon which Our Lord was crucified.  As the early
+Christians were accustomed to devote this day to meditation and prayer,
+it followed that few went abroad at that time, or set about new
+temporal ventures.  Superstition early perverted the import of this
+pious custom.  As on that day Satan marshalled all the powers of evil
+against the Son of God, so, said the soothsayers, he would beset with
+misfortune and danger the path of those who set forth on a Friday.  As
+regards the case in point, since we do not go into retreat once a week,
+I presume Anna and Rosemary have not this reason for refusing to visit
+their young friend on Friday."
+
+There was a general laugh, after which Miss Irene went on:
+
+"For the rest, we know God's loving providence carefully watches over
+us at all times, and constantly preserves us from countless dangers;
+that nothing can betide us without His permission, and that He blesses
+the work of every day if we ask Him.  Far from being influenced by the
+common superstition with regard to Friday, it would seem as if we
+should piously prefer to begin an undertaking (and in this spirit seek
+a special blessing on the work thus commenced) on the day of the week
+which commemorates that most fortunate of all days for us, on which was
+consummated the great act of Redemption.
+
+"The superstition with reference to thirteen at table dates from the
+Last Supper, of which Our Lord partook with His twelve Apostles on the
+eve of His crucifixion.  Hence the saying that of thirteen persons who
+sit down together to a repast, one will soon die.  I think it was
+originally the custom to avoid having thirteen at the festive or family
+board, not so much from this notion, as to express a horror of the
+treachery of Judas.  Such would be, for instance, the chivalrous spirit
+of the Crusaders.  We can understand how, in feudal times, a knight
+would consider it an affront to his fellows to bid them to a banquet
+spread for thirteen.  In those days, when a feast was so apt to end in
+a fray,--when by perfidy the enemy so often entered at the castle gate
+while the company were at table, and frequently a chief was slain ere
+he could rise from his place,--the circumstance would point an analogy
+which it has not with us, suggesting not merely mortality but betrayal;
+a breach of all the laws of hospitality; impending death by violence.
+Since we can not live forever, among every assemblage of individuals
+there is likely to be one at least whose life may be nearly at its
+close.  The more persons present, the greater the probability;
+therefore there is really a greater fatality in the numbers fourteen,
+twenty, thirty, than in thirteen.
+
+"But to return to the point from which we started--no, Emily, it is not
+necessary to sit down.  You will observe that many persons who declare
+emphatically that they are not superstitious, are nevertheless
+influenced by old-time sayings and practices; some of which, though
+perhaps beautiful originally, have now lost all significance; others
+which are simply relics of paganism.  Men are often as irrational in
+this respect as women; and, notice this well, you will find
+superstition much more common among non-Catholics than among Catholics.
+As we have seen, however, some of us do not realize that what we are
+pleased to call certain harmless eccentricities, are very like the
+superstitious practices forbidden by the First Commandment."
+
+Kate and Emily were not giving to this little homily the attention it
+deserved.  They had begun to trifle as girls are wont to do.  Catching
+at the tiny bisque cupid that hung from the chandelier, Emily
+sportively sent it flying toward Kate, who swung it back again.  Thus
+they kept it flitting to and fro, faster and faster.  Finally, Emily
+hit it with a jerk.  The cord by which it was suspended snapped; the
+dainty bit of bric-a-brac sped across the room, and, striking with full
+force against a mirror in a quaint old secretary that had belonged to
+Mr. Mahon's uncle, shivered the glass to pieces.  Instantly every trace
+of color fled from her face, and she stood appalled, gazing at the
+mischief she had done.  There was, of course, an exclamation from her
+companions, who remained staring at her, and appeared almost as
+disturbed as herself.
+
+Cousin Irene went over and patted her on the shoulder, saying, "Do not
+be so distressed, child.  I know you are sorry to have damaged the old
+secretary, which we value so much for its associations.  But there is
+no need of being so troubled.  We can have a new mirror put in."
+
+"It is not only that," faltered the silly girl; "but to break a
+looking-glass!  You know it is a sure sign that a great misfortune will
+befall us--that there will probably be a death in the family before
+long."
+
+"Oh, but such sayings don't always come true!  There are often
+exceptions," interposed Kate, anxious to say something consolatory, and
+heartily wishing they had let the little cupid alone.
+
+"Too bad; for it really is dreadfully unlucky to have such a thing
+happen!" sighed Rosemary, with less tact.
+
+"I know it," murmured May.
+
+"Yes, indeed," added Anna.
+
+Miss Graham drew back astonished.  "Young ladies, I am ashamed of you!"
+she said, reproachfully, and went out of the room.
+
+There were a few moments of discomfiture, and presently the girls
+concluded, one after another, that it was time to be going home.
+
+Left alone, Emily approached the secretary and examined the ruined
+mirror.  It was cracked like an egg-shell,--"smashed to smithereens,"
+Tom said in telling the story later; but only one or two bits had
+fallen out.  Idly attempting to fit these into place again, Emily
+caught sight of what she supposed was a sheet of note-paper, that had
+apparently made its way in between the back of the mirror and the frame.
+
+"An old letter of grandpa's, probably," she said aloud, taking hold of
+the corner to draw it out.  It stuck fast; but a second effort released
+it, amid a shower of splintered glass; and to her amazement she found
+in her possession a time-stained document that had a mysteriously legal
+air.  Trembling with excitement she unfolded it, and, without stopping
+to think that it might not be for her eyes, began to read the queer
+writing, which was somewhat difficult to decipher:
+
+"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
+Amen.  I, Bernard Mahon, being of sound and disposing mind, do hereby
+declare this to be my last will and testament."
+
+"Uncle Bernard's will!" gasped Emily.  "It must be the one father
+always said uncle told him about, but which never could be found.
+Perhaps he slipped it in here for safe-keeping." Eagerly she scanned
+it, crying at last, "Yes, yes!  Hurrah!  O Cousin Irene!" she called
+out, hearing the latter's step in the hall.
+
+When Miss Graham entered Emily was waltzing around the room, waving the
+document ecstatically.  "See what I've found!" she cried, darting
+toward her with an impulsive caress.
+
+Cousin Irene took the paper, and, as she perused it, became, though in
+a less demonstrative fashion, as agitated as Emily.  "Your father!" she
+stammered.
+
+Mr. Mahon had come into the house and was now in the little study,
+which he called his den.  Cousin Irene and Emily almost flew thither,
+and a few minutes later his voice, with a glad ring in it, was heard
+calling first his wife and then the children to tell them the joyful
+news.
+
+The will so long sought, so strangely brought to light, made a great
+change in the family fortunes.  By it Bryan, the old man's son, who was
+unmarried and dissipated, was entitled to merely a certain income and
+life-interest in the estate, which upon his demise was to go to the
+testator's nephew William (Mr. Mahon) and Cousin Irene.  In fact,
+however, at his father's death, Bryan, as no will was discovered, had
+entered into full possession of the property; and when within a year
+his own career was suddenly cut short, it was learned that he had
+bequeathed nothing to his relatives but a few family heirlooms.
+
+"I did not grudge Bryan what he had while he lived," said Mr. Mahon;
+"but when, after the poor fellow was drowned, we heard that he had left
+all his money to found a library for 'the Preservation of the Records
+of Sport and Sportsmen,' I did feel that, with my boys and girls to
+provide for and educate, I could have made a better use of it.  And
+Cousin Irene would have been saved a good deal of hard work if she
+could have obtained her share at the time.  Thank God it is all right
+now, and the library with the long name will have to wait for another
+founder."
+
+The girls of the literature class soon heard of their friends' good
+fortune, and were not slow in offering their congratulations.
+
+One day, some two years after, when Anna and Rosemary happened to call
+at the Mahons', a chance reference was made to the discovery of the
+will.  "Only think," exclaimed Rosemary, "how much came about through
+the spoiling of that mirror!  Emily, you surely can never again believe
+it unlucky to break a looking-glass?"
+
+"No, indeed!" replied Emily, thinking of the uninterrupted happiness
+and prosperity which the family had enjoyed since then.
+
+"It was a fortunate accident for us," said Cousin Irene; "but I should
+not advise any one to go around smashing all the looking-glasses in his
+or her house, hoping for a similar result.  It certainly would be an
+unlucky sign for the person who had to meet the bill for repairs."
+
+"Miss Graham, how do you suppose this superstition originated?" asked
+Anna, as eager for information as ever.  After a general laugh at her
+expense, Cousin Irene said:
+
+"The first mirrors, you must remember, were the forest pools and
+mountain tarns.  As the hunter stooped to one of these to slake his
+thirst, if perchance so much as a shadow should break the reflection of
+his own image in its tranquil depths, he had reason to fear that danger
+and perhaps death were at hand; for often in some such dark mirror a
+victim caught the first glimpse of his enemy, who had been waiting in
+ambush and was now stealing upon him from behind; or of the wild beast
+making ready to leap upon him.  But the popular augury that the mere
+fact of breaking a looking-glass portends death, is, you must see,
+senseless and absurd.  And so, as I think you have become convinced,
+are all superstitions.  It is true we sometimes remark coincidences,
+and are inclined to make much of them; without noting, on the contrary,
+how many times the same supposed omens and signs come to nought.  When
+God wills to send us some special happiness or trial, be assured He
+makes use of no such means to prepare us for it; since He directs our
+lives not by chance, but by His all-wise and loving Providence."
+
+
+
+
+UNCLE TOM'S STORY.
+
+I.
+
+Some pine logs burned brightly upon the andirons in the wide,
+old-fashioned chimney; and the Tyrrell children were comfortably seated
+around the fire, roasting chestnuts and telling stories.
+
+"Come, Uncle Tom, it is your turn!" cried Pollie, breaking in upon the
+reverie of their mother's brother, who, seated in the old red
+arm-chair, was gazing abstractedly at the cheery flames.
+
+"Yes, please let us have something about the war," put in Rob.
+
+"But everybody has been telling war stories for the last twenty-five
+years.  Do you not think we have had enough of them?" said the
+gentleman.
+
+"One never tires of hearing of deeds of bravery," answered Rob,
+dramatically.
+
+"Or of romantic adventures," added Pollie.
+
+Uncle Tom looked amused; but, after some hesitation, said;  "Well, I
+will tell you an incident recalled by this pine-wood fire.  It may seem
+extraordinary; but, having witnessed it myself, I can vouch for its
+truth.  You consider me an old soldier; yet, though I wore the blue
+uniform for more than a year and saw some fighting, I was only a youth
+of eighteen when the war closed; and, in spite of my boyish anxiety to
+distinguish myself and become a hero, I probably would never have
+attained even to the rank of orderly, had it not come about in the
+following manner:"
+
+
+Our regiment was stationed at A------, not far from the seat of war.
+Near our quarters was a Catholic church, attended by the ------
+Fathers.  I early made the acquaintance of one of them, who was
+popularly known as Father _Friday_, this being the nearest approach to
+the pronunciation of his peculiar German name to which the majority of
+the people could arrive.  In him I recognized my ideal of a Christian
+gentleman, and as such I still revere his memory.
+
+He was one of the handsomest men I ever saw--tall and of splendid
+physique, with light brown hair, blue eyes, and a complexion naturally
+fair, but bronzed by the sun.  Though in reality he was as humble and
+unassuming as any lay-brother in his community, his bearing was simply
+regal.
+
+He could not have helped it any more than he could help the impress of
+nobility upon his fine features.  The youngsters used to enjoy seeing
+him pass the contribution box in church at special collections.  It
+must have been "an act" (as you convent girls say, Pollie).  He would
+move along in his superb manner, looking right over the heads of the
+congregation, and disdaining to cast a glance at the "filthy lucre"
+that was being heaped up in the box which from obedience he carried.
+What were silver and gold, let alone the cheap paper currency of the
+times, to him, who had given up wealth and princely rank to become a
+religious!  Yet, in fact, they were a great deal, since they meant help
+for the needy--a church built, a hospital for the sick poor.  In this
+sense none appreciated more the value of money.
+
+Father Friday was accustomed to travel about the country for miles,
+hunting up those of his flock who, from the unsettled state of affairs,
+either could not or would not come into the town to church.  Like the
+typical missionary, from necessity he always walked; though, in my
+youthful enthusiasm, I used to think how grandly he would look upon a
+charger and in the uniform of a general.  In his old cassock, and
+wearing a hat either of plain brown straw or black felt, according to
+the season, he was as intrepid as a general, however; and went about
+alone as serenely as if the times were most peaceful.  Our colonel
+often remonstrated with him for doing so, and finally insisted upon
+appointing an orderly to attend him.  Father Friday at first declined;
+but upon hearing that the duty had been assigned to me, he in the end
+assented--partly, I suppose, to keep me from bad company and out of
+mischief.  Many a pleasant tramp I had with him; for he would beguile
+the way with anecdotes and jokes, and bits of information upon geology,
+botany, the birds of that section--everything likely to interest a boy.
+What wonder that I regarded a day with him as a genuine holiday?
+
+One October afternoon he said: "To-morrow morning, Captain Tom" (the
+title was a pleasantry of his),--"to-morrow morning I shall be glad of
+your company.  I am going some five miles back into the country to
+visit an invalid."
+
+"Very well, Father," I answered.  "I shall be ready."
+
+Accordingly, the next day, at the appointed hour, I joined him at the
+gate of the convent, and we set out--this time in silence, for he
+carried the Blessed Sacrament.  At first our course was through the
+open plain; but later it led, for perhaps a mile, across a corner of
+the pine forest, which extended all along the ridge and shut the valley
+in from the rest of the world.  We entered the wood confidently, and
+for half an hour followed the windings of the path, which gradually
+became less defined.  After a while it began to appear that we were
+making but little headway.
+
+Father Friday stopped.  "Does it not seem to you that we are merely
+going round and round, Tom?" he asked.
+
+I assented gloomily.
+
+"Have you a compass?"
+
+I shook my head.
+
+"Nor have I," he added.  "I did not think of bringing one, being so
+sure of the way.  How could we have turned from it so inadvertently?
+Well, we must calculate by the sun.  The point for which we are bound
+is in a southerly direction."
+
+Having taken our bearings, we retraced our steps a short distance, then
+pushed forward for an hour or more, without coming out upon the
+bridle-path which we expected to find.  Another hour passed; the sun
+was getting high.  Father Friday paused again.
+
+"What time is it?" he inquired.
+
+I looked at the little silver watch my mother gave me when I left home.
+"Nine o'clock!" I answered, with a start.
+
+"How unfortunate!" he exclaimed.  "There is now no use in pressing on
+farther.  We should arrive too late at our destination.  We may as well
+rest a little, and then try to find our way home.  It is unaccountable
+that I should have missed the way so stupidly."
+
+But it was one thing to order a retreat, as we soldiers would call it,
+and quite another to go back by the route we had come.  We followed
+first one track and then another; but the underbrush grew thicker and
+thicker, and at length the conviction was forced upon us that we were
+completely astray.  I climbed a tree--it was no easy task, as any one
+who has ever attempted to climb a pine will agree.  I got up some
+distance, after a fashion; but the branches were so thick and the trees
+so close together that there was nothing to be discerned, except that I
+was surrounded by what seemed miles of green boughs, which swayed in
+the breeze, making me think of the waves of an emerald sea.
+
+I scrambled down and submitted my discouraging report.  The sun was now
+overhead: it must therefore be noon.  We began to feel that even a
+frugal meal would be welcome.  I had managed to get a cup of coffee
+before leaving my quarters; but Father Friday, I suspected, had taken
+nothing.  We succeeded in finding some berries here and there; and,
+farther on, a spring of water.  However, this primitive fare was of
+little avail to satisfy one's appetite.
+
+Well, after wandering about, and shouting and hallooing till we were
+tired, in the effort to attract the attention of any one who might
+chance to be in the vicinity, we rested at the foot of a tree.  Father
+Friday recited some prayers, to which I made the responses.  Then he
+withdrew a little, and read his Office as serenely as if he were in the
+garden of the convent; while I, weary and disheartened, threw myself on
+the ground and tried again to determine by the sun where we were.  I
+must have fallen asleep; for the next thing I knew the sun was
+considerably lower, and Father Friday was waiting to make another start.
+
+"How strange," he kept repeating as we proceeded, "that we should be so
+entirely astray in a wood only a few miles in extent, and within such a
+short distance from home!  It is most extraordinary.  I cannot
+understand it."
+
+It was, indeed, singular; but I was too dispirited to speculate upon
+the subject.  Soldier though I prided myself upon being, and strong,
+active fellow that I certainly was, Father Friday was as far ahead of
+me in his endurance of the hardship of our position as in everything
+else.
+
+Dusk came, and we began to fear that we should have to remain where we
+were all night.  Again I climbed a tree, hoping to catch a glimpse of a
+light somewhere.  All was dark, however; and I was about to descend
+when--surely there was a faint glimmer yonder!  As the diver peers amid
+the depths of the sea in search of buried jewels, so I eagerly looked
+down among the green branches.  Yes, now it became a ray, and probably
+shone from some dwelling in the heart of the wood.  I called the good
+news to Father Friday.
+
+"_Deo gratias_!" he exclaimed.  "Where is it?"
+
+"Over there," said I, pointing in the direction of the light.
+
+I got to the ground as fast as I could, and we made our way toward it.
+Soon we saw it plainly, glowing among the trees; and, following its
+guidance, soon came to a cleared space, where stood a rude log cabin,
+in front of which burned a fire of pine knots.  Before it was a man of
+the class which the darkies were wont to designate as "pore white
+trash."  He was a tall, gawky countryman, rawboned, with long, unkempt
+hair.  His homespun clothes were decidedly the worse for wear; his
+trousers were tucked into the tops of his heavy cowhide boots, and
+perched upon his head was the roughest of home-woven straw-hats.
+
+At the sound of our footsteps he turned, and to say that he was
+surprised at our appearance would but ill describe his amazement.
+Father Friday speedily assured him that we were neither raiders nor
+bush-rangers, but simply two very hungry wanderers who had been astray
+in the woods all day.
+
+"Wa-all now, strangers, them is raither hard lines," said the man,
+good-naturedly.  "Jest make yerselves ter home hyere ternight, an' in
+the mornin' I'll put yer on the right road to A------.  Lors, but yer
+must a-had a march!  Been purty much all over the woods, I
+reckon.--Mirandy!" he continued, calling to some one inside the cabin.
+"Mirandy!"
+
+"I'm a-heedin', Josh.  What's the matter?" inquired a _scrawny_,
+sandy-haired woman, coming to the door, with her arms akimbo.  "Mussy
+me!" she ejaculated upon seeing us.
+
+"Hyere's two folks as has got lost in this hyere forest, an' is plum
+tired out an' powerful hongry," explained her husband.
+
+"Mussy me!" she repeated, eyeing my blue coat askance, and regarding
+Father Friday with suspicious wonder.  She had never seen a uniform
+like that long black cassock.  To which side did he belong, Federal or
+Confederate?
+
+"Mirandy's Secesh, but I'm for the Union," explained Josh, with a wink
+to us.  "Sometimes we have as big a war as any one cyares ter see,
+right hyere, on 'ccount of it.  But, Lors, Mirandy, yer ain't a-goin'
+ter quarrel with a man 'cause the color of his coat ain't ter yer
+likin' when he ain't had a bite of vittles terday!"
+
+"No, I ain't," answered the woman, stolidly.  Glancing again at Father
+Friday's kind face, she added, more graciously: "Wa-all, yer jest in
+the nick of time; the hoe-cake's nyearly done, and we war about havin'
+supper.  Hey, Josh?"
+
+"Sartain sure," said Josh, ushering us into the kitchen, which was the
+principal room of the cabin, though a door at the side apparently led
+into a smaller one adjoining.  He made us sit down at the table, and
+Mirandy placed the best her simple larder afforded before us.
+
+As we went out by the fire again, our host said, with some
+embarrassment: "Now, strangers, I know ye're fagged out, an' for sure
+ye're welcome to the tiptop of everythin' we've got.  But I'm blessed
+if I can tell whar ye're a-goin' ter sleep ternight.  We've company,
+yer see, in the leetle room yonder; an' that's the only place we've got
+ter offer, ordinar'ly."
+
+Father Friday hastened to reassure him.  "I propose to establish myself
+outside by the fire.  What could be better?" said he.
+
+Father Friday, you remember, had the Blessed Sacrament with him; and I
+knew that, weary as he was, he would pass the night in prayer.
+
+"I am actually too tired to sleep now," I began.  "But when I am
+inclined to do so, what pleasanter resting-place could a soldier desire
+than a bit of ground strewn with pine needles?"
+
+"Wa-all, I allow I'm glad yer take it the right way," declared Josh;
+then, growing loquacious, he continued: "Fact is, this is mighty
+cur'ous company of ourn--"
+
+"Josh, come hyere a minute, can't yer?" called Mirandy from within.
+
+"Sartain," he answered, breaking off abruptly, and leaving us to
+conjecture who the mysterious visitor might be.
+
+
+
+II.
+
+"Yes, I allow I'm right glad yer don't mind passin' the night out hyere
+by the fire," said Josh, taking up the thread of the conversation again
+upon his return, shortly after.  "Wa-all, I was a-tellin' about this
+queer company of ourn.  Came unexpected, same as you did; 'peared all
+of a sudden out of the woods.  It's a leetle girl, sirs; says she's
+twelve year old, but small of her age--nothin' but a child, though I
+reckon life's used her hard, pore creetur!  Yer should a-seen her when
+she 'rived.  Her shoes war most wore off with walkin', an' her purty
+leetle feet all blistered an' sore.  Mirandy 'marked to me arterward
+that her gown war a good deal tore with comin' through the brambles,
+though she'd tried to tidy it up some by pinnin' the rents together
+with thorns.  But, land sakes, I did not take notice of that: my eyes
+were jest fastened on her peaked face.  White as a ghost's, sirs; an'
+her dull-lookin', big black eyes, that stared at us, yet didn't seem
+ter see nothin'.
+
+"Wa-all, that's the way the leetle one looked when she stepped out of
+the shadders.  Mirandy was totin' water from the spring yonder, an'
+when she see her she jest dropped the bucket an' screamed--thought it
+was a spook, yer know.  I war a-pilin' wood on the fire, an' when the
+girl saw me she shrank back a leetle; but when she ketched sight o'
+Mirandy she 'peared to muster up courage, tuk a step forward, an' then
+sank down all in a heap, with a kinder moan, right by the bench thar.
+She 'peared miserable 'nough, I can tell yer: bein' all of a shiver an'
+shake, with her teeth chatterin' like a monkey's.
+
+"Mirandy stood off, thinkin' the creetur was wild or half-witted,
+likely; but I says: 'Bullets an' bombshells, Mirandy'--escuse me,
+gentlemen, but that's a good, strong-soundin' espression, that relieves
+my feelin's good as a swear word,--bullets an' bombshells, woman, don't
+yer see the girl's all broke up with the ague?'--'Why, sur 'nough!'
+cried she, a-comin' to her senses.  'I'd oughter known a chill with
+half an eye; an' sartain this beats all I ever saw,'  With that she
+went over an' tuk the girl in her arms, an' sot her on the bench,
+sayin', 'You pore honey, you!  Whar'd you come from?'  At this the
+leetle one began to cry--tried to speak, then started to cry again.
+'Wa-all, never mind a-talkin' about it now,' says Mirandy, settin' to
+quiet her, an' pettin' an' soothin' her in a way that I wouldn't
+a-believed of Mirandy if I hadn't a-seen it; for she hasn't had much to
+tetch the soft spot in her heart sence our leetle Sallie died, which is
+nigh onto eight year ago.  'Come, Josh,' she called ter me, 'jest you
+carry this hyere child inter the house an' lay her on the bed.  I
+reckon she can have the leetle room, an' you can sleep in the kitchen
+ternight.'--'I'm agreeable,' answers I; so I picked her up (she war as
+limp an' docile as could be), an' carried her in, an' put her down on
+the bed.  That was three weeks come Sunday, an' thar she's been ever
+since."
+
+Our host had finished his story, yet how much remained untold!  All the
+care and kindness which the stranger had received at the hands of these
+good simple people was passed over in silence, as if not worth
+mentioning.
+
+Josh rose and went to the fire to relight his brier-wood pipe, which
+had gone out during the recital.
+
+"And is the little girl still very ill?" asked Father Friday, with
+gentle concern.
+
+"Yes; an' the trouble is, she gets wus an' wus," was the reply.  "The
+complaint's taken a new turn lately.  She's been in a ragin' fever an'
+kind of flighty most of the time.  Yer see, she'd had a sight of
+trouble afore she broke down, an' that's what's drivin' her distracted.
+She'd lost her folks somewhar way down South,--got separated from them
+in the hurly-burly of a flight from a captured town; an', childlike,
+she set about travellin' afoot all over the land to find them.  How she
+got through the lines I can't make out, unless she got round 'em some
+way, comin' through the woods.  Anyway she's here, and likely never to
+get any farther in her search, pore honey!  But what's her name, or who
+her people are, is more nor I can say; for, cur'ous as it seems, she
+has plum forgotten these two things.
+
+"Thar's another matter, too, that bothers us some.  She keeps a-callin'
+for somebody, an' beggin' an' prayin' us not to let her die without
+somethin', in a way that would melt the heart of a rock.  It makes me
+grow hot an' then cold all in a minute, jest a-listenin' to her.
+To-day she war plum out of her head, an' war goin' to get right up an'
+go off through the woods after it herself.  Mirandy had a terrible time
+with her; an' it wasn't till she got all wore out from sheer weakness
+that she quieted down an' fell asleep, jest a leetle before yer
+'peared, strangers.  What it is she keeps entreatin' an' beseechin' for
+we never can make out, though I'd cut my hand off to get it for her,
+she's sech a patient, grateful leetle soul.  But"--Josh started up; a
+sudden hope had dawned upon him as he looked across at Father Friday's
+strong, kind face--"perhaps you could tell.  Bullets an' bombshells,
+that's a lucky idee!  I'll go an' ask Mirandy about it."
+
+That any one was ill or disquieted in mind was a sufficient appeal to
+the sympathy and zeal of Father Friday.  He put his hand to his breast
+a moment, and I knew that he was praying for the soul so sorely tried.
+
+In a few moments Josh returned, saying, "Mirandy says the leetle girl
+is jest woke up, an' seems uncommon sensible an' clear-headed.  Perhaps
+if yer war ter ask her now, she could tell yer it all plain."
+
+Father Friday rose, and I followed too, as the man led the way to the
+little room, the door of which was immediately opened by his wife, who
+motioned to us to enter.  Never shall I forget the sight that greeted
+my eyes.  Upon the bed lay a childish form, with a small, refined face,
+the pallor of which was intensified by contrast with the large dark
+eyes, that now had a half startled, expectant, indescribable
+expression.  The sufferer had evidently reached the crisis of a
+malarial fever; reason had returned unclouded; but from that strange,
+bright look, I felt that there was no hope of recovery.
+
+How shall I find words to portray what followed!  The others waited
+beside the door; but Father Friday advanced a few steps, then paused,
+so as not to frighten her by approaching abruptly.  As he stood there
+in his cassock, with his hand raised in benediction, and wearing, as I
+knew, the Blessed Sacrament upon his breast, I realized more fully than
+ever before the grandeur of the priestly mission to humanity.  The
+girl's roving glance was arrested by the impressive figure; but how
+little were any of us prepared for the effect upon her!  The dark eyes
+lighted up with joyful recognition, her cheek flushed, and with a glad
+cry she started up, exclaiming, "Thank God, my prayer is granted!  God
+has sent a priest to me before I die!"
+
+Had a miracle been wrought before us we could not have been more
+astounded.  Instinctively I fell upon my knees.  Mirandy followed my
+example; and Josh looked as if he would like to do so too, but was not
+quite sure how to manage it.
+
+Father Friday drew nearer.
+
+"I knew you would come, Father," she continued, with a happy smile.
+"This is what I have prayed for ever since I have been lying here.  I
+thought you would come to-day; for since early morning I have been
+imploring the Blessed Virgin to obtain this favor for me."
+
+She sank back on the pillow exhausted, but after a few minutes revived
+once more.
+
+It was apparent, however, that there was no time to be lost.  I
+beckoned Josh and his wife out into the kitchen, and left Father Friday
+to hear her confession.  Soon he recalled us.  I have but to close my
+eyes to see it all as if it were yesterday: the altar hastily arranged
+upon a small deal table; the flickering tallow dips, the only light to
+do homage to the divine Guest; the angelic expression of the dying girl
+as she received the Holy Viaticum.
+
+After that we all withdrew, Father Friday and I going out by the fire
+again.  He resumed his breviary, and I remained silently musing upon
+all that had passed within the last hour.  After a few moments he
+paused, with, his finger and thumb between the leaves of the book, and
+looked toward me.  I hastened to avail of the opportunity to speak my
+thoughts.
+
+"This, then, is the meaning of our strange wandering in the woods all
+day, Father," said I.  "You were being providentially led from the path
+and guided to the bedside of this poor girl, that she might not die
+without the consolations of religion."
+
+"I cannot but believe so," he replied, gravely.  "We missionaries
+witness strange things sometimes.  And what wonder?  Is not the mercy
+of God as great, the intercession of Mary as powerful, as ever?  To me
+this incident is but another beautiful example of the efficacy of
+prayer."
+
+Before long Father Friday was again summoned within, and thus all night
+he watched and prayed beside the resigned little sufferer, whose life
+was slipping so fast away.  In the grey of the early morning she died.
+
+"Mussy me, I feel like I'd lost one of my own!" sobbed Mirandy.
+
+"Yes, it's cur'ous how fond of her we grew; though she jest lay there
+so uncomplainin', an' never took much notice of nothin'," said Josh,
+drawing his brawny arm across his eyes.
+
+An hour later he led the way before Father Friday and myself, and
+conducted us to the bridle-path, which joined the turnpike several
+miles below the town.  By noon we were safely at home.
+
+Two days after, however, I again accompanied Father Friday to the
+forest, when, with blessing, the little wanderer was laid to rest among
+the pines.  One thing he had vainly tried to discover.  Though during
+that night her mind had been otherwise clear and collected, memory had
+utterly failed upon one point: she could not remember her name.  As we
+knew none to put upon the rude cross which we placed to mark her grave,
+Father Friday traced on the rough wood, with paint made by Josh from
+burnt vine twigs, the simple inscription: "A Child of Mary."
+
+
+
+
+HANGING MAY-BASKETS.
+
+I.
+
+"I am so glad May-day is coming!" exclaimed Ellen Moore.  "What sport
+we shall have hanging May-baskets!"
+
+"What do you mean?" inquired Frances, who lived in Pennsylvania, but
+had come to New England to visit her cousins.
+
+"Never heard of May-baskets?" continued Ellen, in astonishment.  "Do
+you not celebrate the 1st of May in Ridgeville?"
+
+"Of course.  Sometimes we go picking wild flowers; and at St. Agnes'
+Academy, where I go to school, they always have a lovely procession in
+honor of the Blessed Virgin."
+
+"We have one too, in the church," replied Ellen; "but hanging
+May-baskets is another thing altogether--"
+
+"That is where the fun and frolic come in," interrupted Joe, looking up
+from the miniature boat which he was whittling out with his jackknife.
+
+"You see," explained Ellen, "the afternoon before we make up a party,
+and go on a long jaunt up hill and down dale, through the woods and
+over the meadows, picking all the spring blossoms we can find.
+Finally, we come home with what we have succeeded in getting, and put
+them in water to keep fresh for the following day.  Then what an
+excitement there is hunting up baskets for them!  Tiny ones are best,
+because with them you can make the flowers go farther.  Strawberry
+baskets--the old-fashioned ones with a handle--are nice, especially if
+you paint or gild them.  Burr baskets are pretty too; and those made of
+fir cones.  Joe has a knack of putting such things together.  He made
+some elegant ones for me last year."
+
+"Are you trying to kill two birds with one stone?" asked her brother,
+with a laugh.  "Your compliment is also a hint that you would like me
+to do the same now, I suppose?"
+
+"I never kill birds," rejoined Ellen, taking the literal meaning of his
+words, for the purpose of chaffing him.  "Nor do you; for you told me
+the other day you did not understand how some boys could be so cruel."
+
+"No, but you do not mind their being killed if you want their wings for
+your hat," continued Joe, in a bantering tone.
+
+"Not at all," said Ellen, triumphantly.  "In future I am going to wear
+only ribbons and artificial flowers on my _chapeau_.  I have joined the
+Society for the Prevention of the Destruction of the Native Birds of
+America."
+
+"Whew!" ejaculated Joe, with a prolonged whistle.  "What a name!  I
+should think that by the time you got to the end of it you'd be so old
+that you wouldn't care any more for feathers and fixings.  I suppose it
+is a good thing though," he went on, more seriously.  "It is just as
+cruel to kill birds for the sake of fashion as it is for the
+satisfaction of practising with a sling; only you girls have somebody
+to do it for you; and you don't think about it, because you can just
+step into a store and buy the plumes--"
+
+"But what about the May-baskets?" protested Frances, disappointed at
+the digression.
+
+"Oh, I forgot!" said Ellen.  "Bright and early May-morning almost every
+boy and girl in the village is up and away.  The plan is to hang a
+basket of wild flowers at the door of a friend, ring the bell or rattle
+the latch, and then scamper off as fast as you can.  You have to be
+very spry so as to be back at home when your own baskets begin to
+arrive; then you must be quick to run out and, if possible, catch the
+friend who knocks, and thus find out whom to thank for the flowers."
+
+"How delightful!" cried Frances, charmed at the prospect.
+
+"It is so strange that you did not know about it!" added Ellen.
+
+"Not at all," said Mrs. Moore, who had come out on the veranda where
+the young folks were chatting,--Frances swinging in the hammock, Ellen
+ensconced in a rustic chair with her fancy-work, and Joe leaning
+against a post, and still busy whittling.  "Not at all," repeated
+Ellen's mother.  "In America it is but little observed outside of the
+Eastern States.  This is one of the beautiful traditionary customs of
+Catholic England, which even those austere Puritans, the Pilgrims,
+could not entirely divest themselves of; though among them it lost its
+former significance.  Perhaps it was the gentle Rose Standish or fair
+Priscilla, or some other winsome and good maiden of the early colonial
+days, who transplanted to New England this poetic practice, sweet as
+the fragrant pink and white blossoms of the trailing arbutus, which is
+especially used to commemorate it.  In Great Britain, though, it may
+have originated in the observances of the festivals which ushered in
+the spring.  On the introduction of Christianity it was retained, and
+continued up to within two or three hundred years,--no doubt as a
+graceful manner of welcoming the Month of Our Lady.  That it was
+considered a means of honoring the Blessed Virgin, as well as of
+expressing mutual kindness and good-will, we can see; since English
+historians tell us that up to the sixteenth century it was usual to
+adorn not only houses and gateways, but also the doors as well as the
+interior of churches, with boughs and flowers; particularly the
+entrances to shrines dedicated to the Mother of God."
+
+"And the 1st of May will be the day after to-morrow!" remarked Frances,
+coming back to the present.
+
+"Yes.  And to-morrow, right after school--that will be about three
+o'clock, you know,--we shall start on our tramp," said Ellen.  "As you
+do not have to go to school, Frances, you will be able to prepare the
+baskets during the morning.  Come into the house with me now, and I'll
+show you some which I have put away."
+
+
+
+II.
+
+The next afternoon many merry companies of young people explored the
+country round about Hazelton in quest of May-flowers.  That in which we
+are interested numbered Frances, Ellen, her brother Joe, their little
+sister Teresa, and their other cousins, Elsie and Will Grey.
+
+"I generally have to join another band," Ellen confided to Frances, as
+they walked along in advance of the rest; "because Joe does not usually
+care to go.  He is very good about making the baskets for me; but, as
+he says, he 'don't take much stock in hanging them.'  Yet, to-day he
+seems to be as anxious to get a quantity of the prettiest flowers as
+any one.  Will comes now because Joe does.  But Joe has some notion in
+his head.  I wish I could find out what it is!"
+
+Frances speculated upon the subject a few minutes; but, not being able
+to afford any help toward solving the riddle, she speedily forgot it in
+the pleasure of rambling through the fields, so newly green that the
+charm of novelty lingered like dew upon them; and among the lanes,
+redolent with the perfume of the first cherry blossoms,--for the season
+was uncommonly advanced.
+
+Before long everybody began to notice how eager Joe was in his search.
+
+"What are you going to do with all your posies?" queried Will,
+twittingly.
+
+"They must be for Frances," declared Elsie.
+
+"Maybe he is going to give them to Aunt Anna Grey," ventured Teresa.
+
+"Perhaps to mother," hazarded Ellen.
+
+"Yes: some for mother," admitted Joe; "and the others for--don't you
+wish you knew!"  And Joe's eyes danced roguishly as he darted off to a
+patch of violets.
+
+"He has some project.  What can it be?" soliloquized Ellen, looking
+after him.
+
+Joe, unconscious of her gaze, was bending over the little blue flowers,
+and humming an air which the children had learned a few days before.
+
+"That tune is so catchy I can't get it out of my mind," he remarked to
+Will.
+
+Suddenly Ellen started up.  "I know!" she said to herself.  Then for a
+time she was silent, flitting to and fro with a smile upon her lips,
+her thoughts as busy as her fingers.  "Ha, Master Joe!  I believe we'll
+all try that plan!" she exclaimed at length, laughing at the idea of
+the surprise in store for him.  Presently she glanced toward Teresa and
+Elsie, who were loitering under a tree, talking in a low tone.  Ellen
+laughed again.  "Those two children are always having secrets about
+nothing at all," mused she.
+
+Ellen was a lively girl, and greatly enjoyed a joke.  After a while,
+when she discovered Elsie alone, she whispered something to her.  The
+little girl's brown eyes grew round with interest.  She nodded once or
+twice, murmuring, "Yes, yes!"
+
+"And you must not breathe a word of it to anybody--not even to Teresa!"
+said Ellen.
+
+"Oh, no!" said Elsie, quite flattered that such a big girl should
+confide in her.
+
+Then--ah, merry Ellen!--did she not go herself and tell Teresa,
+charging her also not to reveal it?  Later she took occasion to say a
+word to Frances upon the same topic.
+
+"Splendid!" cried the latter.  "I'll not speak of it, I promise you."
+
+Finally, Ellen suggested the very same thing to Will, who chuckled,
+looked at Joe, and asked:
+
+"Are you sure you're on the right track?"
+
+"You'll see if I'm not!" replied Ellen.
+
+"Well, all I say is," he went on, condescendingly, "you've hit upon a
+capital scheme; and you may bet your boots on it that I won't do
+anything to spoil it."
+
+The girl looked down at her strong but shapely shoes (she was a bit
+vain of her neat foot), and thought that she would not be so unladylike
+as to 'bet her boots' on anything.  But, as Will's observation was
+entirely impersonal, and intended as a pledge that he would follow her
+instructions, she made no comment.  Moreover, she had now brought about
+the state of affairs which she had mischievously designed.   Each of
+the party except Joe supposed that he or she had a secret with Ellen
+which the others knew nothing about; to each she had whispered her
+conjecture regarding Joe's purpose, and planned that they, the two of
+them, should please him by joining in it, without intimating their
+intention to him or any one.  What a general astonishment and amusement
+there would be when it came out that all had known what each had been
+enjoying as a secret!
+
+Meantime they had been active, and each had gathered a fair quantity of
+pretty flowers--arbutus, violets, anemones, and cherry blooms; to which
+Teresa and Elsie insisted upon adding buttercups and even dandelions.
+Now the sun was going down, and they gaily turned their steps toward
+home.
+
+
+
+III.
+
+"A happy May-day!" the children called to one another the next morning,
+as they set out, at a very early hour, upon their pleasant round of
+floral gift-leaving.  Before doing so, however, each had held a special
+conference with Ellen.
+
+"Yes, I've managed it.  Won't everybody be surprised?" she quietly
+agreed again and again.  And yet _how_ surprised everybody would be
+only sportive Ellen knew.
+
+At half-past seven they reassembled for breakfast, which Elsie and Will
+took with their cousins.  What a comparing of notes there was during
+the meal!  Teresa had been caught hanging a basket at her little
+friend, Mollie Emerson's.  Will's mother had seen him dodging round the
+corner after fastening one on the front gate for her.
+
+"O Joe! what did you do with that beautiful basket you arranged with so
+much care,--the large one with the freshest flowers, I mean?" asked
+Frances, with an ingenious air.
+
+"Never mind!" answered Joe laconically, helping himself to another
+glass of milk.
+
+Everyone stole a knowing look at Ellen, without noticing that everyone
+else was doing so; but that young lady imperturbably buttered a second
+muffin, and studiously fixed her eyes on the tablecloth.
+
+"Come, there is the Mass bell ringing!" called Mr. Moore from the hall.
+A stampede followed.  To be late for Mass on May-day would be
+inexcusable.
+
+Shortly afterward, our friends filed into the Moore's family pew in the
+village church.  As Joe knelt down he turned his gaze with a gentle,
+happy expression to the Blessed Virgin's shrine.  The next moment he
+started, and cast a glance of pleased inquiry toward Ellen.  His sister
+smiled back at him, then bowed her head to recover her gravity.
+Hanging from the altar-rail, directly before the statue of Our Lady,
+was Joe's handsomest May-basket, just as he knew it would be; for he
+had fastened it there himself the first thing in the morning.  But
+there also were five other pretty baskets,--the offering which each of
+his sisters and cousins had made, unknown to one another.  The pleasant
+discovery created a momentary flutter in the pew, but that was
+all--then.
+
+So this was Ellen's surprise!  Each silently admitted that it was a
+good one.  When they left the church, however, they had a merry time
+over it.
+
+"But, Ellen, how did you know what I was going to do with my basket?"
+asked Joe at last.
+
+"I didn't until I heard you humming the new May hymn which we learned
+last Sunday," replied Ellen; "that reminded me of what mother said
+about the old May customs.  I wondered if you were thinking of this
+too, and presently it all flashed upon me."
+
+"Well, if you are not a true Yankee at guessing!" was his only answer.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Apples, Ripe and Rosy, Sir
+by Mary Catherine Crowley
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13324 ***
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
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+Project Gutenberg's Apples, Ripe and Rosy, Sir, by Mary Catherine Crowley
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Apples, Ripe and Rosy, Sir
+
+Author: Mary Catherine Crowley
+
+Release Date: August 29, 2004 [EBook #13324]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK APPLES, RIPE AND ROSY, SIR ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Al Haines
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+APPLES, RIPE AND ROSY, SIR,
+
+AND OTHER STORIES,
+
+FOR BOYS AND GIRLS,
+
+
+
+
+MARY CATHERINE CRAWLEY,
+
+
+
+
+REPRINTED FROM THE "AVE MARIA."
+
+
+
+
+OFFICE OF THE "AVE MARIA:"
+
+NOTRE DAME, IND.
+
+
+
+
+COPYRIGHT:
+
+D. E. HUDSON, C. S. C.
+
+1893.
+
+
+
+
+
+BECKTOLD & Co., Printers and Binders,
+
+ST. Louis, Mo.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+Apples, Ripe and Rosy, Sir
+
+Better than Riches
+
+Building a Boat
+
+A May-Day Gift
+
+Tilderee
+
+A Little White Dress
+
+A Miser's Gold
+
+That Red Silk Frock
+
+A Lesson with a Sequel
+
+Uncle Tom's Story
+
+Hanging May-Baskets
+
+
+
+
+APPLES, RIPE AND ROSY, SIR.
+
+
+"APPLES, RIPE AND ROSY, SIR."
+
+I.
+
+What a month of March it was!  And after an unusually mild season, too.
+Old Winter seemed to have hoarded up all his stock of snow and cold
+weather, and left it as an inheritance to his wild and rollicking heir,
+that was expending it with lavish extravagance.
+
+March was a jolly good fellow though, in spite of his bluster and
+boisterous ways.  There was a wealth of sunshine in his honest heart,
+and he evidently wanted to render everybody happy.  He appeared to have
+entered into a compact with Santa Claus to make it his business to see
+that the boys and girls should not, in the end, be deprived of their
+fair share of the season's merrymaking; that innumerable sleds and
+toboggans and skates, which had laid idle since Christmas, and been the
+objects of much sad contemplation, should have their day, after all.
+
+And he was not really inconsiderate of the poor either; for though,
+very frequently, in a spirit of mischief, he and his chum Jack frost
+drew caricatures of spring flowers on their window-panes, knocked at
+their doors only to run away in a trice, and played other pranks upon
+them, they did not feel the same dread of all this that they would have
+felt in December.  He would make up for it by being on his best and
+balmiest behavior for some days following; would promise that milder
+weather, when the need and the price of coal would be less, was surely
+coming; and that both the wild blossoms of the country fields, and the
+stray dandelions which struggle into bloom in city yards, would be on
+time, as usual.
+
+On the special day with which we have to do, however, March was not in
+"a melting mood."  On the contrary, the temperature was sharp and
+frosty, the ground white, the clouds heavy with snow.  The storm of the
+night before had only ceased temporarily; it would begin again
+soon,--indeed a few flakes were already floating in the air.  At four
+o'clock in the afternoon the children commenced to troop out of the
+schools.  How pleasant to watch them!--to see the great doors swing
+open and emit, now a throng of bright-eyed, chattering little girls, in
+gay cloaks and hoods and mittens; or again a crowd of sturdy boys,--a
+few vociferating and disputing, others trudging along discussing games
+and sports, and others again indulging in a little random snowballing
+of their comrades, by the way.  Half an hour later the snow was falling
+thick and fast.  The boys were in their element.  A number of them had
+gathered in one of the parks or squares for which the garden-like city
+of E------ is noted, and were busy completing a snow-fort.  The jingle
+of sleigh-bells became less frequent, however; people hurried home; it
+was sure to be a disagreeable evening.
+
+These indications were dolefully noted by one person in particular, to
+whom they meant more than to others in general.  This was the good old
+Irishwoman who kept the apple and peanut stand at the street corner,
+and was the centre of attraction to the children on their way to and
+from school.
+
+"Wisha, this is goin' to be a wild night, I'm thinkin'!" sighed she,
+wrapping a faded and much-worn "broshay" shawl more securely about her,
+and striving to protect both herself and her wares beneath the shelter
+of a dilapidated umbrella, one of the ribs of which had parted company
+with the cotton covering,--escaped from its moorings, as it were, and
+stood out independently.  "Glory be to God, but what bad luck I've had
+the day!" she continued under her breath, from habit still scanning the
+faces of the passers-by, though she had now faint hope that any would
+pause to purchase.  "An' it's a bigger lot than usual I laid in, too.
+The peanuts is extry size; an' them Baldwins look so fine and rosy, I
+thought it ud make anybody's mouth water to see them.  I counted upon
+the schoolb'ys to buy them up in a twinklin', by reason of me markin'
+them down to two for a cent.  An' so they would, but they're so taken
+up with sportin' in the snow that they can think of nothin' else.  An'
+now that it's turned so raw, sure I'm afraid it's cold comfort any one
+but a lad would think it, settin' his teeth on edge tryin' to eat them.
+I'll tarry a bit longer; an' then, if no better fortune comes, I'll
+take meself to me little room, even though I'll have to drink me tea
+without a tint of milk or a dust of sugar the night, and be thankful
+for that same."
+
+Patiently she waited.  The clock struck five.  As no other customers
+appeared, the old woman, who was known as Widow Barry, concluded that
+she would be moving.  "Though it is too bad," she murmured; "an' this
+the best stand anywhere hereabouts."
+
+In reality, the stand consisted of a large basket, a camp-seat, the
+tiresome privilege of leaning against two feet of stone-wall, and the
+aforesaid umbrella, which was intended to afford, not only a roof, but
+an air of dignity to the concern, and was therefore always open, rain
+or shine.
+
+To "shut up shop," though it meant simply to lower the umbrella, gather
+up the goods and depart, was to the apple-vender a momentous affair.
+Every merchant who attempts, as the saying is, to carry his
+establishment, finds it no easy task; yet this is what the widow was
+obliged literally to do.  To make her way, thus laden, in the midst of
+a driving snowstorm was indeed a difficult matter.  Half a dozen times
+she faltered in discouragement.  The street led over a steep hill; how
+was she to reach the top?  She struggled along; the wind blew through
+her thin garments and drove her back; the umbrella bobbed wildly about;
+her hands grew numb; now the basket, again the camp-seat, kept slipping
+from her grasp.  Several persons passed, but no one seemed to think of
+stopping to assist her.  A party of well-dressed boys were coasting
+down the middle of the street; what cared they for the storm?  Several,
+who were standing awaiting their turn, glanced idly at the grotesque
+figure.
+
+"What a guy!" cried Ed Brown, with a laugh, sending a well-aimed
+snowball straight against the umbrella, which it shook with a thud.  He
+was on the point of following up with another.
+
+"Oh, come!" protested a carelessly good-natured companion.  "That's no
+fun.  But here--look out for the other double-runner!  Now we go,
+hurray!"
+
+And, presto, they whizzed by, without another thought of the aged
+creature toiling up the ascent.  No one appeared to have time to help
+her.
+
+Presently, however, she heard a firm, light step behind her.  The next
+moment a pair of merry brown eyes peered under the umbrella; a face as
+round and ruddy as one of her best Baldwins beamed upon her with the
+smile of old friendship, and a gay, youthful voice cried out:
+
+"Good afternoon, Missis Barry!  It's hard work getting on to-day, isn't
+it?"
+
+A singularly gentle expression lighted up the apple-woman's
+weather-beaten features as she recognized the little fellow in the
+handsome overcoat, who was evidently returning from an errand, as he
+carried a milk can in one hand while drawing a sled with the other.
+
+"Indade an' it is, Masther Tom!" she replied, pausing a second.
+
+"Let us see if we can't manage differently," he went on, taking her
+burden and setting it upon the sled.  "There, that is better.  Now give
+me your hand."
+
+She had watched him mechanically; but, thus recalled to herself, she
+answered hastily:
+
+"Oh, thank ye kindly, sir!  It's too much for ye to be takin' this
+trouble; but I can get along very well now, with only the umbrelly to
+carry."
+
+"No trouble at all," said he.  "Look, then,--follow me; I'll pick out
+the best places for you to walk in,--the snow is drifting so!"
+
+He trudged on ahead, glancing back occasionally to see if the basket
+and camp-seat were safe, or to direct her steps,--as if all this were
+the most natural thing in the world for him to do, as in truth it was;
+for, though he thought it a great joke that she should call him "sir,"
+will not any one admit that he deserved the title which belongs to a
+gentleman?  He and Widow Barry had been good friends for some time.
+
+"Sure, an' didn't he buy out me whole supply one day this last
+January?" she would say.  "His birthday it was, and the dear creature
+was eleven years old.  He spent the big silver dollar his grandfather
+gave him like a prince, a treatin' all the b'ys of the neighborhood to
+apples an' peanuts, an' sendin' me home to take me comfort."
+
+Tom, moreover, was a regular patron of "the stand."  He always declared
+that "she knew what suited him to a T."  During the selection he was
+accustomed to discuss with her many weighty questions, especially Irish
+politics, in which they both took a deep if not very well-informed
+interest.
+
+"Guess I'll have that dark-red one over there.  Don't you think Mr.
+Gladstone is the greatest statesman of the age, Missis Barry?--what?
+That other one is bigger?  Well!--and your father knew Daniel O'Connell
+you say?--ah, I tell you that's a fine fellow!"
+
+Whether he meant the patriot or the pippin it might be difficult to
+determine.  This, however, is but a specimen of their conversation.
+Then in the end she would produce the ripest and rosiest of her
+stock--which she had been keeping for him all the while,--and, leaving
+a penny in her palm, he would hurry away in order to reach St. Francis'
+School before the bell rang.
+
+This particular afternoon, when he had helped her over the worst part
+of the way, she glanced uneasily at the can which he carried, and said:
+
+"Faith, Masther Tom, it's afraid I am that they'll be waitin' at home
+for the milk ye were sent for.  Sure I wouldn't want ye to be blamed
+for not makin' haste, avick!  An' all because of yer doin' a kindly
+turn for a poor old woman."
+
+"No fear of that, ma'am," answered Tom, confidently.  "There is no
+hurry; the milk won't be needed till supper time."
+
+Then, noticing that she was tired and panting for breath, he took out
+the stopper and held the can toward her, saying impulsively,
+
+"Have a drink, Missis Barry,--yes, it will do you good."
+
+A suspicious moisture dimmed the widow's faded eyes for a moment, and
+her heart gave a throb of grateful surprise at the child's ingenuous
+friendliness; but she drew back with a deprecating gesture, saying,
+
+"Well, well, Masther Tom, ye're the thoughtfullest young gentleman that
+ever I see!  An' I'm sure I thank ye kindly.  It isn't for the likes of
+me to be tellin' ye what is right an' proper, but what would yer mother
+say to yer not bringin' the milk home just as ye got it from the store,
+an' to ye givin' a poor creature like me a drink out of the can?"
+
+"Oh, she wouldn't care!" replied Tom.  "Didn't she say you were welcome
+at the house any time, to have a cup of tea and get warm by the kitchen
+fire?  Do you think she'd grudge you a sup of milk?"
+
+"It isn't that; for I know she wouldn't, God bless her!" said the
+apple-woman, heartily.  "Still, asthore, take heed of what I say.
+Never meddle with what's trusted to ye, but carry it safe an' whole to
+the person it's meant for, or the place ye are told to fetch it to.
+It's the best plan, dear."
+
+"I suppose it is, Missis Barry, generally," agreed Tom.  "I remember
+once Ed Brown and I made away with half of a big package of raisins
+that mother sent me for, and she scolded me about it.  But that was
+different, you know.  Pshaw!  I didn't mean to tell you it was Ed.
+Here we are at your door, ma'am.  I'll put your things inside--oh, no!
+Never mind.  I was glad to come.  Really I oughtn't to take it.  Well,
+thank you.  Good-bye!"
+
+And Tom scampered off with an especially toothsome-looking apple, which
+the woman forced into his hand.
+
+"Ah, but he's the dear, blithe, generous-hearted b'y!" she exclaimed,
+with a warmth of affectionate admiration, as she stood looking after
+him.  "There's not a bit of worldly pride or meanness about him.  May
+the Lord keep him so!  The only thing I'd be afraid of is that, like
+many such, he'd be easily led.  There's that Ed Brown now,--Heaven
+forgive me, but somehow I don't like that lad.  Though he's the son of
+the richest man in the neighborhood, an' his people live in grand
+style, he's no fit companion for Masther Tom Norris, I'm thinkin'."
+
+
+
+II.
+
+Tom lost no time now in getting home.  A little later he had entered a
+spacious brick house on Florence Street, deposited the milk can on the
+kitchen table, set the cook a laughing by some droll speech, and,
+passing on, sought his mother in her cheerful sitting-room.
+
+"Why, my son, what delayed you so long?" she inquired, folding away her
+sewing; for it was becoming too dark to work.
+
+"Oh, I went home with Missis Barry!" he answered, with the
+matter-of-fact air with which he might have said that he had been
+escorting some particular friend of the family.
+
+Mrs. Norris smiled and drew nearer to the bright fire which burned in
+the grate.  Tom slipped into a seat beside her upon the wide,
+old-fashioned sofa, which was just the place for one of those cosy
+twilight chats with mother, which boys especially love so much, and the
+memory of which gleams, star-like, through the mists of years, exerting
+even far greater influence than she dreams of upon their lives.  Tom
+considered this quiet half hour the pleasantest of the day.  Mrs.
+Norris, with a gentle wisdom worthy of wider imitation, encouraged him
+to talk to her about whatever interested him.  She was seldom too tired
+or too preoccupied at this time to hear of the mechanism of the
+steam-engine, the mysteries of the printing-press, or the feats that
+may be performed with a bicycle,--of which "taking a header," or the
+method by which the rider learns to fly off the machine head foremost
+into a ditch with impunity, appeared to be the most desirable.  Her
+patience in this respect was rewarded by that most precious possession
+to a mother, a son's confidence.
+
+Tom liked to tell her of various things that happened during the day;
+to compare notes, and get her opinions of matters in general; at the
+same time giving his own, which were often quaint and entertaining.
+
+"Really, mother, Missis Barry knows a lot!" he now exclaimed, abruptly,
+clasping his knee and staring at the fire in a meditative manner.
+
+Mrs. Norris looked amused, but she did not venture to question the
+apple-vender's wisdom.  One or two kindly inquiries about the old
+woman, however, prompted him to speak of her further,--of his meeting
+her as she struggled along with her burden, his drawing it on the sled,
+and last of her refusal of the drink he offered.
+
+"You would not have minded, would you, mother?" he asked.
+
+"No, not for the sake of the milk, certainly," responded Mrs. Norris,
+laughing; "but--" then she hesitated.  How could she hamper the mind of
+this ingenuous little lad of hers with false and finical ideas of
+refinement and delicacy!  Why should she suggest to him that it is at
+least not customary to go about giving the poor to drink out of our own
+especial milk cans?  There came to her mind the noble lines which but
+frame as with jewels the simple Christian precept,--the words spoken to
+Sir Launfal when, weary, poverty-stricken, and disheartened, the knight
+returns from his fruitless search for the Holy Grail; when humbly he
+shares his cup and crust with the leper at the gate,--the leper who
+straightway stands before him glorified, a vision of Our Lord, and
+tells him that true love of our neighbor consists in,
+
+  "Not what we give, but what we share;
+  For the gift without the giver is bare."
+
+And then the mother's hands rested lovingly a moment upon Tom's head,
+as again she repeated more softly: "No, certainly."
+
+      *      *      *      *      *
+
+As Widow Barry had surmised, the keynote of Tom's nature was that he
+was easily led, and therein rested the possibilities of great good or
+evil.  The little confidential chats with his mother were a strong
+safeguard to him, and laid the foundation of the true principles by
+which he should be guided; but, as he mingled more with other boys, he
+was not always steadfast in acting up to his knowledge of what was
+right, and was apt to be more influenced by his companions than his
+best friends cared to see him.  At present he was inclined to make a
+chum of Ed Brown, who, though only a year older, was so precociously
+shrewd, and what the world calls "smart," that, according to good Widow
+Barry's opinion, "he could buy and sell Masther Tom any day."
+
+The old woman had, indeed, many opportunities for observation; for is
+not sometimes so simple a transaction as the buying of an apple a real
+test of character?  If a boy or man is tricky or mean or unjust in his
+business dealings, is it likely that we shall find him upright and
+honorable in other things?  Though Mrs. Norris was not as well posted
+as the apple-vender, one or two occurrences had caused her to
+positively forbid Tom to have any more to do with Ed,--a command which
+he grumbled a good deal about, and, alas! occasionally disobeyed.
+
+But to continue our story.  The following Saturday morning the skies
+were blue, the sun shone bright, the gladness of spring was in the
+air,--all promised a long, pleasant holiday.  The apple stand at the
+corner had a prosperous aspect.  The umbrella, though shabbier and more
+rakish-looking than ever, wore a cheery, hail-fellow-well-met
+appearance.  Widow Barry had, as she told a neighbor, "spruced up her
+old bonnet a bit,"--an evidence of the approach of spring, which the
+boys recognized and appreciated.  Now she was engaged in polishing up
+her apples, and arranging the peanuts as invitingly as possible; a
+number of pennies already jingled in the small bag attached to her
+apron-string, in which she kept her money.
+
+"Ah, here comes Masther Tom!" she exclaimed, presently.  "An' right
+glad I am; for he always brings me a good hansel."
+
+"Hello, Missis Barry!" cried he.  "How's trade to-day?  Too early to
+tell yet?  Well, see if I can't boom it a little.  Give me a dozen
+apples, and one--yes, two quarts of nuts."
+
+Pleased and flustered at this stroke of fortune, she busied herself in
+getting out two of the largest of her paper bags, and filling the
+munificent order.  But Tom was not like himself this morning.  He had
+plenty to say, to be sure; but he talked away with a kind of reckless
+gaiety that appeared a trifle forced, and he was eager to be off.
+
+The old woman paused a second, as if suddenly impressed by the
+difference in his manner; then, by a shake of the head, she strove to
+banish the thought, which she reproached herself for as an unworthy
+suspicion, and smiled as if to reassure herself.  With a pleasant word
+she put the well-filled bags into Tom's hands, and received the silver
+he offered in payment--three bright new dimes.  At that moment she
+caught a glimpse of Ed Brown lurking in the area way of a house at the
+other end of the block.  The sight filled her with a vague misgiving
+which she could not have explained.  She glanced again at Tom; he was
+nervous and excited.
+
+"Wait a bit," said she, laying a restraining hand upon his arm.
+
+"What is the matter?  Didn't I give you just the price?" he inquired,
+somewhat impatiently.
+
+The old woman bent forward and peered anxiously into his face; her kind
+but searching eyes seemed to look down into his very soul, as, in a
+voice trembling with emotion, she replied: "Yes: but tell me, asthore,
+where did ye get the money?"
+
+Tom's countenance changed; he tried to put her off, saying, "Pshaw!
+Why do you want to ask a fellow such a question?  Haven't I bought more
+than this of you before?"
+
+"Troth an' ye have, dear; but not in this way, I'm thinkin'," she
+answered.
+
+"It's all right.  Do let me go, Missis Barry!" cried he, vexed and
+beginning to feel decidedly frightened.
+
+"Hi, Tom, come on!" called Ed Brown, emerging from the area.
+
+"Look here, Masther Tom, darlin'!  You'll not move a step with them
+things, an' I'll not put up that money till I know where it came from."
+
+"Well, then," said Tom, doggedly, seeing that escape was impossible, "I
+got it at home, off the mantel in the sitting-room."
+
+"Oh, yes!" ejaculated Mrs. Barry, raising her eyes toward heaven, as if
+praying for the pardon of the offence.
+
+"Why, that's nothing!" he went on.  "Ed Brown says lots of boys do it.
+Some take the change out of their father's pockets even, if they get a
+chance.  His father don't mind a bit.  He always has plenty of cash, Ed
+has."
+
+"Ah, yes, that ne'er-do-well, Ed Brown!" said the old woman, shaking
+her fist at the distant Ed, who, realizing that Tom had got into
+trouble, disappeared in a twinkling.
+
+"An' his father don't mind!  Then it's because he knows nothin' about
+it.  They'll come a day of reckonin' for him.  An' you--"
+
+"Oh, the folks at home won't care!" persisted Tom, thoroughly ashamed,
+but still anxious to excuse himself.  "Mother always says that
+everything in the house is for the use of the family.  If we children
+should make a raid on the pantry, and carry off a pie or cake, she
+might punish us for the disobedience, but she wouldn't call it
+stealing."  He blushed as he uttered the ugly word.
+
+"Yes, but to take money is different, ye know," continued his
+relentless mentor, whose heart, however, was sorrowing over him with
+the tenderness of a mother for her child.
+
+Tom was silent; he did know, had really known from the first, though
+now his fault stood before him in its unsightliness; all the pretexts
+by which he had attempted to palliate it fell from it like a veil, and
+showed the hateful thing it was.  He could not bring himself to
+acknowledge it, however.  Sullenly he set down the apples and peanuts,
+murmuring, "I never did it before, anyhow!"
+
+"No, nor never will again, I'm sure, avick!  This'll be a lifelong
+lesson to ye," returned the old woman, with agitation, as she put the
+dimes back into his hand.  "Go right home with them now, an' tell yer
+father all about it."
+
+"My father!" faltered Tom, doubtful of the consequences of such a
+confession.
+
+"Well, yer mother, then.  She'll be gentle with ye, never fear, if ye
+are really sorry."
+
+"Indeed I am, Missis Barry," declared Tom, quite breaking down at last.
+
+"I'm certain ye are, asthore!" continued the good creature, heartily.
+"An', whisper, when ye get home go to yer own little room, an' there on
+yer bended knees ask God to forgive ye.  Make up yer mind to shun bad
+company for the future; an' never, from this hour, will we speak
+another word about this--either ye to me or I to ye,--save an' except
+ye may come an' say: 'I've done as ye bid me, Missis Barry.  It's all
+hunkey dory!'"
+
+The old woman smiled with grim humor as she found herself quoting the
+boy's favorite slang expression.
+
+Tom laughed in spite of himself, so droll did it sound from her lips;
+but at the same time he drew his jacket sleeve across his eyes, which
+had grown strangely dim, and said:
+
+"I will, Missis Barry.  You may trust me: I will."
+
+And Tom did.  From that day he and the honest old apple-woman were
+better friends than ever.  Meanwhile her trade improved so much that
+before long she was able to set up a more pretentious establishment,--a
+genuine stand, with an awning to replace the faithful umbrella, which
+was forthwith honorably retired from service.  Here she carried on a
+thriving business for several years, Tom, though now a student at St.
+Jerome's College, often bought apples and peanuts of her.
+
+"You see that old woman?" said he to a comrade one day.  "Don't look
+much like an angel, does she?"
+
+His friend, glancing at the queer figure and plain, ordinary features,
+was amused at the comparison.
+
+"And yet," continued Tom, earnestly, "she proved a second Guardian
+Angel to me once, and I'll bless her all my life for it."
+
+
+
+
+"BETTER THAN RICHES."
+
+I.
+
+"Cash!  Cash! here!" cried an attendant at the stationery counter of
+one of New York's great shopping emporiums.  At the summons a
+delicate-looking little girl came wearily up, and held out a small
+wicker basket for the goods and the money.  "Be quick now: the lady's
+in a hurry."
+
+Notwithstanding the injunction, the child started off with no special
+attempt at haste.  The same words were dinned into her ears a hundred
+times a day.  She did not see why ladies should be in a hurry.  The
+ladies of her world seemed to have nothing to do but to wear pretty
+clothes, and to shop, which meant principally the buying of more pretty
+clothes.  It was all very well to make an extra effort to oblige one
+occasionally; but if she did it every time she was exhorted to, surely
+her tired feet would give out before the end of the day.
+
+"Cash is so poky!" complained the salesgirl to her companion behind the
+counter.
+
+"Hie you, Cash!  Hustle I say!" called the floor-walker peremptorily,
+as he passed.
+
+Thus warned, the child skurried away, and reappeared after a very brief
+interval.  As she rushed up with the parcel, an awkward accident
+occurred.  The lady heedlessly stepped backward.  Cash dodged; but,
+alas!  before she could stop herself, she had dashed into a pyramid of
+note-paper that stood upon the end of the counter, and sent the boxes
+scattering over the floor in dire confusion.
+
+"Oh!--oh, my!" exclaimed the salesgirl, distressed, as she contemplated
+the wreck of the architectural display.
+
+The disturbance at once brought the floor-walker to the spot.
+"Stupid!" he muttered, taking poor Cash by the shoulder.  "Why don't
+you look where you're going?  If you can't mind what you're about, we
+have no use for you here; remember that!"
+
+"Please do not blame the child," interposed the lady who had
+unwittingly caused the trouble.  "It was my fault: I carelessly got in
+her way.  I am very sorry."
+
+"Don't mention it, Mrs. M----.  It is not of the slightest
+consequence," said the floor-walker, with a bland smile and a bow.
+(Mrs. M---- was a desirable customer, and he would have said the same
+thing if she had happened to tip the show-case over.)  "We have to keep
+our employees up to the mark, you know," he added in a low tone, by way
+of apology for his brusqueness.  "The best of them become careless.
+But Cash has found a friend this time, so we'll let it pass."
+
+Cash, who was busily picking up the boxes, made a little grimace to
+herself at his change of manner.  The lady politely inclined her head
+by way of acknowledgment, and the floor-walker left abruptly, having
+suddenly discovered that something required his immediate attention in
+another part of the store.
+
+When he had disappeared, the little girl looked up and faltered
+gratefully: "Thank you, ma'am!"
+
+Mrs. M---- now for the first time took notice of the individual to whom
+she had just rendered a service.  She glanced down upon a freckled face
+of the complexion described as pasty, a pair of greyish-blue eyes, and
+a tangle of reddish curls just long enough to admit of being tied back
+with the bit of crumpled ribbon which kept them tidy.  Cash was not of
+prepossessing appearance; yet perhaps because, the grateful glance
+touched a chord common to humanity in the heart of the stranger, or
+because one naturally warms to any creature whom one has befriended, or
+perhaps simply from the sweet womanliness which finds all childhood
+attractive,--whatever the motive, upon the impulse of the moment the
+lady did a very graceful thing.  Taking a rose from the bunch of
+jacqueminots she wore, she fastened it to the breast of the child's
+black apron, and was gone before the latter could recover from her
+astonishment.
+
+It was only a little incident, but it changed the whole aspect of
+Cash's day.  The beautiful flower glowed against the dark uniform, like
+a bit of joy vouchsafed to a sombre life.
+
+"How lovely!" exclaimed the salesgirl.  "Aren't you lucky, Cash!  Don't
+you want to exchange with me?  I'll give you a delicious orange I
+brought with my lunch for that posie."
+
+Cash shook her head.  As soon as she could, she stole away to the room
+where the girls kept their cloaks and hats.  Here, after a furtive look
+around to see that ho one was by who might snatch, it away, she
+unpinned the rose and slipped it into a small card-board box, having
+first carefully wrapped the stem in a piece of well moistened paper.
+Then she tucked the box into the pocket of her jacket, and ran
+downstairs to the store again.
+
+For the next two or three hours it happened that Cash was kept running
+to and fro almost without intermission; but she did not mind it now.
+The kindly word spoken in her behalf by the truly gracious lady, the
+simple gift of a flower, had given her new spirit.  Her heart, like a
+little bird, kept singing a cheery song to itself; while, as she
+journeyed hither and thither, her feet seemed to keep time to its
+gladness.
+
+"Why, Cash, you're getting smart!  What has waked you up?" said the
+salesgirl, when, well on in the afternoon, the child sat down by the
+counter for a few seconds.  Then, without waiting for a reply, she
+continued: "Now, aren't you sorry you did not exchange with me?  See,
+you've lost your rose!"
+
+"Oh, 'taint losted," answered the girl.
+
+"You did not give it to any one after I made the first bid?" (The
+inquiry was in a sharper tone.)
+
+"No: I'm keeping it for Ellie."
+
+"Oh, sure enough!  Poor Ellie! how is she?  Cash, you're a good little
+thing to remember her so kindly.  Here, I have the orange still; take
+it to her, too."
+
+The child's eyes sparkled with pleasure as the salesgirl put the golden
+ball into her hand.  "Ellie'll be awful pleased.  I'll tell her you
+sent it, Julia," she said.
+
+Cash had, of course, another name: it was Katy Connors.  Katy lived way
+over on the east side of the city, in a house which was once a handsome
+dwelling, but had long since been divided into tenements and given up
+to ruin.  The Connors were known among their neighbors as a
+respectable, hard-working family.  The father was a day-laborer; the
+mother went out washing; Joe, a boy of fourteen, was in the district
+messenger service; after him came Katy, who was employed in
+McNaughton's store; and then Ellie, the little invalid.  Two younger
+children had died in infancy.
+
+Poor Ellie was fast becoming helpless.  How different it had been a few
+months before!  What a sturdy, active, child she was, when one morning
+she set out in gay spirits "to earn money for mother!"  Like Katy, she
+had obtained a position as cashgirl in McNaughton's.  And how quick and
+smart she was about her duties!  The floor-walker commended her twice
+during the week, and said he would speak for an increase in her wages.
+How proud she felt when Saturday came, and she knew she would have two
+dollars and a half to take home!  Unfortunately, it was to be dearly
+gained.
+
+Saturday afternoon it happened that the store was unusually crowded;
+everything was stir and confusion.  Little Ellie and her companions
+dashed now here, now there, in response to the unceasing cry of "Cash!
+Cash!"  In the midst of the hurry, the floor-walker gave Ellie a
+message to deliver to one of the clerks in the basement.  "Don't
+delay!" he called after her.  Eager to please, the child made her way
+through the throng, and was on the point of darting down the stairs,
+when, alas! her foot caught, she tripped, gave a little scream, and was
+precipitated down the entire flight.  In an instant several employees
+from the neighboring counters rushed to pick her up; but, to their
+alarm, though she strove to be brave, when they attempted to move her
+she could not repress a low moan of anguish.  The superintendent sent
+at once for a doctor, who discovered that she had sustained a severe
+injury, having struck against the edge of one of the iron steps.
+
+Where was now the proud home-coming?  Ellie was taken to the hospital,
+whither frightened Mrs. Connors was summoned.  Upon one of the cots in
+the accident ward lay the child, her small face wan with pain, and in
+her eyes the startled expression noticeable in those of a person who
+has had a serious fall.  In one feverish hand she held something
+tightly clasped--something for which she had asked before being carried
+from the store.  When the doctor turned aside she beckoned to her
+mother, and, with a pathetic little smile, folded into the palm of the
+weeping woman a small yellow envelope.  The next moment she fainted
+away, Mrs. Connors' tears flowed faster as she beheld the precious
+offering--Ellie's first wages, and the last which she was likely ever
+to earn.
+
+The firm of McNaughton & Co. investigated the accident, to see if they
+could by any means be liable to an action for damages brought by an
+employee.  But there was no loose nail in the stairway, not the least
+obstruction.  The proprietors were not to blame; it was simply the
+child's heedlessness, they said.  In fact, the fault was with Ellie's
+shoes: the sole of one, being broken, caught on the top step and caused
+her fall.
+
+And she was to have had a new pair that very evening.  Mrs. Connors had
+quietly determined that her first earnings should be expended in this
+way.  Poor Ellie! she would not need shoes now: the doctors feared she
+would never walk again.  The firm sent a twenty-dollar bill to the
+child's mother, another "Cash" was engaged to take Ellie's place, and
+the matter was speedily forgotten.
+
+
+
+II.
+
+Not growing better at the hospital, Ellie begged to be taken home.
+Rather than live apart from those she loved, she strove to be content
+to remain alone day after day, propped up by an inverted chair upon a
+wretched bed.  Or, when she felt stronger, with the aid of a pair of
+rude crutches, she would drag herself to the window to watch patiently
+for the return of the dear bread-winners, whose toil she would so
+willingly have shared.
+
+There, in a little stuffy room, upon the top floor of the old house,
+she spent the long, sultry summer; there she remained when autumn came;
+there the approaching Christmas holidays were likely to find her.
+
+How was it, then, that Ellie was generally cheery and blithe?  Perhaps
+her mother's prayer each morning, as she bade her good-bye to go to
+work, had most to do with it.  "May Jesus and His Blessed Mother watch
+over you, mavourneen!" the good woman would say, with a sigh at the
+necessity for leaving her.
+
+Frequently, when the child could have wept for loneliness, the words
+would keep echoing in her heart.  She was a well-disposed little
+creature, and those hours spent alone often brought serious thoughts,
+which molded and beautified her character.  But Ellie was a thoroughly
+natural child: there was none of the story-book goodness about her.
+She was keenly interested in everything that went on.  She thought
+there was no one like mother, but it was Katy who represented the world
+to her,--the world of McNaughton's store, with its brightness and
+beautiful wares, and its ever-changing crowd of handsomely costumed
+ladies intent upon the pleasures of shopping.  Any scrap of news which
+one fagged out little cashgirl brought home at the close of the day was
+eagerly listened to by the other; who found her enforced idleness so
+irksome.
+
+Katy had a great deal to narrate at the close of the day upon which our
+story opened.  Sitting upon the foot of Ellie's bed, she told how she
+upset the pyramid of note-paper; and what trouble she would have been
+in, but for the kind lady who so promptly came to the rescue.  To
+Ellie's quick imagination the story had all the charm of a fairy tale.
+And when, at the close, her sister placed in her hands the orange and
+the tiny box wherein lay the rose, still quite fresh and fragrant, her
+face beamed with delight; and Katy went to bed very happy, feeling
+herself more than repaid for having treasured them so carefully.
+
+The next morning, when Katy reached the store, she found everybody in a
+state of pleasurable excitement over the opening of the holiday goods;
+for it wanted but three weeks to Christmas.  At the end of the
+stationery counter, where the pyramid of note-paper had been, an
+immense stack of dolls was now attractively displayed.  The little
+cashgirl stood before it, lost in admiration.  There were little dolls
+and big ones; dolls with blue eyes, and others with brown; some with
+light hair, and some with dark; _bebee Jumeau_ and _bebee Brue_; rubber
+dolls, and rag dolls with _papier-mache_ faces.
+
+"How lovely they are!" she murmured to herself, including even the
+plainest and least among them in her appreciation of the gorgeous
+company.  "Don't I wish Ellie could see them!" she continued.  "I'll
+have to count them, so as to tell her how many there are; for I don't
+believe that by herself she could imagine such a lot of dolls together."
+
+Katy and Ellie had never had a doll in their lives,--that is, a real
+_boughten_ one, as they called those not of home manufacture.
+
+The kind salesgirl who had sent the orange to Ellie, from her post
+behind the counter, noticed the child's wonderment.
+
+"Will you look at Cash!" she said to a companion.  Katy was oblivious
+of them, however.  After watching her a few moments, Julia called out:
+
+"Well, Cash, which do you like best?"
+
+The little girl looked the dolls over again with much deliberation; and
+finally, pointing to a good-sized one, with golden hair and large eyes,
+said:
+
+"This."
+
+"Oh, one of those ninety-seven cent dolls!" responded Julia.  "They
+_are_ handsome for the price.  Sawdust bodies, to be sure; but what
+fine heads?--red cheeks, splendid eyes, and hair that will comb out as
+well as that of some costlier ones, I'll be bound."
+
+"Ninety-seven cents!" repeated Katy, with a sigh.  It was an
+unattainable sum, as far as she was concerned.  The salesgirl remarked
+the sigh.
+
+"Say, Cash, why don't you buy it?" she urged.  "Your mother'll let you
+keep part of your wages for yourself Christmas week, won't she?  And
+you wouldn't get such another bargain in a doll if you hunted a year
+and a day.  You'd better speak for it quick, though; for when the rush
+of trade comes, there's no knowing how long the lot will last."
+
+Katy shook her head.  "I wouldn't want to buy a Christmas present for
+myself," she answered.  "But I was wishing--only there is really no use
+in wishing; still, just supposing there was--I was thinking if I could
+only get that doll for Ellie, how happy she would be.  You know she has
+to be alone so much, and she gets awful blue sometimes; though she
+won't let on, 'cause it would fret mother.  But the doll would be great
+company for her.  We've neither of us ever had one."
+
+She continued to gaze longingly at the rosy beauty, while the salesgirl
+meditatively dusted the show-case.
+
+"Stop!  I'll tell you how you can manage to get it," Julia said,
+suddenly.  "It's the rule of this store that on Christmas Eve, after
+all the customers are gone, each employee may choose as a present from
+the firm some article worth a quarter of his or her wages for the week.
+Let's see: you're paid three dollars, aren't you?"
+
+Katy nodded.
+
+"That would count for seventy-five cents on the doll; then all you
+would have to put to it would be twenty-two cents.  Couldn't you do
+that somehow?"
+
+"Yes!" cried Katy, delighted.  "Sometimes I run errands for a
+dressmaker who lives in the block below us, and she gives me pennies,
+or once in a while a nickel.  And when my aunt's husband comes to see
+us--he's a widder man and sorter rich; he drives a truck,--well, when
+he comes 'casionally, he gives each of us children as much as ten
+cents; and I guess he'll be round about Christmas time.  Oh, yes, I'm
+almost sure I can make up the twenty-two cents!"
+
+"But, then, when the doll is yours, won't you hate to give it away?"
+queried Julia; for Katy already began to assume an air of possession.
+
+"Oh, not to Ellie!  And, you know, she'll be sure to let me hold it
+sometimes" was the ingenuous reply.
+
+The quick tears sprang to the salesgirl's eyes, and she turned abruptly
+away, to arrange some dolls upon the shelves behind her.
+
+"After all, love is better than riches," she reflected, as the picture
+of the crippled child in the humble home arose in her mind, and she
+gave a sidelong glance at Katy's thin face and shabby dress.
+
+"You will be sure to save this very doll for me, won't you?" pleaded
+the child.
+
+"I can't put it aside for you," she explained, "because the
+floor-walker would not allow that; but I'll arrange so you will have
+one of the lot, never fear."
+
+"But I want this one," declared Katy.
+
+"My goodness gracious, you foolish midget!  They're all as much alike
+as rows of peas in a pod," exclaimed her friend, a trifle impatiently.
+
+"No," insisted the little girl.  "All the others have red painted
+buckles on their shoes, but this doll has blue buckles; and I'm sure
+Ellie would prefer blue buckles, 'cause we've often talked about it
+when we played choosing what we'd like best."
+
+"Well, well!" laughed Julia.  "All right, Katy: I'll save it, if I can."
+
+Satisfied by this promise, the child ran away; for customers began to
+come in, and to loiter would be to lessen her chance of gaining the
+treasure which to herself she already called Ellie's.
+
+McNaughton & Co. did a great business within the next two weeks; the
+employees were "fearfully rushed," as they expressed it.  Katy had no
+opportunity for further conversation with the sociable attendant at the
+end of the stationery counter, now given over to toys, upon the subject
+oftenest in her thoughts.  She had been transferred to another
+department; but every day she took occasion to go around and look at
+the doll, to make sure that it was still there; and the kindly
+salesgirl always found time to give her an encouraging nod and a smile.
+
+One afternoon, however, a few days before Christmas, when Julia
+returned from her lunch she met Katy, who was crying bitterly.  The
+cause of her distress was soon told.  A new girl had been put at the
+counter that morning; she knew nothing about Katy's doll, and now, as
+luck would have it, was just in the act of selling it to a big,
+bluff-looking man, who said he wanted it for his little daughter.
+
+Julia rushed to her post.  The man was upon the point of paying for the
+doll, and had decided that he would take the parcel with him.
+
+"Have you seen the brown-eyed dolls?" she interposed, pleasantly.  The
+other girl scowled at the interference with 'her sale,' but she
+persisted.  "The brown-eyed ones are considered the most desirable."
+
+"Are they?" the man hesitated.  "Well, I believe I'll take one, then,
+instead of this.  My little maid likes brown eyes."
+
+Katy's doll was saved.  The child, in a fever of suspense, had watched
+the transaction from behind a pile of dry-goods.  Now she turned toward
+her friend a face bright with gratitude, as she hurried away in
+response to the imperative call of "Cash."
+
+When Julia recovered from her flurry, she explained matters to her
+associate.  The girl's ill-humor quickly vanished once she understood
+the situation, and she willingly agreed to help retain the doll if
+possible.
+
+
+
+III
+
+On the morning of the day before Christmas, Katy appeared at the
+counter and offered the twenty-two cents which she had succeeded in
+getting together--the balance to be paid on her present.
+
+"Can't I take the doll now, please?" she begged.
+
+"You will have to ask the floor-walker," replied Julia.
+
+She did so, but he said she must wait until evening; he could not make
+any exceptions.  So she was obliged to control her impatience.
+
+Scarcely five minutes afterward a crash was heard.  The equilibrium of
+the rack of dolls had been disturbed, and the whole collection was
+dashed to the floor.  Fortunately, only three or four of the dolls were
+broken; but, alas! among them was the one Katy had set her heart upon
+giving to her sick sister.
+
+The commotion brought her to the scene at once.  Poor Katy!  She did
+not burst out crying, as Julia expected; but just clasped her hands and
+stood looking at the wreck of the doll, with an expression of hopeless
+disappointment, which would have seemed ludicrous, considering the
+cause, had it not been so pathetic.  It aroused the ready sympathy of
+Julia.
+
+"Don't feel so bad, midget!" she whispered, picking up the pieces.
+"See: only the head is spoiled.  There's another with the feet knocked
+off.  I'll get permission to take the two dolls up to the toy-mender's
+room, and have the head of the other put on your doll; that will make
+it as good as new."
+
+When order was restored, she made her request of the floor-walker.
+
+"All right," he answered.  "It will cut down the loss by ninety-seven
+cents; so you may have it done, if they can spare the time upstairs.
+That is an awkward corner, anyhow; it will have to be left free in
+future."
+
+At noon Julia snatched a few moments from the short interval allowed
+her to get her lunch, and hurried up to the toy-mender's quarters.  She
+prevailed upon him to have the doll repaired in the course of an hour
+or two; he promised to do so, and it was sent back to her early in the
+afternoon.
+
+That day Katy's duties, fortunately for her peace of mind, brought her
+frequently into the vicinity of the doll counter.  Now she hastened to
+it, in a quiver of excitement, to witness the success of the process.
+When the cover was taken off the box, her cheeks crimsoned with
+indignation and her eyes blazed, as she turned inquiringly to Julia.
+
+"Indeed, Katy, it is none of my doings," protested the salesgirl;
+though the result of the experiment was so funny she had not the heart
+to laugh.  The doll with the beautiful blue buckles on her shoes had
+now a mop of darky wool, and a face as black as the ace of spades.
+
+Julia's quick wit at once jumped at the correct conclusion regarding
+the apparent blunder.  The toy-mender's two thoughtless apprentices had
+played a joke upon the little cashgirl.
+
+"It is only the nonsense of those rogues upstairs.  I'll take the doll
+back and tell them they must fix it to-night, or I'll complain of them
+for their fooling at this busy time," she announced, energetically; for
+she noted the twitching around the corners of Katy's mouth,
+notwithstanding the child's brave effort at self-control.
+
+Katy went off partially comforted.
+
+"It's mean to tease a child in that way," added Julia, in an audible
+aside, as she laid the doll on the shelf behind, and wished that the
+lady to whom she was showing some very handsome dolls would finish her
+choice, so that she might get a free minute to run up to the mending
+room again.  But the interest of the customer had been awakened by the
+little drama enacted before her.
+
+"What is the matter?" she inquired, cordially.
+
+Julia looked disconcerted; but the lady had such a sweet and noble
+face, and her manner was so winning, that the girl found herself
+telling briefly not only the history of Katy's doll, but of Katy and
+Ellie too.  It was not a waste of time either; for while she talked the
+purchaser made one or two additional selections, and then, after giving
+directions concerning them, passed on.
+
+"Do you know who that was?" asked Katy, rushing up as the lady turned
+into another aisle of the store.
+
+"Yes: Mrs. M----, of 34th Street.  Of course she left her address for
+the parcels," replied Julia.
+
+"It's my Rose-lady, as I call her,--don't you remember the one who gave
+me the pretty flower?" cried the child.
+
+"Why, so it is!" rejoined Julia.  "Well, she's a lovely lady certainly.
+She happened to ask what the trouble was about the doll; and was so
+interested I couldn't help telling how you had saved and planned to get
+it for Ellie, and all about it."
+
+"Mercy! did you?" answered the child, in confusion.  "My, but you're
+the talker, Julia!  What would the likes of her care to hear about
+that!"
+
+The store kept open till half-past eleven Christmas Eve; but at length
+the last customer was gone, and the employees were allowed to choose
+their presents.  Katy skipped around with joy when the doll was put
+into her arms.  After a moment, however, Julia whisked it away again,
+and sent it to be packed in a box.  The box proved to be large and
+clumsy, but this was accounted for upon the plea of haste.
+
+"Well, good-night and merry Christmas, Julia!" said the little
+cashgirl, gratefully.  "I don't know how to thank you enough for being
+so good, and helping me so much,--indeed I don't!"
+
+"Never mind trying," answered Julia, brightly, but with an earnestness
+unusual to her.  "Isn't this Christmas Eve, and didn't the Infant Jesus
+come to help us, and teach us to do what we can for one another?  Just
+say a prayer for me at Mass to-morrow; that is all I ask."
+
+"You may be sure I will," Katy responded, heartily.
+
+"Good-night!  Merry Christmas to you all, and especially to Ellie!"
+added Julia, hurrying away.
+
+Katy's father was waiting for her at one of the entrances of the store.
+After a slight demur, she allowed him to carry the package, while she
+trudged along at his side.  The stores were closed, the gay throng of
+shoppers had disappeared.  People were still abroad upon the great
+thoroughfares; but the side streets were deserted, except when, now and
+again, overtaxed workers like herself were to be met making their way
+home.  The lamps burned dim, save where, occasionally, an electric
+light flared up with a spectral glare.  The glitter of the world had
+departed.  It was past midnight; in the deep blue of the winter's sky
+the stars glowed with a peaceful radiance.  Looking up at them, Katy
+began to think, in her own simple fashion, of the meaning of Christmas
+and of Christmas gifts; of Bethlehem, the Virgin Mother, and the Divine
+Child; of the Love that came into the world on that holy night of long
+ago, to kindle in all hearts a spirit of kindliness and helpfulness
+toward one another, making it more blessed to give than to receive.
+The little girl realized the happiness of making others happy, when she
+handed to Ellie the bulky package over which she had kept watch all the
+way to the house.
+
+The usually pale face of the young invalid flushed with excitement,
+while, with trembling fingers, she unfastened the wrappings and opened
+the box.
+
+"O Katy!" she exclaimed, as she beheld the hard-won present,--"O Katy!"
+It was all she could say, but the tone and the look which accompanied
+it were quite enough.
+
+At first neither of the children could think of anything besides the
+doll; but after a while Ellie made another discovery.  As she trifled
+with the box, she cried:
+
+"Why, there's something else here!"
+
+The next moment she drew out a doll precisely like the first, except
+that its shoes had red buckles; at the sight of which Katy immediately
+concluded that, for herself, she liked red buckles better.  Attached to
+it was a card on which was written: "For an unselfish little sister."
+
+"It did not get there by mistake: it's for you, Katy," said Ellie,
+ecstatically.
+
+"Then the Rose-lady must have sent it," declared Katy, feeling as if
+she were in a dream.
+
+That her conjecture was correct was evident the next day; for about
+noon a carriage stopped at the door of the dilapidated house in ----
+street; and a visitor, who seemed to bring with her an additional share
+of Christmas sunshine, was shown up to the Connors' tenement.  She was
+followed by a tall footman, who quietly deposited upon the table a
+generous basket of the season's delicacies.
+
+"The Rose-lady, mother!" cried Katy, pinching her own arm to see if she
+could possibly be awake.
+
+It was all true, however; and that day the Connors family found a
+devoted friend.  Henceforth the Rose-lady took a special interest in
+Ellie.  She induced a celebrated doctor to go and see her.  The great
+man said there was a chance that the crippled child might be cured by
+electricity; and it was arranged that the mother should take her
+regularly to his office for treatment, Mrs. M---- offering the use of
+her carriage.
+
+Now Ellie can walk almost as well as ever.  She is growing stronger
+every day, and will probably before long be able to attain her
+ambition--"to earn money to help mother."
+
+"And to think, Katy," the little girl often says, affectionately, "it
+all came about through your wanting to give me that Christmas doll!"
+
+
+
+
+BUILDING A BOAT.
+
+I.
+
+"Oh, if we only had a boat, what jolly fun we might have!" exclaimed
+Jack Gordon regretfully, following with his eyes the bright waters as
+they rushed along,--now coursing smoothly, now leaping in the sunshine;
+again darkened for the moment, and eddying beneath the shade of the
+overhanging branches of a willow tree; then in the distance coming
+almost to a standstill, and expanding into the clear, floating mirror
+of the mill-pond.
+
+"That's so," answered Rob Stuart, laconically.  The two boys were
+lounging on the bank of the creek, which, though dignified by the name
+of Hohokus River and situated in New Jersey, is not considered of
+sufficient importance to be designated on the map of that State, even
+by one of those wavering, nameless lines which seem to be hopelessly
+entangled with one another for the express purpose of confusing a
+fellow who has neglected his geography lesson until the last moment.
+
+"Yes, if we had a boat we might explore this stream from source to
+mouth," continued Jack, who was always in search of adventures.
+
+"A canoe?" suggested Rob.
+
+"That would be just the thing," agreed Jack.  "But a regular canoe,
+made of birch bark or paper, would cost too much.  I'll tell you what
+it is, Rob.  Jim and I have next to nothing in the treasury at present.
+We haven't had a chance to earn much lately."
+
+"I'm about dead broke, too," replied Rob.
+
+"I say," exclaimed Jack, after a moment of silence, "suppose we make
+one?"
+
+"Make one!" echoed Rob, surprised.
+
+"Why, yes.  All we need is a flat-bottomed boat; and it ought not to be
+hard to put one together.  Uncle Gerald promised to give me some boards
+for my chicken-coops; perhaps he would add a few more if he knew what
+we wanted them for.  Let's go over and see if he is at home now,"
+
+"All right," answered Rob, preparing to start.
+
+Jack and Rob might almost always be found together.  They were of about
+the same age,--Jack being fourteen on his last birthday, the 22d of
+January, and Rob on the 30th of the following March.  They lived within
+a stone's-throw of each other, and had been friends from the time they
+were little chaps.
+
+Mr. Gerald Sheridan was a merchant who did business in New York, but he
+was now taking a few days' vacation, to look a little after the work
+upon his farm, which was in charge of a hired man.  His house, situated
+a short distance down the road, was large and spacious.  The boys
+walked briskly toward it, planning as they went.
+
+At Uncle Gerald's the latch string was always out--that is, if the door
+was not standing hospitably open, as was usually the case in pleasant
+spring or summer weather; one had only to turn the knob and walk in.
+Just as they were about to enter the square, home-like hall, lined with
+old-fashioned settles and adorned with fowling-pieces, fishing-rods,
+tennis rackets, and the like, Jack's cousin, eleven-year-old Leo, came
+out of an adjoining room and said;
+
+"Hello!  You want to see father?  Well, he's over yonder"--pointing to
+a sunny patch of ground toward the south,--"showing Michael how he
+wants the vegetable garden planted.  Wait a minute and I'll go with
+you."
+
+Leo's hat having been discovered in a corner where he had tossed it an
+hour or two earlier, they started on a race to the garden, and brought
+up suddenly in front of Uncle Gerald, who now, in a dark blue flannel
+shirt, trousers to match, and a broad-brimmed hat of grey felt, was
+evidently dressed for the _role_ of a farmer.  He was a pleasant man,
+tall and slight in figure, with blue eyes, a brown beard, and a cheery,
+kindly manner, which made him a favorite with everybody, and especially
+with boys, in whose projects he was always interested.
+
+"Give you the wood to build a boat?" he repeated, when told what Jack
+and Rob wanted to accomplish.  "Willingly.  I am glad to have you
+attempt something of the kind.  I have always maintained that boys
+should be taught to work with their hands.  Every youth ought to learn
+the use of tools, just as a girl learns to sew, to cook, and help her
+mother in household duties.  Then we should not have so many awkward,
+stupid, bungling fellows, who can not do anything for themselves.  It
+is as disgraceful for a lad not to be able to drive a nail straight
+without pounding his fingers or thumb as it is for a girl not to know
+how to stitch on a button.  But I am letting my hobby run away with me,
+and no doubt you are anxious to be off.  You will find the lumber piled
+in the storeroom of the barn.  Take what you need.  Perhaps Leo will
+lend you his pony to draw the load home."
+
+"Thank you, sir!" answered Jack, heartily.
+
+Now that the means of carrying out his plan were insured to him, he did
+not feel in such a hurry; and, furthermore, though quite satisfied that
+he should have no trouble about it, he would not have objected to a few
+hints as to how to begin.
+
+"Can you tell me, Uncle," asked the boy, half jocosely, "if any of the
+distinguished men you are thinking of ever attempted to make a boat?"
+
+"To be sure," returned the gentleman.  "There was Peter the Great, who,
+though a tyrannical ruler, might have earned fair wages as a
+ship-builder.  But we shall have to talk about him another time, when I
+have leisure; for I see that at present Michael wants me to devote all
+my attention to tomato plants, peas, beans, and seed potatoes.  If you
+wait till tomorrow, I will show you how to set to work."
+
+"Oh, I guess we can get on!" returned Jack, becoming impatient again,
+and feeling that it would be impossible to delay, with the whole bright
+day before them.  Rob seemed to be of the same opinion.
+
+Uncle Gerald smiled, reflecting that, since manual training does not
+begin with boat-building, they would soon discover the task so
+confidently undertaken to be a far greater one than they realized.  He
+made no comment, however; and the boys started for the barn-loft, where
+they selected the wood best suited to their purpose, and carried it
+down to the yard, where Leo had dragged out the pony wagon.
+
+"Here," said he, "you may stow the boards into this; and I'll lend you
+Winkie to draw them home, if you'll promise to let Jim and me see you
+build the boat."
+
+Jack's brother Jim was a year older than Leo; but the two chummed
+together, and were accustomed to stand up for each other, and thus hold
+their own against the big boys, who were sometimes rather too much
+inclined to adopt a patronizing tone toward them.
+
+Jack and Rob now exchanged significant glances, which said plainly that
+they would prefer the loan of the pony without any conditions.  It
+would be annoying to have the little fellows "tagging after them."  But
+there was no help for it.  The pony belonged to Leo, and they could not
+take it without his permission.
+
+"Oh--ahem--I suppose so!  Hey, Rob?" said Jack, shutting one eye
+expressively.
+
+"Well--yes," agreed Rob, appreciating the situation.
+
+They went round to the front of Winkie's stall.  Immediately a shaggy
+head protruded through the window-like opening, a pair of bright eyes
+passed over the other visitors and rested upon Leo, with a look which
+might well be interpreted as one of affection; and a rough nose rubbed
+up against the boy's arm, this being Winkle's way of expressing delight
+at seeing his master.  He rather resented any attempt at petting from
+Jack or Rob, however; which led them to tease him, much as they would
+play with a dog,--for he was only a little Shetland pony, hardly larger
+than a good-sized Newfoundland.
+
+"Kittelywink!" exclaimed Rob, giving him his full name, which had been
+shortened for the sake of euphony.  "What in the world did you call him
+that for?"
+
+"Well, I can't exactly say," replied Leo; "but somehow it's a name
+that's all jumbled up and confused like, and, that is just about how
+you feel when he gets playing his pranks.  Presto, change! you know.
+Now you're here, and now you don't know where you are, but most likely
+it is in the middle of a dusty or muddy road.  Oh, you don't mind the
+fall, 'cause he has an accommodating way of letting you down easy; but
+it hurts your feelings awful, especially if there's anybody round.  You
+don't seem as big as you were a few moments before.  He doesn't act
+that way with me now, because I try to be always kind and gentle with
+him.  But you just attempt to really plague him, and see who'll get the
+best of it."
+
+"Thank you, I guess I won't mind," responded Rob, in a dry tone, which
+made the others laugh.  He already knew by experience something of the
+pony's capers, though it had been in Leo's possession only a few weeks;
+while Jack, having been away on a visit, had never driven Winkie.
+
+"Perhaps if you changed his name he would behave better," suggested Rob.
+
+"I did think of that," answered Leo, seriously.  "I had half a mind to
+call him Cream Puff; you see he's just the color of those lovely ones
+they sell at the baker's."
+
+Both the boys laughed heartily.
+
+"Crickey! that is an odd name, sure enough, and would suit him
+splendidly!" said Rob.
+
+"Yes, and he'd have to be sweet and nice all the time, in order to live
+up to it," added Jack.
+
+"Oh, you must not think he is ugly or vicious!" continued Leo.  "He
+never tried to run away, and most of his antics are nothing but sport.
+He is not really bad, only a bit contrary occasionally, as Michael
+says.  Mother declares that he reminds her sometimes of a boy who has
+forgotten to say his prayers in the morning, 'cause then he (the boy,
+you know) is apt to be fractious, and keeps getting into trouble all
+day."
+
+"Ha, Leo, what a dead give away!" exclaimed Jack, in a badgering
+manner.  "That's the way it is with you, is it?"
+
+"That's the way with most fellows, I'll wager!" mumbled Leo, growing
+red, and wishing he had not been quite so communicative.
+
+Neither of the others replied to this, but each secretly admitted that
+there was a good deal of truth in what he said.
+
+They all assisted in harnessing Kittelywink, who appeared to think this
+great fun.  However, when it became evident that he was expected to
+draw the little wagon laden with the lumber, he protested decidedly.
+
+"He doesn't want to be used as a dray-horse," observed Leo,
+sympathetically.
+
+Whether Winkie's pride was indeed hurt at being put to menial
+employment, or whether he simply felt it an imposition to require him
+to carry a pile of boards and three sturdy lads in addition, it is
+impossible to say.  At all events, he refused to budge.
+
+"Pshaw!" said Jack.  "You fellows had better get off.  I'll drive."
+
+There was nothing to be done but for Rob and Leo to scramble down.
+
+"Geet a-a-p!" cried Jack, giving the pony a sharp lash with the whip.
+
+Winkle bounded forward, and darted up the road at what may be called
+literally a rattling speed; for the boards clattered away at every
+revolution of the wheels, and the driver found some difficulty in
+keeping his seat.  Jack became excited.  He sawed at the pony's mouth
+and drew him up so suddenly as to pull him back on his haunches.
+Winkie resolutely objected to these proceedings, and forthwith
+absolutely declined to go a step farther.
+
+Rob and Leo came running up.
+
+"Jingo, but he's a beauty!", exclaimed Rob, with admiring sincerity.
+
+Winkie, in truth, looked very handsome and roguish as he stood there,
+with his head bent doggedly, his shaggy mane blown about by the wind,
+and his bright eyes mischievously asking as plainly as they could:
+"Well, what are you going to do about it?"
+
+"Huh!  Handsome is that handsome does!" grumbled Jack.  "But I'll teach
+him to behave himself."
+
+He raised the whip once more, but Leo caught his arm, crying,
+
+"No, you must not whip him.  Father says a horse can be managed by
+kindness better than in any other way."
+
+"Oh, I _must_ not!" repeated Jack, ironically; but, glancing at Leo's
+face, he saw that his cousin looked flushed and determined.  It would
+not do to quarrel with such a little fellow as Leo, so he checked the
+sharp words that rose to his lips, and answered with an effort to be
+good-natured: "Try it yourself, then.  I'll just sit here and hold the
+reins, and you can reason with him all you have a mind to."
+
+Leo went up to the pony's head, patted and spoke gently to him.  Winkie
+arched his neck, then put down his nose and coolly rubbed it all over
+his young master's face, as if deprecating his misconduct, while making
+his complaint, as it were, that he had not been fairly treated.
+
+"If he isn't the cutest chap!" ejaculated Rob, delighted at his
+sagacity.
+
+Jack could not help being amused also.
+
+"Come now, Kittelywink, go 'long!" said he.  "You shall have some sugar
+when I get home."
+
+Most horses are very fond of sugar, and Winkie was no exception.  He
+turned his ears back, with what Rob called "a pleased expression," at
+this propitiatory tone.  But, although he enjoyed the petting now
+lavished upon him from all quarters, his sensibilities had apparently
+been too deeply wounded to admit of his being at once conciliated.
+
+"I know!" suggested Jack, unwilling to relinquish the reins.  "Suppose
+I ride on his back?"
+
+Leo demurred till he saw that the pony did not oppose Jack's endeavor
+to mount.  Winkie appeared to be under the impression that they were
+now to leave the wagon and the despised load behind.  To the surprise
+of the boys he started ahead willingly, and Jack's spirits rose.
+
+"Ha-ha! that's a good fellow!" he began.
+
+Winkie went on a few rods.  Presently he discovered that his
+expectations were not to be realized.  The wagon was unusually heavy
+still; the clattering boards set up a racket every time he moved.  He
+could not get away from them.  It might be a good plan to try again,
+though.  He capered and danced, then plunged onward.  Jack did not look
+like a model horseman at this juncture.  The boys screamed at him,
+giving contrary advice; though this made no difference, for his utmost
+exertions were directed to clinging to his refractory steed.
+
+The pony was only annoyed, not frightened.  He seemed to find Jack's
+efforts to keep from falling off quite entertaining.  Suddenly a new
+idea occurred to him.  What a wonder that he did not think of it
+before!  He veered toward the side of the way, stopped abruptly, and,
+bending his head, sent Jack flying over it into the ditch.  A grand
+success!  With a satisfied air Winkie followed up his victory,
+approached his prostrate antagonist, regarded him for a moment,
+and--for he wore no check-line--putting down that clever nose of his,
+by a playful push with it he rolled the boy fairly over, and then set
+off in a steady trot along the highway.
+
+
+
+II.
+
+Winkie had just reached the gate of Jack's home, when our young friends
+caught up with him.  Leo was now allowed to assume control, and, by
+dint of much coaxing and encouragement, at length succeeded in leading
+him to Mr. Gordon's barn.  The wagon was here unloaded, after which Leo
+leaped into it, crying, "Come on, old fellow; that's all!"  And Winkie,
+shaking his mane, as if felicitating himself that the disagreeable task
+was over, started off with much satisfaction.
+
+"I'll be back again this afternoon," his little master shouted to the
+others as he drove away; "but--I think I'll walk!"
+
+For the next fortnight the lads spent the greater part of the time in
+the Gordon barn.  Such a hammering and sawing as went on there!  At
+first the proceedings were enveloped in an air of mystery.  Jack's
+father suspected that they were preparing for an amateur circus
+performance.  His mother wondered at the interest manifested in the
+repair of the chicken-coops.  Some experiment was in progress, she was
+sure; but what?  At last the secret came out.  They were building a
+boat!
+
+Jack and Rob did it all.  "The little boys"--as they were accustomed to
+call Jim and Leo, much to the chagrin of the latter--were not permitted
+to have anything to say.  They were to keep their eyes open and learn
+by observation.  This they did, though not with exactly the result that
+had been intended.  Before long they understood very well what not to
+do in building a boat.  But we are all liable to make mistakes; and are
+we not continually teaching others, at least by our experience?
+
+In season and out of season the work went on.  Little Barbara Stuart
+was constantly coming over to ask: "Is Rob here?  Mother wants him; he
+hasn't half finished what he had to do at home." Leo kept getting into
+trouble because he would stop at his cousin's, instead of going
+directly home from school as his father wished him to do.  Jim, who had
+a decided, but, alas! entirely uncultivated, taste for drawing, spoiled
+his new writing-book with extraordinary sketches meant to represent
+every kind of boat, from a punt or dory to an ocean steamer; and in
+consequence was not on good terms with the schoolmaster, who did not
+appreciate such evidences of genius.
+
+Jack--well, everything seemed to go wrong with him.  "Where is
+Jack?"--"Oh, bother, over at the barn!"  The answer soon became a
+byword.  The barn was at some distance from the house, and what a time
+there was in summoning the boy!  The method was sufficiently telling,
+one would think, since it informed the whole neighborhood when he was
+wanted.  It consisted in blowing the horn for him.  Now, this was no
+common horn, but the voice of a giant imprisoned in a cylinder.  Jack
+could have explained it upon the principle of compressed air, for he
+was studying natural philosophy; but Mr. Sheridan's Michael once
+described it in this way:
+
+"Sure, it's the queerest thing that ever ye saw!  Ye just jam one piece
+of tin pipe into another piece of tin pipe, as hard as ye can; an' it
+lets a wail out of it that ye'd think would strike terror to the heart
+of a stone and wake the dead!"
+
+Whatever effect it might have upon granite or ghosts, however, Jack was
+usually so engrossed with the boat as to be deaf to its call.  If Mrs.
+Gordon wanted him to harness a horse for her in a hurry, there was no
+use in sounding a bugle blast; she might try again and again, but in
+the end she would have to send some one over to him with the message.
+If he was sent up to the village on an errand, or told to do anything
+which took him away from his work, he either objected, or complied with
+a very bad grace.
+
+"I'll tell ye one thing," said Mary Ann the cook, one day when neither
+Jack nor Jim would go to the store for her, though it would only have
+taken a few minutes to make the trip on the bicycle,--"I'll tell ye one
+thing, young sirs.  Ye can't expect to have a bit of luck with that
+boat ye're buildin'."
+
+"No luck!  Why not, I'd like to know?" inquired Jack.
+
+"Because all four of ye boys are neglectin' what ye ought to do, and
+takin' for this the time which by right should be spent on other
+things; because ye've given yer fathers and mothers more cause to find
+fault with ye durin' the last two or three weeks than for long before,
+all on account of it; because ye're none of ye so good-natured as ye
+used to be.  I've heard that havin' a bee in the bonnet spoils a body;
+but faith I think a boat on the brain is worse.  There's one thing,
+though, that my mind's made up to.  I'll make no more cookies for young
+gentlemen that are not polite and obligin'."
+
+Here was a threat!  But, though the boys were secretly somewhat
+disconcerted, they would not give Mary Ann the satisfaction of seeing
+that either her prophecy or warning had any effect upon them.
+
+"Pshaw, Mary Ann, you're so cross to-day!" declared Jim.
+
+"It isn't always the good people who seem to have the best luck,"
+continued Jack, braving it out.  "And how can you tell whether we'll
+succeed or not?  You are not a fortune-teller."
+
+"Heaven forbid!" ejaculated Mary Ann, devoutly.  "And, to be sure,
+there's plenty of people that gets on very successfully in the world,
+that don't seem to deserve to prosper half as much as others we know
+of.  But God sees what we don't, and this much we may be certain of:
+wrong-doin' is always punished sooner or later; while we know that, in
+the end, those that tries to do right gets their full share of
+blessin's and a good bit over and above.  I'm not sayin' indeed that ye
+won't build yer boat, only that if ye neglect yer duty ye'll have
+reason to regret it."
+
+"Well, don't cast an 'evil eye' on the boat, anyway," said Jim; "for if
+we don't finish it, how can we ever give you a row on the creek?"
+
+"Is it _I_ ride in yer boat!" exclaimed Mary Ann, who was stout and
+short-breathed.  The idea of trusting herself to the tender mercies of
+the lads, and venturing into any craft of their construction, was so
+ludicrous that she forgot her vexation and laughed heartily.  "Faith,
+it's fine ballast I'd be for ye!" she said.  "And is it in the middle
+of the river ye'd be landin' me?  Thank ye kindly, but I'll not go a
+pleasurin' with ye.  And as for an 'evil eye,' troth ye're but makin'
+game of my want of book-larnin'.  But well I know there's no such
+thing; and if there was, it could never harm ye or yer work if ye were
+doin' right.  So now be off with ye to the store, and bring me five
+pounds of sugar, quick as ye can.  And if ye take the molasses jug
+along and get it filled--well, this once I'll beat up a batch of
+cookies, so ye can have some for yer lunch at school to-morrow."
+
+
+
+III.
+
+At last the wonderful boat was pronounced finished.  It had obviously
+not been modeled with an eye to beauty--was flat as the barn floor,
+square at both ends, and entirely lacking in the curves which
+constitute the grace of the seabird-like craft which are the delight of
+yachtmen.  Nevertheless, the boys were proud of it.  It was their own:
+they had built it themselves.
+
+"There she is, complete from bow to stern!" exclaimed Jack, with a
+satisfied air.
+
+"Yes," responded Leo, admiringly.  "But"--hesitating--"but--which is
+the bow and which the stern, you know--eh?"
+
+"Why, this end, stupid!  Don't you see I've marked it with a cross?"
+answered Jack.
+
+"Perhaps I _am_ stupid," thought Leo; "for I don't understand now how
+one end can be both.  I wish Jack would be a little more particular
+about explaining a thing.  It's queer how few fellows are!  They jumble
+their words all up, and think that because _they_ know what they mean,
+you ought to understand, of course."
+
+"Well," observed Jim, quizzically, "she isn't quite as handsome as the
+barges on the lake in the park, that float up and down, looking like
+white swans.  Yes, I guess she'll do."
+
+"We didn't set out to build a gondola, to paddle children and nursery
+maids around in," retorted Rob, with a withering glance.  "She's a
+good, serviceable boat, and safe--"
+
+"Oh, safe as a tub!" agreed Jim, hastily, intending the remark as
+conciliatory.
+
+"Huh!  Perhaps you never tried to pilot a tub," interposed Leo.  "I did
+the other day, just for practice, so I'd know how to row when the time
+came to use this here punt--if that's what you call it.  Jimminy!  I
+got tipped over into the creek, and a scolding besides when I went
+home!  I'd be sorry to have her act like that."
+
+"A tub is a tub and a boat is a boat," said Jack, sententiously.  "This
+one couldn't tip over if it tried.  Don't you see it's most square?  In
+fact, we didn't mean to get it quite so wide; but, after all, it is
+better than those canoe-like things, which are always rocking from one
+side to the other."
+
+"What are you going to name it?" asked Jim.
+
+Jack looked nonplussed.  This necessity had not occurred to him before.
+He appealed to Rob.
+
+"Suppose," replied the latter, after mature deliberation,--"suppose we
+call it the Sylph?  There's a, story in the _Boys' Own_ about a
+beautiful boat called the Sylph."
+
+"Cricky!  it looks about as much like a sylph as--well, as Mary Ann
+does!" said Jim.  Since the stout, good-natured cook was heavy, and
+nearly square in figure, the comparison was amusingly apt.
+
+"Do you remember the tents at Coney Island in summer, where a regular
+wooden circus procession goes round in a ring, keeping time to the
+music?" asked Leo.
+
+"Yes, and by paying five cents you can take your choice, and ride on a
+zebra or a lion or a big gold ostrich, or anything that's there.   And
+once we chose a _scrumptious_ boat, all blue and silver, and drawn by
+two swans," responded Jim.
+
+"Well, what was the name of that?" said Leo.
+
+"I think the man told us she was known as the _Fairy_," answered Jim.
+
+Again they looked at the boat and shook their heads.  It would not do.
+
+"I did not mean the name of the blue and silver barge, but of the whole
+thing--the ring and all?" added Leo.
+
+"Oh, the _Merry-go-Round_," said Jack.
+
+"Why would not that be a good name?" argued Rob, pleased with the
+sound, and, like many a person whose fancy is caught by the jingle of a
+word, paying little attention to its sense.
+
+"That is what I thought," began Leo, delighted to find his motion
+seconded, as he would have explained in the language of the juvenile
+debating society, which met periodically in that very barn.
+
+"Why! do you expect this boat to keep going round and round when we get
+it out into the middle of the creek?" said practical Jack, pretending
+to be highly indignant at the imputation.
+
+"No indeed," disclaimed Rob.  "Only that she would go around
+everywhere--up and down the stream, you know; and on an exploring
+expedition, as we proposed."
+
+"That is not so bad," Jack admitted.  "Still, I think we could get a
+better name.  Let us see!  The Merry Sailor,--how's that?"
+
+"N--no--hardly," murmured Bob.
+
+"The Jolly Sail--I have it: the Jolly Pioneer!"
+
+"Hurrah!" cried Jim.  "The very thing!"
+
+"Yes, I guess that fits pretty well," acknowledged Rob.
+
+"It's capital!" volunteered Leo.
+
+And so the matter was finally settled.  The _Jolly Pioneer_ was still
+destitute of paint, but the boys were in so great a hurry to launch her
+that they decided not to delay on this account.  They carried her down
+to the creek, and by means of a board slid her into the water.  Jack
+got into the boat first, while the others held the side close to the
+bank.  After him came Rob.  Jim and Leo were to follow, but the _Jolly
+Pioneer_ seemed to have dwindled in size, and did not look half so big
+or imposing as when in the barn.
+
+"Hold on!" cried Jack.  "I'm afraid you will be too heavy.  It won't do
+to crowd at first.  We'll just row gently with the current a short
+distance, and then come back and let you have a turn."
+
+Though disappointed, the little fellows did not demur, but handed him
+the oars, and waited to see the two boys glide away.  But, alas!
+though the _Jolly Pioneer_ moved a little, it was not with the freedom
+and confidence which was to be expected of her in her native element.
+She seemed to shrink and falter, "as if afraid of getting wet," as Jim
+laughingly declared.
+
+"Hello! what's that?" exclaimed Rob, as he felt something cold at his
+feet.  He looked down: his shoes were thoroughly wet; the water was
+coming in through the crevices of the boat.
+
+"Pshaw!" cried Jack.  "That is because it is new yet; when the wood is
+soaked it will swell a bit.  Hurry and bail out the water, though."
+
+"But we haven't anything to do it with," returned Rob, helplessly.
+
+"Oh, take your hat, man!  A fine sailor you'd make!" Jack answered,
+setting the example by dipping in his own old felt.  Rob's was a new
+straw yet.  Unfortunately for its appearance during the remainder of
+the summer, he did not think of this, but immediately went to work.
+Their efforts were of no use: the _Jolly Pioneer_ sank slowly but
+surely.
+
+"Don't give up the ship!" cried Jack, melodramatically.
+
+So as neither of the boys attempted to get out, and thus lessen the
+weight, down, down it went, till it reached the pebbly bed of the
+creek, and they found themselves--still in the boat to be sure, but
+standing up to their waists in water.  The worst of the mortification
+was that the little fellows, high and dry on the bank, were choking
+with laughter, which finally could no longer be suppressed, and broke
+forth in a merry peal.
+
+"What do you want to stand there guffawing for?" called Jack,
+ill-naturedly.  "Why don't you try to get the oars?"
+
+Thus made to realize that they might be of some assistance, Jim and Leo
+waded in heroically, unmindful of the effect upon shoes, stockings, and
+clothing generally, and rescued the oars, of which poor Jack had
+carelessly relaxed his hold in the effort to bail out the boat, and
+which were being carried swiftly away by the current.
+
+In the meantime Jack and Rob succeeded in raising the _Jolly Pioneer_
+and hauling her up on the bank.  While they stood there, contemplating
+her in discouragement, and regardless of their own bedraggled
+condition, who should come along but Uncle Gerald.
+
+"Hie! what is the matter?" he called from the road, suspecting the
+situation at once.
+
+"Something is wrong with the blamed boat, after all!" Jack shouted
+back, impatiently.
+
+Uncle Gerald leaped over the low wall, which separated the highway from
+the meadow, and was presently among them, surveying the unfortunate
+_Pioneer_, which now did not look at all jolly, but wore a dejected
+appearance, one might fancy, as if out of conceit with itself at having
+proved such a miserable failure.
+
+"There!  I suppose he'll say, 'If you had not been so positive that you
+knew all about boatbuilding--if you had come to me for the advice I
+promised you,--this would not have happened,'" thought Jack; feeling
+that (like the story of the last straw placed upon the overladen
+pack-horse, which proved too much for its strength) to be thus reminded
+would make the burden of his vexations greater than he could bear.
+
+Uncle Gerald might indeed have moralized in some such fashion, but he
+considerately refrained, and only remarked, kindly:
+
+"Do not be disheartened.  This is not such bad work for a first
+attempt.  The boat would look better if it were painted, and that would
+fill up a few of the cracks too.  As some of the boards are not
+dovetailed together, you should have calked the seams with oakum."
+
+"To be sure!" responded Jack.  "How could we have had so little
+gumption as not to have thought of it?"
+
+"Oakum is hemp obtained from untwisting old ropes," continued Uncle
+Gerald.  "In genuine ship-building, calking consists in crowding
+threads of this material with great force into the seams between the
+planks.  When filled, they are then rubbed over with pitch, or what is
+known as marine glue,--a composition of shellac and caoutchouc.  It
+will not be necessary for you to do all this, however.  Oakum is often
+used for packing goods also.  I dare say if you hunt around in the barn
+you will find a little lying about somewhere.  But, bless me, you young
+rogues!  Here you are all this time in your wet clothes.  Leo, your
+mother will be worried for fear you may take cold.  Run home as fast as
+you can and get into a dry suit.  And you other fellows, come!  We'll
+take the _Jolly Pioneer_ back to the workshop without delay; and then
+you must hurry and do the same."
+
+
+
+IV.
+
+Many days had not passed before the boys succeeded in making the punt
+water-tight.  Yet the carpentering still went on at the barn.
+
+"What is all the hammering for now?" asked Mr. Gordon one afternoon.
+"I thought the _Jolly Pioneer_ was in splendid trim and doing good
+service."
+
+"So she is," answered Jack.  "But--well, she doesn't quite come up to
+our expectations; so Rob and I have given her to the little boys.  We
+are building a larger boat for ourselves."
+
+Upon the principle "Never look a gift-horse in the mouth," Jim and Leo
+were not disposed to find anything amiss with the present.  In the
+first flush of their pride of possession they were quite jubilant.
+
+It was shortly after this that Jim came in to dinner one day, tattooed
+in a manner which would remind one of a sachem in full Indian
+war-paint.  There was a patch of blue low down on one cheek, a daub of
+red high up on the other, a tip of chrome-yellow on the end of his
+nose, and a fair share of all three upon his hands, and the sleeve of
+his jacket as well.
+
+"Why, my son!" exclaimed Mrs. Gordon, as this vision met her eyes.
+
+"Can't help it, mother,--it won't come off.  I've scrubbed and
+scrubbed!" the little fellow protested, apologetically.
+
+"Plenty of hot water and soap will prove effectual.  But you must
+persevere," she went on, good-naturedly.  "But what is the reason of
+this extraordinary decoration?  Do you want to be taken for the
+'missing link'?"
+
+Mrs. Gordon was always good friends with her boys.  She had a bright,
+cheery way of talking to them, of entering into their plans.  She
+thoroughly appreciated a joke, even a practical one, when it was not
+perpetrated at the expense of anybody's feelings.  And the lads could
+always count upon her interest and sympathy.  It was not easy to impose
+upon her, though.  "I tell you, if a fellow tries, he is always sure to
+get the worst of it!" Jim used to say.
+
+"Ah, that is better!" said she, when Jim returned to the dining-room,
+his face at last restored to its usual sunburnt hue, and shining from
+the effect of a liberal lather of soap-suds, and his hands also of a
+comparatively respectable color.  "Now, do tell us what you have been
+attempting."
+
+"Haven't been attempting anything," he mumbled.  "Leo and I were
+painting our boat, that is all.  We hurried so as to finish it before
+dinner.  I suppose that is the reason the paint got splashed around a
+little."
+
+Jim's temper had manifestly been somewhat ruffled by the necessity of
+repeating the soap and water process.  He frowned like a thundercloud.
+
+Mrs. Gordon, however, always had great consideration for a hungry boy.
+Without appearing to notice that Jim was out of sorts, she merely
+remarked, while helping him bountifully to beefsteak: "You have painted
+the _Jolly Pioneer_?  How well she must look!  I believe I'll walk over
+to the barn after dinner and see her."
+
+"Will you really, mother?" he exclaimed, brightening at once.
+
+"Yes, certainly.  What color did you choose?"
+
+"Blue, with red and yellow trimmings," answered the boy, exultingly.
+
+His mother smiled.  She had inferred so.  But Jim's ill-humor had
+vanished like mists before the sun.  The next moment he was explaining
+to her the merits of various kinds of paint, and discussing the
+question with Jack, in the best possible spirits.
+
+
+
+V.
+
+Jack and Rob took counsel with Mr. Sheridan in the construction of the
+new boat, and very creditable and satisfactory was the result.  The
+ceremonies of the launch were now to be observed with as much formality
+as if she were the crack yacht of the season,--"Barrin' the traditional
+bottle of champagne, which it is customary to break over the bows of
+the new skiff as she plunges into the sea," laughed Uncle Gerald; "and
+that would not do at all for you, boys."
+
+"No, sir," answered Jack, decidedly.  "If it was as cheap and as
+plentiful as soda-water, we wouldn't have it."
+
+"I am glad to hear you say that," continued Leo's father, warmly.  "It
+is one of the best resolutions to start in life with."
+
+"You know, we have joined the temperance cadet corps which Father
+Martin is getting up," explained Rob.
+
+"An excellent plan.  I had not heard of it," responded the gentleman.
+"Persevere, and you will find that by encouraging you in this, Father
+Martin has proved one of the truest friends you are ever likely to
+have.  However, the old custom of christening a boat, as it is called,
+may be carried out quite as effectively with a bottle of ginger-pop,
+which Leo has stowed away somewhere in that basket.  It is the part of
+common-sense to unite true poetry and prose, just as we now propose to
+combine a picturesque custom with temperance principles.  So, boys,
+hurrah for ginger-pop, say I!"
+
+The lads entered into the spirit of his mood with great gusto, and
+cheered hilariously.  The basket was produced, and at this moment Mrs.
+Gordon was seen coming across the meadow.  "Just in time, mother!"
+cried Jack, starting off to meet her.
+
+"You must christen the boat!" vociferated all.
+
+"And is that the reason why Uncle Gerald sent for me, and brought me
+away from my morning's mending?" she exclaimed, in a tone which was
+intended to be slightly reproachful, though she looked prepared for
+anything that might be required of her; for Mrs. Gordon, somehow,
+managed never to be so busy as to be unable to enter into the pleasures
+of her boys.
+
+"Yes," acknowledged Uncle Gerald; "and I have been doing my utmost to
+delay the proceedings, so that you would not miss them.  You see, Leo
+and I have prepared a little surprise for the company."
+
+After a comprehensive glance at the basket, which certainly appeared
+well packed, she asked:
+
+"And what is to be the name of the boat?"
+
+"We have not quite decided yet, Mrs. Gordon," began Rob.
+
+"No," interposed Jack.  "We think _this_ ought to be the _Jolly
+Pioneer_.  We let Jim and Leo have the other boat, but we didn't mean
+to give them the name too.  We chose it, and we can't think of any we
+like so well."
+
+"Oh, keep it, then!" answered Jim, with a wave of the hand like that of
+a stage hero resigning a fortune.  (It was evident that the subject had
+been broached before.)  "We are quite able to choose a name ourselves;
+we could think of half a dozen others if we wanted to, so you are
+welcome to call your boat whatever you please."
+
+The permission might, indeed, have been more graciously expressed; but
+as Jim's words were accompanied by a good-natured smile.  Jack wondered
+if he might not accept it.
+
+Mrs. Gordon stood, with the bottle in her hand, waiting for the
+decision, but wisely refraining from comment; the boys always settled
+their little disputes for themselves.
+
+"Well, what shall it be?  Speak!" she said.
+
+"The _Jolly Pioneer_!" cried both.
+
+The next moment there was a crash of broken glass and a dash of
+ginger-pop on what was called by courtesy the bow.
+
+"Bravo!  The Jolly Pioneer is a new recruit enlisted into the
+temperance cadet corps," said Uncle Gerald, laughing.
+
+There was a shifting of planks by Rob and Jack, and in another moment
+the little craft was dancing gaily upon the bright waters.
+
+"Hurrah, hurrah!" cried the boys in chorus.
+
+By turns they rowed a short distance down the stream and back.  There
+was no danger of sinking this time.  Then they gathered under the tree,
+where Mrs. Gordon and Uncle Gerald had unpacked the basket and set
+forth a tempting lunch upon a tablecloth on the grass.  As hunger is
+said to be the best sauce, so good-humor sweetens the simplest fare.
+Our friends enjoyed their sandwiches and doughnuts, and milk rich with
+cream, as much as if a banquet had been spread before them.  There was
+plenty of fun, too; and though the wit was not very brilliant, it was
+innocent and kindly, and served its purpose; for the company were quite
+ready to be pleased at any one's effort to be entertaining or amusing.
+
+After an hour or more, Mrs. Gordon announced her intention of returning
+to the house.
+
+"And I must be off also; for I have to drive two or three miles up
+country, about some business," added her brother.
+
+"We shall all have to leave now," said Jack.  "Father Martin is going
+to drill the cadets for a short time in the early part of the
+afternoon."
+
+"What arrangements have you made for fastening your boat?" asked Uncle
+Gerald.  "To guard against its being tampered with by meddlesome
+persons, as well as to prevent its drifting away, you ought to secure
+it to a stake near the bank by means of a padlock."
+
+"We forgot to get one," returned Jack.  "No one will touch it here.
+I'll tie it to a tree with this piece of rope, so that it won't go
+floating off on an exploring expedition on its own account."
+
+The next day was Sunday, and the boys had no chance to use the boat
+again until Monday after school.  When they hurried to the spot where
+it had been moored, alas! the _Jolly Pioneer_ was nowhere to be seen.
+
+"Do you think she broke away?" asked Leo.
+
+"Pshaw!  The _Jolly Pioneer_ isn't a pony!" impatiently answered Jack.
+
+"But the rope might have snapped," said Jim.
+
+"No: the boat has been stolen," muttered Bob, gloomily.
+
+"I don't believe that," continued Jim.  "Perhaps some of the fellows
+around have hidden her, just to plague us."
+
+"I bet it was those Jenkins boys!" declared Jack.  "Don't you remember,
+Rob, how we made them stop badgering little Tommy Casey in the
+school-yard the other day, and how mad they were about it?"
+
+"Yes, and they swore they'd be even with us," answered Rob.
+
+The Jenkins boys were the children of a drunken father, a slatternly
+mother.  Brought up in a comfortless, poverty-stricken home, without
+any religious teaching or influences, what wonder that they became
+addicted to most of the petty vices,--that they acquired an unenviable
+reputation for mischief, mendacity, and thieving in a small way?
+
+Jack's inference could hardly be called a rash judgment.  A glimpse of
+a derisive, grinning face among the neighboring bushes confirmed his
+suspicions.  Without a word he made a dash toward the thicket.  His
+companions understood, however, and were not slow to follow his
+example.  There was a crackling of the brambles, succeeded by a
+stampede.  Jack, with all his alertness, had not been quite quick
+enough.  With a jeering whoop, two shabby figures escaped into the road.
+
+"The question is, where's the boat?" said Rob, as the party paused for
+breath, finding that pursuit was useless.
+
+They searched about in the vicinity without avail, but after some time
+the _Jolly Pioneer_ was finally discovered half a mile farther down the
+stream, entangled among a clump of willows, where the pirates, as Jim
+designated the Jenkins boys, had abandoned it.  To return to the place
+from which they had taken the boat, in order to enjoy the discomfiture
+and dismay of those against whom they had a grudge, was characteristic
+of them.
+
+"Good!  I knew we'd find the boat all right!" began Leo, joyfully.
+
+"By Jove! pretty well damaged, I should say!" cried Jack.
+
+"Well, the paint is a good deal scratched, and the seats have been
+loosened; but, after all, there is no great harm done," said Rob, more
+hopefully.
+
+Upon further examination, his view of the case proved to be correct.
+He and Jack experienced but little difficulty in rowing back to the
+original moorings, Jim and Leo following along the bank and applauding
+their skill.
+
+After this occurrence the _Jolly Pioneer_ and the _Merry-go-Round_ were
+each fastened to a sapling, that grew near the water's edge, by chain
+and padlock, which rendered them secure from interference.
+
+And what merry times our friends had with them upon the creek that
+summer!  The _Jolly Pioneer_ proved worthy of its name, was always the
+best of company, and led the way in many pleasant excursions up and
+down the stream.  The _Merry-go-Round_ was never far behind, and shared
+the honors of all its adventures.
+
+"I tell you now," exclaimed Leo, admiringly, one day when the lads were
+preparing for a row, "I don't believe you'd find two such boats in all
+the country about here."
+
+A critical observer might have facetiously agreed with him, but the
+boys were content with what they had, not being able to obtain anything
+better; and is not that one way to be happy?
+
+"Well, they may not be beauties," continued Jim; "and you can't exactly
+call them racers; but, somehow, they keep afloat, and one can manage
+them first-rate."
+
+"And we've had enough fun with them to repay us for all the trouble we
+had in making them," added Rob.
+
+Jack laughed at the recollection.
+
+"Yes," remarked Uncle Gerald, who had just come up, on his way to the
+meadow pasture.  "And I think, boys, you will all acknowledge that you
+learned a good many useful things while building a boat."
+
+
+
+
+A MAY-DAY GIFT.
+
+I.
+
+Early on the morning of the 1st of May, Abby Clayton ran downstairs,
+exclaiming by way of greeting to the household:
+
+"A bright May Day!  A bright May Day!"
+
+"It isn't very _bright_, I'm sure!" grumbled her little brother Larry,
+who clattered after her.  "There's no sunshine; and the wind blows so
+hard I sha'n't be able to sail my new boat on the pond in the park.
+It's mighty hard lines!  I don't see why it can't be pleasant on a
+holiday.  Think of all the shiny days we've had when a fellow had to be
+in school.  Now, when there's a chance for some fun, it looks as if it
+were going to rain great guns!"
+
+"Well, it won't," said Abby, pausing in the hall to glance back at him,
+as he perched upon the baluster above her.  "It won't rain great guns,
+nor pitchforks, nor cats and dogs, nor even torrents.  It's going to
+clear up.  Don't you know that some people say the sun generally
+shines, for a few minutes anyhow, on Saturdays in honor of the Blessed
+Virgin?"
+
+"This isn't Saturday," objected Larry, somewhat indignantly.
+
+"Yes, but it is the 1st of May; and if that is not our Blessed Mother's
+day too, I'd like to know what is!" said his sister.
+
+"I don't believe that about the sun shining," continued Larry.  "If you
+are ten--only two years older than I am,--you don't know everything.
+I'm going to ask mother."
+
+The children entered the breakfast room, greeted their father and
+mother, and then slipped into their places.
+
+"Mother," began Larry, as he slowly poured the maple syrup over the
+crisp, hot pancakes upon his plate, "is it true that the sun always
+shines on Saturday in honor of the Blessed Virgin?"
+
+"It is a pious and poetic saying," replied Mrs. Clayton.  "But a
+legendary sentiment of this kind often hides a deeper meaning.  For
+those who are devoted to the Blessed Virgin, there is never a day so
+dark but that the love of Our Lady shines through the gloom like a
+sunbeam, changing to the rosy and golden tints of hope the leaden
+clouds that shadowed their happiness; and blessing the closing day of
+life, which, to look back upon, seems but as the ending of a week."
+
+Mrs. Clayton had hardly finished speaking, when a long ray of yellow
+light fell upon the tablecloth.
+
+"There! the sun's out now, anyway!  Crickey, I'm so glad!" exclaimed
+Larry.
+
+"The clouds were only blown up by the wind," said his father.  "I do
+not think we shall have rain to-day."
+
+"Mother, may I put on a white dress and go to buy my May wreath?" asked
+Abby.
+
+"The air is too cold for you to change your warm gown for a summer one,
+dear," returned Mrs. Clayton.  "You may get the wreath, though; but be
+sure that you wear it over your hat."
+
+Abby seemed to think it was now her turn to grumble.
+
+"Oh, dear!" she murmured.  "All the girls wear white dresses, and go
+without hats on May Day.  I don't see why I can't!"
+
+Her complaint made no impression, however; so she flounced out of the
+room.
+
+"My mother is the most exaggerating person!" exclaimed the little girl,
+as she prepared for her shopping excursion.  She meant aggravating;
+but, like most people who attempt to use large words the meaning of
+which they do not understand, she made droll mistakes sometimes.
+
+Abby had fifteen cents, which her grandma had given her the day before.
+
+"I'll hurry down to the Little Women's before the best wreaths are
+gone," she said to herself.
+
+The place was a fancy store, kept by two prim but pleasant spinster
+sisters.  Besides newspapers, stationery, thread and needles, and so
+forth, they kept a stock of toys, candies, and pickled limes, which
+insured them a run of custom among the young folk, who always spoke of
+them as the Little Women.  Not to disappoint the confidence placed in
+them by their youthful patrons, they had secured an excellent
+assortment of the crowns of tissue-paper flowers which, in those days,
+every little girl considered essential to the proper observance of May
+Day.
+
+Abby selected one which she and the Little Women made up their minds
+was the prettiest.  It usually took both of the Little Women to sell a
+thing.  If one showed it, the other descanted upon its merits, or
+wrapped it up in paper when the bargain was completed.  Neither of them
+appeared to transact any business, even to the disposal of "a pickle
+lime" (as the children say), quite on her own responsibility.
+
+After Abby had fully discussed the matter with them, therefore, she
+bought her wreath.  It was made of handsome white tissue-paper roses,
+with green tissue-paper leaves, and had two long streamers.  There was
+another of pink roses, which she thought would be just the thing for
+Larry to buy with the fifteen cents which he had received also.  But
+Larry had said:
+
+"Pshaw!  I wouldn't wear a wreath!"  Abby didn't see why, because some
+boys wore them.
+
+On the way home she met a number of her playmates.  Several of them
+shivered in white dresses, and all were bareheaded except for their
+paper wreaths.  Not one of the wreaths was so fine as Abby's, however.
+But, then, few little girls had fifteen cents to expend upon one.  Abby
+perceived at a glance that most of those worn by her companions were of
+the ten-cent variety.  The Little Women had them for eight; and even
+five copper pennies would buy a very good one, although the roses of
+the five-cent kind were pronounced by those most interested to be
+"little bits of things."
+
+Abby talked to the girls a while, and then went home to exhibit her
+purchase.  Her mother commented approvingly upon it; and the little
+girl ran down to the kitchen to show it to Delia the cook, who had
+lived with the family ever since Larry was a baby.
+
+Delia was loud in her admiration.
+
+"Oh, on this day they do have great doings in Ireland!" said she; "but
+nowadays, to be sure, it's nothing to what it was in old times.  It was
+on May eve, I've heard tell, that St. Patrick lit the holy fire at
+Tara, in spite of the ancient pagan laws.  And in the days when the
+country was known as the island of saints and of scholars, sure
+throughout the length and breadth of the land the monastery bells rang
+in the May with praises of the Holy Mother; and the canticles in her
+honor were as ceaseless as the song of the birds.  And 'twas the
+fairies that were said to have great power at this season--"
+
+"Delia, you know very well there are no fairies," interrupted Abby.
+
+"Well, some foolish folk thought there were, anyhow," answered Delia.
+"And in Maytide the children and cattle, the milk and the butter, were
+kept guarded from them.  Many and many an evening I've listened to my
+mother that's dead and gone--God rest her soul!--telling of an old
+woman that, at the time of the blooming of the hawthorn, always put a
+spent coal under the churn, and another beneath the grandchild's
+cradle, because that was said to drive the fairies away; and how
+primroses used to be scattered at the door of the house to prevent the
+fairies from stealing in, because they could not pass that flower.  But
+you don't hear much of that any more; for the priest said 'twas
+superstition, and down from the heathenish times.  So the old people
+came to see 'twas wrong to use such charms, and the young people
+laughed at the old women's tales.  Now on May Day the shrines in the
+churches are bright with flowers, of course.  And as for the innocent
+merrymakings, instead of a dance round the May or hawthorn bush, as in
+the olden times, in some places there's just perhaps a frolic on the
+village green, when the boys and girls come home from the hills and
+dales with their garlands of spring blossoms--not paper flowers like
+those," added Delia, with a contemptuous glance at Abby's wreath,
+forgetting how much she had admired it only a few moments before.
+
+Somehow it did not now seem so beautiful to Abby either.  She took it
+off, and gazed at it with a sigh.
+
+"Here in New England the boys and girls go a-Maying," she said.  "Last
+year, when we were in the country, Larry and I went with our cousins.
+We had such fun hanging May-baskets!  I got nine.  But," she went on,
+regretfully, "I don't expect any this year; for city children do not
+have those plays."
+
+She went upstairs to the sitting-room, where Larry was rigging his boat
+anew.  He had been to the pond, but the wind wrought such havoc with
+the little craft that he had to put into port for repairs.
+
+Half an hour passed.  Abby was dressing her beloved doll for an airing
+on the sidewalk,--a promenade in a carriage, as the French say.  While
+thus occupied she half hummed, half sang, in a low voice, to herself, a
+popular May hymn.  When she reached the refrain, Larry joined, and
+Delia appeared at the door just in time to swell the chorus with honest
+fervor:
+
+  "See, sweet Mary, on thy altars
+    Bloom the fairest flowers of May.
+  Oh, may we, earth's sons and daughters,
+    Grow by grace as fair as they!"
+
+"If you please," said Delia at its close, "there's a man below stairs
+who says he has something for you both."
+
+"For us!" exclaimed the children, starting up.
+
+"Yes: your mother sent me to tell you.  He says he was told to say as
+how he had a May-basket for you."
+
+"A May-basket, Delia?  What!  All lovely flowers like those I told you
+about?" cried the little girl.
+
+"Sure, child, and how could I see what was inside, and it so carefully
+done up?" answered Delia, evasively.
+
+They did not question further, but rushed downstairs to see for
+themselves.
+
+In the kitchen waited a foreign-looking man, with swarthy skin, and
+thin gold rings in his ears.  On the floor beside him was a large,
+rough packing-basket.
+
+"_That_ a May-basket!" exclaimed Abby, hardly able to restrain the
+tears of disappointment which started to her eyes.
+
+"_Si, signorita_," replied the man.
+
+Her frown disappeared.  It was certainly very nice to be addressed by
+so high-sounding a title.  She wished she could get Delia to call her
+_signorita_.  But no; she felt sure that Delia never would.
+
+"Pshaw!  It's only a joke!" said Larry, after a moment.  "Somebody
+thinks this is April-fool Day, I guess."
+
+"Have patience for a leetle minute, please," said the man, as he cast
+away the packing bit by bit.  The children watched him with eager
+interest.  By and by he took out a little bunch of lilies of the
+valley, which he handed to Abby with a low bow.  Next he came to
+something shrouded in fold after fold of tissue-paper.
+
+"And here is the fairest lily of them all," he said, in his poetic
+Italian fashion.
+
+"What can it be, mother?" asked the little girl, wonderingly.
+
+Mrs. Clayton smiled.  "It is from Sartoris', the fine art store where
+you saw the beautiful pictures last week; that is all I know about it,"
+she replied.
+
+The man carefully placed the mysterious object on the table.
+
+"It is some kind of a vase or an image," declared Larry.
+
+"Why, so it is!" echoed Abby.
+
+In another moment the tissue veil was torn aside, and there stood
+revealed a beautiful statue of the Blessed Virgin.
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed Larry, in delight.
+
+"How lovely!" added his sister.
+
+The image was about two feet high, and of spotless Parian, which well
+symbolized the angelic purity it was intended to portray.  To many,
+perhaps, it might appear simply a specimen of modeling, but little
+better than the average.  However, those who looked on it with the eyes
+of faith saw before them, not so much the work itself, as the ideal of
+the artist.
+
+The graceful figure or Our Lady at once suggested the ethereal and
+celestial.  The long mantle, which fell in folds to her feet, signified
+her modesty and motherly protection; the meekly folded hands were a
+silent exhortation to humility and prayer; the tender, spiritual face
+invited confidence and love; the crown upon her brow proclaimed her
+sovereignty above all creatures and her incomparable dignity as Mother
+of God.
+
+"And is this beautiful statue really ours--just Larry's and mine?"
+asked Abby.
+
+"So the messenger says," returned Mrs. Clayton.
+
+"Who could have sent it, I wonder?" inquired Larry.
+
+The Italian pointed to the card attached to the basket.  Abby took it
+off and read:
+
+
+"To my little friends, Abby and Larry Clayton, with the hope that,
+especially during this month, they will try every day to do some little
+thing to honor our Blessed Mother.
+
+"FATHER DOMINIC."
+
+
+"From Father Dominic!" exclaimed the boy, in delight.
+
+"How very good of him!" added Abby, gratefully.
+
+Father Dominic--generally so called because his musical Italian surname
+was a stumbling-block to our unwieldy English speech--was a particular
+friend of Mr. and Mrs. Clayton, who appreciated his culture and
+refinement, and admired his noble character and devotion to his
+priestly duties.  He was an occasional visitor at their house, and took
+a great interest in the children.
+
+"How nice of him to send us something we shall always have!" Abby ran
+on.  "Now I can give the tiny image in my room to some one who hasn't
+any."
+
+"May we make an altar for our statue, mother?" asked Larry.
+
+Although as a rule a lively, rollicking boy, when it came to anything
+connected with his prayers, he was unaffectedly and almost comically
+solemn about it.
+
+"Yes," responded Mrs. Clayton.  "And I think it would be a good plan
+also to frame the card and hang it on the front of the altar, so that
+you may not forget Father Dominic's words: 'Try every day to do some
+little thing to honor our Blessed Mother.'"
+
+
+
+II.
+
+"O mother!" cried Abby, the day after the arrival of the unique
+May-basket from Father Dominic, "now that we have such a lovely statue
+of the Blessed Virgin, don't you think we ought to make a regular
+altary."
+
+"A what!" exclaimed Mrs. Clayton, at a loss to understand what her
+little daughter could possibly mean.  "I told you that you might have
+an altar, dear.  And you may arrange it whenever you please."
+
+"No, but an altary," persisted Abby.   "The Tyrrells have an altary in
+their house, and I wish we could have one too.  Why, you must know what
+it is, mother,--just a little room fitted up like a chapel; and the
+family say their prayers there night and morning, and at other times if
+they wish."
+
+"Oh, an oratory!" observed Mrs. Clayton, trying to repress a smile.
+
+"Perhaps that _is_ the name," admitted Abby, a trifle disconcerted.
+"Anyhow, can't we have one?"
+
+"Well--yes," said her mother, after a few moments' reflection.  "The
+small room next to the parlor might be arranged for that purpose."
+
+"That would make a beautiful al--chapel!" exclaimed Abby.  She did not
+venture to attempt the long word again.
+
+"I think I could get enough out of the carpet that was formerly on the
+parlor to cover the floor," mused Mrs. Clayton aloud.  "The square
+table, draped with muslin and lace, would make a pretty altar.  Then,
+with the pictures of the Sacred Heart and the Bouguereau Madonna to
+hang on the walls, and my _prie-dieu_--yes, Abby, I think we can manage
+it."
+
+"Oh, how splendid!" cried the little girl.  "When shall we begin to get
+it ready?"
+
+"Perhaps to-morrow," answered her mother; "but I can not promise to
+have the preparations completed at once.  It will take some time to
+plan the carpet and have it put down."
+
+Abby was not only satisfied, but delighted.  She told Larry the minute
+he came into the house.  He had been over to the pond with his boat
+again.
+
+"That will be grand!" said he.  "When you get everything fixed, I'll
+bring you the little vase I got for Christmas, and my prayer-book,
+and--oh, yes, my rosary, to put on the altar.  And, then," he went on,
+quite seriously, "there's my catechism, and the little chalk angel,
+and--"
+
+"The little chalk angel!" repeated Abby, scornfully.  "Why, that has
+lost its head!"
+
+"But it's a little chalk angel all the same," argued Larry.  "And if I
+find the head, it can be glued on."
+
+"Oh--well; we don't want any trash like that on our altar!" rejoined
+his sister.  "And the books and rosary can be kept on the shelf in the
+corner.  It would be nice to have the vase, though."
+
+Larry, who at first had been rather offended that his offerings were
+not appreciated, brightened up when he found he could at least furnish
+something to adorn the shrine.
+
+The following day was Saturday.  There was, of course, no school, and
+Abby was free to help her mother to get the little room in order.  She
+was impatient to begin.  But alas for her plans!  About nine o'clock in
+the morning Mrs. Clayton suddenly received word that grandma was not
+feeling well, and she at once prepared to visit the dear old lady.
+
+"I may be away the greater part of the day, Delia," she said, as she
+tied the strings of her bonnet; "but I have given you all necessary
+directions, I think,--Larry, do not go off with any of the boys, but
+you may play in the park as usual.--And, Abby, be sure that you do not
+keep Miss Remick waiting when she comes to give you your music lesson."
+
+"But what about the altary--oh, oratory I mean?" asked Abby, dejectedly.
+
+"There is a piece of muslin in the linen press which you may take to
+cover the altar," said her mother; "but do not attempt to arrange
+anything more.  I will attend to the rest next week.  I am sorry to
+disappoint you and Larry; but, you see, I can not help it."
+
+She harried away; and the children ran up to the parlor, which was on
+the second story of the house, to take another look at their precious
+statue, which had been placed on the marble slab in front of one of the
+long mirrors.  Then they went into the small room which was to be the
+oratory.  The only furniture it contained was the square table which
+they had brought there the evening before.  Abby got the muslin, and
+began to drape the table to resemble an altar; Larry looking on
+admiringly, volunteering a suggestion now and then.  She succeeded
+pretty well.  Larry praised her efforts; he was prouder than ever of
+his sister,--although, as he remarked, "the corners _would_ look a
+little bunchy, and the cloth was put on just a _teenty_ bit crooked."
+
+Presently the little girl paused, took several pins out of her
+mouth--which seemed to be the most available pincushion,--and glanced
+disconsolately at the pine boards of the floor.
+
+"What is the use of fixing the altar before the floor is covered!" she
+said.  "I am almost sure I could put down the carpet myself."
+
+"Oh, no, you couldn't!" said Larry.  "You'd be sure to hammer your
+fingers instead of the tacks--girls always do.  But if you get the
+carpet all spread out, _I'll_ nail it down for you."
+
+The roll of carpet stood in the corner.  It had been partially ripped
+apart, and there were yards and yards of it; for it had covered the
+parlor, which was a large room.  Mrs. Clayton intended to have it made
+over for the dining-room, and estimated that there would be enough left
+for the oratory.  She had not thought it necessary to explain these
+details to Abby, however.
+
+"We'll do it," declared the latter.  "Mother said to wait, but I don't
+believe she'll care."
+
+"Course she won't," agreed Larry.
+
+Both the children felt that what they had decided upon was not exactly
+right,--that it would be better to observe strictly their mother's
+instructions.  But, like many people who argue themselves into the
+delusion that what they want to do is the best thing to be done, Abby
+tried to compromise with the "still small voice" which warned her not
+to meddle, by the retort: "Oh, it will spare mother the trouble!  And
+she'll be glad to have it finished."  As for Larry, the opportunity to
+pound away with the hammer and make as much noise as he pleased, was a
+temptation hard to resist.
+
+Abby opened the roll.
+
+"What did mother mean by saying she thought she could get enough out of
+this carpet to cover the floor?" said the little girl, with a laugh.
+"She must have been very absent-minded; for there's lashin's of it
+here, as Delia would say."
+
+"Oh, my, yes--lashin's!" echoed Larry.
+
+Abby was what is called "a go-ahead" young person.  She was domestic in
+her tastes, and, for her years, could make herself very useful about
+the house when she chose.  Now, therefore, she had no diffidence about
+her ability to carry out her undertaking.  And Larry, although he
+frequently reminded her that she did not know _every_thing, had a
+flattering confidence in her capacity.
+
+"I'll have it done in less than no time," she said, running to get her
+mother's large scissors.
+
+Click, click went the shears as she slashed into the carpet, taking off
+breadth after breadth, without attempting to match the pattern, and
+with little regard for accuracy of measurement.  Instead of laying it
+along the length of the room, she chose to put it crosswise, thus
+cutting it up into any number of short pieces.
+
+"No matter about its not being sewed," she went on; "you can nail it
+together, can't you, Larry?"
+
+"Oh, yes!" said Larry.
+
+The more hammering the better for him.  He hunted up the hammer and two
+papers of tacks, and as fast as Abby cut he nailed.
+
+Delia was unusually busy; for it was house-cleaning time, and she was
+getting the diningroom ready for the new carpet.   Therefore, although
+she heard the noise upstairs, she gave herself no concern about it;
+supposing that Larry was merely amusing himself, for he was continually
+tinkering at one thing or another.
+
+By and by Larry remarked: "Say, Abby, you've got two of these pieces
+too short."
+
+Abby went over and looked at them.  "Gracious, so I have!" she said.
+"Well, put them aside, and I'll cut two more."
+
+Click went the scissors again, and the carpet was still further
+mutilated.  Then, as a narrow strip was required, a breadth was slit
+down the centre.  Finally the boards were covered.
+
+"There!" she cried triumphantly.  "It is all planned.  Now, I'll nail."
+
+Larry demurred at first, but Abby was imperious.  Moreover, the
+constant friction of the handle of the hammer had raised a blister in
+the palm of his hand.  Abby had an ugly red welt around her thumb,
+caused by the resistance of the scissors; for it had been very hard
+work to cut the heavy carpet.  But she did not complain, for she felt
+that she was a martyr to industry.
+
+At last the work was completed; and, flushed and tired, with her
+fingers bruised from frequent miscalculated blows from the hammer, and
+her knuckles rubbed and tingling, she paused to admire the result of
+her toil.  The carpeting was a curious piece of patchwork certainly,
+but the children were delighted with their achievement.
+
+The lunch bell rang.
+
+"Don't say anything about it to Delia," cautioned Abby.
+
+Larry agreed that it would be as well not to mention the subject.  They
+did not delay long at the meal, but hastened back to their self-imposed
+task.
+
+"Now let's hurry up and finish the altar," said Abby.
+
+Having completed the adornment of the table, by throwing over the
+muslin a fine lace curtain, from the linen press also, and decking it
+with some artificial flowers found in her mother's wardrobe, Abby
+brought the statue from the parlor, and set it upon the shrine which
+she and Larry had taken so much trouble to prepare.  Larry placed
+before the lovely image his little vase containing a small bunch of
+dandelions he had gathered in the yard.  He was particularly fond of
+dandelions.  Abby had nothing to offer but her May wreath, which she
+laid beside it.  But the decorations appeared too scanty to satisfy her.
+
+"I'll get the high pink vases from the parlor," said she.
+
+"Yes," added Larry.  "And the candlesticks with the glass hanging all
+round them like a fringe, that jingles when you touch them."
+
+The little girl brought the vases.  Then she carried in the candelabra,
+the crystal pendants ringing as she walked in a way that delighted
+Larry.  She knew perfectly well that she was never allowed to tamper
+with the costly ornaments in the parlor; but she excused herself by the
+plea: "I'm doing it for the Blessed Virgin."  Larry also had a certain
+uneasiness about it, but he said to himself: "Oh, it must be all right
+if Abby thinks so!  She is a great deal older than I am, and ought to
+know."
+
+The shrine was certainly elaborate now.  The children were so engrossed
+with admiring it that they did not hear the house door open and close.
+A step in the hall, however, reminded the little girl of her music
+lesson.
+
+"Gracious, that must be Miss Remick!" she said, in confusion.
+
+She quietly opened the door of the oratory, intending to peep into the
+parlor to see if the teacher was there.  To her surprise she
+encountered her mother, who had just come up the stairs.  But Mrs.
+Clayton was much more astonished by the sight which greeted, her eyes
+when she glanced into the oratory.
+
+"O Abby," she exclaimed, in distress and annoyance, "how could you be
+so disobedient!  O Larry, why did you help to do what you must have
+known I would not like?"
+
+Larry grew very red in the face, looked down, and fumbled with one of
+the buttons of his jacket,
+
+"But, mother," began Abby, glibly, "it was for the Blessed Virgin, you
+know.  I was sure I could put down the carpet all right, and I thought
+you would be glad to be saved the trouble."
+
+"Put it down all right!" rejoined her mother.  "Why, you have ruined
+the carpet, Abby!"
+
+Both children looked incredulous and astonished.
+
+"Don't you see that you have cut it up so shockingly that it is
+entirely spoiled?  What is left would have to be so pieced that I can
+not possibly use it for the dining-room, as I intended."
+
+Abby was mortified and abashed.  Larry grew more and more uncomfortable.
+
+"And, then, the vases and candelabra!" continued Mrs. Clayton.  "Have
+you not been forbidden to lift or move them, daughter?"
+
+"Yes, mother," acknowledged the little girl.  "But I thought you
+wouldn't mind when I wanted them for the altar.  I didn't suppose you'd
+think anything you had was too good for the Blessed Virgin."
+
+"Certainly not," was the reply.  "I had decided to place the candelabra
+on your little shrine.  The pink vases are not suitable.  But these
+ornaments are too heavy for you to carry.  It was only a happy chance
+that you did not drop and break them.  And, then, the statue!  Do you
+not remember that I would not permit you to move it yesterday?  How
+would you have felt if it had clipped from your clasp and been dashed
+to pieces?"
+
+A few tears trickled down Abby's cheeks.  Larry blinked hard and stared
+at the wall.
+
+"My dear children, that is not the way to honor our Blessed Mother,"
+Mrs. Clayton went on to say.  "Do you think that she looked down with
+favor upon your work to-day?  No.  But if you had waited as I told
+you,--if each of you had made a little altar for her in your heart and
+offered to her the beautiful flowers of patience, and the votive lights
+of loving obedience,--then indeed you would have won her blessing, and
+she would have most graciously accepted the homage of such a shrine.
+As it is, you see, you have very little, if anything, to offer her."
+
+
+
+III.
+
+For two or three days Mrs. Clayton suffered the oratory to remain as
+the children had arranged it.  They said their prayers there morning
+and evening; and to Abby especially the ridges and patches in the
+carpet, which now seemed to stare her out of countenance, the pink
+vases, and the candelabra, were a constant reproach for her
+disobedience.  Larry, too, grew to hate the sight of them.  He often
+realized poignantly also that it is not well to be too easily
+influenced by one's playmates; for if he happened to be late and ran
+into the room and popped down on his knees in a hurry, he was almost
+sure to start up again with an exclamation caused by the prick of one
+of the numerous tacks which he had inadvertently left scattered over
+the floor.
+
+When the good mother thought that the admonition which she wished to
+convey was sufficiently impressed, she had the carpet taken up,
+repaired as much as possible, and properly laid.  Then she hung soft
+lace curtains at the window, draped the altar anew, took away the pink
+vases, and put the finishing touches to the oratory.  It was now a
+lovely little retreat.  Abby and Larry never tired of admiring it.
+They went in and, out of the room many times during the day; and the
+image of the Blessed Virgin, ever there to greet them, by its very
+presence taught them sweet lessons of virtue.  For who can look upon a
+statue of Our Lady without being reminded of her motherly tenderness,
+her purity and love; without finding, at least for a moment, his
+thoughts borne upward, as the angels bore the body of the dead St.
+Catherine, from amid the tumult of the world to the holy heights, the
+very atmosphere of which is prayer and peace?
+
+Whenever Abby felt cross or disagreeable, she hid herself in the
+oratory until her ill-humor had passed.  This was certainly a great
+improvement upon her former habit, under such circumstances, of
+provoking a quarrel with Larry, teasing Delia, and taxing her mother's
+patience to the utmost.  She liked to go there, too, in the afternoon
+when she came in from play, when twilight crept on and deepened, and
+the flame of the little altar lamp that her father had given her shone
+like a tiny star amid the dusk of the quiet room.  Larry liked it
+better when, just after supper, the candles of the candelabra were all
+lighted, and the family gathered around the shrine and said the Rosary
+together.
+
+To Abby belonged the welcome charge of keeping the oratory in order;
+while Larry always managed to have a few flowers for his vase, even if
+they were only dandelions or buttercups.  He and his sister differed
+about the placing of this offering.
+
+"What a queer boy you are!" said Abby to him one day.  "Your vase has a
+pretty wild rose painted on it, yet you always set it with the plain
+side out.  Nobody'd know it was anything but a plain white vase.  You
+ought to put it round this way," she added, turning it so that the rose
+would show.
+
+"No, I won't!" protested Larry, twisting it back again.  "The prettiest
+side ought to be toward the Blessed Virgin."
+
+"Oh--well--to be sure, in one way!" began Abby.  "But, then, the shrine
+is all for her, and this is only a statue.  What difference does it
+make which side of the vase is toward a statue?  And it looks so funny
+to see the wrong side turned to the front.  Some day we'll be bringing
+Annie Conwell and Jack Tyrrell, and some of mother's friends, up here;
+and just think how they'll laugh when they see it."
+
+Larry flushed, but he answered firmly: "I don't care!--the prettiest
+side ought to be toward the Blessed Virgin."
+
+"But it is only a statue!" persisted Abby, testily.
+
+"Of course I know it is only a statue," replied her brother, raising
+his voice a trifle; for she was really too provoking.  "I know it just
+as well as you do.  But I think Our Lady in heaven understands that I
+put the vase that way because I want to give her the best I have.  And
+I don't care whether any one laughs at it or not.  That vase isn't here
+so Annie Conwell or Jack Tyrrell or anybody else will think it looks
+pretty, but only for the Blessed Virgin,--so there!"
+
+Larry, having expressed himself with such warmth, subsided.  Abby did
+not venture to turn the vase again.  She was vaguely conscious that she
+had been a little too anxious to "show off" the oratory, and had
+thought rather too much of what her friends would say in regard to her
+arrangement of the altar.
+
+It was about this time that Aunt Kitty and her little daughter Claire
+came to stay a few days with the Claytons.  Claire was only four years
+old.  She had light, fluffy curls and brown eyes, and was so dainty and
+graceful that she seemed to Abby and Larry like a talking doll when she
+was comparatively quiet, and a merry, roguish fairy when she romped
+with them.
+
+"How do you happen to have such lovely curls?" asked Abby of the
+fascinating little creature.
+
+"Oh, mamma puts every curl into a wee nightcap of its own when I go to
+bed!" answered the child, with a playful shake of the head.
+
+Larry thought this very droll.  "Isn't she cunning?" he said.  "But
+what can she mean?"
+
+"Your mother puts your hair into a nightcap!" cried Abby.  "Those are
+curl papers, I suppose."
+
+"No, nightcaps," insisted the little one.  "That's the right name."
+
+The children puzzled over it for some time; but finally Aunt Kitty came
+to the rescue, and explained that she rolled them on bits of muslin or
+cotton, to give them the soft, pretty appearance which Abby so much
+admired; because Claire's father liked her to have curls, and the poor
+child's hair was naturally as straight as a pipe stem.
+
+"Come and see our chapel, Claire," said Abby; the word oratory did not
+yet come trippingly to her tongue.
+
+Claire was delighted with the beautiful image, and behaved as
+decorously as if she were in church.  Afterward the children took her
+to walk.  They went into the park, in which there were many handsome
+flower-pots, several fountains, and a number of fine pieces of marble
+statuary.  Claire seemed to be much impressed with the latter.
+
+"Oh, my!" she exclaimed, pointing to them reverently.  "Look at all the
+Blessed Virgins!"
+
+The children laughed.  She stood looking at them with a little frown,
+not having quite made up her mind whether to join in their mirth, or to
+be vexed.  When her mistake was explained to her, she said, with a pout:
+
+"Well, if they are not Blessed Virgins, then I don't care about them,
+and I'm going home."
+
+The children had promptly sent a note to Father Dominic thanking him
+for his appropriate May-Day gift.  Each had a share in the composition
+of this acknowledgment, but it had been carefully copied by Abby.
+Later they had the satisfaction of showing him the oratory.  While
+Claire was with them, he happened to call again one evening just as the
+young people were saying good-night.
+
+"Larry," whispered Abby, when they went upstairs and she knelt with her
+brother and cousin before the little altar,--"Larry, let's say our
+prayers real loud, so Father Dominic will know how good we've got to be
+since we've had the lovely statue."
+
+"All right," said Larry, obediently.
+
+They began, Abby leading off in clear, distinct accents, and Larry
+following in a heavy alto; for his voice was unusually deep and
+sonorous for such a little fellow.  Baby Claire listened wonderingly.
+Then, apparently making up her mind that the clamor was due to the
+intensity of their fervor, she joined with her shrill treble, and
+prayed with all her might and main.
+
+To a certain extent, they succeeded in their object.  The din of their
+devotions soon penetrated to the library, where their friend Father
+Dominic was chatting with Mr. and Mrs. Clayton.  In a few moments the
+latter stepped quietly into the lower hall.
+
+"Abby!" she called, softly.
+
+The little girl pretended not to hear, and kept on.
+
+"Abby!"--there was a decision in the tone which was not to be trifled
+with.
+
+"What is it, mother?" she asked, with an assumption of innocence,
+breaking off so suddenly as to startle her companions.
+
+"Not so loud, dear.  You can be heard distinctly in the library."
+
+Abby and Larry snickered; Claire giggled without knowing why.  Then
+Abby applied herself with renewed earnestness and volubility to the
+litany.  She did not intend any disrespect: on the contrary, she meant
+to be very devout.  But she not only believed in the injunction "Let
+your light shine before men," but felt that it behooved her to attract
+Father Dominic's attention to the fact that it _was_ shining.  Clearer
+and higher rose her voice; deeper and louder sounded Larry's; more
+shrilly piped Claire.
+
+"Abby!" called Mrs. Clayton again, with grave displeasure.  "That will
+do.  Children, go to your rooms at once."
+
+The others stole off without another word, but Abby lingered a minute.
+Father Dominic was going, and she could not resist the impulse to wait
+and learn what impression their piety had made.  Leaning over the
+balusters, she saw him laughing in an amused manner.  Then he said to
+her mother:
+
+"Tell Abby she has such a good, strong voice, I wish I could have her
+read the prayers for the Sodality.  She would surely be heard all over
+the church."
+
+He went away, and Abby crept upstairs with burning cheeks and an
+unpleasant suspicion that she had made herself ridiculous.
+
+Mrs. Clayton suspected that her little daughter had overheard the
+message.  She therefore spared the children any reference to the
+subject.  But the next time they met Father Dominic he alluded, as if
+casually, to the devotions suitable for May, and then quite naturally
+went on to speak of the virtues of the Blessed Virgin, especially of
+her humility and love of retirement; saying how, although the Mother of
+God, she was content to lead a humble, hidden life at Nazareth, with no
+thought or wish to proclaim her goodness from the house-tops.  The
+lesson was gently and kindly given, but Abby was shrewd enough and
+sufficiently well disposed to understand.  She felt that she was indeed
+learning a great deal during this Month of Mary.
+
+About the middle of the month there was a stir of pleasurable
+excitement at St. Mary's School.
+
+"Suppose we get up a May drama among the younger pupils?" suggested
+Marion Gaines, the leading spirit of the graduating class.
+
+The proposition was received with enthusiasm, and Mother Rosalie was
+applied to for permission.
+
+"Yes," she answered, "you have my consent to your plan; but on one
+condition--that you arrange the drama and drill the children
+yourselves.  It will be good practice for you in the art of
+composition; and, by teaching others, you will prove whether or not you
+have profited by Professor Willet's lessons in elocution."
+
+The Graduates were delighted.
+
+"That is just like Mother Rosalie," said Marion.  "She is willing to
+trust us, and leaves us to our own resources, so that if we succeed all
+the credit will be ours.  Now we must draw up a plan.  Shall we decide
+upon a plot, and then each work out a portion of it?"
+
+"Oh, dear, I never could think of anything!" declared one.
+
+"I should not know how to manage the dialogue.  My characters would be
+perfect sticks," added a second.
+
+"I can't even write an interesting letter," lamented some one else.
+
+"I respectfully suggest that Marion and Ellen be requested to compose
+the drama," said the first speaker, with mock ceremony.
+
+"I agree with all my heart!" cried one.
+
+"And I,"--"and I!" chimed in the others.
+
+"It is a unanimous vote," continued their spokesman, turning to the
+young ladies in question, with a low bow.
+
+"But we shall have all the work," objected Marion.
+
+"No: we will take a double share at the rehearsals, and they will be no
+small part of the trouble."
+
+"I'll do it if you will, Ellen," began Marion.
+
+"I don't mind trying," agreed Ellen.
+
+Thus the matter was settled.
+
+"Let us first select the little girls to take part in our drama,"
+Marion continued.
+
+"There's Annie Conwell," said one.
+
+"And Lucy Caryl," interposed another.
+
+So they went on, till they had chosen ten or twelve little girls.
+
+"As it is to be a May piece, of course we must have a Queen," said
+Ellen.
+
+"Yes; and let us have Abby Clayton for the Queen," rejoined Marion.
+"Abby is passably good-looking and rather graceful; besides, she has a
+clear, strong voice, and plenty of self-confidence.  She would not be
+apt to get flustered.  Annie Conwell, now, is a dear child; but perhaps
+she would be timid, and it would spoil the whole play if the Queen
+should break down."
+
+After school the little girls were invited into the Graduates'
+class-room; and, although not a word of the drama had yet been written,
+the principal parts were then and there assigned.  Lucy Caryl was to
+have the opening address, Annie as many lines as she would undertake,
+and so on.
+
+Abby was delighted to find that she was chosen for the most prominent
+_role_.  She ran all the way home, and skipped gaily into the house and
+up to the sitting-room, where Mrs. Clayton was sewing.
+
+"O mother!" she exclaimed, tossing off her hat and throwing her books
+upon the table, "we are to have a lovely drama at our school, and I'm
+to be the May-Queen!"
+
+
+
+IV
+
+"Just think, Larry!" said Abby to her brother, when he came home after
+a game of ball, "I'm to be Queen of May!"
+
+"You!" he cried, in a disdainful tone.
+
+"Yes, indeed!  And why not?  I'm sure I don't see why you should look
+so surprised.  I've been chosen because I can speak and act the best in
+our division."
+
+"But the Blessed Virgin is Queen of May," objected Larry.
+
+"Oh, of course!" Abby said.  "But this will be only make believe, you
+know.  We are going to have a drama, and I'm to be Queen,--that is all."
+
+"I should think you would not even want to play at taking away what
+belongs to the Blessed Virgin," persisted Larry, doggedly.  "She is the
+Queen of May, and no one ought to pretend to be Queen besides."
+
+"Oh, you silly boy!  There is no use in trying to explain anything to
+you!" cried Abby, losing patience.
+
+For the next half hour she was not so talkative, however, and after a
+while she stole away; for in spite of her petulance at Larry's words,
+they had suggested a train of thought which made her want to be by
+herself.  She went up to the oratory and stayed there a long time, amid
+the twilight shadows.  Finally the ringing of the supper bell put an
+end to her musings.  She knelt a few minutes before the statue, and
+then ran down to the dining-room.  She was very quiet all the evening;
+and, to Mrs. Clayton's surprise, the family heard no more of the May
+drama.
+
+The next day, at school, Abby waylaid Marion Gaines in one of the
+corridors.
+
+"I want to speak to you," she began.
+
+"Well, what's the matter, Abby?  What makes you so serious this
+morning?" inquired Marion.
+
+"Nothing--only I've been thinking about the May piece, and I want to
+tell you that I'd rather not be Queen," faltered the little girl,
+
+"You'd rather not be Queen!" repeated Marion, in astonishment.  "Why
+not?  I thought you were delighted to be chosen."
+
+"So I was--yesterday," the little girl hastened to say; for she would
+not have Marion think she did not appreciate the compliment.
+
+"Then what has caused you to change your mind so suddenly?" Marion went
+on.  "What a fickle child you are, to be sure!"
+
+"It is not that," stammered poor Abby, a good deal confused;
+"but--but--well, you know the Blessed Virgin is Queen of May, and it
+seems as if we ought not even to play at having any other Queen."
+
+Marion stared at her incredulously.  "And so missy has a scruple about
+it?" she said, smiling.
+
+"No," returned Abby; "but my brother Larry thought so.  And if it looks
+that way even to a little boy like him, I think I would rather not
+pretend to be Queen."
+
+"A May piece without a Queen!  Why, it would be like the play of Hamlet
+with Hamlet left out!" declared Marion.  "Did you not think that if you
+declined the part we might give it to some one else?"
+
+Abby colored and was silent.  This had, indeed, been the hardest part
+of the struggle with herself.  But there was an element of the heroic
+in her character.  She never did anything by halves; like the little
+girl so often quoted, "when she was good, she was very, _very_, good."
+
+Marion stood a moment looking at her.  "And do you really mean," she
+said at length, "that you are ready to give up the _role_ you were so
+delighted with yesterday, and the satisfaction of queening it over your
+companions if only for an hour?--that you are willing to make the
+sacrifice to honor the Blessed Virgin?"
+
+With some embarrassment, Abby admitted that this was her motive.
+
+A sudden thought occurred to Marion.  "Then, Abby, you shall!" said
+she.  "I'll arrange it; but don't say a word about it to any one.  Let
+the girls think you are to be Queen, if they please.  Why, missy," she
+went on, becoming enthusiastic, "it is really a clever idea for our
+drama.  We shall have a lovely May piece, after all."
+
+Marion hastened away, intent upon working out the new plan which her
+quick fancy had already sketched in outline.  To be sure, she and Ellen
+had devised a different one, and agreed that each should write certain
+scenes.  Ellen had taken the first opportunity that morning to whisper
+that she had devoted to the drama all the previous evening and an hour
+before breakfast.  Marion, indeed, had done the same.
+
+"But it will not make any difference.  We can change the lines a
+little," she said to herself, after reading the manuscript, which Ellen
+passed to her at the hour of German study,--a time they were allowed to
+take for this particular composition.
+
+Ellen, however, thought otherwise.
+
+"What!  another plan for the May piece!" she said, when Marion
+mentioned the subject.  "Why, see all I've written; and in rhyme, too!"
+
+"But it can be altered without much trouble," explained her friend.
+
+"No, it can't.  You will only make a hodge-podge of my verses," she
+answered, excitedly.  "I do think, Marion, that once we agreed upon the
+plan, you ought to have kept to it, instead of changing everything just
+because of a notion of a little girl like Abby Clayton.  Here I've been
+working hard for nothing,--it was just a waste of time!"
+
+Marion pleaded and reasoned, but without avail.  Ellen's vanity was
+wounded.  She chose to imagine that her classmate, and sometimes rival,
+did not care whether her lines were spoiled or not.
+
+"No, no!" she reiterated.  "I'll have nothing to do with your new plan.
+You can get up the whole piece yourself."
+
+"At least give me what you have written," urged Marion.  "We are so
+hurried, and the children ought to have their parts as soon as
+possible."
+
+But Ellen remained obdurate.
+
+Marion consulted the others of the class, and, after some discussion,
+they decided in favor of the later design.  For the next few days she
+devoted every spare moment to the work.  By the end of the week she had
+not only finished the portion she had been expected to write, but also
+much of what Ellen was to have done; and the parts were distributed
+among the children.  There were still wanting, however, the opening
+address and a dialogue, both of which Ellen had completed.
+
+"Oh, dear," cried Marion, "that address of Ellen's is so pretty and
+appropriate!  If she would only let us have it!  As we planned it
+together, if I write one the principal ideas will be the same; and
+then, likely as not, she will say I copied from hers.  How shall I
+manage?"
+
+Ellen remained on her dignity.  She would have nothing to do either
+with Marion or the drama, and kept aloof from her classmates generally.
+
+The intelligence had spread through the school that the two graduates
+had differed over the May piece.  The exact point in dispute was not
+known, however: for Marion wished to keep her design a secret, and
+Ellen would not condescend to explain.  In fact, she did not clearly
+understand it herself; for she had been too vexed at the proposal to
+change the plan to listen to what Marion said upon the subject.
+
+During this state of affairs poor Abby was very unhappy.  She felt that
+she was the cause of all the trouble; and it seemed hard that what she
+had done with the best of intentions should have made so much
+ill-feeling.  This disastrous occurrence was followed by another, which
+made her think herself a very unfortunate little girl.
+
+As has already been explained, it was Larry's delight to keep always a
+few fresh blossoms in his pretty vase before the beloved statue of the
+Blessed Virgin.  This he attended to himself, and no one ever
+interfered with the vase.  On the day referred to Abby had been
+rehearsing with Marion, and thus it happened that they walked part of
+the way home together.  Marion stopped at a florist's stand and bought
+a little bunch of arbutus.
+
+"Here, put this on your altar," she said, giving it to Abby.  She had
+heard all about the oratory.
+
+When the little girl reached the house Larry had not yet come in, and
+the flowers had not been renewed that day.
+
+"I'll surprise him," she said to herself.  "How pleased he will be to
+see this nice little bouquet!"
+
+She took the vase, threw away the withered violets it contained,
+replaced them with the May-flowers, and put it back.  But, alas! being
+taken up with admiring the delicate pink arbutus, and inhaling its
+fragrance, she did not notice that she had set the vase in an unsteady
+position.  The next moment it tipped over, fell to the floor, and lay
+shattered at the foot of the altar.  Abby stood and gazed at it
+hopelessly, too distressed even to gather up the fragments.
+
+"Oh, what will Larry say!" she cried, wringing her hands.  "He thought
+so much of that vase!  What shall I do?"
+
+While she was thus lamenting she heard Larry's voice.  He was coming
+straight up to the oratory.  In another minute he threw open the door;
+he had a little cluster of buttercups in his hand, and was so intent
+upon putting them in the vase that he was half-way across the room
+before he noticed the broken pieces on the floor.  When he did so, he
+stopped and glared at his sister.
+
+"O Larry," she stammered, contritely, "it was an accident!  See!
+Marion Gaines gave me those lovely May-flowers, and I thought you'd be
+pleased to have them in your vase.  Just as I went to put it back, it
+fell over.  I'm awfully sorry!"
+
+Larry's eyes flashed angrily, and his face grew crimson.
+
+"Abby Clayton," he broke out, "you are always meddling!  Why can't you
+let things that don't belong to you alone?"'
+
+A storm of reproaches would no doubt have followed, but just then his
+angry glance turned toward the statue.  There stood the image of Our
+Lady, so meek and beautiful and mild.  And there, in a tiny frame at
+the front of the altar, hung father Dominic's words of advice: "Try
+every day to do some little thing to honor our Blessed Mother."
+
+Larry paused suddenly; for his indignation almost choked him.  But in
+that moment of silence he had time to reflect.  What should he do
+to-day to honor the Blessed Virgin, now that his little vase was
+broken?  He looked again at the statue.  The very sight of the sweet
+face suggested gentler thoughts, and counselled kindness, meekness, and
+forbearance.
+
+"Well, Abby," he blurted out, "I suppose I'll have to forgive you; but,
+oh, how I wish I were only six years old, so that I could cry!"
+
+So saying, Larry laid the buttercups at the feet of Our Lady's statue,
+and rushed from the room.
+
+The next day it happened that Ellen discovered Abby in tears at the
+window of the class-room.  Ellen, although quick-tempered and
+impulsive, was kind-hearted.
+
+"What is the trouble now, child?" she asked, gently, taking Abby's hand
+in hers.
+
+"Oh," sobbed Abby, "I feel so dreadfully to think that you and Marion
+don't speak to each other!  And it's all my fault; because from
+something I said to Marion she thought that, instead of taking one
+among ourselves, it would be much nicer to choose the Blessed Virgin
+for our May-Queen."
+
+"And was that Marion Gaines' plan?" asked Ellen, in surprise.
+
+"Why, yes!  But surely she must have told you!" said the little girl.
+
+"I see now that she tried to," replied Ellen, with a sigh at her own
+impetuosity.  "But I was too vexed to listen.  I did not really
+understand before.  Dry your tears, Abby; I'll do my best to make
+amends now.  How foolish I've been!" she ejaculated, as Abby ran off in
+gay spirits.  "And how I must have disedified the other girls!  I must
+try to make up for it."
+
+She found the verses she had written; and, on looking them over,
+concluded that, after all, they needed only the change of a few words
+here and there.  Then she wrote a little note to Marion, as follows:
+
+
+"DEAR MARION:--I did not realize until today what you wanted to do
+about the May piece.  If my verses would be of any use at this late
+hour, you are welcome to them.  I should like to do all I can to help
+now, to make up for lost time."
+
+  "ELLEN."
+
+
+Marion gladly accepted the overtures of peace.  The May drama was duly
+finished, the rehearsals went on smoothly, and on the last day of the
+Month of Mary the performance took place.
+
+It had been rumored in the school that Abby was not to be Queen, and
+there was much speculation as to which of the little girls had been
+selected instead.  As the drama progressed, and the plan was unfolded,
+the audience was taken completely by surprise.  Everyone had been eager
+to see the May-Queen; but there was a general murmur of appreciation
+when, at the close, the curtain rose upon a beautiful tableau; a shrine
+glittering with many lights, in the midst of which was enthroned a
+lovely image of Our Lady, at whose feet the children laid their crowns
+of flowers--a crown to honor each transcendent virtue,--and paid their
+homage to their beautiful Queen of May.
+
+A few days later Father Dominic called at the Claytons.
+
+"Well, children," he asked, incidentally, "have you done anything to
+please the Blessed Virgin during the past month?"
+
+Abby and Larry were silent, but their mother kindly answered:
+
+"I think they have tried, Father Dominic.  And as for your lovely
+May-Day gift, the presence of the statue seems to have drawn down a
+blessing upon the house."
+
+
+
+
+TILDEREE.
+
+I.
+
+Quite happy indeed was the home of Tilderee Prentiss, though it was
+only a rough log house on a ranch, away out in Indian Territory.  Her
+father was employed by the owner of the ranch.  He had, however, a
+small tract of land for himself, and owned three horses and several
+cows.  Her mother's duties included the management of a small dairy and
+poultry yard, the products of which were readily sold at the military
+post some miles distant.
+
+There were two other children: Peter, thirteen years old; and Joanna,
+or Joan as she was called, who had just passed her eleventh birthday.
+They took care of the fowl, and were proud when at the end of the week
+they could bring to their mother a large basket of eggs to carry to the
+Fort.
+
+The only one of the family who could afford to do nothing was
+six-year-old Tilderee, though they thought she did a good deal--that
+is, all except Joan; for she seemed to make everybody's else burden
+lighter by her merriness, her droll sayings, and sweet, loving little
+ways.
+
+Yet she was continually getting into mischief; and to see her trotting
+to and fro, eager to be of use, but always lending a little hindering
+hand to everything, one would hardly consider her a help.  "How should
+I ever get on without the child!" her mother would often exclaim; while
+at the same moment Tilderee might be dragging at her gown and
+interfering with her work at every step.
+
+How frequently Mrs. Prentiss laughed, though with tears in her eyes, as
+she thought of the time when Tilderee, a toddling baby, was nearly
+drowned by tumbling head-foremost into a pailful of foaming milk, and
+no one would have known and rushed to save her but for the barking of
+the little terrier Fudge!  Then there was the scar still to be found
+beneath the soft ringlets upon her white forehead, a reminder of the
+day when she tried to pull the spotted calf's tail.  How frightened
+"papa" was at the discovery that his mischievous daughter had been at
+his ammunition chest, played dolls with the cartridges, and complained
+that gunpowder did not make as good mud pies as "common dirt!"
+
+Peter and Joan could add their story, too.  Peter might tell, for
+instance, how Tilderee and Fudge, the companion of most of her pranks,
+frightened off the shy prairie-dogs he was trying to tame; saying they
+had no right to come there pretending to be dogs when they were only
+big red squirrels, which indeed they greatly resembled.  Still he was
+very fond of his little sister.  He liked to pet and romp with her, to
+carry her on his back and caper around like the friskiest of ponies.
+When he paused for breath she patted his sun-burned cheek with her
+dimpled hand, saying, in her cooing voice, "Good brother Pippin!" which
+was her nickname for him.  Then he forgot that she delighted to tease
+him,--that her favorite pastime was to chase the young chicks and cause
+a tremendous flutter in the poultry yard; and how vexed he had been
+when she let his mustang out of the enclosure, "because," she said,
+"Twinkling Hoofs needs a bit of fun and a scamper as well as anybody;
+and he was trying to open the gate with his nose."  It took two days to
+find the mustang and coax him back again.  Tilderee was penitent for
+fully ten minutes after this escapade; but she endeavored to console
+herself and Peter by declaring, "I know, Pippin, that the Indians must
+have Twinkling Hoofs by this time.  And he's so pretty they'll keep him
+for a chief to ride; a big, fat chief, with a gay blanket and a feather
+headdress, and red and blue paint on his face.  Won't Twinkling Hoofs
+be s'prised at all that?  But never mind, Pippin; papa will let you
+ride the old grey horse!"
+
+No one knew better than Joan, however, just how tantalizing Tilderee
+could be,--how she dallied in the morning playing hide-and-seek,
+refusing to have her face washed and her tangled hair brushed into
+shining curls; this, too, when Joan was in the greatest hurry to go and
+give the fluffy chicks and the grave old fowl their breakfast.  It was
+very well for Peter to say, "What should we do without Tilderee?"  If
+she bothered him he could take his rifle and go shooting with Abe, the
+old scout; or jump upon Twinkling Hoofs and gallop all over the ranch.
+How would he like the midget to tag after him all day, to have the care
+of her when mother went to the Fort to sell the butter and eggs?
+"Indeed I could get on very well without the little plague," Joan
+sometimes grumbled--"just for a _teenty_ bit of a while," she generally
+added, hastily; for she really loved her little sister dearly.  Joan
+tried hard to be patient, but she had a quick temper, and occasionally
+forgot her good resolutions.  This happened one day when her mother had
+gone to dispose of the dairy products.  The provocation was certainly
+great.
+
+Joan had a lovely French doll--the only French doll in the Territory,
+and probably the most beautiful one to be found within many hundred
+miles.  Mrs. Miller, the wife of one of the officers at the Fort,
+brought it to her from Chicago; and the little girl regarded it as more
+precious than all the family possessions combined.  What, then, was her
+consternation this morning to see Fudge dash around the corner of the
+house dangling the fair Angelina by the blue silk dress, which he held
+between his teeth, and Tilderee following in wild pursuit!  Joan rushed
+out and rescued her treasure; but, alas! it was in a sadly dilapidated
+condition.  She picked up a stick and started after the dog, but
+Tilderee interfered.
+
+"Oh, please, dear Joan!" she cried, holding her back by the apron
+strings.  "Fudge isn't the most to blame.  I took Angelina.  I s'pose
+he pulled off the wig and broke the arm, but I pushed the eyes in;
+didn't mean to, though--was only trying to make them open and shut.
+Tilderee's so sorry, Joan!"
+
+The explanation ended with a contrite sob and what Mr. Prentiss called
+"a sun shower."  But the sight of the child's tears, instead of
+appeasing, only irritated Joan the more.  Giving her a smart shake, she
+said excitedly:
+
+"Tilderee Prentiss, you're a naughty, naughty girl!  I wish you didn't
+live here.  I wish mother had let you go with the lady at the Fort who
+wanted to adopt you.  I wish I hadn't any little sister at all!"
+
+Tilderee stopped crying, and stood gazing at the angry girl in
+astonishment; then, swallowing a queer lump that came in her throat,
+she drew herself up with a baby dignity which would have been funny but
+for the pathetic expression of her sweet face, as she lisped slowly:
+"Very well.  P'rhaps some day Tilderee'll go away and never come back
+again!"
+
+She turned and went into the house, with Fudge at her heels.  As he
+passed Joan his tail, which had drooped in shame at his conduct,
+erected itself defiantly, and he uttered a growl of protest.
+
+Joan remained disconsolately hugging and weeping over the ill-fated
+Angelina.  But, somehow, she did not feel any better for having yielded
+to her anger.  "Tilderee deserved a good scolding," she said to herself
+over and over again.  Still there was a weight upon her heart, not
+caused by the ruin of the doll; for, notwithstanding all the excuses
+she could muster, her conscience reproached her for those unkind,
+bitter words.  After a while, remembering that she had been cautioned
+not to let Tilderee out of her sight, she started to look for her.  The
+culprit was soon discovered in the corner of the kitchen cupboard,
+which she called-her "cubby-house," engaged in lecturing Fudge for
+running away with Angelina.
+
+"Never meddle with what does not belong to you!" she said, laying down
+the law with her mite of a forefinger; and, to make her words more
+impressive, giving him an occasional tap on the nose.  He listened
+dutifully, as if he were the sole transgressor; but interrupted the
+homily now and then by lapping the hand of his little mistress with his
+tiny red tongue, as a token of the perfect understanding between them.
+
+When they looked up and saw Joan, both glanced at her deprecatingly,
+but quite ready to assume a defensive attitude.  Ashamed of having
+allowed her indignation to carry her so far, she was, however, inclined
+to be conciliatory; and therefore, with an effort, managed to say, as
+if nothing had happened:
+
+"Come, Tilderee!  Watch at the window for father, while I get dinner
+ready."
+
+Tilderee at once sprang to her feet gaily, threw her arms around Joan's
+waist, and held up her rosy mouth for the kiss of mutual forgiveness,
+Fudge wriggling and wagging his tail.
+
+Joan now busied herself about the mid-day meal, for which her mother
+had made the principal preparation before setting out.  She said
+nothing about the tragedy of the morning when her father came in,
+partly because she felt that nobody could appreciate the depth of her
+grief but mother, and because she had made up her mind not to complain
+of Tilderee,--a conclusion which she secretly felt entitled her to rank
+as a heroine.  But Tilderee related the occurrence herself as soon as
+her mother returned.
+
+"Fudge and me broke Joan's beauty doll.  We didn't mean to, and we're
+awful sorry,--honest and true we are!"
+
+"But that will not mend Angelina," said Mrs. Prentiss, gravely.
+
+Tilderee hung her head.  She now realized for the first time, that no
+matter how grieved we are, we can not always repair the wrong we have
+done.  The mother, though a plain, uneducated woman, had plenty of good
+sense, and did her best to train her children well.  She now talked
+very seriously to her little daughter, and Tilderee promised to be less
+meddlesome and more obedient in the future.
+
+"Fudge and me wants to be good," she said, penitently; "but we forgets.
+P'rhaps if we were other folks, and our names were something else
+'sides Tilderee and Fudge, we might be better."
+
+"I'm afraid Fudge is a hard case," sighed her mother, restraining a
+smile; "and I should not like to see my little girl changed into any
+one else.  But I expect we ought to call you as you were christened,
+and that is Matilda.  It is a saint's name, you know; and you can pray
+to your name saint to help you."
+
+The little lass was delighted to have the question settled in this
+manner, and from that time strove to insist upon her proper title.  But
+it was not easy to drop the pet name, and Tilderee she was oftenest
+called, till long after the date of this story.  For several days she
+tried very hard to be good; she said her prayers night and morning with
+special earnestness, always closing with: "Please, God, take care of
+Tilderee, and keep her and Fudge out of mischief."
+
+Joan, on her part, endeavored to be more gentle with her little sister;
+for, while every day she lamented the fate of the doll, she could not
+think of it without feeling a trifle uncomfortable about the way she
+had spoken to Tilderee.
+
+The two little girls were not allowed to go beyond the enclosure which
+surrounded the house, unless accompanied by their father or mother.
+The few Indians in the vicinity had hitherto been peaceable and
+friendly; but it was considered well to be cautious, and the country
+was too sparsely settled to render it safe for one to wander about
+alone.  When Mrs. Prentiss, mounted on the old grey horse, rode to the
+Fort to sell her butter and eggs, Peter went with her on Twinkling
+Hoofs; and each took the precaution to carry a pistol for self-defence
+in case of attack.
+
+This being the state of affairs, great was the alarm of all one day as
+it became evident that Tilderee was missing.  The ranch was a scene of
+intense excitement when, after an exploration of the neighborhood, the
+child was not found.  The news spread like a prairie fire.  The
+settlers for miles around joined the party which set out to continue
+the search.  The poor mother was frantic.  The father went about
+helplessly, like a man dazed by a terrible blow.  Peter galloped wildly
+to and fro upon Twinkling Hoofs, without an idea where he was going.
+Joan cried as though her heart would break.
+
+Fudge had disappeared also.  Had he gone with Tilderee?  There was a
+grain of comfort in the suggestion; yet, even so, what could a poor
+baby do, astray and with no other defender?  Evening came, and still
+there was no trace of the child.  All through the night they continued
+to seek her, guided by the light of the stars and the glimmer of their
+pine torches.  But in vain.
+
+
+
+II.
+
+On that memorable day, shortly after dinner, if mother had not been so
+absorbed by the discovery that certain wee, blundering fingers had
+sprinkled sugar instead of salt over her new batch of butter; or if
+Joan, instead of going for the third time since morning to the lowest
+drawer of the deal clothes-press which contained the family wardrobe,
+to take an aggrieved look at Angelina,--if either had glanced out of
+the doorway, she would have seen a diminutive figure tripping down the
+trail in happy unconcern, with Fudge gambolling along in front.
+
+Tilderee did not mean to be disobedient: she had no intention of
+running away; but it was so easy to forget that she had passed the
+bounds which love had set for her, when the May breezes, like eager
+playmates, seemed to beset her to frolic with them, catching at her
+frock, tip-tilting her pretty print sunbonnet (the one with the tiny
+pink roses scattered over a blue ground), ruffling her chestnut curls,
+and whisking her little plaid shawl awry.  A patch of yellow wild
+flowers by the way appeared all at once endowed with wings, as from
+their midst arose a flight of golden butterflies.  What fun to chase
+them!  Fudge thought so too, and a merry pursuit followed.  Tired and
+out of breath, Tilderee paused at last.  Fudge returned with a bound to
+her side, and stood panting and wagging his tail, as if to ask: "Well,
+what shall we play next?"  They were now half a mile from home, but
+neither turned to look back.
+
+"Fudge, I'm going to pick a lovely bouquet for mother," Tilderee
+confided to him, patting his shaggy head.  He sniffed his approval, and
+trotted after her as she flitted hither and thither culling the bright
+blossoms.  Now she left the lowlands called the prairie, and climbed
+Sunset Hill in search of prettier posies.  Beyond this rocky knoll was
+an oak wood, from the direction of which came the noise of running
+water.  At the sound Tilderee remembered that she was thirsty.  "There
+must be a brook in yonder," she said.  "Come, Fudge, let us go and
+see." Trampling among the brambles, the little girl pushed on, and soon
+came to a small stream dashing along over a stony course.  Forming an
+oak leaf into a cup, as she had often seen Joan do, Tilderee dipped it
+into the clear current; and by this means, and the sips between times
+which she took up in the hollow of her hand, succeeded in obtaining a
+refreshing drink; while from the opposite bank Fudge put down his head
+and took his share with less ceremony.
+
+Tilderee chose a seat upon a log and rested.  To amuse herself she
+broke off pieces of the underbrush and began to strip them of their
+leaves.  "To make horsewhips, you know," she explained, with a teasing
+glance at Fudge.  He understood very well, and shrank away a trifle;
+but the next minute the baby hands caressed his rough coat, and she
+added lovingly: "No, no, Fudge!  Nobody shall touch such a good dog!"
+Throwing aside the sticks, she tried to weave the leaves into garlands,
+as Joan had taught her.  The attempt was hardly a success.  As the
+wreath with which Fudge submitted to be crowned speedily fell apart,
+she concluded that, instead of making a chain for herself, it would be
+nicer to carry the oak twig for a sun-shade.  At present, however, she
+laid it carefully on the ground beside her flowers, and proceeded to
+play in the stream, with bits of bark for boats.  Fudge enjoyed this
+too for a while, but soon he grew restless.
+
+All at once the child became aware that the woods had grown darker; the
+sunlight no longer glanced in among the green boughs; through the
+foliage she caught a glimpse of the western sky, which was flecked with
+flame and beryl and amber.  Next she realized that it must be a great
+while since dinner.  With the sense of hunger came a feeling of dismay.
+Where was she, and how should she get home?  "It must be most supper
+time, Fudge," she said, choking down a sob.  The little dog looked up
+into her face with affectionate concern, and thrust his cold nose into
+her hand, as if to say encouragingly: "Trust me, and I will lead you
+back."  He began to sniff the ground; and, having found the scent,
+endeavored to prevail upon his young mistress to follow his guidance.
+But Tilderee was sure that she knew best.  "No, Fudge," she called;
+"not that way.  This is the right path, I'm sure.  Come quick!"  Vainly
+the sagacious animal used all his dumb arts to induce her to rely upon
+him; vainly he crouched and whined, and begged her to go _his_ way.
+Tilderee obstinately stumbled on in the opposite direction.  Fudge laid
+down and watched her despairingly for a few moments; then, with a sigh
+almost like that of a human being, he sprang after her.  If actions
+speak louder than words, could he have said more plainly: "Well, if you
+_will_ get lost, I must go with you to take care of you?"
+
+They wandered on, far beyond the source of the stream, emerged from the
+wood, and strayed along the side of a deep gorge or canon.  At every
+step the surroundings grew wilder, the way more rocky and precipitous.
+If she had been older, what terrors would have affrighted the child!
+An appalling dread of the Indians, fear of the wild cattle of the
+wilderness, the apprehension of countless dangers.  But in her baby
+innocence, Tilderee knew nothing of these perils.  She only felt that
+she was weary and chilled, and faint for want of food.  "Oh Fudge, if
+we could only get home to mother!" she moaned.  "Tilderee's so tired
+and sleepy, and it will be dark night soon."  At the thought she threw
+herself on the ground and began to cry bitterly.
+
+Fudge looked disconsolate.  A second he stood irresolute and
+distressed, but presently drew nearer, and, with unobtrusive sympathy,
+licked away the salt tears that rolled down her chubby cheeks.  Then he
+roused himself, as if he comprehended that something must be done, and
+ran to and fro, barking with all his might, and poking about with his
+nose to the earth.  At length he came upon a nook under a projecting
+rock, which seemed to promise a slight shelter from the cold night air.
+Perhaps it was the instinct of self-preservation which led him to
+attract the attention of his helpless companion to it.  Several times
+he returned to her, looked beseechingly into her face, then ran back to
+the rock.
+
+"You want me to go in there, Fudge?" she faltered at last, noticing his
+antics.  "Well, I will.  P'rhaps it'll be warmer.  And I'm afraid
+nobody'll come now till morning."
+
+Dispirited, Tilderee dragged herself to the refuge he had found.  "I
+'xpect it's time for night prayers," she said, with a tremor in her
+voice; "and I always say them with mother or Joan."  Now she knelt upon
+the damp mould, made the Sign of the Cross, and, clasping her
+brier-scratched hands, repeated the "Our Father" and "Hail Mary" more
+devoutly than ever before.  When she came to the special little
+petition at the close, "Please, God, take care of Tilderee, and keep
+her and Fudge out of mischief," she broke down again, and, weeping
+convulsively, threw her arms around the neck of her obstreperous but
+loyal playmate and friend, exclaiming, "Oh Fudge! if we ever get safe
+home we'll never be naughty again, will we?"
+
+Yet exhausted nature stills even the cry of grief and penitence.
+Tilderee, moreover, felt wonderfully comforted by her prayer.  To the
+pure heart of a child Heaven is ever "close by."  From her rude asylum
+under the cliff the little wanderer looked across at the sky.  It was
+clear and bright with myriad stars.  Suddenly one flashed across the
+broad expanse, blazed from the very zenith, and sped with incredible
+velocity down, down, till it disappeared in the depths of the ravine.
+"Ah," said she, with eyes still fixed upon the spot whence had gleamed
+the meteor, "p'rhaps it was an angel flying down to me!  I won't be
+afraid, 'cause I know God will take care of me."  Drawing the small
+plaid shawl from her shoulders, she spread it over herself like a
+blanket; sparing a corner for Fudge, however, who stationed himself
+upon it, prepared to ward off all dangers from his charge.  And thus
+she fell asleep, cheered by the presence and warmed by the breath of
+the faithful little dog, her sole protector, humanly speaking, in that
+lonely wilderness.
+
+      *      *      *      *      *
+
+During the long night, while the searching party was scouring the
+country, Mrs. Prentiss remained at home, keeping a bright light in the
+window, a fire on the kitchen hearth, the kettle on the crane, and
+everything ready to gladden and revive her darling in case, as she
+persisted in hoping, the dear little rover should, with the aid of
+fudge, find her way back of her own accord.  How many times she started
+up, thinking she heard the patter of childish feet!  How many times she
+rushed to the door at some sound which to her eager heart seemed like a
+cry of "Mother!"  But Joan, who now kept as close to her as Tilderee
+was accustomed to do, would murmur sadly, after they had listened a
+while: "It is only the wind or the call of a bird."  At which the
+unhappy woman, with a great effort to be calm, would sigh: "Let us say
+the Rosary again."  Joan, whose face was stained with tears, and her
+eyes swollen and red from weeping, responded as best she could between
+her sobs.
+
+Poor Joan learned in those hours what a terrible punishment is that of
+remorse.  Amid all her thoughts of Tilderee one scene was ever before
+her: the picture of a rosy culprit, with tangled curls and beseeching
+eyes, grieved at the mischief she had done, and stammering, "I'm so
+sorry, Joan!"  And then herself, as she snatched up the doll and
+answered harshly: "You naughty girl!  I wish you didn't live here!  I
+wish I hadn't any little sister at all!"  Well, her wish had come true:
+Tilderee was gone.  Perhaps she would never live in the log house
+again.  There was no "little plague" to vex or bother Joan now.  The
+lighter chores, which were her part of the housework, could be finished
+twice as soon, and afterward she would have plenty of time to do as she
+liked: to play with and sew for Angelina, for instance.  Angelina!--how
+she hated the very name!  She never wanted even to see the doll again.
+Tilderee might get up a "make-believe" funeral, and bury it under the
+white rosebush.  Yes, that would be the prettiest spot; and for old
+affection's sake the thing should be done properly if she came back,
+--ah, _if_!  And then Joan would put her head down upon the table or a
+chair, whichever happened to be near, or hide her face in the folds of
+her apron, and cry: "What _shall_ I do without Tilderee!  Oh, if God
+will only give her back to us, I will never say a cross or angry word
+again!"
+
+Dawn brought no news of the lost child, and the dreary night of
+suspense was succeeded by a day of anguish.  At intervals the seekers
+sent a message back to the desolate home.  Sometimes it was: "Keep up
+your courage; we trust all will be well."  Or, "Though we have not yet
+found the child, please God we will soon restore her to you," and so
+on.  But, soften it as they could, the fact remained--their expedition
+had been fruitless: Tilderee was still lost.  They at length despaired
+of gaining trace or tidings of her, and agreed that it was useless to
+continue the search.
+
+"She must have fallen over a precipice," maintained one of the men.
+
+"If so, we should have met with some sign--" argued another, hesitating
+at the thought of what that sign might be.
+
+"It is probable that she has been stolen by the Indians," said
+Lieutenant Miller, of the Fort; "and we must adopt other means to
+recover her."
+
+Once more dusk was approaching, and they were about to turn back,
+when--hark! there was a shout from the borders of the canon beyond.  A
+few moments before, Abe, the old scout, had disappeared in that
+direction.  As he pressed onward he presently discovered that, in a
+wavering line, the brambles seemed to have been recently trodden down.
+A little farther on, almost hidden among the briers and dry leaves, lay
+a withered wild flower, like those that grew in the plain below; and
+farther still, caught upon a bush, was a bit of the fringe of a shawl,
+so small that it might have escaped any but his "hunter's eye."  As he
+stood still, with senses alert, he heard a sound amid the brush; and,
+turning quickly, saw that which made him send forth the ringing halloo
+to his comrades.  It was a little dog crawling down toward a hollow,
+where a spring of water gushed from the ground.
+
+"Fudge!" he called, softly.  The dog started, fawned upon him with a
+low whine; and, with many backward glances to make sure that he was
+following, led the way to a high rock which shelved inward, forming a
+sort of canopy above the bank.  There, in the rude recess, as he felt
+confident would be the case, was the lost child.  At first he feared
+she might be dead, so pale and motionless she lay; but when he
+whispered gently, "Tilderee!" the white eyelids fluttered, then
+unclosed; the dull eyes lighted up in recognition, and she smiled a
+wan, weak little smile.  Once more Abe's cheery voice rang out,
+calling, "Found! found!" and the woods and cliffs made merry with the
+echoes.  His companions hastened toward the ravine; but he met them
+half way, carrying the little one in his arms.
+
+What a shout of joy greeted the sight!  What a feeling of thankfulness
+filled each heart!  Mr. Prentiss, strong man though he was, at the
+relaxing of the terrible tension, fainted like a woman.  For a second
+Peter felt his brain in a whirl, then he leaped upon Twinkling Hoofs,
+whom he had been leading by the bridle, breathed a word in the ear of
+the clever mustang, and sped away like the wind, "to tell them at
+home."  Who could describe the emotions of the fond mother when, half
+an hour later, she clasped her darling to her breast?
+
+What a happy stillness reigned in the house for hours, while Tilderee
+was tenderly brought back from the verge of starvation!  In the
+beginning she was too feeble to speak; but after a while Mrs. Prentiss
+noticed that she wanted to say something, and, bending over her, caught
+the tremulous words: "Oh mother, I'll never be disobedient any more!"
+It was then that the good woman, who, as the saying is, "had kept up"
+wonderfully, was overcome, and wept unrestrainedly.
+
+As for Joan, it seemed to her that there could never be any mourning or
+sadness again.  When she had done everything possible for Tilderee, she
+lavished attentions upon Fudge, and announced to him that henceforth he
+was to be called Fido (faithful); at which he wagged his tail, as if he
+found the _role_ of hero quite to his liking.  Joan's heart was so
+light that she wished everyone in the world could share her happiness;
+but whether she laughed or chattered, or hummed a little song to
+herself, the refrain of all this gladness was "Oh, how good God is!
+How good God is!"
+
+
+
+
+A LITTLE WHITE DRESS.
+
+"Only three weeks more, Constance.  Aren't you glad?" said Lillie to
+her little companion and neighbor as they hurried to school.
+
+"Indeed I am.  But it's so long in coming!" sighed Constance.  "The
+days never seemed to go so slowly before."
+
+"I have made a calendar, and every morning I cross off a date; there
+are already seven gone since the 1st of May," explained Lillie, with a
+satisfied air, as if she had discovered the secret of adding "speed to
+the wings of time."  "We shall not have a great while to wait now."
+
+Was it a grand holiday that our young friends were anticipating so
+eagerly, or the summer vacation, now drawing near? One might suppose
+something of the kind.  But not at all.  On the approaching Feast of
+the Ascension they were to make their First Communion; and, being
+convent-bred little girls, every thought and act had been directed to
+preparation for this great event, to which they looked forward with the
+artless fervor natural to innocent childhood.  No one must imagine,
+however, that they were diminutive prudes, with long faces.  Is not a
+girl or boy gayest when his or her heart has no burden upon it?  In
+fact, it would have been hard to find two merrier folk, even upon this
+bright spring morning.
+
+Lillie was a sprightly creature, who, somehow, always reminded Sister
+Agnes of one of the angels in Murillo's picture, "The Immaculate
+Conception,"--a lively, happy-go-lucky, rollicking angel, who plays
+hide-and-seek among the folds of Our Lady's mantle, and appears almost
+beside himself with the gladness of heaven's sunlight.  Yet Lillie was
+by no means an angel.  She had her faults of course, and these often
+sadly tried the patience of the good Sister.  She was quick-tempered,
+volatile, inclined to be a trifle vain.  Alas that it is so hard to
+keep a child's heart like a garden enclosed as with a fragrant hedge,
+laden with the blossoms of sweet thoughts,--safely shut in from the
+chilling winds of worldliness!  She was lovable withal, generous,
+affectionate, and would make a fine woman if properly trained.
+
+Constance, a year older, was more sedate, though with plenty of quiet
+fun about her.  But, as a general thing, she knew when to be serious
+and when to play,--a bit of wisdom which Sister Agnes frequently wished
+she could manage to impart to the others of the band of aspirants, of
+whom the gentle nun had special charge.
+
+Constance and Lillie were nearly always together.  Now, as they
+tripped, onward, they were as happy as the birds in the trees above
+them, and their voices as pleasant to hear.  Having turned the corner,
+they began to meet a company of children, who came along, sometimes in
+groups, again in detachments of twos and threes, all clad in white,
+with white veils upon their heads and floating about them as they
+passed joyously on, as if keeping time to the music of their own happy
+hearts.  Poor children they were, most of them, with plain, ordinary
+faces, but upon which now shone a light that made one think of old
+sweet stories,--of St. Ursula and her throng of spotless maidens; of
+Genevieve, the child-shepherdess of Nanterre.  Who that has ever
+witnessed such a scene can forget it!--this flock of fair, spotless
+doves amid the dust or mire of the city streets, that by their very
+passing bring even to the indifferent spectator a thought above gain or
+traffic,--a memory perhaps of guileless days and noble aspirations, as,
+looking up at the blue, calm sky, perchance he likens them to the snowy
+cloudlets that gather nearest to the sun and are irradiated by its
+brightness.
+
+"Why," exclaimed Constance, "here come the first communicants of St.
+Joseph's parish!  They must be just going home from Mass.  How happy
+they all are, and how pretty in their white dresses!"
+
+"They do look lovely," assented Lillie, readily.  "How could they help
+it?  And some of the dresses are nice, but surely you see, Connie, that
+others are made of dreadfully common material, and the veils are coarse
+cotton stuff."
+
+"Well, I suppose they couldn't afford any better," returned Constance,
+regretfully.
+
+"I declare there's Annie Brogan, whose mother works for us!--don't you
+know?" cried Lillie, darting toward a girl who had parted with several
+others at a cross-street and was walking on alone.
+
+As Constance did know, she hastened to greet her, and to vie with
+Lillie in congratulating her.  "O Annie, what a happy day for
+you!"--"What a favored girl you are!"--"I almost envy you!"--"We have
+three whole weeks to wait yet!" This is about what they said, again and
+again, within the next few minutes; while Annie turned from one to the
+other, with an added gentleness of manner, a smile upon her lips, and a
+more thoughtful expression in her grey eyes.
+
+Yes, she was happy; she felt that this was indeed the most beautiful
+day of her life.  To be almost envied, too, by such girls as Lillie
+Davis and Constance Hammond!  This was almost incredible; and so she
+continued to smile at them, putting in a word now and then, while they
+chattered on like a pair of magpies, and all three were in perfect
+sympathy.
+
+Presently Lillie chanced to glance at the little communicant's white
+gown, which, though fresh and dainty as loving hands could make it, was
+unmistakably well worn, and in some places had evidently been carefully
+darned; indeed, her sharp eyes discovered even a tiny tear in the
+skirt, as if Annie had unwittingly put her fingers through it when
+searching for the pocket.
+
+"Why, Annie Brogan," she exclaimed, thoughtlessly, "you did not wear
+that dress to make your First Communion!"
+
+"Yes, to be sure.  Did not mother do it up nicely?" answered Annie,
+with naive appreciation of the patient, painstaking skill which had
+laid the small tucks so neatly, and fluted the thin ruffles without
+putting a hole through them.  "And mother was saying, when she was at
+work on it, how thankful we ought to be to have it; since, much as she
+wished to buy a dress for me, she would not have been able to do so,
+with the rent and everything to pay; and how good your mamma was to
+give it to me."
+
+"Pshaw!" rejoined Lillie.  "I could have given you a dress ten times
+better than that if I had only remembered.  Mamma just happened to put
+that in with a bundle of some of my last summer's clothes, which she
+hoped Mrs. Brogan might find useful.  But she never dreamed you would
+wear it to-day."
+
+"I thought it was so nice!" said Annie, coloring, while a few tears of
+chagrin and disappointment sprang to her eyes; somehow, a shadow seemed
+to have unaccountably arisen to dim the brightness of this fairest of
+days,--a wee bit of a shadow, felt rather than defined.
+
+"So it is nice!" declared Constance, frowning at impulsive Lillie, to
+warn her that she had blundered.  "It is ironed perfectly; your mother
+has made it look beautiful.  And what a pretty veil you have!"
+
+"Yes, I did buy that," replied Annie, in a more cheerful tone.
+
+"Oh, it's all right!  And Our Lord must have welcomed you gladly,
+Annie, you are so good and sweet," added Lillie.  "I didn't mean any
+harm in noticing your dress; it was only one of my stupid speeches."
+
+Lillie looked so sorry and vexed with herself that Annie laughed.  The
+shadow was lifted; the children wished one another good-bye; Annie went
+homeward, while the others quickened their pace, fearing that they
+would be late for school.
+
+But the circumstance had made an impression, especially upon Lillie;
+and at the noon recreation, which the first communicants spent
+together, she hastened to tell her companions about it.
+
+"Just imagine!" she cried; "Annie Brogan made her First Communion this
+morning, and she wore an old dress of mine,--an old dress, all mended
+up, that mamma gave her!"
+
+"The idea!"--"What was she thinking of?" etc., etc.; such were the
+exclamations with which this announcement was greeted.  Most of the
+girls did not know in the least of whom Lillie was speaking, but it was
+the fact which created such a sensation.
+
+"Why didn't she get a new one?" inquired Eugenia Dillon, a girl of a
+haughty disposition, who attached a great deal of importance to costly
+clothes.
+
+"Hadn't any money," responded Lillie, nibbling at a delicious pickled
+lime which she had produced from a corner of her lunch basket.
+
+"Then I'd wait till I had--"
+
+"Oh, not put off your First Communion!" protested one of the group.
+
+"Why, yes," returned Eugenia, conscious that she had scandalized them a
+little and trying to excuse herself.  "It is not respectful or proper
+not to be fitly dressed for such a great occasion."
+
+"But Annie was as neat as could be," said Constance; "and looked as
+pretty as a picture, too.  I'm sure Our Lord was as pleased with her as
+if she were dressed like a princess, because she is such a good little
+thing."
+
+"Come, Connie, don't preach!" objected Eugenia, impatiently.  "Besides,
+how could she have looked pretty in a mended dress?  I wish you could
+see the one I'm going to have!  It's to be of white silk,--the best
+that can be got at Brown's."
+
+"It won't be any more beautiful than mine.  I'm to have tulle," said
+Lillie.
+
+"And I--" continued Constance.
+
+"Mine is to be trimmed with point-lace," broke in another.
+
+"And I'm to wear mamma's diamonds," boasted somebody else.
+
+"You can't," demurred a quiet girl, who had not spoken before.  "Sister
+Agnes said that we are not to be allowed to wear jewelry or silk
+either; and that, though the material for the dresses may be of as fine
+a quality as we choose, they ought not be showy or elaborate."
+
+"That is all very well to say," answered Eugenia.  "The nuns can
+enforce these rules in their boarding-schools, but hardly in a
+day-school like this.  We'll wear what we please, or what our mothers
+select.  Mamma has decided to get the white silk for me, because so
+many of our friends will be present, and she wants my dress to be the
+handsomest of any."
+
+This information was received without comment, but it aroused in some
+foolish little hearts a feeling of envy, and in others a desire of
+emulation.
+
+Eugenia Dillon was the richest girl in the school.  Her father, a
+plain, sensible man, who had lacked early advantages, had within a few
+years amassed a considerable fortune, which he would gladly have
+enjoyed in an unostentatious, unpretending manner.  This, however, did
+not suit his wife at all.  Mrs. Dillon, though a kind-hearted,
+charitable woman, was excessively fond of style, lavishly extravagant,
+and inclined to parade her wealth upon all occasions.  She did not
+realize that the very efforts she made to attain the position in
+society which would have come to her naturally if she had but the
+patience to wait, caused her to be sneered at as a _parvenu_ by those
+whose acquaintance she most desired.  Unconscious of all this, she
+pursued her way in serene self-satisfaction,--a complacency shared by
+Eugenia, who delighted in the good fortune and bad taste which
+permitted her to wear dresses of silk or velvet to school every day in
+the week, and caused her to be as much admired as a little figure in a
+fashion-plate by those of her companions who were too unsophisticated
+to know that vain display is a mark of vulgarity.
+
+"Oh children, children!" exclaimed Sister Agnes, who caught the drift
+of the conversation as she came into the room.  "Do not be troubling
+your precious little heads about the fashions.  We must all trust
+something to the good sense of your mammas that you will be suitably
+gowned.  Certainly it is eminently fitting that one should be
+beautifully attired to honor the visit of the King of kings.
+Considered in this light, no robe could be too rich, no ornament too
+splendid.  But, lest a small thought of vanity should creep in to spoil
+the exalted motive, the custom is to adopt a lovely simplicity.  If you
+notice, we never think of the angels as weighed down with jewels.
+Bestow some of this anxiety upon the preparation of your hearts; see
+that you are clothed in the royal robes of grace; deck yourself with
+the jewels of virtue,--rubies for love, emeralds for hope, pearls for
+contrition, diamonds for faith, and purity.  It was with gems like
+these that the holy maidens, Saints Agnes, Philomena, and Lucy, chose
+to adorn themselves, rather than with the contents of their trinket
+caskets."
+
+Thus the nun continued to speak to the band of little girls, who had
+eagerly gathered around her; thus was she wont to teach them lessons of
+wisdom in a sprightly, gay, happy-hearted way, as if generosity,
+unselfishness and self-denial were the most natural traits imaginable,
+and the whole world fair because it is God's world, and we are all His
+children.  Was it this spirit of joyousness which attracted young
+people especially to her, and gave her such an influence with them?
+
+"Somehow, when Sister Agnes talks to me," even so flighty a little
+personage as Lillie Davis said one day, "I feel as if I could make any
+sacrifice quite as a matter of course, and without a speck of fuss
+about it."
+
+"Yes," agreed Connie.  "She seems to take your hand in her strong one
+and to lead you up a stony, hilly path; and then, when you come to the
+roughest, steepest places, she almost carries you onward; and you are
+ashamed to complain that you are tired, because, though she is so
+gentle with you, she does not mind such trifles at all herself--"
+
+"She makes me think," interrupted Lillie, "of the pleasant, sunshiny
+breeze that comes up sometimes on a cloudy morning, and chases away the
+mists through which everything looks so queerly, and lets us see things
+as they really are."
+
+Lillie's quaint comparison was an apt one, as was proved in the present
+instance.
+
+When Sister Agnes had gone the subject which the girls had been
+discussing presented a different aspect, and the keynote of her
+character which always impressed them--"Do noble deeds, not dream them
+all day long,"--caused them now to feel dissatisfied with themselves
+and to cast about for something to do.  This reminded Constance again
+of Annie Brogan and the white dress that Lillie had regarded with so
+much scorn.
+
+"Girls," said she, "wouldn't it be nice if we could give a dress and
+veil, and whatever is necessary, to some poor child who is to make her
+First Communion on the same day as ourselves?  Perhaps, too, we could
+arrange to have her make it with us.  Don't you think this would make
+us happy, and be a good way to prepare?"
+
+"It's a grand idea, Connie!" proclaimed Lillie, with ready enthusiasm.
+
+"How could we do it?" asked the quiet girl, coming to the practical
+question at once.
+
+"By giving up some of our ribbons and candies and knickknacks during
+the next few weeks, maybe," continued Constance earnestly, thinking it
+out as she went along.  "Suppose we all agree to get the pretty dresses
+the nuns wish us to wear on that day, instead of the showy ones we
+want?  They would not cost as much, and our mothers would, I am sure,
+let us use the extra money in this way."
+
+"What! give up the white silk!  Oh, I couldn't!"   objected Eugenia,
+disconcerted.  "Anyhow, I don't believe mamma would like to have me do
+it."
+
+"Tulle is so lovely!" sighed Lillie.  "And I never did like plain mull."
+
+On the whole, the proposal was not received with favor.  It was
+discussed with much animation, but the bell rang before any decision
+had been arrived at.  Later, however, after a consultation with Sister
+Agnes, who promised her cordial co-operation, the children concluded to
+adopt Connie's suggestion, if their mothers would consent.
+
+"I must acknowledge that I am disappointed," remarked Mrs. Davis to her
+husband that evening.  "To-day I ordered the material for Lillie's
+First Communion dress,--an exquisite tulle.  But she came home from
+school with a story about furnishing an outfit for a poor child, and
+she assures me that her companions are to wear plain dresses for the
+occasion." Thereupon the lady proceeded to give the details of the plan
+as she had understood it.
+
+"A very creditable determination," said Lillie's papa, approvingly.  "I
+endorse it heartily.  If attired simply, the children will not be
+distracted by the thought of their gowns, while at the same time some
+deserving little girl will be provided with an appropriate costume.  I
+advise you to send back the tulle by all means, my dear, and apply the
+difference in price between it and the fabric agreed upon to the fund
+the children are trying to make up."
+
+"Well, I suppose it will be best to do so," decided his wife.  "Anyhow,
+tulle is so delicate a tissue, and Lillie is such a heedless little
+creature, that it would probably be badly torn before the end of the
+ceremonies."
+
+"I am sorry," soliloquized Connie's mother when she heard of the
+project.  "Connie's First Communion will be so important an event for
+her that I feel as if I could not do enough in preparation for it.  I
+should like to dress her more beautifully than on any day in her life.
+If she were grown and about to enter society, or if I were buying her
+wedding-dress, I would select the handsomest material procurable,--why
+not now, for an occasion so great that I ought hardly mention it in
+comparison?  But, after all," mused she, later, "the children's
+arrangement is the best.  I am happy that Constance is so free from
+frivolity, and has shown so edifying a spirit."
+
+For Eugenia Dillon, the giving up of the white silk was, as the girls
+generously agreed, "the biggest act of all."  At first Mrs. Dillon
+would not hear of it; "though," said she, "I am quite willing to buy
+the dress for the poor child myself, if you wish, Eugenia."  But
+Eugenia explained that this would not do, unless she carried out the
+plan like the others.  In fact, she found that one of the hardest
+things in the world is to argue against what we want very much
+ourselves.  At last, however, her mother good-naturedly yielded the
+point, saying, with a laugh, "Oh, very well, child!  But I never before
+knew you to object to having a pretty dress."  And Eugenia was very
+sure she never had.
+
+The great day finally arrived.  To picture it, or to describe the joy
+which filled the soul of each of our first communicants, is not the
+purpose of this story.  But as the white-robed band entered the convent
+chapel, to the incongruous throng of fashionable people there assembled
+their appearance was the strongest possible sermon against vanity.
+Their soft white gowns were as simple as the most refined taste could
+make them, and as beautiful; their fleecy veils enfolded them as with
+holy thoughts; their wreaths of spotless blossoms signified a fairer
+crown.  They numbered seven originally, but now among them walked
+another.  Which little girl was the stranger, however, only one mother
+knew,--a humble woman, who, as she knelt amid the congregation,
+silently invoked a blessing upon the children who by their
+thoughtfulness had made possible her pious desire that her child might
+be appropriately and respectfully attired to welcome the coming of Our
+Lord.
+
+The first communicants remained at the convent till dusk.  During the
+afternoon somebody noticed, indeed, that Eugenia's dress, though of
+mull like the rest, was more fanciful, and her satin sash twice as wide
+as that of any one else.  But the discovery only caused a smile of
+good-humored amusement; for it was hardly to be expected that Eugenia
+would conform absolutely to the rule they had laid down for themselves.
+
+After Benediction, as they prepared to go home, they said to one
+another: "What a truly happy day this has been!  How often we shall
+think of it during our lives!"
+
+
+
+
+A MISER'S GOLD.
+
+I.
+
+"Never mind, mother!  Don't fret.  We'll get on all right.  This little
+house is much more comfortable than the miserable flat we have been
+living in.  The air is good, and the health of the children will be
+better.  It is quite like having a home of our own again.  Now that
+Crosswell & Wright have raised my wages, we shall be able to make both
+ends meet this winter,--you'll see!"
+
+"Yes, dear, I'm sure we shall," Mrs. Farrell forced herself to respond,
+though her tone did not express the absolute conviction which the words
+implied.  But Bernard was in great spirits, and for his sake she assumed
+a cheerfulness which she was far from feeling, as she bade him good-bye,
+and from the window watched him hasten away to his work.
+
+"God bless his brave heart!" she murmured.  "He is a good boy and
+deserves to succeed.  It worries me that he has such a burden upon his
+young shoulders; but Father Hamill says this will only keep him steady,
+and will do him no harm if he does not overtax his strength.  What a
+shabby, contracted house this is!  Well, I must try to make it as bright
+and pleasant as possible.  I wish the girls were older and able to earn a
+trifle; every penny helps nowadays.  Mary, indeed, might find a place to
+run errands for a dressmaker, or something of the kind; but I can not
+bear to think of her going around alone down town, becoming pert and
+forward.  Besides, she is so bright and smart that it seems a pity to
+interfere with her studies.  She will need all the advantages she can
+get, poor child!"
+
+With a sigh the mother returned to her duties, prepared breakfast for the
+other children and in the course of an hour hurried them off to school.
+There were three: Mary, just twelve years old; Lizzie, ten; and Jack, who
+had attained the precocious and mischief-loving age of seven.  Bernard
+was eighteen, and the head of the family,--a fact which Mrs. Farrell
+strove to impress upon the minds of the younger members, as entitling him
+to special respect and affection.  He was also the principal
+bread-winner, and had ten dollars a week, which was considered a fine
+beginning for one so young.  Still, it was not a great deal for them all
+to rely on, and his mother endeavored to eke out their scanty livelihood
+by taking sewing, and in various other ways.
+
+Life had not always been such a struggle for the Farrells.  Before the
+death of the husband and father they had been in good circumstances.  Mr.
+Farrell held for years a responsible position as book-keeper and
+accountant in one of the largest mercantile establishments of the city.
+He had a fair salary, which enabled him to support his family
+comfortably.  But, alas! how much often depends upon the life and efforts
+of one person!  An attack of pneumonia, the result of a neglected cold,
+carried him out of the world in three days.  There had been only time to
+attend to his religious duties, and no opportunity to provide for the
+dear ones he was about to leave, even if any provision had been possible.
+When the income derived from the father's daily labor ceased, they found
+themselves suddenly plunged into comparative poverty.  His life-insurance
+policy had not been kept up; the mortgage on the pretty home had never
+been paid off, and was now foreclosed.  The best of the furniture was
+sold to pay current expenses, and the widow removed with her children to
+the third floor of a cheap apartment house,--one of those showy,
+aggressively genteel structures so often seen in our Eastern cities, with
+walls of questionable safety and defective drainage and ventilation.
+
+Mrs. Farrell was now obliged to dismiss her maid-of-all-work, and attend
+to the household duties herself.  This was a hardship, for she was not a
+strong woman; but she did not complain.  Bernard, fortunately, had taken
+two years of the commercial course at St.  Stanislaus' College, and was
+therefore in a measure fitted for practical affairs.  He obtained a place
+as clerk in the law office of Crosswell & Wright.  As he tried to keep
+his mind on his duties, and was willing and industrious, his employers
+were well pleased with him, and he had been several times advanced.  But
+the means of the family grew more and more straitened.  The following
+year the rent of the flat was found to be higher than they could afford.
+They sought other quarters, and settled at last, just as winter was
+approaching, in the little house where we have discovered them, in a
+humble neighborhood and unpaved streets, with no pretensions
+whatever,--in fact, it did not appear to have even the ambition to be
+regarded as a street at all.
+
+The young people took possession of the new dwelling in high glee.  They
+did not see the drawbacks to comfort which their mother could have
+pointed out; did not notice how much the house needed painting and
+papering, how decidedly out of repair it was.  Only too glad of their
+satisfaction, she refrained from comment, tried to make the best of
+everything, and succeeded in having a cosey home for them, despite all
+difficulties.  For there was not a room of the small house into which at
+least a ray of sunlight did not find its way sometime during the day.  It
+shone upon threadbare carpets and painted floors; upon sofas the
+upholstering of which had an unmistakable air of having been experimented
+with; and chairs which Mrs. Farrell had recaned, having learned the art
+from a blind boy who lived opposite.  Yet the sunlight revealed as well
+an air of thrift and cheeriness; for the widow, despite her days of
+discouragement, aimed to train her children to look upon the bright side
+of life, and to trust in Providence.
+
+"Bernard," said she one evening, "I have been thinking that if I could
+hire a sewing-machine I might get piecework from the shops, and earn more
+than by looking to chance patronage.  I have a mind to inquire about one."
+
+The boy was silent.  She began to doubt if he had heard, and was about to
+repeat the remark when he answered:
+
+"No, mother, don't.  There are too many women doing that kind of sewing
+at starvation prices.  But I'll tell you what would be a fine thing if
+you really had the time for it, though I do not see how you could,--it
+seems to me we keep you busy."
+
+"What is your idea?" inquired Mrs. Farrell eagerly, paying no heed to the
+latter part of his speech.
+
+"Well, if we could manage to pay the rent of a type-writing machine, I
+could probably get you copying from the firm as well as from some of the
+other lawyers in the building.  I was wondering the other day if I could
+do anything at it myself, and thus pick up an additional dollar or two in
+the week.  Of course, you would accomplish more than I could, and it
+would be a hundred times better than stitch! stitch!  How I hate the whir
+of the thing!"  And Bernard, with his juggler gift of mimicry, proceeded
+forthwith to turn himself into a sewing-machine, jerking his feet up and
+down in imitation of the motion of the treadle, and making an odd noise
+in his throat.
+
+Mrs. Farrell laughed, as she replied: "I do not know that there is much
+choice between this and the click of the type-writer.  But, anyhow, your
+plan, though it sounds plausible, would not do, because I should not be
+able to work the type-writer."
+
+"There would be no difficulty about that," argued Bernard.  "You know how
+to play the piano, and the fingering is very much easier.  It will come
+naturally."
+
+His mother laughed again, yet she sighed as well.  Her father had given
+her a piano as a wedding present, but this had been the first article of
+value to be dispensed with when the hard times came.  Bernard was so
+sanguine, however, that she consented to his project.  He spoke to Mr.
+Crosswell on the subject; that gentleman became interested, succeeded in
+obtaining a type-writer for Mrs. Farrell on easy terms, and promised to
+send her any extra copying he might have.  The manipulation of the
+machine did not, indeed, come quite as naturally as Bernard predicted,
+but after a few weeks of patient practice she mastered it sufficiently to
+produce a neat-looking page.  Bernard brought her all the work she could
+do; it was well paid for, and a more prosperous season seemed to have
+dawned upon the little home.
+
+Just at this time the children took scarlet fever at school.  They had
+the disease lightly, but what anxiety the mother endured!  Thank God,
+they got through it safely; but there was the doctor's bill to be
+settled, and funds were at a low ebb once more.  To cap the climax, when
+the house had been thoroughly fumigated by the board of health, and Mrs.
+Farrell was prepared to take up her occupation again, an attack of
+rheumatism crippled her fingers and rendered them almost powerless.  Then
+it was that, worn out and disheartened, she broke down and cried:
+
+"Oh! why does not God help us?"
+
+Her son's usually happy face wore an expression of discouragement also as
+she turned to him with the appeal.  His lips twitched nervously; but in a
+moment the trustfulness which she had taught him was at hand to comfort
+her.
+
+"Indeed, mother, He will--He _does_," said Bernard tenderly, though in
+the matter-of-fact manner which he knew would best arouse her.  "You are
+all tired out, or you would not speak in that way.  You must have a good
+rest.  Keep the rooms warm, so that you will not take any more cold, and
+before long you will be able to rattle the type-writer at a greater speed
+than ever.  That reminds me, mother," he continued--seeing that she was
+beginning to recover herself, and wishing to divert her thoughts,--"one
+of the things we have to be thankful for is that this house is easily
+heated.  It beats all the way coal does last here!  The ton we got two
+months ago isn't gone yet,"
+
+"That is the way coal lasts when there is not any one to steal it, as
+there was in the flat, where the cellars were not properly divided off,"
+answered Mrs. Farrell, brightening up.
+
+"No, there's nobody living immediately around here whom I'd suspect of
+being mean enough to steal coal," returned Bernard, carelessly,--"except,
+perhaps, Stingy Willis, I don't think I'd wager that old codger wouldn't,
+though."
+
+"I am afraid I should not have entire confidence in him, either," agreed
+Mrs. Farrell.
+
+But the intelligence that there was still coal in the bin had cheered her
+wonderfully.  Repenting of her rash conclusion, she hastened to qualify
+it by adding, "That is, if half of what the neighbors say is true.  But,
+then, we have no right to listen to gossip, or to judge people."
+
+Stingy Willis, the individual who apparently bore an unenviable
+reputation, was a small, dried-up looking old man, who lived next door to
+the Farrells,--in fact, under the same roof; for the structure consisted
+of two houses built together.  Here he dwelt alone, and attended to his
+household arrangements himself, except when, occasionally, a woman was
+employed for a few hours to put the place in order.  He was accustomed to
+prepare his own breakfast and supper; his dinner he took at a cheap
+restaurant.  He dressed shabbily, and was engaged in some mysterious
+business down town, to and from which he invariably walked; not even a
+heavy rain-storm could make him spend five cents for a ride in a
+horse-car.  And yet he was said to be very wealthy.  Persons declared
+they knew "upon good authority" that he held the mortgage which covered
+the two connecting houses; that, as the expression is, he "had more money
+than he knew what to do with." Others, who did not profess to be so
+scrupulously exact in their determination to tell only a plain,
+unvarnished tale, delighted in fabulous stories concerning his riches.
+They said that though the floor of his sitting-room was carpetless, and
+the bay-window curtainless but for the cobwebs, he could cover the one
+with gold pieces and the other with bank-notes, if he pleased.  Many were
+convinced he had a bag of treasure hidden up the chimney or buried in the
+cellar; this they asserted was the reason he would not consent to having
+the upper rooms of the house rented, and so they remained untenanted
+season after season.  Thus, according to the general verdict (and
+assuredly the circumstantial evidence was strong), he was a miser of the
+most pronounced type,--"as stingy as could be," everybody agreed; and is
+not what everybody says usually accepted as the truth?
+
+Certain it is that Stingy Willis acted upon the principle, "a penny saved
+is a penny gained,"--denied himself every luxury, and lived with extreme
+frugality, as the man who kept the meat-market and grocery at the corner
+frequently testified.  Even in the coldest weather, a fire was never
+kindled in the house till evening; for over its dying embers the solitary
+man made his coffee the following morning.  A basket of coal lasted him a
+week, and he sifted the cinders as carefully as if he did not know where
+to find a silver quarter to buy more fuel.  He had nothing to do with his
+neighbors, who really knew very little about him beyond what they could
+see of his daily life.  They were almost all working people, blessed with
+steady employment; though they had not more than enough of this world's
+goods, there was no actual poverty among them.  They were respectable,
+honest, and industrious; as Bernard said, not one of the dwellers in the
+street would ever be suspected of being "mean enough to steal coal,"
+unless indeed Stingy Willis.
+
+
+
+II.
+
+Gloomy days continued for the Farrells; yet the outside world never
+dreamed of the straits to which they were reduced, for a spirit of worthy
+independence and pardonable pride led them to keep their trouble to
+themselves.  Mrs. Farrell would have died, almost, rather than reveal
+their need to any one; nothing save the cry of her children asking in
+vain for bread would bring her to it.  Well, they still had bread and
+oatmeal porridge, but that was all.
+
+Who would have imagined it!  The little house was still distinguished
+from the others of the row by an appearance of comfort.  Although Mrs.
+Farrell could not do any type-writing, the children were neat and trim
+going to school; Bernard's clothes were as carefully brushed, his boots
+as shining, linen as fresh, his mien as gentlemanly as ever.  And they
+found great satisfaction in the reflection that no one was aware of the
+true state of affairs.  The mother and Bernard agreed, when they began
+housekeeping under their changed circumstances, to contract no bills;
+what they could not afford to pay for at the time they would do without.
+So now no butcher nor baker came clamoring for settlement of his account.
+The doctor was willing to wait for his money; all they owed besides was
+the rent.  Only the landlord knew this, and he was disposed to be
+lenient.  Mrs. Farrell still tried to hope for the best, but sometimes
+she grew dejected, was sorely tempted to repine.
+
+"Mother," little Jack once asked, "aren't people who, as you say, 'have
+seen better days' and become poor, much poorer than people who have
+always been poor?"
+
+"It seems to me they are, my child," answered the widow, dispiritedly.
+"But why do you think so?"
+
+"Because," replied the young philosopher, "we are much poorer than the
+woman who used to wash for us.  She appeared to have everything she
+wanted, but we have hardly anything."
+
+It was unreasonable, to be sure, but sometimes Mrs. Farrell used to
+wonder how her neighbors could be so hard-hearted as to go past
+unconcernedly, and not notice the necessities which, all the while, she
+was doing her best to keep from their knowledge.  Often, too, as Stingy
+Willis went in and out of the door so close to her own, she thought: "How
+hard it is that this man should have riches hidden away, while I have
+scarcely the wherewith to buy food for my children!  Walls are said to
+have ears,--why have they not also tongues to cry out to him, to tell him
+of the misery so near?  Is there nothing which could strike a spark of
+human feeling from his flinty heart?"  Then, reproaching herself for the
+rebellious feeling, she would murmur a prayer for strength and patience.
+
+The partition between the two houses was thin.  She and Bernard could
+frequently hear the old man moving about his dreary apartments, or going
+up or down the stairs leading to the cellar.  "Old Willis is counting his
+money-bags again, I guess!" Bernard would say lightly, as the familiar
+shuffling to and fro caught his ear; while his mother, to banish the
+shadow of envious discontent, quietly told a decade of her Rosary.
+
+The conversation anent the subject of the coal kept recurring to her mind
+with odd persistency.  Repeatedly of late she had awakened in the night
+and heard the miser stumbling around; several times she was almost
+certain he was in her cellar, and--yes, surely, _at the
+coal_,--purloining it piece by piece, probably.  Then just as, fully
+aroused, she awaited further proof, the noise would cease, and she would
+conclude she must have been mistaken.  At last, however, it would seem
+that her suspicions were confirmed.
+
+On this occasion Mrs. Farrell had not retired at the usual hour.  It was
+after midnight, yet she was still occupied in a rather hopeless effort to
+patch Jack's only pair of trousers; for he evinced as remarkable an
+ability to wear out clothes as any son of a millionaire.  The work was
+tedious and progressed slowly, for her fingers were stiff and the effort
+of sewing painful.  Finally it was finished.  With a sigh of relief she
+rested a moment in her chair.  Just then the silence was broken by a
+peculiar sound, like the cautious shifting of a board.  That it proceeded
+from the cellar was beyond question.  A singular rattling followed.  She
+rose, went into the hall and listened.  Yes, there was no delusion about
+it: somebody was at the coal,--that coal which, she remembered bitterly,
+was now but a small heap in the bin.  That the culprit was Stingy Willis
+there could be little doubt.
+
+Bernard had fallen asleep on the sofa an hour or more before.  His mother
+stole to his side, and in a low voice called him.  He stirred uneasily.
+She called again, whereupon he opened his eyes and stared at her in
+bewilderment.
+
+"Hark!" she whispered, signalling to him not to speak.
+
+Once more came the noise, now more distinct and definable.  The heartless
+intruder had become daring; the click of a shovel was discernible; he was
+evidently helping himself liberally.
+
+Bernard looked at his mother in perplexity and surprise.
+
+"Stingy Willis?" he interrogated.
+
+She nodded.
+
+"And at the coal, by Jove!" he exclaimed, suddenly realizing the
+situation, and now wide awake.
+
+He started up, and presently was creeping down the stairs to the kitchen.
+Mrs. Farrell heard him open the cellar door with the least possible
+creak.  She knew he was on the steps which led below, but he made no
+further sound.  She had no other clue to his movements, and could only
+distinguish the rumble of the coal.  She waited, expecting momentarily
+that it would cease, dreading the altercation which would follow, and
+regretting she had aroused her son.
+
+"He is quick-tempered," she soliloquized.  "What if words should lead to
+blows,--if he should strike the old man!  How foolish I was to let him go
+alone!"
+
+The suspense was ominous.  What was the boy going to do?  Why all this
+delay?  Why did he not promptly confront the fellow and order him to be
+gone?  In reality, only a few minutes had elapsed since she first heard
+the noise, but it seemed a quarter of an hour even since he left her.
+Should she go down herself, or call out to him?  While she hesitated
+Bernard suddenly reappeared.  She leaned over the banisters to question
+him; but, with a gesture imploring her to be silent, the astonished boy
+said, hardly above his breath: "Mother, come here!"
+
+Cautiously she descended to the entry.  He led her through the kitchen to
+the cellar steps.  All the time the shovelling continued.  Whispering
+"Don't be afraid," Bernard blew out the candle he carried, and, taking
+her hand, added: "Look!"
+
+From the corner of the cellar in which the coal-bin was situated came the
+light of a lantern.  Crouching down, Mrs. Farrell could see that it
+proceeded from a hole in the wall which separated the two houses.  There
+was no one upon her premises, after all; but at the other side of the
+partition was Stingy Willis, sure enough!  Through the opening she could
+just catch a glimpse of his grey head and thin, sharp features.
+Trembling with indignation, she peered forward to get a better view.
+Yes, there was Stingy Willis certainly; but--oh, for the charity, the
+neighborliness which "thinketh no evil!"--he was shovelling coal from his
+own _into_ the Farrells' bin!  As this fact dawned upon her she felt as
+if she would like to go through the floor for shame.  Drawing back
+abruptly, she groped her way to the kitchen, and sank into a chair, quite
+overcome by emotion.  Bernard, having relighted the candle, stood gazing
+at her with an abashed air.  In a moment or two the shovelling ceased,
+and they could hear the old man, totally unconscious of the witnesses to
+his good deed, slowly ascending to his cheerless rooms again.
+
+Stingy Willis alone had discovered their need.  With a delicacy which
+respected their reticence, and shrank from an offer of aid which might
+offend, he had hit upon this means of helping them.  Clearly, he had been
+thus surreptitiously supplying them with fuel for weeks,--a little at a
+time, to avoid discovery.  And Mrs. Farrell, in her anxiety and
+preoccupation, had not realized that, with the steady inroads made upon
+it, a ton of coal could not possibly last so long.
+
+"That, of all people, Stingy Willis should be the one to come to our
+assistance!" exclaimed the widow.
+
+"And to think he is not _Stingy_ Willis at all!  That is the most
+wonderful part of it!" responded Bernard.
+
+"Often lately," continued the former, "when I happened to meet him going
+in or out, I fancied that his keen old eyes darted a penetrating glance
+at me; and the fear that they would detect the poverty we were trying to
+hide so irritated me that sometimes I even pretended not to hear his
+gruff 'Good-morning!'"
+
+"Well, he's a right jolly fellow!" cried Bernard, enthusiastically,
+
+His mother smiled.  The adjective was ludicrously inappropriate, but she
+understood Bernard's meaning, and appreciated his feelings as he went on:
+
+"Yes, I'll never let anybody say a word against him in my hearing after
+this, and I'll declare I have proof positive that he's no miser."
+
+"He is a noble-hearted man certainly," said Mrs. Farrell.  "I wish we
+knew more about him.  But, for one thing, Bernard, this experience has
+taught us to beware of rash judgments; to look for the jewels, not the
+flaws, in the character of our neighbor."
+
+"Yes, indeed, mother," replied the youth, decidedly.  "You may be sure
+that in future I'll try to see what is best in everyone."
+
+The next morning Mrs. Farrell went about her work in a more hopeful mood.
+Bernard started for the office in better spirits than usual, humming
+snatches of a song, a few words of which kept running in his mind all day:
+
+  "God rules, and thou shall have more sun
+  When clouds their perfect work have done."
+
+That afternoon Mr. Crosswell, the head of the firm, who seemed suddenly
+to have become aware that something was wrong, said to him:
+
+"My lad, how is it that your mother has not been doing the extra
+type-writing lately?  I find a great deal of it has been given to some
+one else."
+
+"She has been sick with rheumatism, sir," answered the boy; "and her
+fingers are so stiff that she cannot work the machine."
+
+"Tut! tut!" cried the lawyer, half annoyed.  "You should have told me
+this before.  If she is ill, she must need many little luxuries" (he
+refrained from saying _necessaries_).  "She must let me pay her in
+advance.  Here are twenty-five dollars.  Tell her not to hesitate to use
+the money, for she can make up for it in work later.  I was, you know, a
+martyr to rheumatism last winter, but young Dr. Sullivan cured me.  I'll
+send him round to see her; and, remember, there will be no expense to you
+about it."
+
+"I don't know how to thank you, sir!" stammered Bernard, gratefully.
+Then he hurried home to tell his mother all that had happened, and to put
+into her hands the bank-notes, for which she could find such ready use.
+
+Doctor Sullivan called to see Mrs. Farrell the following day,
+
+"Why," said he, "this is a very simple case!  You would not have been
+troubled so long but for want of the proper remedies."
+
+He left her a prescription, which wrought such wonders that in a
+fortnight she was able to resume her occupation.
+
+From this time also Mr. Crosswell gave Bernard many opportunities by
+which he earned a small sum in addition to his weekly salary, and soon
+the Farrells were in comfortable circumstances again.
+
+By degrees they became better acquainted with old Willis; but it was not
+till he began to be regarded, and to consider himself, as an intimate
+friend of the family that Bernard's mother ventured to tell him they knew
+of his kind deed done in secret,--a revelation which caused him much
+confusion.  Bernard had discovered long before that their eccentric
+neighbor, far from being a parsimonious hoarder of untold wealth, was, in
+fact, almost a poor man.  He possessed a life-interest in the house in
+which he dwelt, and the income of a certain investment left to him by the
+will of a former employer in acknowledgment of faithful service.  It was
+a small amount, intended merely to insure his support; but, in spite of
+his age, he still worked for a livelihood, distributing the annuity in
+charity.  The noble-hearted old man stinted himself that he might be
+generous to the sick, the suffering, the needy; for the "miser's gold"
+was only a treasure of golden deeds.
+
+
+
+
+THAT RED SILK FROCK.
+
+I.
+
+You could not help liking little Annie Conwell; she was so gentle, and
+had a half shy, half roguish manner, which was very winning.  And,
+then, she was so pretty to look at, with her pink cheeks, soft blue
+eyes, and light, wavy hair.  Though held up as a model child, like most
+people, including even good little girls, she was fond of her own way;
+and if she set her heart upon having anything, she wanted it without
+delay--right then and there.  And she usually got it as soon as
+possible; for Mr. Conwell was one of the kindest of fathers, and if
+Annie had cried for the moon he would have been distressed because he
+could not obtain it for her; while, as the two older children, Walter
+and Josephine, were away at boarding-school, Mrs. Conwell, in her
+loneliness at their absence, was perhaps more indulgent toward her
+little daughter than she would otherwise have been.
+
+Annie's great friend was Lucy Caryl.  Lucy lived upon the next block;
+and every day when going to school Annie called for her, or Lucy ran
+down to see if Annie was ready.  Regularly Mrs. Conwell said:
+"Remember, Annie, I want you to come straight from school, and not stop
+at the Caryls'.  If you want to go and play with Lucy afterward, I have
+no objection, but you _must_ come home first."
+
+"Yes, um," was the docile answer she invariably made.
+
+But, strange as it may seem, although Annie Conwell was considered
+clever and bright enough in general, and often stood head of her class,
+she seemed to have a wretched memory in regard to this parting
+injunction of her mother, or else there were ostensibly many good
+reasons for making exceptions to the rule.  When, as sometimes
+happened, she entered the house some two hours after school was
+dismissed, and threw down her books upon the sitting-room table, Mrs.
+Conwell reproachfully looked up from her sewing and asked: "What time
+is it, dear?"
+
+And Annie, after a startled glance at the clock, either stammered, "O
+mother, I forgot!" or else rattled off an unsatisfactory excuse.
+
+"Very well!" was the frequent warning.  "If you stay at Lucy Caryl's
+without permission, you must remain indoors on Saturday as a punishment
+for your disobedience."
+
+Nevertheless, when the end of the week came, Annie usually managed to
+escape the threatened penalty.  For Saturday is a busy day in the
+domestic world; and Mrs. Conwell was one of the fine, old-fashioned
+housekeepers--now, unfortunately, somewhat out of date--who looked well
+after the ways of her household, which was in consequence pervaded by
+an atmosphere of comfort and prosperity.
+
+One especial holiday, however, she surprised the little maid by saying,
+
+"Annie, I have told you over and over again that you must come directly
+home from school, and yet for several days you have not made your
+appearance until nearly dusk.  I am going down town now, and I forbid
+you to go out to play until I return.  For a great girl, going on ten
+years of age, you are too heedless.  Something must be done about it."
+
+Annie reddened, buried her cheeks in the fur of her mother's sable muff
+with which she was toying, and gave a sidelong glance at Mrs. Conwell's
+face.  The study of it assured her that there was no use in "begging
+off" this time; so she silently laid down the muff and walked to the
+window.
+
+Mrs. Conwell, after clasping her handsome fur collar--or tippet, as it
+was called--over the velvet mantle which was the fashion in those days,
+and surveying in the mirror the nodding plumes of her bonnet of royal
+purple hue, took up the muff and went away.
+
+"A great girl!" grumbled Annie, as she watched the lady out of sight.
+"She always says that when she is displeased.  'Going on ten years of
+age!'  It is true, of course; but, then, I was only nine last month.
+At other times, when persons ask me how old I am, if I answer 'Most
+ten,' mother is sure to laugh and say, 'Annie's just past nine.'  It
+makes me so mad!"
+
+There was no use in standing idly thinking about it though, especially
+as nothing of interest was occurring in the street just then; so Annie
+turned away and began to wonder what she should do to amuse herself.
+In the "best china closet" was a delicious cake.  She had discovered
+that the key of the inner cupboard, where it was locked up, was kept in
+the blue vase on the dining-room mantel.  She had been several times
+"just to take a peep at the cake," she said to herself.  Mrs. Conwell
+had also looked at it occasionally, and it had no appearance of having
+been interfered with.  Yet, somehow, there was a big hole scooped in
+the middle of it from the under side.  The discovery must be made some
+day, and then matters would not be so pleasant for the meddler; but, in
+the meantime, this morning Annie concluded to try "just a crumb" of the
+cake, to make sure it was not getting stale.
+
+Having satisfied herself upon that point, and being at a loss for
+occupation, she thought she would see what was going on out of doors
+now.  (If some little girls kept account of the minutes they spend in
+looking out of the window, how astonished they would be at the result!)
+At present the first person Annie saw was Lucy Caryl, who from the
+opposite sidewalk was making frantic efforts to attract her attention.
+
+"Come into my house and play with me," Lucy spelled with her fingers in
+the deaf and dumb alphabet.
+
+Annie raised the sash.  "I can't, Lucy!" she called.  "Mother said I
+must stay in the house."
+
+"Oh, do come--just for a little while!" teased naughty Lucy.  "Your
+mother will never know.  She has gone away down town: I saw her take
+the car.  We'll watch the corner; when we see her coming, you can run
+around by the yard and slip in at the gate before she reaches the front
+door."
+
+The inducement was strong.  Annie pretended to herself that she did not
+understand the uneasy feeling in her heart, which told her she was not
+doing right.  The servants were down in the kitchen, and would not miss
+her.  She ran for her cloak and hood--little girls wore good, warm
+hoods in those days,--and in a few moments was scurrying along the
+sidewalk with Lucy.
+
+The Caryls lived in a spacious brown stone house, which exteriorly was
+precisely like the residence of the Conwells.  The interior, however,
+was very different.  Contrasted with the brightness of Annie's home, it
+presented an appearance of cheerless and somewhat dingy grandeur.  The
+parlors, now seldom used, were furnished in snuff-colored damask, a
+trifle faded; the curtains, of the same heavy material, had a stuffy
+look, and made one long to throw open the window to get a breath of
+fresh air.  The walls were adorned with remarkable tapestries in great
+gilt frames, testimonials to the industry of Mrs. Caryl during her
+girlhood.  Here and there, too, hung elaborate souvenirs of departed
+members of the family, in the shape of memorial crosses and wreaths of
+waxed flowers, also massively framed.  They were very imposing; but
+Annie had a nervous horror of them, and invariably hurried past that
+parlor door.
+
+The little girls usually played together in a small room adjoining the
+sitting-room.  They had by no means the run of the house.  Annie,
+indeed, felt a certain awe of Lucy's mother, who was stern and severe
+with children.
+
+"I'm sure I shouldn't care to go to the Caryls', except that Lucy is so
+seldom allowed to come to see me," she often declared.
+
+On this particular afternoon Mrs. Caryl had also gone out.
+
+"My Aunt Mollie sent me some lovely clothes for my doll," said Lucy.
+"The box is up on the top story.  Come with me to get it."
+
+Remembering the "funeral flowers," as Annie called them, she had an
+idea that Lucy's mother kept similar or even more uncanny treasures
+stored away "on the top story," which her imagination invested with an
+air of mystery.  So she hesitated.
+
+"Come!" repeated Lucy, who forthwith tripped on ahead, and looked over
+the baluster to see why she did not follow.
+
+Annie hesitated no longer, but started up the steps.  Just at that
+moment a peculiar sound, like the clanging of a chain, followed by a
+strange, rustling noise, came from one of the rooms above.  A foolish
+terror seized upon her.
+
+"O gracious! what's that?" she panted; and, turning, would have fled
+down the stairs again, had not Lucy sprung toward her and caught her
+dress.
+
+"It's nothing, goosie!" said she, "except Jim.  He's been a naughty
+boy, and is tied up in the front room.  Ma thought she'd try that plan
+so he could not slip out to go skating.  I suppose I ought to have told
+you, though.  Maybe you thought we had a crazy person up here."
+
+Annie forced herself to laugh.  Reassured in a measure, and still more
+curious, she ventured to go on.  When she reached the upper hall, she
+saw that the door of the front room was open, and, looking in, beheld a
+comical spectacle.  Fastened by a stout rope to one of the high posts
+of an old-fashioned bedstead was a rollicking urchin of about eight
+years of age, who seemed to be having a very good time, notwithstanding
+his captivity.  Upon his shoes were a pair of iron clamps resembling
+spurs, such as were used for skates.  It was the clank of these against
+the brass balls, of which there was one at the top of each post, which
+made the sound that had so frightened Annie.
+
+"Hello!" he called out as he caught sight of her.  And, fascinated by
+the novelty of the situation, she stood a moment watching his antics,
+which were similar to those of a monkey upon a pole.  Again and again
+he climbed the post, indulged in various acrobatic performances upon
+the foot-board, and then turned a double somersault right into the
+centre of the great feather-bed.  And all the while his villainous
+little iron-bound heels made woful work, leaving countless dents and
+scratches upon the fine old mahogany, and catching in the meshes of the
+handsome knitted counterpane.
+
+"You'd better stop that!" Lucy called to him.
+
+In response to her advice, he clambered over and seated himself upon
+the mantel.
+
+"Oh! oh!" she expostulated in alarm, lest the shelf should fall beneath
+his weight.
+
+As that catastrophe did not occur, he coolly shifted his position, made
+a teasing grimace at her, and when she turned away slipped down and
+resumed his gymnastic exercises.
+
+There was nothing else on the top story to excite Annie's surprise, but
+she was glad when Lucy secured the box and led the way downstairs.
+
+
+
+II.
+
+"When the little friends were again in their accustomed play corner,
+Lucy, with much satisfaction, displayed her present.
+
+"Your Aunt Mollie must be awful nice!" exclaimed Annie.  "How lucky you
+are!  Three more dresses for your doll!  Clementina has not had any new
+clothes for a long time.  I think that red silk dress is the prettiest,
+don't you?"
+
+"I haven't quite decided," answered Lucy.  "Christabel looks lovely in
+it; but I think the blue one is perhaps even more becoming."
+
+They tried the various costumes upon Lucy's doll, and admired the
+effect of each in turn.
+
+"Still, I like the red silk dress best," said Annie.
+
+"It would just suit Clementina, wouldn't it?" suggested Lucy.
+
+"Yes," sighed Annie, taking up the little frock, and imagining she saw
+her own doll attired in its gorgeousness.  After regarding it enviously
+for a few moments, she said: "Say, Lucy, give it to me, won't you?"
+
+"Why, the idea!" cried Lucy, aghast at the audacity of the proposal.
+
+"I think you might," pouted Annie.  "You hardly ever give me anything,
+although you are my dearest friend.  I made you a present of
+Clementina's second best hat for Christabel, and only yesterday I gave
+you that sweet bead ring you asked me for."
+
+These unanswerable arguments were lost upon Lucy, however.  She
+snatched away the tiny frock, and both little girls sulked a while.
+
+"Lucy's real mean!" said Annie to herself.  "She ought to give it to
+me,--she knows she ought!  Oh, dear, I want it awfully!  She owes me
+something for what I've given her.--I am going home," she announced
+aloud.
+
+"Oh, no!" protested Lucy, aroused to the sense of her duties as
+hostess.  "Let us put away the dolls and read.  There is a splendid new
+story this week in the _Young Folks' Magazine_."
+
+Taking Annie's silence for assent, she packed Christabel and her
+belongings away again, and went to get the book.  Annie waited
+sullenly.  Then, as her friend did not come back immediately, she began
+to fidget.
+
+"Lucy need not have been in such a hurry to whisk her things into the
+box," she complained.  "To look at the red dress won't spoil it, I
+suppose.  I _will_ have another look at it, anyhow!"
+
+She raised the cover of the box and took out the dainty dress.  Still
+Lucy did not return.  A temptation came to Annie.  Why not keep the
+pretty red silk frock?  Lucy would not miss it at once; afterward she
+would think she had mislaid it.  She would never suspect the truth.
+Annie breathed hard.  If she had quickly put the showy bit of trumpery
+back into the box and banished the covetous wish, all would have been
+well; but instead, she stood deliberating and turning the little dress
+over and over in her hands.  Meantime a hospitable thought had occurred
+to Lucy.  She remembered that there was a new supply of apples in the
+pantry, and had gone to get one for Annie and one for herself.  On her
+way through the dining-room she happened to look out of the window.
+
+"Goodness gracious!" she exclaimed; for there was Mrs. Conwell getting
+out of the car at the corner!
+
+At Lucy's call of, "Annie, here comes your mother!" Annie started,
+hesitated, glanced at the box, and, alas! crammed the red silk frock
+into her pocket.  Then she caught up her cloak and hood, and rushed
+down the stairs.  Lucy ran to open the yard gate for her, and thrust
+the apple into her hand as she passed.
+
+Flurried and short of breath, she reached home just as Mrs. Conwell
+rang the door-bell.  She did not hasten as usual to greet her mother;
+but, hurrying to her own little room, shut herself in, and sat down on
+the bed to recover from her confusion.
+
+It happened that the cook claimed Mrs. Conwell's attention in regard to
+some domestic matter, and thus she did not at once inquire for her
+little daughter, supposing that the child was contentedly occupied.
+Annie, therefore, had some time in which to collect her thoughts.  As
+her excitement gradually died away, she found that, instead of feeling
+the satisfaction she expected in having spent the afternoon as she
+pleased and yet escaped discovery, she was restless and unhappy.  Upon
+her neat dressing-table lay the apple which Lucy had given her.  It was
+ripe and rosy, but she felt that a bite of it would choke her.  Above
+the head of the bed hung a picture of the Madonna with the Divine
+Child.  Obeying a sudden impulse, she jumped up and turned it inward to
+the wall.  Ah, Annie, what a coward a guilty conscience can make of the
+bravest among us!
+
+Glancing cautiously around, as if the very walls had eyes and could
+reveal what they saw, she drew from her pocket the red silk frock.  She
+sat and gazed at it as if in a dream.  It was as pretty as ever, yet it
+no longer gave her pleasure.  She did not dare to try it on Clementina;
+she wanted to hide it away in some corner where no one would ever find
+it.  Tiny as it was, she felt that it could never be successfully
+concealed; Remorse would point it out wherever it was secreted.  Annie
+began to realize what she had done.  She had stolen!  She, proud Annie
+Conwell, who held her head so high, whom half the girls at school
+envied, had taken what did not belong to her!  How her cheeks burned!
+She wondered if it had been found out yet.  What would Lucy say?  Would
+she tell all the girls, and would they avoid her, and whisper together
+when she was around, saying, "Look out for Annie Conwell!  She is not
+to be trusted."
+
+She covered her face with her hands, and burst into tears.  And all the
+while a low voice kept whispering in her heart with relentless
+persistency, till human respect gave way to higher motives.  She
+glanced up at the picture, turned it around again with a feeling of
+compunction, and, humbled and contrite, sank on her knees in a little
+heap upon the floor.
+
+A few moments afterward her mother's step sounded in the hall.  When
+one finds a little girl's cloak flung on the baluster, stumbles over a
+hood on the stairs, and picks up an odd mitten somewhere else, the
+evidences are strong that the owner has come home in a hurry.  Mrs.
+Conwell had, therefore, discovered Annie's disobedience.  She threw
+open the door, intending to rebuke her severely; but the sight of the
+child's flushed and tear-stained face checked the chiding words upon
+her lips.
+
+"What is the matter, Annie?" she inquired, somewhat sternly.
+
+"O mother, please don't scold me!  I'm unhappy enough already,"
+faltered Annie, beginning to cry again.
+
+Then, as the burden of her miserable little secret had become
+unendurable, she told the whole story.  Mrs. Conwell looked pained and
+grave, but her manner was very gentle as she said:
+
+"Of course, the first thing for you to do is to return what you have
+unjustly taken."
+
+Annie gave a little nervous shudder.  "What! go and tell Lucy I stole
+her doll's red silk dress?" she exclaimed.  "How could I ever!"
+
+"I do not say it is necessary to do that," answered her mother; "but
+you are certainly obliged to restore it.  I should advise you to take
+it back without delay, and have the struggle over."
+
+She went away, and left the little girl to reflect upon the matter.
+But the more Annie debated with herself, the more difficulty she had in
+coming to a decision.  Finally she started up, exclaiming,
+
+"The longer I think about it the harder it seems.  I'll just _do it_
+right off."
+
+She picked up the dress, darted down the stairs, hurriedly prepared to
+go out, and in a few moments was hastening down the block to the
+Caryls'.  Lucy saw her coming, and met her at the door.
+
+"Did you get a scolding?  Was your mother very much displeased?" she
+asked; for she perceived immediately that Annie had been crying, and
+misinterpreted the cause of her tears.
+
+"Oh, no!--well, I suppose she was," hesitated Annie.  "But she did not
+say much."
+
+"How did she happen to let you come down here again?" continued Lucy,
+leading the way to the sitting-room.
+
+Annie cast a quick glance at the table.  The box which contained
+Christabel and her wardrobe was no longer there.  It was useless, then,
+to hope for a chance to quietly slip the red dress into it again.
+
+Lucy repeated the question, wondering what had set her playmate's
+thoughts a-wool-gathering.
+
+"I'm not going to stay," began Annie.
+
+Lucy's clear eyes met hers inquiringly.  To her uneasy conscience they
+seemed to accuse her and to demand the admission of her fault.  Her
+cheeks grew crimson; and, as a person in a burning building ventures a
+perilous leap in the hope of escape, so Annie, finding her present
+position intolerable, stammered out the truth.
+
+"I only came to bring back something.  Don't be vexed, will you, at
+what I'm going to tell you?  I took that red silk dress home with me;
+but here it is, and I'm sorry, Lucy,--indeed I am!"
+
+A variety of expressions flitted across Lucy's face as she listened.
+Incredulity, surprise, and indignation were depicted there.  Annie had
+stated the case as mildly as possible, but Lucy understood.  After the
+first surprise, however, she began to comprehend dimly that it must
+have required a good deal of moral courage thus openly to bring back
+the little dress.  She was conscious of a new respect for Annie, who
+stood there so abashed.  For a few moments there was an awkward pause;
+then she managed to say:
+
+"Oh, that is all right!  Of course I should have been vexed if you had
+not brought it back, because I should have missed it as soon as I
+opened the box.  I was mean about it, anyway.  I might have let you
+take it to try on Clementina.  Here, I'll give it to you now, to make
+up for being stingy."
+
+Annie shook her head, and refused to take the once coveted gift from
+her companion's outstretched hand.
+
+"Then I'll lend it to you for ever and ever," continued Lucy,
+impulsively.
+
+"No, I don't want it now," answered Annie.  "Good-bye!"
+
+"Will you go to walk with me to-morrow after Sunday-school?" urged
+Lucy, as she followed her to the door.
+
+"P'rhaps!" replied her little friend, hastening away.
+
+The inquiry brought her a feeling of relief, however.  Lucy evidently
+had no thought of "cutting" her acquaintance.  The sense of having done
+right made her heart light and happy as she ran home.  The experience
+had taught her that one must learn to see many pretty things without
+wishing to possess them; and also that small acts of disobedience and a
+habit of meddling may lead further than one at first intends.
+
+Annie became a lovely woman, a devoted daughter, a most
+self-sacrificing character, and one scrupulously exact in her dealings
+with others; but she never forgot "that red silk frock."
+
+
+
+
+"A LESSON WITH A SEQUEL."
+
+"How strange that any one should be so superstitious!" said Emily
+Mahon.  Rosemary Beckett had been telling a group of girls of the
+ridiculous practices of an old negro woman employed by her mother as a
+laundress.
+
+"People must be very ignorant to believe such things," declared Anna
+Shaw, disdainfully.
+
+"Yet," observed Miss Graham, closing the new magazine which she had
+been looking over, "it is surprising how many persons, who ought to
+know better, are addicted to certain superstitions, and cannot be made
+to see that it is not only foolish but wrong to yield to them."
+
+"Well," began Rosemary, "I am happy to say that is not a failing of
+mine."
+
+"I think everything of the kind is nonsensical," added Kate Parsons.
+
+"I'm not a bit superstitious either," volunteered Emily.
+
+"Nor I," interposed Anna.
+
+"I despise such absurdities," continued May Johnston.
+
+"My dear girls," laughed Miss Graham, "I'll venture to say that each
+one of you has a pet superstition, which influences you more or less,
+and which you ought to overcome."
+
+This assertion was met by a chorus of indignant protests.
+
+"Why, Cousin Irene!" cried Emily.
+
+"O, Miss Graham, how _can_ you think so!"
+
+"The very idea!" etc., etc., chimed in the others.
+
+Everybody liked Miss Irene Graham.  She lived with her cousins, the
+Mahons, and supported herself by giving lessons to young girls who for
+various reasons did not attend a regular school.  Her classes were
+popular, not only because she was bright and clever, and had the
+faculty of imparting what she knew; but because, as parents soon
+discovered, she taught her pupils good, sound common-sense, as well as
+"the shallower knowledge of books."  Cousin Irene had not forgotten how
+she used to think and feel when she herself was a young girl, and
+therefore she was able to look at the world from a girl's point of
+view, to sympathize with her dreams and undertakings.  She did not look
+for very wise heads upon young shoulders; but when she found that her
+pupils had foolish notions, or did not behave sensibly, she tried to
+make them see this for themselves; and we all know from experience that
+what we learn in that way produces the most lasting impression.
+
+The girls now gathered around her were members of the literature class,
+which met on Wednesday and Saturday mornings at the Mahons'.  As they
+considered themselves accomplished and highly cultivated for their
+years, it was mortifying to be accused of being so unenlightened as to
+believe in omens.
+
+"No, I haven't a particle of superstition," repeated Rosemary,
+decidedly.  "There's one thing I won't do, though.  I won't give or
+accept a present of anything sharp--a knife or scissors, or even a
+pin,--because, the saying is, it cuts friendship.  I've found it so,
+too.  I gave Clara Hayes a silver hair-pin at Christmas, and a few
+weeks after we quarrelled."
+
+"There is the fault, popping up like a Jack-in-the box!" said Miss
+Irene.  "But, if I remember, Clara was a new acquaintance of yours in
+the holidays, and you and she were inseparable.  The ardor of such
+extravagant friendship soon cools.  Before long you concluded you did
+not like her so well as at first; then came the disagreement.  But is
+it not silly to say the pin had anything to do with the matter?  Would
+it not have been the same if you had given her a book or a picture?"
+
+"If I'm walking in the street with a friend, I'm always careful never
+to let any person or thing come between us," admitted Kate Parsons.
+"It's a sure sign that you'll be disappointed--"
+
+"Oh, it will be all right if you remember to say 'Bread and butter!'"
+interrupted Anna, eagerly.
+
+They all laughed; but Miss Irene saw by the tell-tale faces of several
+that they clung to this childish practice.
+
+"We used to do so in play when we were little girls," said Emily,
+apologetically; "and I suppose it became a habit."
+
+"The other day," Miss Graham went on, "I heard a young lady say: 'If
+you are setting out upon a journey, or even a walk, and have to go back
+to the house for anything, be sure you sit down before starting off
+again.' It is bad luck not to do so.'"
+
+Emily colored.
+
+"Yes, we are very particular about that!" cried Rosemary, impulsively,
+as her companions did not contradict the avowal; it was evident that
+she knew what she was talking about.
+
+The conversation turned to other subjects.  Presently Anna and Rosemary
+were planning an excursion to a neighboring town.
+
+"To visit Elizabeth Harris, who was at the convent with us last year,"
+explained the latter.  "Suppose we go to-morrow?"
+
+"I have an engagement with the dentist," was the doleful reply.
+
+"Well, the day after?"
+
+"Let me see," mused Anna.  "Oh, no!" she added, hastily.  "I could not
+start on a journey or begin any work on a Friday; it would not be
+lucky, you know!"  Then she flushed and looked toward Miss Irene, who
+shook her head significantly and wrote in her note-book, "Superstitious
+practice No. 4."
+
+As it was Emily's birthday, the girls had been invited to stay for
+luncheon.  Emily now led the way to the dining-room, where a pretty
+table was spread.  Everything was as dainty as good taste and handsome
+auxiliaries could make it: the snowy damask, fine glass, and old family
+silver; the small crystal bowls filled with chrysanthemums, and at each
+plate a tiny bouquet.
+
+Mr. Mahon was down town at his business, but there stood Mrs. Mahon, so
+kind and affable; and the boys and girls of the family were waiting to
+take their seats.  The party paused, while, according to the good
+old-fashioned custom (now too often neglected), grace was said; and
+Cousin Irene, contemplating the bright faces and pleasant surroundings,
+thought she had seldom seen a more attractive picture.  But now she
+noticed that May, after a quick look around, appeared startled and
+anxious.  The next moment the foolish girl exclaimed:
+
+"O Mrs. Mahon, there are thirteen of us here!  You do not like to have
+thirteen persons at your table, do you?  Pardon me, but I'm so nervous
+about it!"
+
+A shadow of annoyance flitted across Mrs. Mahon's motherly countenance,
+but she answered gently: "My dear, I never pay any attention to the
+superstition.  Still a hostess will not insist upon making a guest
+uncomfortable.  Tom," she continued, addressing her youngest son, "you
+will oblige me by taking your luncheon afterward."
+
+Tom scowled at May, flung himself out of his chair, mumbled something
+about "stuff and nonsense;" and, avoiding his mother's reproving
+glance, went off in no amiable humor.
+
+May was embarrassed, especially as she felt Miss Irene's grave eyes
+fixed upon her.  But Mrs. Mahon was too courteous to allow any one to
+remain disconcerted at her hospitable board.  With ready tact she
+managed that the little incident should seem speedily forgotten.  After
+a momentary awkwardness the girls began to chatter merrily again, and
+harmony was restored.
+
+On their return to the drawing-room, May whispered to Miss Graham: "I
+hope Mrs. Mahon will excuse me for calling her attention to the number
+at table.  I did not mean to be rude, and I suppose it is silly to be
+so superstitious; but, indeed, I can not help it."
+
+"Do not say that, dear; because you can help it if you wish," was the
+gentle reply,  "Mrs. Mahon understood, I am sure, that you did not
+intend to be impolite; but I know she must have felt regret that you
+should give way to such folly."  Then, turning to the others, Miss
+Irene continued: "Well, girls, considering the revelations of this
+morning, perhaps you will admit that you have, after all, a fair share
+of superstition."
+
+"I'm afraid so," acknowledged Rosemary; and no one demurred.
+
+"Do you know how these superstitions originated, Miss Graham?" asked
+Anna, who was of an inquiring mind.
+
+"Many of them are very ancient," replied Cousin Irene.  "That which
+predicts that the gift of anything sharp cuts friendship probably dates
+back farther than the days of Rome and Greece, and is almost as old as
+the dagger itself.  No doubt it originated in an age of frequent wars
+and quarrels, when for a warrior to put a weapon in the hands of a
+companion was perhaps to find it forthwith turned against himself.  In
+those days of strife also, when men were more ready in action than in
+the turning of phrases, and so much was expressed by symbolism, the
+offering of a sword or dagger was frequently in itself a challenge, and
+a declaration of enmity.  Thus, you see, that what was a natural
+inference in other times is meaningless in ours.  The adage which
+advises the person obliged to turn back in his journey to be careful to
+sit down before setting out anew, was at first simply a metaphorical
+way of saying that having made a false start toward the accomplishment
+of any duty, it is well to begin again at the beginning.  The custom
+which restrained comrades in arms, or friends walking or journeying
+together, from allowing anything to come between them, had also a
+figurative import.  It was a dramatic manner of declaring, 'Nothing
+shall ever part us,--no ill-will nor strife, not even this accidental
+barrier, shall interrupt our friendly intercourse.'  In the times, too,
+when there were few laws but that of might, when danger often lurked by
+the wayside, it was always well for a traveller to keep close to his
+companion, and not to separate from him without necessity.
+
+"Many other superstitions, as well, have a symbolical origin.  But the
+nineteenth century does not deal with such picturesque methods of
+expression.  We pride ourselves upon saying in so many words just what
+we mean; therefore much of the poetic imagery of other days has no
+significance in ours.  And is it not symbolism without sense which
+constitutes one of the phases of superstition?  As for your
+bread-and-butter exorcism, Anna, I presume it was simply the expression
+of a hope that nothing might interfere between hungry folk and their
+dinner.  This is, indeed, but a bit of juvenile nonsense; just as
+children will 'make believe' that some dire mishap will befall one who
+steps on the cracks of a flagged sidewalk; and so on through a score of
+funny conceits and games, innocent enough as child's play, but hardly
+worthy of sensible girls in their teens.
+
+"You know, the practice of refraining from beginning a journey or
+undertaking on Friday," continued Miss Irene, "arose from a religious
+observance of the day upon which Our Lord was crucified.  As the early
+Christians were accustomed to devote this day to meditation and prayer,
+it followed that few went abroad at that time, or set about new
+temporal ventures.  Superstition early perverted the import of this
+pious custom.  As on that day Satan marshalled all the powers of evil
+against the Son of God, so, said the soothsayers, he would beset with
+misfortune and danger the path of those who set forth on a Friday.  As
+regards the case in point, since we do not go into retreat once a week,
+I presume Anna and Rosemary have not this reason for refusing to visit
+their young friend on Friday."
+
+There was a general laugh, after which Miss Irene went on:
+
+"For the rest, we know God's loving providence carefully watches over
+us at all times, and constantly preserves us from countless dangers;
+that nothing can betide us without His permission, and that He blesses
+the work of every day if we ask Him.  Far from being influenced by the
+common superstition with regard to Friday, it would seem as if we
+should piously prefer to begin an undertaking (and in this spirit seek
+a special blessing on the work thus commenced) on the day of the week
+which commemorates that most fortunate of all days for us, on which was
+consummated the great act of Redemption.
+
+"The superstition with reference to thirteen at table dates from the
+Last Supper, of which Our Lord partook with His twelve Apostles on the
+eve of His crucifixion.  Hence the saying that of thirteen persons who
+sit down together to a repast, one will soon die.  I think it was
+originally the custom to avoid having thirteen at the festive or family
+board, not so much from this notion, as to express a horror of the
+treachery of Judas.  Such would be, for instance, the chivalrous spirit
+of the Crusaders.  We can understand how, in feudal times, a knight
+would consider it an affront to his fellows to bid them to a banquet
+spread for thirteen.  In those days, when a feast was so apt to end in
+a fray,--when by perfidy the enemy so often entered at the castle gate
+while the company were at table, and frequently a chief was slain ere
+he could rise from his place,--the circumstance would point an analogy
+which it has not with us, suggesting not merely mortality but betrayal;
+a breach of all the laws of hospitality; impending death by violence.
+Since we can not live forever, among every assemblage of individuals
+there is likely to be one at least whose life may be nearly at its
+close.  The more persons present, the greater the probability;
+therefore there is really a greater fatality in the numbers fourteen,
+twenty, thirty, than in thirteen.
+
+"But to return to the point from which we started--no, Emily, it is not
+necessary to sit down.  You will observe that many persons who declare
+emphatically that they are not superstitious, are nevertheless
+influenced by old-time sayings and practices; some of which, though
+perhaps beautiful originally, have now lost all significance; others
+which are simply relics of paganism.  Men are often as irrational in
+this respect as women; and, notice this well, you will find
+superstition much more common among non-Catholics than among Catholics.
+As we have seen, however, some of us do not realize that what we are
+pleased to call certain harmless eccentricities, are very like the
+superstitious practices forbidden by the First Commandment."
+
+Kate and Emily were not giving to this little homily the attention it
+deserved.  They had begun to trifle as girls are wont to do.  Catching
+at the tiny bisque cupid that hung from the chandelier, Emily
+sportively sent it flying toward Kate, who swung it back again.  Thus
+they kept it flitting to and fro, faster and faster.  Finally, Emily
+hit it with a jerk.  The cord by which it was suspended snapped; the
+dainty bit of bric-a-brac sped across the room, and, striking with full
+force against a mirror in a quaint old secretary that had belonged to
+Mr. Mahon's uncle, shivered the glass to pieces.  Instantly every trace
+of color fled from her face, and she stood appalled, gazing at the
+mischief she had done.  There was, of course, an exclamation from her
+companions, who remained staring at her, and appeared almost as
+disturbed as herself.
+
+Cousin Irene went over and patted her on the shoulder, saying, "Do not
+be so distressed, child.  I know you are sorry to have damaged the old
+secretary, which we value so much for its associations.  But there is
+no need of being so troubled.  We can have a new mirror put in."
+
+"It is not only that," faltered the silly girl; "but to break a
+looking-glass!  You know it is a sure sign that a great misfortune will
+befall us--that there will probably be a death in the family before
+long."
+
+"Oh, but such sayings don't always come true!  There are often
+exceptions," interposed Kate, anxious to say something consolatory, and
+heartily wishing they had let the little cupid alone.
+
+"Too bad; for it really is dreadfully unlucky to have such a thing
+happen!" sighed Rosemary, with less tact.
+
+"I know it," murmured May.
+
+"Yes, indeed," added Anna.
+
+Miss Graham drew back astonished.  "Young ladies, I am ashamed of you!"
+she said, reproachfully, and went out of the room.
+
+There were a few moments of discomfiture, and presently the girls
+concluded, one after another, that it was time to be going home.
+
+Left alone, Emily approached the secretary and examined the ruined
+mirror.  It was cracked like an egg-shell,--"smashed to smithereens,"
+Tom said in telling the story later; but only one or two bits had
+fallen out.  Idly attempting to fit these into place again, Emily
+caught sight of what she supposed was a sheet of note-paper, that had
+apparently made its way in between the back of the mirror and the frame.
+
+"An old letter of grandpa's, probably," she said aloud, taking hold of
+the corner to draw it out.  It stuck fast; but a second effort released
+it, amid a shower of splintered glass; and to her amazement she found
+in her possession a time-stained document that had a mysteriously legal
+air.  Trembling with excitement she unfolded it, and, without stopping
+to think that it might not be for her eyes, began to read the queer
+writing, which was somewhat difficult to decipher:
+
+"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
+Amen.  I, Bernard Mahon, being of sound and disposing mind, do hereby
+declare this to be my last will and testament."
+
+"Uncle Bernard's will!" gasped Emily.  "It must be the one father
+always said uncle told him about, but which never could be found.
+Perhaps he slipped it in here for safe-keeping." Eagerly she scanned
+it, crying at last, "Yes, yes!  Hurrah!  O Cousin Irene!" she called
+out, hearing the latter's step in the hall.
+
+When Miss Graham entered Emily was waltzing around the room, waving the
+document ecstatically.  "See what I've found!" she cried, darting
+toward her with an impulsive caress.
+
+Cousin Irene took the paper, and, as she perused it, became, though in
+a less demonstrative fashion, as agitated as Emily.  "Your father!" she
+stammered.
+
+Mr. Mahon had come into the house and was now in the little study,
+which he called his den.  Cousin Irene and Emily almost flew thither,
+and a few minutes later his voice, with a glad ring in it, was heard
+calling first his wife and then the children to tell them the joyful
+news.
+
+The will so long sought, so strangely brought to light, made a great
+change in the family fortunes.  By it Bryan, the old man's son, who was
+unmarried and dissipated, was entitled to merely a certain income and
+life-interest in the estate, which upon his demise was to go to the
+testator's nephew William (Mr. Mahon) and Cousin Irene.  In fact,
+however, at his father's death, Bryan, as no will was discovered, had
+entered into full possession of the property; and when within a year
+his own career was suddenly cut short, it was learned that he had
+bequeathed nothing to his relatives but a few family heirlooms.
+
+"I did not grudge Bryan what he had while he lived," said Mr. Mahon;
+"but when, after the poor fellow was drowned, we heard that he had left
+all his money to found a library for 'the Preservation of the Records
+of Sport and Sportsmen,' I did feel that, with my boys and girls to
+provide for and educate, I could have made a better use of it.  And
+Cousin Irene would have been saved a good deal of hard work if she
+could have obtained her share at the time.  Thank God it is all right
+now, and the library with the long name will have to wait for another
+founder."
+
+The girls of the literature class soon heard of their friends' good
+fortune, and were not slow in offering their congratulations.
+
+One day, some two years after, when Anna and Rosemary happened to call
+at the Mahons', a chance reference was made to the discovery of the
+will.  "Only think," exclaimed Rosemary, "how much came about through
+the spoiling of that mirror!  Emily, you surely can never again believe
+it unlucky to break a looking-glass?"
+
+"No, indeed!" replied Emily, thinking of the uninterrupted happiness
+and prosperity which the family had enjoyed since then.
+
+"It was a fortunate accident for us," said Cousin Irene; "but I should
+not advise any one to go around smashing all the looking-glasses in his
+or her house, hoping for a similar result.  It certainly would be an
+unlucky sign for the person who had to meet the bill for repairs."
+
+"Miss Graham, how do you suppose this superstition originated?" asked
+Anna, as eager for information as ever.  After a general laugh at her
+expense, Cousin Irene said:
+
+"The first mirrors, you must remember, were the forest pools and
+mountain tarns.  As the hunter stooped to one of these to slake his
+thirst, if perchance so much as a shadow should break the reflection of
+his own image in its tranquil depths, he had reason to fear that danger
+and perhaps death were at hand; for often in some such dark mirror a
+victim caught the first glimpse of his enemy, who had been waiting in
+ambush and was now stealing upon him from behind; or of the wild beast
+making ready to leap upon him.  But the popular augury that the mere
+fact of breaking a looking-glass portends death, is, you must see,
+senseless and absurd.  And so, as I think you have become convinced,
+are all superstitions.  It is true we sometimes remark coincidences,
+and are inclined to make much of them; without noting, on the contrary,
+how many times the same supposed omens and signs come to nought.  When
+God wills to send us some special happiness or trial, be assured He
+makes use of no such means to prepare us for it; since He directs our
+lives not by chance, but by His all-wise and loving Providence."
+
+
+
+
+UNCLE TOM'S STORY.
+
+I.
+
+Some pine logs burned brightly upon the andirons in the wide,
+old-fashioned chimney; and the Tyrrell children were comfortably seated
+around the fire, roasting chestnuts and telling stories.
+
+"Come, Uncle Tom, it is your turn!" cried Pollie, breaking in upon the
+reverie of their mother's brother, who, seated in the old red
+arm-chair, was gazing abstractedly at the cheery flames.
+
+"Yes, please let us have something about the war," put in Rob.
+
+"But everybody has been telling war stories for the last twenty-five
+years.  Do you not think we have had enough of them?" said the
+gentleman.
+
+"One never tires of hearing of deeds of bravery," answered Rob,
+dramatically.
+
+"Or of romantic adventures," added Pollie.
+
+Uncle Tom looked amused; but, after some hesitation, said;  "Well, I
+will tell you an incident recalled by this pine-wood fire.  It may seem
+extraordinary; but, having witnessed it myself, I can vouch for its
+truth.  You consider me an old soldier; yet, though I wore the blue
+uniform for more than a year and saw some fighting, I was only a youth
+of eighteen when the war closed; and, in spite of my boyish anxiety to
+distinguish myself and become a hero, I probably would never have
+attained even to the rank of orderly, had it not come about in the
+following manner:"
+
+
+Our regiment was stationed at A------, not far from the seat of war.
+Near our quarters was a Catholic church, attended by the ------
+Fathers.  I early made the acquaintance of one of them, who was
+popularly known as Father _Friday_, this being the nearest approach to
+the pronunciation of his peculiar German name to which the majority of
+the people could arrive.  In him I recognized my ideal of a Christian
+gentleman, and as such I still revere his memory.
+
+He was one of the handsomest men I ever saw--tall and of splendid
+physique, with light brown hair, blue eyes, and a complexion naturally
+fair, but bronzed by the sun.  Though in reality he was as humble and
+unassuming as any lay-brother in his community, his bearing was simply
+regal.
+
+He could not have helped it any more than he could help the impress of
+nobility upon his fine features.  The youngsters used to enjoy seeing
+him pass the contribution box in church at special collections.  It
+must have been "an act" (as you convent girls say, Pollie).  He would
+move along in his superb manner, looking right over the heads of the
+congregation, and disdaining to cast a glance at the "filthy lucre"
+that was being heaped up in the box which from obedience he carried.
+What were silver and gold, let alone the cheap paper currency of the
+times, to him, who had given up wealth and princely rank to become a
+religious!  Yet, in fact, they were a great deal, since they meant help
+for the needy--a church built, a hospital for the sick poor.  In this
+sense none appreciated more the value of money.
+
+Father Friday was accustomed to travel about the country for miles,
+hunting up those of his flock who, from the unsettled state of affairs,
+either could not or would not come into the town to church.  Like the
+typical missionary, from necessity he always walked; though, in my
+youthful enthusiasm, I used to think how grandly he would look upon a
+charger and in the uniform of a general.  In his old cassock, and
+wearing a hat either of plain brown straw or black felt, according to
+the season, he was as intrepid as a general, however; and went about
+alone as serenely as if the times were most peaceful.  Our colonel
+often remonstrated with him for doing so, and finally insisted upon
+appointing an orderly to attend him.  Father Friday at first declined;
+but upon hearing that the duty had been assigned to me, he in the end
+assented--partly, I suppose, to keep me from bad company and out of
+mischief.  Many a pleasant tramp I had with him; for he would beguile
+the way with anecdotes and jokes, and bits of information upon geology,
+botany, the birds of that section--everything likely to interest a boy.
+What wonder that I regarded a day with him as a genuine holiday?
+
+One October afternoon he said: "To-morrow morning, Captain Tom" (the
+title was a pleasantry of his),--"to-morrow morning I shall be glad of
+your company.  I am going some five miles back into the country to
+visit an invalid."
+
+"Very well, Father," I answered.  "I shall be ready."
+
+Accordingly, the next day, at the appointed hour, I joined him at the
+gate of the convent, and we set out--this time in silence, for he
+carried the Blessed Sacrament.  At first our course was through the
+open plain; but later it led, for perhaps a mile, across a corner of
+the pine forest, which extended all along the ridge and shut the valley
+in from the rest of the world.  We entered the wood confidently, and
+for half an hour followed the windings of the path, which gradually
+became less defined.  After a while it began to appear that we were
+making but little headway.
+
+Father Friday stopped.  "Does it not seem to you that we are merely
+going round and round, Tom?" he asked.
+
+I assented gloomily.
+
+"Have you a compass?"
+
+I shook my head.
+
+"Nor have I," he added.  "I did not think of bringing one, being so
+sure of the way.  How could we have turned from it so inadvertently?
+Well, we must calculate by the sun.  The point for which we are bound
+is in a southerly direction."
+
+Having taken our bearings, we retraced our steps a short distance, then
+pushed forward for an hour or more, without coming out upon the
+bridle-path which we expected to find.  Another hour passed; the sun
+was getting high.  Father Friday paused again.
+
+"What time is it?" he inquired.
+
+I looked at the little silver watch my mother gave me when I left home.
+"Nine o'clock!" I answered, with a start.
+
+"How unfortunate!" he exclaimed.  "There is now no use in pressing on
+farther.  We should arrive too late at our destination.  We may as well
+rest a little, and then try to find our way home.  It is unaccountable
+that I should have missed the way so stupidly."
+
+But it was one thing to order a retreat, as we soldiers would call it,
+and quite another to go back by the route we had come.  We followed
+first one track and then another; but the underbrush grew thicker and
+thicker, and at length the conviction was forced upon us that we were
+completely astray.  I climbed a tree--it was no easy task, as any one
+who has ever attempted to climb a pine will agree.  I got up some
+distance, after a fashion; but the branches were so thick and the trees
+so close together that there was nothing to be discerned, except that I
+was surrounded by what seemed miles of green boughs, which swayed in
+the breeze, making me think of the waves of an emerald sea.
+
+I scrambled down and submitted my discouraging report.  The sun was now
+overhead: it must therefore be noon.  We began to feel that even a
+frugal meal would be welcome.  I had managed to get a cup of coffee
+before leaving my quarters; but Father Friday, I suspected, had taken
+nothing.  We succeeded in finding some berries here and there; and,
+farther on, a spring of water.  However, this primitive fare was of
+little avail to satisfy one's appetite.
+
+Well, after wandering about, and shouting and hallooing till we were
+tired, in the effort to attract the attention of any one who might
+chance to be in the vicinity, we rested at the foot of a tree.  Father
+Friday recited some prayers, to which I made the responses.  Then he
+withdrew a little, and read his Office as serenely as if he were in the
+garden of the convent; while I, weary and disheartened, threw myself on
+the ground and tried again to determine by the sun where we were.  I
+must have fallen asleep; for the next thing I knew the sun was
+considerably lower, and Father Friday was waiting to make another start.
+
+"How strange," he kept repeating as we proceeded, "that we should be so
+entirely astray in a wood only a few miles in extent, and within such a
+short distance from home!  It is most extraordinary.  I cannot
+understand it."
+
+It was, indeed, singular; but I was too dispirited to speculate upon
+the subject.  Soldier though I prided myself upon being, and strong,
+active fellow that I certainly was, Father Friday was as far ahead of
+me in his endurance of the hardship of our position as in everything
+else.
+
+Dusk came, and we began to fear that we should have to remain where we
+were all night.  Again I climbed a tree, hoping to catch a glimpse of a
+light somewhere.  All was dark, however; and I was about to descend
+when--surely there was a faint glimmer yonder!  As the diver peers amid
+the depths of the sea in search of buried jewels, so I eagerly looked
+down among the green branches.  Yes, now it became a ray, and probably
+shone from some dwelling in the heart of the wood.  I called the good
+news to Father Friday.
+
+"_Deo gratias_!" he exclaimed.  "Where is it?"
+
+"Over there," said I, pointing in the direction of the light.
+
+I got to the ground as fast as I could, and we made our way toward it.
+Soon we saw it plainly, glowing among the trees; and, following its
+guidance, soon came to a cleared space, where stood a rude log cabin,
+in front of which burned a fire of pine knots.  Before it was a man of
+the class which the darkies were wont to designate as "pore white
+trash."  He was a tall, gawky countryman, rawboned, with long, unkempt
+hair.  His homespun clothes were decidedly the worse for wear; his
+trousers were tucked into the tops of his heavy cowhide boots, and
+perched upon his head was the roughest of home-woven straw-hats.
+
+At the sound of our footsteps he turned, and to say that he was
+surprised at our appearance would but ill describe his amazement.
+Father Friday speedily assured him that we were neither raiders nor
+bush-rangers, but simply two very hungry wanderers who had been astray
+in the woods all day.
+
+"Wa-all now, strangers, them is raither hard lines," said the man,
+good-naturedly.  "Jest make yerselves ter home hyere ternight, an' in
+the mornin' I'll put yer on the right road to A------.  Lors, but yer
+must a-had a march!  Been purty much all over the woods, I
+reckon.--Mirandy!" he continued, calling to some one inside the cabin.
+"Mirandy!"
+
+"I'm a-heedin', Josh.  What's the matter?" inquired a _scrawny_,
+sandy-haired woman, coming to the door, with her arms akimbo.  "Mussy
+me!" she ejaculated upon seeing us.
+
+"Hyere's two folks as has got lost in this hyere forest, an' is plum
+tired out an' powerful hongry," explained her husband.
+
+"Mussy me!" she repeated, eyeing my blue coat askance, and regarding
+Father Friday with suspicious wonder.  She had never seen a uniform
+like that long black cassock.  To which side did he belong, Federal or
+Confederate?
+
+"Mirandy's Secesh, but I'm for the Union," explained Josh, with a wink
+to us.  "Sometimes we have as big a war as any one cyares ter see,
+right hyere, on 'ccount of it.  But, Lors, Mirandy, yer ain't a-goin'
+ter quarrel with a man 'cause the color of his coat ain't ter yer
+likin' when he ain't had a bite of vittles terday!"
+
+"No, I ain't," answered the woman, stolidly.  Glancing again at Father
+Friday's kind face, she added, more graciously: "Wa-all, yer jest in
+the nick of time; the hoe-cake's nyearly done, and we war about havin'
+supper.  Hey, Josh?"
+
+"Sartain sure," said Josh, ushering us into the kitchen, which was the
+principal room of the cabin, though a door at the side apparently led
+into a smaller one adjoining.  He made us sit down at the table, and
+Mirandy placed the best her simple larder afforded before us.
+
+As we went out by the fire again, our host said, with some
+embarrassment: "Now, strangers, I know ye're fagged out, an' for sure
+ye're welcome to the tiptop of everythin' we've got.  But I'm blessed
+if I can tell whar ye're a-goin' ter sleep ternight.  We've company,
+yer see, in the leetle room yonder; an' that's the only place we've got
+ter offer, ordinar'ly."
+
+Father Friday hastened to reassure him.  "I propose to establish myself
+outside by the fire.  What could be better?" said he.
+
+Father Friday, you remember, had the Blessed Sacrament with him; and I
+knew that, weary as he was, he would pass the night in prayer.
+
+"I am actually too tired to sleep now," I began.  "But when I am
+inclined to do so, what pleasanter resting-place could a soldier desire
+than a bit of ground strewn with pine needles?"
+
+"Wa-all, I allow I'm glad yer take it the right way," declared Josh;
+then, growing loquacious, he continued: "Fact is, this is mighty
+cur'ous company of ourn--"
+
+"Josh, come hyere a minute, can't yer?" called Mirandy from within.
+
+"Sartain," he answered, breaking off abruptly, and leaving us to
+conjecture who the mysterious visitor might be.
+
+
+
+II.
+
+"Yes, I allow I'm right glad yer don't mind passin' the night out hyere
+by the fire," said Josh, taking up the thread of the conversation again
+upon his return, shortly after.  "Wa-all, I was a-tellin' about this
+queer company of ourn.  Came unexpected, same as you did; 'peared all
+of a sudden out of the woods.  It's a leetle girl, sirs; says she's
+twelve year old, but small of her age--nothin' but a child, though I
+reckon life's used her hard, pore creetur!  Yer should a-seen her when
+she 'rived.  Her shoes war most wore off with walkin', an' her purty
+leetle feet all blistered an' sore.  Mirandy 'marked to me arterward
+that her gown war a good deal tore with comin' through the brambles,
+though she'd tried to tidy it up some by pinnin' the rents together
+with thorns.  But, land sakes, I did not take notice of that: my eyes
+were jest fastened on her peaked face.  White as a ghost's, sirs; an'
+her dull-lookin', big black eyes, that stared at us, yet didn't seem
+ter see nothin'.
+
+"Wa-all, that's the way the leetle one looked when she stepped out of
+the shadders.  Mirandy was totin' water from the spring yonder, an'
+when she see her she jest dropped the bucket an' screamed--thought it
+was a spook, yer know.  I war a-pilin' wood on the fire, an' when the
+girl saw me she shrank back a leetle; but when she ketched sight o'
+Mirandy she 'peared to muster up courage, tuk a step forward, an' then
+sank down all in a heap, with a kinder moan, right by the bench thar.
+She 'peared miserable 'nough, I can tell yer: bein' all of a shiver an'
+shake, with her teeth chatterin' like a monkey's.
+
+"Mirandy stood off, thinkin' the creetur was wild or half-witted,
+likely; but I says: 'Bullets an' bombshells, Mirandy'--escuse me,
+gentlemen, but that's a good, strong-soundin' espression, that relieves
+my feelin's good as a swear word,--bullets an' bombshells, woman, don't
+yer see the girl's all broke up with the ague?'--'Why, sur 'nough!'
+cried she, a-comin' to her senses.  'I'd oughter known a chill with
+half an eye; an' sartain this beats all I ever saw,'  With that she
+went over an' tuk the girl in her arms, an' sot her on the bench,
+sayin', 'You pore honey, you!  Whar'd you come from?'  At this the
+leetle one began to cry--tried to speak, then started to cry again.
+'Wa-all, never mind a-talkin' about it now,' says Mirandy, settin' to
+quiet her, an' pettin' an' soothin' her in a way that I wouldn't
+a-believed of Mirandy if I hadn't a-seen it; for she hasn't had much to
+tetch the soft spot in her heart sence our leetle Sallie died, which is
+nigh onto eight year ago.  'Come, Josh,' she called ter me, 'jest you
+carry this hyere child inter the house an' lay her on the bed.  I
+reckon she can have the leetle room, an' you can sleep in the kitchen
+ternight.'--'I'm agreeable,' answers I; so I picked her up (she war as
+limp an' docile as could be), an' carried her in, an' put her down on
+the bed.  That was three weeks come Sunday, an' thar she's been ever
+since."
+
+Our host had finished his story, yet how much remained untold!  All the
+care and kindness which the stranger had received at the hands of these
+good simple people was passed over in silence, as if not worth
+mentioning.
+
+Josh rose and went to the fire to relight his brier-wood pipe, which
+had gone out during the recital.
+
+"And is the little girl still very ill?" asked Father Friday, with
+gentle concern.
+
+"Yes; an' the trouble is, she gets wus an' wus," was the reply.  "The
+complaint's taken a new turn lately.  She's been in a ragin' fever an'
+kind of flighty most of the time.  Yer see, she'd had a sight of
+trouble afore she broke down, an' that's what's drivin' her distracted.
+She'd lost her folks somewhar way down South,--got separated from them
+in the hurly-burly of a flight from a captured town; an', childlike,
+she set about travellin' afoot all over the land to find them.  How she
+got through the lines I can't make out, unless she got round 'em some
+way, comin' through the woods.  Anyway she's here, and likely never to
+get any farther in her search, pore honey!  But what's her name, or who
+her people are, is more nor I can say; for, cur'ous as it seems, she
+has plum forgotten these two things.
+
+"Thar's another matter, too, that bothers us some.  She keeps a-callin'
+for somebody, an' beggin' an' prayin' us not to let her die without
+somethin', in a way that would melt the heart of a rock.  It makes me
+grow hot an' then cold all in a minute, jest a-listenin' to her.
+To-day she war plum out of her head, an' war goin' to get right up an'
+go off through the woods after it herself.  Mirandy had a terrible time
+with her; an' it wasn't till she got all wore out from sheer weakness
+that she quieted down an' fell asleep, jest a leetle before yer
+'peared, strangers.  What it is she keeps entreatin' an' beseechin' for
+we never can make out, though I'd cut my hand off to get it for her,
+she's sech a patient, grateful leetle soul.  But"--Josh started up; a
+sudden hope had dawned upon him as he looked across at Father Friday's
+strong, kind face--"perhaps you could tell.  Bullets an' bombshells,
+that's a lucky idee!  I'll go an' ask Mirandy about it."
+
+That any one was ill or disquieted in mind was a sufficient appeal to
+the sympathy and zeal of Father Friday.  He put his hand to his breast
+a moment, and I knew that he was praying for the soul so sorely tried.
+
+In a few moments Josh returned, saying, "Mirandy says the leetle girl
+is jest woke up, an' seems uncommon sensible an' clear-headed.  Perhaps
+if yer war ter ask her now, she could tell yer it all plain."
+
+Father Friday rose, and I followed too, as the man led the way to the
+little room, the door of which was immediately opened by his wife, who
+motioned to us to enter.  Never shall I forget the sight that greeted
+my eyes.  Upon the bed lay a childish form, with a small, refined face,
+the pallor of which was intensified by contrast with the large dark
+eyes, that now had a half startled, expectant, indescribable
+expression.  The sufferer had evidently reached the crisis of a
+malarial fever; reason had returned unclouded; but from that strange,
+bright look, I felt that there was no hope of recovery.
+
+How shall I find words to portray what followed!  The others waited
+beside the door; but Father Friday advanced a few steps, then paused,
+so as not to frighten her by approaching abruptly.  As he stood there
+in his cassock, with his hand raised in benediction, and wearing, as I
+knew, the Blessed Sacrament upon his breast, I realized more fully than
+ever before the grandeur of the priestly mission to humanity.  The
+girl's roving glance was arrested by the impressive figure; but how
+little were any of us prepared for the effect upon her!  The dark eyes
+lighted up with joyful recognition, her cheek flushed, and with a glad
+cry she started up, exclaiming, "Thank God, my prayer is granted!  God
+has sent a priest to me before I die!"
+
+Had a miracle been wrought before us we could not have been more
+astounded.  Instinctively I fell upon my knees.  Mirandy followed my
+example; and Josh looked as if he would like to do so too, but was not
+quite sure how to manage it.
+
+Father Friday drew nearer.
+
+"I knew you would come, Father," she continued, with a happy smile.
+"This is what I have prayed for ever since I have been lying here.  I
+thought you would come to-day; for since early morning I have been
+imploring the Blessed Virgin to obtain this favor for me."
+
+She sank back on the pillow exhausted, but after a few minutes revived
+once more.
+
+It was apparent, however, that there was no time to be lost.  I
+beckoned Josh and his wife out into the kitchen, and left Father Friday
+to hear her confession.  Soon he recalled us.  I have but to close my
+eyes to see it all as if it were yesterday: the altar hastily arranged
+upon a small deal table; the flickering tallow dips, the only light to
+do homage to the divine Guest; the angelic expression of the dying girl
+as she received the Holy Viaticum.
+
+After that we all withdrew, Father Friday and I going out by the fire
+again.  He resumed his breviary, and I remained silently musing upon
+all that had passed within the last hour.  After a few moments he
+paused, with, his finger and thumb between the leaves of the book, and
+looked toward me.  I hastened to avail of the opportunity to speak my
+thoughts.
+
+"This, then, is the meaning of our strange wandering in the woods all
+day, Father," said I.  "You were being providentially led from the path
+and guided to the bedside of this poor girl, that she might not die
+without the consolations of religion."
+
+"I cannot but believe so," he replied, gravely.  "We missionaries
+witness strange things sometimes.  And what wonder?  Is not the mercy
+of God as great, the intercession of Mary as powerful, as ever?  To me
+this incident is but another beautiful example of the efficacy of
+prayer."
+
+Before long Father Friday was again summoned within, and thus all night
+he watched and prayed beside the resigned little sufferer, whose life
+was slipping so fast away.  In the grey of the early morning she died.
+
+"Mussy me, I feel like I'd lost one of my own!" sobbed Mirandy.
+
+"Yes, it's cur'ous how fond of her we grew; though she jest lay there
+so uncomplainin', an' never took much notice of nothin'," said Josh,
+drawing his brawny arm across his eyes.
+
+An hour later he led the way before Father Friday and myself, and
+conducted us to the bridle-path, which joined the turnpike several
+miles below the town.  By noon we were safely at home.
+
+Two days after, however, I again accompanied Father Friday to the
+forest, when, with blessing, the little wanderer was laid to rest among
+the pines.  One thing he had vainly tried to discover.  Though during
+that night her mind had been otherwise clear and collected, memory had
+utterly failed upon one point: she could not remember her name.  As we
+knew none to put upon the rude cross which we placed to mark her grave,
+Father Friday traced on the rough wood, with paint made by Josh from
+burnt vine twigs, the simple inscription: "A Child of Mary."
+
+
+
+
+HANGING MAY-BASKETS.
+
+I.
+
+"I am so glad May-day is coming!" exclaimed Ellen Moore.  "What sport
+we shall have hanging May-baskets!"
+
+"What do you mean?" inquired Frances, who lived in Pennsylvania, but
+had come to New England to visit her cousins.
+
+"Never heard of May-baskets?" continued Ellen, in astonishment.  "Do
+you not celebrate the 1st of May in Ridgeville?"
+
+"Of course.  Sometimes we go picking wild flowers; and at St. Agnes'
+Academy, where I go to school, they always have a lovely procession in
+honor of the Blessed Virgin."
+
+"We have one too, in the church," replied Ellen; "but hanging
+May-baskets is another thing altogether--"
+
+"That is where the fun and frolic come in," interrupted Joe, looking up
+from the miniature boat which he was whittling out with his jackknife.
+
+"You see," explained Ellen, "the afternoon before we make up a party,
+and go on a long jaunt up hill and down dale, through the woods and
+over the meadows, picking all the spring blossoms we can find.
+Finally, we come home with what we have succeeded in getting, and put
+them in water to keep fresh for the following day.  Then what an
+excitement there is hunting up baskets for them!  Tiny ones are best,
+because with them you can make the flowers go farther.  Strawberry
+baskets--the old-fashioned ones with a handle--are nice, especially if
+you paint or gild them.  Burr baskets are pretty too; and those made of
+fir cones.  Joe has a knack of putting such things together.  He made
+some elegant ones for me last year."
+
+"Are you trying to kill two birds with one stone?" asked her brother,
+with a laugh.  "Your compliment is also a hint that you would like me
+to do the same now, I suppose?"
+
+"I never kill birds," rejoined Ellen, taking the literal meaning of his
+words, for the purpose of chaffing him.  "Nor do you; for you told me
+the other day you did not understand how some boys could be so cruel."
+
+"No, but you do not mind their being killed if you want their wings for
+your hat," continued Joe, in a bantering tone.
+
+"Not at all," said Ellen, triumphantly.  "In future I am going to wear
+only ribbons and artificial flowers on my _chapeau_.  I have joined the
+Society for the Prevention of the Destruction of the Native Birds of
+America."
+
+"Whew!" ejaculated Joe, with a prolonged whistle.  "What a name!  I
+should think that by the time you got to the end of it you'd be so old
+that you wouldn't care any more for feathers and fixings.  I suppose it
+is a good thing though," he went on, more seriously.  "It is just as
+cruel to kill birds for the sake of fashion as it is for the
+satisfaction of practising with a sling; only you girls have somebody
+to do it for you; and you don't think about it, because you can just
+step into a store and buy the plumes--"
+
+"But what about the May-baskets?" protested Frances, disappointed at
+the digression.
+
+"Oh, I forgot!" said Ellen.  "Bright and early May-morning almost every
+boy and girl in the village is up and away.  The plan is to hang a
+basket of wild flowers at the door of a friend, ring the bell or rattle
+the latch, and then scamper off as fast as you can.  You have to be
+very spry so as to be back at home when your own baskets begin to
+arrive; then you must be quick to run out and, if possible, catch the
+friend who knocks, and thus find out whom to thank for the flowers."
+
+"How delightful!" cried Frances, charmed at the prospect.
+
+"It is so strange that you did not know about it!" added Ellen.
+
+"Not at all," said Mrs. Moore, who had come out on the veranda where
+the young folks were chatting,--Frances swinging in the hammock, Ellen
+ensconced in a rustic chair with her fancy-work, and Joe leaning
+against a post, and still busy whittling.  "Not at all," repeated
+Ellen's mother.  "In America it is but little observed outside of the
+Eastern States.  This is one of the beautiful traditionary customs of
+Catholic England, which even those austere Puritans, the Pilgrims,
+could not entirely divest themselves of; though among them it lost its
+former significance.  Perhaps it was the gentle Rose Standish or fair
+Priscilla, or some other winsome and good maiden of the early colonial
+days, who transplanted to New England this poetic practice, sweet as
+the fragrant pink and white blossoms of the trailing arbutus, which is
+especially used to commemorate it.  In Great Britain, though, it may
+have originated in the observances of the festivals which ushered in
+the spring.  On the introduction of Christianity it was retained, and
+continued up to within two or three hundred years,--no doubt as a
+graceful manner of welcoming the Month of Our Lady.  That it was
+considered a means of honoring the Blessed Virgin, as well as of
+expressing mutual kindness and good-will, we can see; since English
+historians tell us that up to the sixteenth century it was usual to
+adorn not only houses and gateways, but also the doors as well as the
+interior of churches, with boughs and flowers; particularly the
+entrances to shrines dedicated to the Mother of God."
+
+"And the 1st of May will be the day after to-morrow!" remarked Frances,
+coming back to the present.
+
+"Yes.  And to-morrow, right after school--that will be about three
+o'clock, you know,--we shall start on our tramp," said Ellen.  "As you
+do not have to go to school, Frances, you will be able to prepare the
+baskets during the morning.  Come into the house with me now, and I'll
+show you some which I have put away."
+
+
+
+II.
+
+The next afternoon many merry companies of young people explored the
+country round about Hazelton in quest of May-flowers.  That in which we
+are interested numbered Frances, Ellen, her brother Joe, their little
+sister Teresa, and their other cousins, Elsie and Will Grey.
+
+"I generally have to join another band," Ellen confided to Frances, as
+they walked along in advance of the rest; "because Joe does not usually
+care to go.  He is very good about making the baskets for me; but, as
+he says, he 'don't take much stock in hanging them.'  Yet, to-day he
+seems to be as anxious to get a quantity of the prettiest flowers as
+any one.  Will comes now because Joe does.  But Joe has some notion in
+his head.  I wish I could find out what it is!"
+
+Frances speculated upon the subject a few minutes; but, not being able
+to afford any help toward solving the riddle, she speedily forgot it in
+the pleasure of rambling through the fields, so newly green that the
+charm of novelty lingered like dew upon them; and among the lanes,
+redolent with the perfume of the first cherry blossoms,--for the season
+was uncommonly advanced.
+
+Before long everybody began to notice how eager Joe was in his search.
+
+"What are you going to do with all your posies?" queried Will,
+twittingly.
+
+"They must be for Frances," declared Elsie.
+
+"Maybe he is going to give them to Aunt Anna Grey," ventured Teresa.
+
+"Perhaps to mother," hazarded Ellen.
+
+"Yes: some for mother," admitted Joe; "and the others for--don't you
+wish you knew!"  And Joe's eyes danced roguishly as he darted off to a
+patch of violets.
+
+"He has some project.  What can it be?" soliloquized Ellen, looking
+after him.
+
+Joe, unconscious of her gaze, was bending over the little blue flowers,
+and humming an air which the children had learned a few days before.
+
+"That tune is so catchy I can't get it out of my mind," he remarked to
+Will.
+
+Suddenly Ellen started up.  "I know!" she said to herself.  Then for a
+time she was silent, flitting to and fro with a smile upon her lips,
+her thoughts as busy as her fingers.  "Ha, Master Joe!  I believe we'll
+all try that plan!" she exclaimed at length, laughing at the idea of
+the surprise in store for him.  Presently she glanced toward Teresa and
+Elsie, who were loitering under a tree, talking in a low tone.  Ellen
+laughed again.  "Those two children are always having secrets about
+nothing at all," mused she.
+
+Ellen was a lively girl, and greatly enjoyed a joke.  After a while,
+when she discovered Elsie alone, she whispered something to her.  The
+little girl's brown eyes grew round with interest.  She nodded once or
+twice, murmuring, "Yes, yes!"
+
+"And you must not breathe a word of it to anybody--not even to Teresa!"
+said Ellen.
+
+"Oh, no!" said Elsie, quite flattered that such a big girl should
+confide in her.
+
+Then--ah, merry Ellen!--did she not go herself and tell Teresa,
+charging her also not to reveal it?  Later she took occasion to say a
+word to Frances upon the same topic.
+
+"Splendid!" cried the latter.  "I'll not speak of it, I promise you."
+
+Finally, Ellen suggested the very same thing to Will, who chuckled,
+looked at Joe, and asked:
+
+"Are you sure you're on the right track?"
+
+"You'll see if I'm not!" replied Ellen.
+
+"Well, all I say is," he went on, condescendingly, "you've hit upon a
+capital scheme; and you may bet your boots on it that I won't do
+anything to spoil it."
+
+The girl looked down at her strong but shapely shoes (she was a bit
+vain of her neat foot), and thought that she would not be so unladylike
+as to 'bet her boots' on anything.  But, as Will's observation was
+entirely impersonal, and intended as a pledge that he would follow her
+instructions, she made no comment.  Moreover, she had now brought about
+the state of affairs which she had mischievously designed.   Each of
+the party except Joe supposed that he or she had a secret with Ellen
+which the others knew nothing about; to each she had whispered her
+conjecture regarding Joe's purpose, and planned that they, the two of
+them, should please him by joining in it, without intimating their
+intention to him or any one.  What a general astonishment and amusement
+there would be when it came out that all had known what each had been
+enjoying as a secret!
+
+Meantime they had been active, and each had gathered a fair quantity of
+pretty flowers--arbutus, violets, anemones, and cherry blooms; to which
+Teresa and Elsie insisted upon adding buttercups and even dandelions.
+Now the sun was going down, and they gaily turned their steps toward
+home.
+
+
+
+III.
+
+"A happy May-day!" the children called to one another the next morning,
+as they set out, at a very early hour, upon their pleasant round of
+floral gift-leaving.  Before doing so, however, each had held a special
+conference with Ellen.
+
+"Yes, I've managed it.  Won't everybody be surprised?" she quietly
+agreed again and again.  And yet _how_ surprised everybody would be
+only sportive Ellen knew.
+
+At half-past seven they reassembled for breakfast, which Elsie and Will
+took with their cousins.  What a comparing of notes there was during
+the meal!  Teresa had been caught hanging a basket at her little
+friend, Mollie Emerson's.  Will's mother had seen him dodging round the
+corner after fastening one on the front gate for her.
+
+"O Joe! what did you do with that beautiful basket you arranged with so
+much care,--the large one with the freshest flowers, I mean?" asked
+Frances, with an ingenious air.
+
+"Never mind!" answered Joe laconically, helping himself to another
+glass of milk.
+
+Everyone stole a knowing look at Ellen, without noticing that everyone
+else was doing so; but that young lady imperturbably buttered a second
+muffin, and studiously fixed her eyes on the tablecloth.
+
+"Come, there is the Mass bell ringing!" called Mr. Moore from the hall.
+A stampede followed.  To be late for Mass on May-day would be
+inexcusable.
+
+Shortly afterward, our friends filed into the Moore's family pew in the
+village church.  As Joe knelt down he turned his gaze with a gentle,
+happy expression to the Blessed Virgin's shrine.  The next moment he
+started, and cast a glance of pleased inquiry toward Ellen.  His sister
+smiled back at him, then bowed her head to recover her gravity.
+Hanging from the altar-rail, directly before the statue of Our Lady,
+was Joe's handsomest May-basket, just as he knew it would be; for he
+had fastened it there himself the first thing in the morning.  But
+there also were five other pretty baskets,--the offering which each of
+his sisters and cousins had made, unknown to one another.  The pleasant
+discovery created a momentary flutter in the pew, but that was
+all--then.
+
+So this was Ellen's surprise!  Each silently admitted that it was a
+good one.  When they left the church, however, they had a merry time
+over it.
+
+"But, Ellen, how did you know what I was going to do with my basket?"
+asked Joe at last.
+
+"I didn't until I heard you humming the new May hymn which we learned
+last Sunday," replied Ellen; "that reminded me of what mother said
+about the old May customs.  I wondered if you were thinking of this
+too, and presently it all flashed upon me."
+
+"Well, if you are not a true Yankee at guessing!" was his only answer.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Apples, Ripe and Rosy, Sir
+by Mary Catherine Crowley
+
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