Flaxie Growing Up - Forgotten Books and pricking her ﬁnger, all in a sec ond Of time! W/zo I did n...

FRIZ ZLE STORIES

FLAXIEGROWINGUP

S O P H IE MAY

AUTHO R O F LITTLE PRUDY STO R IES DOTTY D IMPLE STO R IESLITTLE PRUDY’S FLYAWAY STORIES ETC

i llustratc’

u

BO STO N 1 89 5

LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERSl o M ILK STREET NEXT THE O LD SOUTH MFE

'

I'

ING HOUSE

Copyr ight ,

1 884,

BY LEE AND SHEPARD.

All Rights Reser ved.

FLAXIE GROWING UP.

C O N T EN T S.

CHAPTER PAGE

I. PUN ISHING ETHEL

II. A SKING FO R“ s

III. THE SI’ELLING SC IIO OL

IV . TumMIN ISTERS J O KE

V . CHINESE bADIEs

VI. O LD BLUFF

VII. CAMP C O MFO RT

V I I I . PUDDING AND P IES

IX. THE HAILST O RM

X. M i ss PIKE’

S STORY

XI. DIN ING O UT

XII. CHRISTMAS AT OLD BLUFF

FLAXIE GROWING UP.

CHAPTER I .

P U N I S H I N G ET HE L .

STOP , Ethel , sa id Mary G ray authori ta

t iv ely,“ s top th i s moment , you are skippi ng

note s .

The ch i ld obeyed glad ly: for mus ic was byno means a pass ion with he r, and she espe

cially d is l iked pract i s ing when Mary’

s sharp

eye was Upon her .

“ I ’m obl iged t o be severe w ith you, Eth el ,

for i t never wi l l do to al l ow you t o play care

l ess ly . You are worse than usual th i s morn

ing, becau se Kit tyleen i s wa it i ng i n the

d in ing - room . I t ’s very unfortunate that

8 FLAXIE GROW ING UP .

Ki t tyleen has to come here in your prae

t is ing hou r, anJ i t makes i t pre tty hard for

me ; but what do you thi nk or care about

t h at ? If you ever learn t o play decent ly,

Ethel G ray ,'

t wi ll be e nt i rely owing to me ,

and your teacher says so . There ! run Off

now and pl ay with K i t tyleen ; but , remem

be r, you’l l have to fin ish your pract i s ing

th i s afternoon .

”

Ethel made her escape , and Mary seated

herself i n the bay-window at her sewing with

a deep s igh Of respon sibi l i ty . Her mother

was i l l ; jul ia, the eldes t of the fam ily , was

confined to her room with headache , and the

ch i ldren had been l eft i n Mary’

s care th i s

morn ing with st r i ct charges to Obey her.

“ The Ch ild ren ” were Ph il ip , a boy Of

e igh t and a hal f, and Ethel , a l i t t l e girl

nearly s ix ; but as Ph il was now skat ing on

th e pond , and Ethe l playi ng dOlls i n the

PUNISIIING ETHEL . 9

d in ing-room wi th her young fr iend, K i t tyleen

Garland,Mary was free to pursue her own

thought s , and he r work was soon lyi ng id ly

in her lap, wh ile she l ooked out Of the wi n

dow upon the wh it e fron t yard fac ing the

r iver .

There was no one i n the room wi th he r

but he r grandmother,who sat kn it t ing i n

an easy -chai r before the gl owing coal fi re .

G randma G ray d id no t seem t o grow Old.

Father Time had not sto len away a s ingl e

one of her prec iou s graces . He had not

d immed her brigh t eyes or j arred her gentl e

voice ; th e wri nkl e s h e had brough t were

on ly “ rippl es ,” and th e gray hai r he had

gi ven her was l ike a beaut i fu l s i lve r crown .

G randma looked up from her kn it t i ng ;

Mary looked up from her sewing . The ir

eye s met , and th ey both sm iled .

“A penny for your though t s,my ch ild .

IO FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.

Oh,I was only th inking , grandma, i t does

seem as if someth i ng m ight be done to pre

vent people from cal l ing me Flaxie Frizzle

I ’m j ust worn out with i t . I t d id very wel l

when I was a l i t t l e ch i ld ; but now that I’m

twelve years Old, I ought to be t reated with

more respect . I t ’s very s i l ly to cal l peopl e

by anyth ing but the ir real,t rue names ;

don’t you think'

so ? Oh , here comes the

Countess Leonora ! cried Mary i n a d if

feren t t one , dropp ing her work , breaking her

needl e , and pri cking her finger, al l i n a sec

ond Of t ime !

W/zo I d id n ’

t understand you,dear .

Oh , i t’

s only Fanny Townsend , grandma .

We have fan cy names for each other,we

girl s, and Fanny’s name i s Countes s Leo

nora,'

cried Mary, quit e .unaware that there

was anyth ing “ s i l ly ” i n th is , or that grand

ma was amused by her incon s ist en t remarks.

PUN ISHI NG ETHEL . I I

The dear Old lady sm i l ed benevole nt ly as a

smal l figure in a brown cloak ru shed in,

breathl es s from runn ing . I t was not Fanny

Townsend and Mary G ray,i t seemed

,who

began to chat togethe r i n th e bay-window,

but th e Count es s Leonora, and h e r fri end ,

Lady Dandelina Tangl e . Lady Dandelina

was te l l i ng th e Countes s that her moth er

and s is te r were i l l,and that sh e was left i n

charge of th e cast l e .

“Don ’t you m is s you r brother Pres ton so

mac/z , Lady Dandelina ?

“ Indeed I do,Countess ; but young men

are obl iged to go t o col l ege , you know . And

_

I can bear i t bet t e r becau se my cous in , Fred

Al l en,of H il l top , i s wi th u s : He w il l s tay,

I don ’t know how long , and go to school . I

only wish i t was my s i s ter M il ly !”

SO do I , Lady Dandelina. Oh , I saw that

old teacher Of ours, Mr . Fl i ng, as I was

1 2 FLAXIE GRO \VING UP.

com ing here . He stood on the hotel -piazza

talking with M iss Pike .

Mr. Fl ing ? ” said Mary , l augh ing. She

had d ropped her work , for how could she

sew without a needle ?

“ Yes ; and said h e,‘How ’s your h eal th ,

Miss Fr-an -cc-s as i f I ’d been s i ck . I l ike

h im out Of school,Dandelina ; but i n school

he used to be sort Of hateful , don’t you

know ?

Not exactly hateful , repl ied Mary, s t eal

i ng a glance at grandma .

“ I call i t t roubl e

some .

”

“ Yes ; how he would scol d when we got

under th e seat t o eat appl es ? ”

Oh , I never“

ate but one appl e , Fan , I’m

sure I never d id . I was pret ty smal l th en ,

t oo . How queer i t i s t o th ink Of such Old

t imes !”

“Why, Flaxie,’

t was only l ast wi nter !

PUN ISHI NG ET llEL. 1 3

Are you su re Fan ? I though t ’t was

ever so l ong ago .

“Your rem in iscence s are very in teres t ing,

my dears,

” said grandma, r i s ing .

“ I wish I

could hear more,but I shal l be obl iged to go

up stai rs now, and leave you r pleasan t com

panyf’

As the serene Old lady passed out at on e

door, l i t t l e Ethel , very much exc i ted , ru shed

i n at another ; but the gi rl s , engrossed i n

conversat ion , d id not look up, and sh e s tood

for some t ime unheeded beh ind Mary’s cha i r.

“ I want t o ask you , Flaxie sh e said .

Mr . Fl ing and Mis s Pike were talk ing

abou t a spel l ing- sch ool,sai d Fanny , emerg

i ng from “ ol d t im es ” at a bound . She ’s

going to have an Old- fash ion ed one out i n her

school at Rosewood to morrow n igh t . ”

“ I wan t t o ask you , Flaxie repeated

Ethe l .

I4 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.

They choose s ides . ’ DO you know what

that i s ? ”

“NO , I’m sure I don’t . I wish Pres ton

was here,and h e ’d take me out i n th e

sle igh . Miss Pike woul d l et our fam ily go,

of cou rse .

”

I want t o ask you said l i t t l e Ethel

agai n .

“Why,Eth el , ch ild , I th ought you were

in th e oth er room,

” said Mary impat ien t ly .

“ Don ’t you see,I wan t to h ear about th e

spel l i ng- school ; and i t’s so th ough tful and

ki nd Of l i t t l e gi rl s t o g ive big girl s a chance

t o speak !

But next moment,ashamed O f her il l

natu re,and remembering her maternal re

spon s ibi l i ty , sh e d rew Eth el t o h e r s ide and

ki ssed her .

“Wait a m inute , Leonora, t i l l we find ou t

what th is means , sa id sh e , surpri sed t o see

PUN I SHI NG ETHEL . 1 5

he r usual ly qu iet l i t t l e s i ster i n th i s w i ld

st at e .

“ Tel l m e al l about i t , dear .

Thus encouraged , Ethel broke forth.

indig

nan t ly,“ K i t tyleen i s very d i sagreeabl e !

And bes ides,sh e knocked me down !

Fanny began to laugh . Oh , What a K i t

tyleen'

Hush,Fan

,said Mary

,warn i ngly, draw

ing up he r mouth l ike grandma’

s s i lk work

pocket . “ I t does n ’

t seem poss ibl e , Ethe l .

I neve r heard Of Kit tyleen’

s behaving

so before . What had you done to vex

her ?

“ I —I — knocked her down — fi rst , con

fessed Ethel , i n l ow, fal teri ng tones .

And Fanny laughed agai n .

“ Fanny Townsend,do be qu iet . I have

the care Of th i s ch i ld to-day . Ethel , where

i s K i t tyleen ?”

Gone home.

16 FLAXIE GROW IN G UP.

Ah . Ethel , Ethel , i t wil l be my duty to

pun ish you . Fanny, can you be qu iet ?”

You pun ish her ? Oh dear, that’s too

funny ! ”

Yes,I have full authority to pun ish her

if I choose, sa id Mary, el evat ing her ch in .

She was subj ect to l i t t l e at tacks Of d ig

n i ty ; but i n s tead Of be ing'

duly impressed ,

Fanny only l aughed the more,whi le shame

faced l i t tl e Eth el h id h er h ead and fel t that

she was t rifled with .

May I ask what amuses you , Miss Town

send ? ” said Mary, with increased d ign i ty .

“ Oh don ’t , Oh dear, what shal l I do ?

You ’re so queer,Flaxie Frizzl e !

“Wel l , i f you go on in th i s way, I shal l be

obliged , t o t ake Eth el ou t Of t he room .

Have you nO j udgment a ! a ll, Fanny Town

send ?

“Oh dear,'

oh dear, I shal l d i e laugh ing !

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

1 8 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.

t o -morrow,and J ul ia could then att end to

Ethe l ; but Mary was qu i te su re i t would

not do to wai t an hour or a m inute ; th e

case must be at t ended t o now.

“ I t i s my

duty,and I wil l not sh ri nk from i t . I ’

l l

t ry t o act exact ly as mamma always does ,

not harsh,but sad and gent le, Ethel , my

ch i ld , com e here .”

“ Don ’t want t o,said Ethel , approach ing

slowly and sul l en ly , drawing her l i t t l e chai r

beh ind her.

Not that way, dear mamma never al lows

you to go al l doubl ed up,d ragging your chair

l ike a snail with h is h ou se on h i s back .

There , s it down and t el l m e about i t . What

made you so naughty ?

My head aches . Don ’t wan t to talk .

Were you playing dol l s ?

Yes . Pep’

min t Drop i s j iggly and won’t

si t up .

”

PUN ISHING ETHEL . 1 9

Pepperm int Drop,

i s very Old and has

rheumat i sm , Ethe l she was my dol ly before

eve r you were born .

“Wel l , my head ache s . Don ’t wan t t o

But you must talk . I ’m you r mother

to-day.

You ? Ethe l looked up sauc i ly, and

Mary fel t hal f i ncl i ned t o laugh ; but when

on e has the care Of a young ch i l d one must

be fi rm .

Ethel , l am you r mothe r to day. What

were you do ing w ith those dol l s ?

“ Noth ing ! K it tyleen pul l ed Off Pep ’

mint’s arm .

Yes , and then ?

Then she was cros s .

NO, no . What d id you do to her ?

T ipped he r over . ”

Ethe l Ethel !

20 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.

Well,she t ipped me over too .

Th is i s perfect ly dreadful excl aimed

Mary,as sol emnly as if she had neve r heard

it before . And then she sat i n deep thought .

What would mamma have done i n th i s case ?

Did Ethe l’s head ache ? Poss ibly . Her

cheeks looked hot . Mamma was t ender of

the ch i ld ren when they were i l l , and perhaps

would not approve of shutt ing Ethel i n the

closet if she had taken cold .

“ Ethel , said Mary i n natural ton es , “ I ’m

going to be very sweet and gentle . You ’ve

been ext remely t o blame , but perhaps K i t ty

leen may forgive you if you ask her . ”

H’

m ! Don’t want her t o '

What Don ’t want h er to forgive you ?i

NO , I don’t K i t tyleen was bad herself !

But you were bad fi rst , Ethel .

H’

m ! I f I ask her t o forg ive me she ’l l

th ink sh e was good

PUN ISHI NG ETHEL . 2 1

Mary looked at stubborn Ethe l sorrowful ly.

Oh , how hard i t was t o make ch ild ren repent

Perhaps I ’d bett e r l eave her by herse lf

t o th i nk . Mamma does t/zot somet im es .

Then aloud ! “Ethel , I’m now go ing into

the“k i tchen , and I wish you to s i t here and

th i nk t i l l I come back.

“NO , you must n’t ; my mamma won

'

t

al l ow you to shu t me up , Flaxie !”

“ But I ’m not shut t ing you up ; I on ly

leave you to th ink .

Don’

t kn ow how to th ink .

Yes, you do , Ethel , you th i nk every t im e

you wink .

“ Well , may I wink at th e cl ock th en ?

asked th e ch ild,re l en t ing

,for i t was one of

her del igh t s t o s i t and watch th e m inute-hand

stea l slowlv ove r th e cl ock’s wh i t e face .

Ye s .

“ e ! may, -f yo u

’

ll keep saying ove r

and over, wh il e i t t icks , ‘I’

ve been a naugh ty

22 FLAXII'

. GROW I NG UP.

girl — a naugh ty gi rl ; mamma’

ll be sorry ,

mamma ’

ll be sorry .

’

“Well I wil l , but hurry , Flaxie ; don’t be

gone long.

In fi ft een m inute s Mary returned to find

th e ch i ld i n the same spot ; her eyes p inker

than ever wi th weeping .

“ Just the way I used t o look when mamma

left we alone ,” th ough t Mary, encou raged .

Well, Eth el , with a grown -up fold ing of

the hands wh i ch woul d h ave convul sed

Fanny Townsend .

“Well , have you been

thi nking , dear ?”

“Yes,and I ’l l t el l mamma about i t ; I

shan ’t tel l you .

Mamma is very s ick , my ch i ld .

Then I ’l l t el l N inny .

” N i nny was the

chi ld ren’s pet name for J ul ia .

“NO , N i nny has a headache . I ’m you r

mamma th i s afternoon . And I won’t be

PUNISHING ETHEL.— PAGE 1 7 .

24 FLAXIE GROW ING UP.

Ethel meant j ust th i s ,‘ no

,more, no l e ss .

She was sorry ; st i l l , i f sh e had done wrong

so had Ki t tyleen i f sh e'

needed forgiveness

K it tyleen needed i t al so .

Now,put someth ing in the co rner, said

sh e,l ooking on anxiously

,as Mary d irected

the envelope .

“ You always put someth ing

i n the co rner Of your notes , Flaxie ; I’ve

seen you,and seen you .

“Do I ? Oh yes , somet imes I put ‘k ind

ness O f Ethel ’ i n the corner,but that i s

when you carry th e not e .

“ Put i t there now.

But are you going to carry the note ?

NO , Dodo wil l carry i t i f I give her fi ve

ki sses .

”

“Then , I’l l writ e K i ndness of Dora .

’

NO , no, I’m the one that ’s k i nd

,not

Dodo , i n s i s ted th e ch ild .

And K i nd nes s Of Eth el i t had to be in

the corn er i n large , plain l et ters .

PUN I SHI NG ETHEL . 25

Dora laughed when she read i t, and Mary

sm iled i ndulgent ly .

K i t tyleen d id not sm il e , h oweve r, for sh e

d id not know t here was any m i stake . She

accepted Et h'

e l ’s doubt ful apol ogy wi th j oy,

and made her nu rse Martha wri t e i n reply ,“ I forgive you . And in th e l eft -hand

corne r of lzor envelope were the word s

K i ndnes s of Ki t tyleen ,

” for sh e supposed

that was the correct thihg, and sh e n ever

al l owed Ethel t o be more fash ionable than

herse lf i f she coul d pos s ibly hel p i t .

Mary fel t that on th e whol e h e r fi rs t case

of d i sc ipl i n e had resul ted succes s fully , and

was impat ien thfor t o -morrow t o come , that

her moth er m ight h ear Of i t and give her

approval .

CHAPTER I I .

ASKING FOR“ WHIZ .

NEXT day Mrs . Gray was somewhat bet .

t e r,and when Mary kn ocked softly at the

chamber door, Jul ia repl i ed ,“ Come in .

’

The l it t l e g i rl had no t expected to see her

moth er looking so pal e and il l ; and the tears

sprang to her eyes as sh e l eaned over th e

bed to give th e lov ing k iss which she mean t

should fal l as gen t ly as a dewdrop on th e

petal of a rOse . I t d id n ot seem a fi t t ing

t ime for the quest ion she had come to ask

about the spel l ing - school . j ul ia was brush

ing Mrs . Gray’s h ai r, and Mary k i ssed the

dark, s i lken l ocks wh ich st rayed over the

26

ASKING FOR WHIZ . 27

pil low,murmuring

,

“ Oh , how soft , how beau

t iful l”

“Well , my dear, sa id Mrs . G ray, with an

affect ionate sm il e, wh ich lacked a l it t l e Of

i t s u sual brigh tnes s ,“ how d id you get on

yes terday wi th Ethe l ? She i s such a qu iet

l i t t l e th ing that I ’m sure you had no

t roubl e .

“NO t roubl e ! Mary’s l ook spoke vol

umes . “ I suspec t there ’s some fright ful

revelat ion com ing now, said Jul ia.

“Did

you i rr i tat e he r, Flaxie ? For Ethel’

s qu i ~

et ness was'

not always t o be rel ied upon .

She was l ike the st i l l Lake Camerino of

I taly, wh ich so eas i ly becomes muddy that

the I tal ian s have a proverb,DO no t d i stu rb

Cameri no .

” Dr. G ray Oft en said t o Mary ,

when he saw her domineeri ng ove r he r l i t t l e

S i s ter, “ Be careful ! DO not d is tu rb Cam

e ri no .

”


NO,i ndeed

,N i nny , I was very pat ient ,

repl ied Mary with pr ide .

“ But for al l that I

had to puni sh her !

Mrs . Gray turned her head on her p i l low,

and looked at Mary in aston i shment .

Did you th ink I gave you au thori ty to

pun ish your l i t t l e s i s ter ? That would have

been st range i ndeed ! I merely said she and

Ph il ip were to Obey you during the aft er

n oon f’

Mary fel t a sudden sen se of hum il iat i on ,

al l.

the more as J ul ia had su spended th e hai r

b rush , and was l ooking down on he r d eri

Sively or so she fanc ied .

“Why, mamma, I must have misunder

stood you . I thought i t was the same as i f I

was Jul ia, you know .

”

“ J ul ia i s e ighteen . years Old,my ch i ld .

You are twelve . But what had Ethel done

t hat was wrong ?

ASKING FOR WHIZ . 29

Then Mary told of th e quarre l wi th K i t ty

leen,and th e notes wh ich had passed be

tween the two l i tt l e gi rl s . Though natural ly

given t o exaggerat ion , she had been so care

ful ly t rai ned i n th i s regard that he r word

could usual ly be taken now without “ a gra in

O f sal t .

Mrs . Gray looked rel ieved and amused .

“ SO that was th e way you pun i shed your

l i t t le s i st e r ? I was hal f afra id you had been

Shutt ing her up i n th e c lose t,or poss ibly

sn ipping he r fi ngers , e i th er Of wh ich th ings ,

my ch ild , I should not al l ow .

”

NO , ma’am . Mafy fel t l ike a queen de

t h roned .

You were ‘cl oth ed with a l it t l e bri ef au

t hority yesterday, t o be su re , but you sh ould

have wai ted t i l l t o -day and reported any m i s

behavio r to me, or— if I was too il l to hear

i t t o J ul ia.

”

3O FLAXIE GROWING UP.

Yes,mamma , sa id Mary meekly.

Not that I blame you for th i s m istake,

dear. You have shown j udgment and sel f

control , and no harm has been done as yet , I

hope . Only remember, i f you are l eft t o

take care Of the ch i ld ren again , you are

not the one to pun i sh them,whatever they

may do .

”

“ Yes , ma’am , repeated Mary ; but her

face had bright ened at the words “ j udgment

and sel f-cont rol .

I am afra id Ethel ’s repentance does n’t

amount to much , said Jul ia .

“ I though t Of that‘

rnyself. I ’m afraid i t

does n ’t ,” adm itted Mary.

She watched th e brush as i t passed sl owly

and evenly th rough her moth er’s ha i r. Her

col or came and went as i f she were on the

point of saying someth ing wh ich after al l

she found i t hard to say.


What, t o Rosewood in the even ing— e

two mile s ? ”

“ Oh , I wish I had n’t asked you . I wish

I had n’t asked you ; I mean I wish you

would n’t an swer now

,not t i l l I t el l you

someth ing more .

“Well , I wi l l not answer at al l I l eave i t

t o your father.

“Oh , I don’t mean that I don’t want you

t o l eave it t o papa .

”

Flaxie, remonst rated Jul ia, “ can’t you

see that you are t i ri ng mother ? ”

“ I won ’t t i re her, N i nny . I only want her

t o th ink a m inute about Whiz, how Old he i s

and lame . He does n ’

t fr i sk as h e u sed t o,

does he , mamma ? And I’m sure M i ss Pike

wil l want mo at her spel l i ng-school , we’re

such fri ends . And Fanny Townsend i s

going, and lot s and lot s Of gi rl s of myH

age .

ASKING FOR WHIZ . 3 3

My dear,I l eave i t ent irely to you r

father,sa id Mrs . Gray weari ly.

Yes,mamma ; bu t i f you

’l l t al k to h im

firs t , and say Fred’s afrai d t o ask h im , and

— and Whiz i s so Old

Jul ia frowned and po in ted to th e door .

Mary ough t to have needed no second

warn ing. She m ight have seen for herself

the conversat ion was too fat igu ing .

’

“What does make me so selfi sh and heed

le s s and forget fu l and everyth ing that ’s

bad , though t sh e , ru sh ing down -sta i rs . “ I

love my mother as wel l as N in ny does, and

am general ly carefu l not to t i re her ; but i f

I once fo rget they th i nk I always forget , and

next th ing papa wil l forb id my going in to her

room .

Fred stood by the bay window await ing

h i s cous in’s report .

0 Fred , I don’t know yet mamma i s n

’

t

34 FLAXIE GROWING UP

wel l en ough to be talked t o, and we’

11 have

to wait t i l l papa comes home . Per/zaps papa

won’t th ink you are too young to drive Whiz

j u s t out to Ro sewood . I t i s n’t l ike going

to Parnassus, t en m il es ; you know he did n’

t

al l ow that . ”

Pret ty wel l too if a fel l ow fourteen years

Old can’t be t rusted with that Old rack-O

bones,” said the youth scornful ly, remem

bering that Preston at h i s age had d riven

Whiz ; but then Preston and Fred were

d i fferen t boys .

“Well , I’l l be the one to ask h im , said

Mary . Should n ’t you th ink th e moon

would make a great d ifference ? I should .

”

I t was wh il e Dr. Gray was carving th e

roast beef at d inner that Mary came ou t

desperat ely with the spel l ing- school qu est ion .

He s eem ed to be th inking of someth ing el se

at fi rst, but when brought t o.

unders tand

ASK I NG FOR WHIZ . 35

what sh e mean t , he said M iss Pike was a

sen s ibl e woman , and he approved of her,

and Mary and Fred “might go and spe l l

th e whol e school down if they

Th i s was beyond al l expectat ion . Fred

looked grat ifi ed , and Mary, sl ipping from her

chai r, sprang to her father and gave h im a

sudden embrace , wh ich in te rfe red wit h h i s

carvi ng and almos t d rove th e kn ife th rough

the plat t e r.

All the afternoon her m ind was much

agitated . What dres s should she wear D id

N i n ny th i nk mother would obj ect t o the be st

bon net ? And Oh,she ough t t o be spe l l i ng

every momen t ! Would n ’

t grandma pl ease

ask her al l the hard word s she coul d possiblv

t h ink Of

Grandma gave out a black l i s t,— oloo

mosynarjx, plz tlz z'

sz'

o, porzz’

om’

, and th e l ike ,

and though Mary somet imes t r ipped , she d id


adm irably wel l . Logomachy, anagrams , and

other spel l ing games were popular i n the

G ray fami ly,and al l t he ch ild re n were good

spel lers . Dr . G ray sa id , “They tel l u s that

s i l ent l et ters are to be dropped out of our

language , and then th e words wi l l al l l ook

as they sound ; but th i s has not been done

yet , and meanwh i l e i t i s wel l to know how

to spel l words as they are prin ted now.

Jul ia was i n her moth er’

s room , and Mary

was left agai n with th e care of th e ch i ld ren

but i n her present d i st ract ion she qu ite for

got Ethel , and the ch i ld , l eft to he r own

device s , managed to get the lamp-Sc i ssors

and cut Off her hai r. The zigzag n ot ches,

bri st l ing up i n al l d i rect ions , were a drol l

S igh t .

Oh , you l i t t le m isch ief, cried Mary,

angry, yet unable to help laugh ing.

“ Th i s

all comes of my read ing you the s tory of the

ASK ING FOR WHIZ . 37

‘N i n e L i t t le Gos l i ngs yeste rday . Tel l m e,

was that what made you th i nk Of i t

Eth e l nodded he r sheared head s i l ent ly .

“Oh,you dreadfu l ch i l d . When I was t ry

ing so hard t o in t eres t you ! I d id n’

t want t o

read to you And to th ink you must go and

do th i s ! What do p eopl e mean by cal l i ng

you good ? I never cu t off my hai r, but no

body ever cal led mo good

Mary was se ized agai n with l aught er, but ,

recovering , added st ernly

“ I t ’s very hard that I can’t Shut you i n

the clo set , but you’l l get t here fast enough

Yes , I shal l report you , and i nt o the cl oset

you ’l l go , Mis s Sn ippet . Oh , you need n’t

c ry ; you’re the wors t - l ook ing creatu re i n

town,but the blame always fal l s on mo !

Just fo r those‘N i n e Lit t l e Gosl ings . ’ And

here was I working so hard to get ready

for spel l i ng-school and

FLAXIE GRO IVING UP

The j ingl e Of sl e igh -bel l s put a sudden

stop t o th i s eloquence . Ethel wiped her

eyes and s tol e to the window without Speak

i ng . She was u sual ly dumb under reproof,

and perhaps i t was her very s il ence wh ich

encouraged Mary to del iver sermonet te s ,

th ough I fear th ese sermonettes hardened

i nstead of soften ing l i t t l e Eth el ’s h eart .

The young preacher was sm il ing enough ,

however, when she went ou t t o enter th e

sl e igh ; and Jul ia, who t ucked her in , looked

as i f She were t ry ing her best n ot to be

proud Of her brigh t young s i ste r. Mary

fel t very wel l pl eased with hersel f i n her

new cloak and beaver hat , with i t s j aunty

feather ; but sh e was not qu it e sat i sfi ed with

cous in Fred .

“ He can’

t drive half as wel l as Pres ton ;

and , worse than that , he does n’t know how

to spel l ,” thought she, as they drove on in

40 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP .

Wel l,Miss Mary and Master Fred , are

yO‘

I going to spel l ing- school ? ”

“ Yes , sir,” said Fred , t ouch ing h i s cap ;

wh i le Mary hoped hothing had happened to

the Spell ing-school t o prevent the i r go ing .

And may I r id e with you ? asked \:he

y oung man,with a persuas ive bow and sm ile .

Yes , s i r, i f you l ike ,” repl i ed Fred , rather

re l ieved to fi nd i t was no wors e, though cer

tainly not pleased .

“ I ’l l d rive , Of course , sai d Mr . Fl ing

serenely, seat ing h imself, and tak ing Mary in

h i s lap . Maste r Fred , your aun t wi l l thank

me for happen ing along j ust as I d id , for

you were goi ng at breakneck speed . You

would have been spil l ed out at the next

corner.

Fred ’s brows were kn it t ed fiercely under

h is cap . Was i t possibl e that Mr. Fl ing was

regarded as a . gentleman ?

ASKING FOR WH IZ . 4 1

Mis s Flaxie , pu rsued th e i n te rl ope r, “ I

hope you ’re as glad t o see m e agai n as I am

to see you . Don ’t you feel safe r now I ’ve

taken the re in s ? ”

Mary d id not know what reply to make .

She was not glad to see h im,yet sh e d id feel

safe r to have h im d rive . She laughed a

l i t t l e , an d the laugh grated unpl easant ly on

Fred’

s ears . Th i s was th e fi rst t im e h e had

ever taken h i s young cous i n to r id e,and he

thought i t would be th e las t .

Mr . F l ing talked al l th e way to M is s

Pike ’s school -house , apparently not m ind ing

i n th e leas t that nobody an swered h im .

“Now, ch i ld ren , sai d he,l i ft i ng Mary out ,

and plant ing her upon the door-stone before

Fred could Offe r h i s hand , “ now , ch ild ren ,

with your permi ss ion , I’l l d r ive a l i t t l e far

ther . I ’d l ike t o d rop i n on a few of my

Old fr iends i n th i s neighborhood . G ive my


very best regard s t o M is s Pike,and tel l h er

I hope to be back i n season to hear a l i t t l e

of the Spel l ing .

With your perm iss ion ,” i ndeed ! Fred

was i ncensed . I f Mr . Fl ing had been a per

son Of h i s own age , h e woul d have said to

h im , and very properly, t oo,“ I have no right

t o l end Dr. G ray’s horse , and you have no

righ t to ask me for h im . But as Mr . Fl ing

was at leas t a dozen years Older than h imself,

such a speech would have been impert i nen t

and Fred coul d on ly look as forbidd ing as

poss ibl e , and preserve a t otal s i lence , whi le

Mr. Fl ing caught up th e re in s again,and

Was Off and away withou t further ceremony .

“ I s n ’t he a funny man ? ” said Mary .

Funny was not th e word Fred would have

used .

CHAPTER I I I .

THE SPELL ING -SCHOOL .

THE spel l ing-school had not yet begun , but

Fanny Town send and her brother Jack had

already arrived,and so had Mr. Garland ,

and h i s nephew,Mr. Porter. Miss Pike

expressed pleasure at see ing them al l, and

stood at th e desk some t ime wi th her arm

around Mary’s wa ist , chat t i ng about “Old

t imes at Laure l Grove, at H i l l top, and at

Wash ington . Mary was feel i ng of late that

there were many Old t imes i n he r l ife , and

that she had l ived a l ong wh il e. She had

been qu i te a t ravel l er, had seen and known a

var iety Of people, but nobody — out s ide her

43


own fam i ly that i s , no grown person , was

so dear to her as th i s excel lent young lady ,

who was known among strangers as “ the

homely M iss Pike .

” Mary had at tended he r

school a t H il l t op w ith M il ly Al len,and after

ward Mi ss Pike had been a govern es s i n Dr.

Gray’s fam ily,and st i l l later had spent a

win ter with th e G rays at Wash ington . Sh e

had a dec ided fancy for Mary ; and in retu rn

the l i t tl e gi rl always cal led Mi s s Pike her

“ favor it e fr iend . I t i s only t o be wished

that every l i t t l e'

gi rl had j u st such a “ favor

it e friend .

”

But i t was now t ime for th e exerc i se s to

begin . At a tap Of th e bel l everybodywas

seated . The scholars were n early al l Older

thanMary, she and Fanny be ing perhaps theyoungest ones there .

“ Thi s i s an Old-fash ioned spel l ing-match,

explained Mis s Pike t o he r v i s i tors , “ and we

THE SPELL I NG -SCHOOL. 45

wil l now announce th e names Of the two

‘captain s,

’ Grace Mall on and James Hun

n icu t . They wil l take the i r places .

Upon th i s James Hunn icu t, a large, i n te l

ligen t- looking boy Of fi fteen , walked to one

s id e Of th e room and stood again st the wal l ,

and Grace Mal lon , a sen s ibl e young girl of

fourteen,walked to the other s ide of the

room,and took her place exact ly Oppos it e

James . They both looked very earn est and

al ive .

Grace had th e fi rst cho ice ; next James ;

and so on for some m inutes . There was

breathless i ntere st In It , fo r, as the bes t

spel lers would natu ral ly be chosen fi rs t , th e

whol e school sat wait i ng and hoping . The

house was so s t i l l t hat one h eard scarcely a

sound except th e names spoken by th e twc

captain s,and the bri sk foot st eps of the

youth s and maidens cross ing th e room , as


t hey were cal l ed , now to G race’s s id e

, now to

James’s , there t o s tand l ike two rows of sol

di ers on dri ll .

Miss Pike cou ld not but Observe the

sparkle of sat i sfact ion In some faces,and th e

gloom of d isappo intmen t in others ; and she

rej o iced with the good spellers an d grieved

with the poor ones, l ike the cl ear, kind

woman She was .

Out of court esy, Mary Gray and Fanny

Townsend were chosen among th e fi rst .

James Hunn icut supposed i t would be ungal

lan t t o neglect v i s i tors , though he d id wince

a l i t t l e as he call ed Mary G ray’s name,

thi nk ing, “What do I wan t of a baby l ike

that ? Of cou rse she ’l l m i ss eve ry word.”

Mary answered James’s cal l wi th a throb '

bing h eart,proud , del igh ted , yet afra id .

Next Grace Mall on cal l ed Fred Allen , and

thought,when he walked ove r to her s ide


other, for the successful captai n to swell h i s

own numbers by “ choos ing Off”

one from

the enemy’

s ranks . Capta in J ames now

“ chose off one of Captain G race’s bes t

sold iers , and the game went on .

Next t ime i t was one Of Captain James’s

men ‘ Fanny Townsend who blundered,

and i t was Captain Grace’s t urn to choose

Off.

For some t ime the numbers were about

even ; but as Fred Al len invariably m issed ,

and there were Jack Townsend and oth er

poor spel l ers below h im to keep h im com

pany, Captain James began to have a dec ided

advantage . He kept choos ing Off’ again and

again , Mary Gray, among the rest , wh il e

Captain Grace b i t her l ip s i n S i l ence .

But the moment sh e had i t in her power

sh e cal l ed a name in a r inging voice, and i t

was Mary G ray .

” Mary had spel l ed al l her

THE SPELL ING-SCHOOL . 49

words prompt ly , t hey had usual ly been hard

ones , too, — and her bl ue eyes danced as sh e

t ripped acros s th e room i n an swer t o th e

cal l . Was there a ray Of t r iumph i n he r

glance as i t fel l on cou s in Fred , who was

proppi ng h i s head again st t he wal l , t rying t o

look easy and unconcerned ? Fred , who was

so much Older than hersel f, and c iphering at

the very end Of th e ari thmet i c ? Fred , who

had always looked down on l i t t l e Flaxie as

rather l ight -m inded ?

There he stood , and there h e was l ikely t o

stand , and Jack Townsend , t oo , wh i l e the

favorit e spel l ers w ith i l l-concealed sat isfac

t ion were'

walking back and forth conquering

and to conquer.

Mary Gray was cal l ed for as Often as the

Oldest schol ar i n the room,and , as sh e Pkt ed

from east to west , her head grew as ligh t

wi th van i ty as th e “ blow-ball”

of a dande


l ion . She threw i t back airily, and sm iled i n

a superior way when poor Fred m is sed a

word , as i f sh e would l ike to say t o th e

schol ars , “ I came here with that dunce, i t’s

t rue, but pl ease don’t blame me becau se h e

can ’t spel l . ”

“That ’s a remarkably bright , pret ty l i t t l e

g irl , but I fancy sh e would n’

t t oss h er h ead

so if there was much i n i t , wh ispered Mr .

Garland’s nephew to Miss Pike , wh ile Mr.

Garl and was putt ing out the words .

Miss Pike had been pained by Mary’s

s il ly behavior,but r epl ied

“You are wrong,qu i te wrong, Mr. Porter,

She i s a dear l i t t l e gi rl and has plenty Of

sensef’

I t was pos it ively grat i fying to the good

lady afte rwards to hear Mary m i s -spel l th e

word pz’

llory ,for the mort ificat ion humbled

her, and from that moment th ere was no

more t oss ing of curl s.

THE SPELL I NG-SCHOOL. 5 1

When the t ime was up , Captain James’s

s id e had conquered most V i c t or ious ly,num

beri ng twice as many as the other s ide.

The two capta in s bowed to each other and

the game was over . Then Fred A l l en ,

Fanny Townsend , and al l th e other wall

flowers were al lowed at las t t o move . I t

was t ime to go home .

The girl s and boys , al l shawled and hooded

and coat ed and capped , went toward the

door, chat t i ng and laugh ing .

James'

Hunn icu t said to Grace Mal lon,

“Beg your pardon ; I d id n’t mean to take

all your men .

”

Oh ,” returned Grace, undaunted , “ I had

men enough left , and dare say I Should

have got every one of yours away from

you if we ’d only played hal f an hou r

longer .

“Ah, you would , would you ? Wel l, we’

l l


t ry i t again and see . I s n ’t that l it tl e gi rl

of Dr . G ray ’s a dai sy ? ”

“Not qu ite equal to t he A l l en boy ; I

adm ire fi lm, re turned G race i n an under

to ne but Fred heard and but toned h i s over

coat above a swel l ing heart .“Good n ight , we

’

re al l so glad you came,

sa id M is s Pike,shak ing hands warmly wi th

him and Mary. Then Off sh e went , and half

the school fol lowed , walking and rid ing by

twos and three s and fou rs .

But where, Oh where , i n the name of al l th e

spel l ing-school s , was Fred’s h orse ? There

was n’t the shadow Of h im to be seen”

Where was Fred’s Sl e igh ? There was

not so much as th e t ip Of a runner i n

s ight . Where was Mr. Fl ing ? Gone to

Canada, perhaps , the smooth-faced dece itful

wret ch !

Fred woul d “ have a sheri ff after h ini , so

THE SPELL I NG-SCHOOL . 53

he assured cou s i n Flaxie, and that imme

diat ely.

Mary stamped her l i t t l e low-heeled boot s

t o keep he r fee t warm , and h igh ly approved

of th e plan .

Oh yes, Fred , do cal l a sher i ff ; I’m per

fect ly will ing and the S i t uat io n seemed de

l igh t fully t ragi c,t i l l somebody laughed , and

then i t occurred t o her that sheri ffs , whatever

they may be,do not grow on bushe s or i n

snow-banks . And , Of course , Mr . Fl ing had'

not gone t o Canada , Fred knew that wel l

enough he had only “ dropped in at some

body’s house and forgot t en t o come out .

The peopl e , wherever h e i s , ough t to

send h im home ,” sai d James Hunn icu t sym

pathet i cal ly .

That ’s so , assented two or three oth ers .

I t ’s abomi nabl e to go ’round cal l ing with a

borrowed horse and sle igh .

”


SO much pi ty was gal l ing to both Mary

and Fred , making th em feel l ike young

ch ildren , who ough t not to have been

t rusted WIIIIGUI a driver . Why would n’t

everybody go away and leave them . The

s i tuat ion woul d surely be l es s embarrass ing

if they faced i t al one .

Fred was angry and undign ified. He had

had as much as he could bear al l th e even ing,

and th i s was a st raw too much . Mary, on

the other hand , had enj oyed an unusual

t riumph ; but how her feet d id ach e with

cold ! The blood had left them hours ago

to l ight a blaz ihg fi re i n h er head ; and

now to stand on that icy door-ston e was

t orture

“ I know I shal l freeze , but I’l l bear i t,

thought she,taking gay l i t tl e wal tz ing steps .

How they do adm ire me , and i t would spOil

i t al l t o cry . Why, al l the great spel ling I


Stephen ? But as for you , Master Fred, I

see no other way but you must wai t for your

horse .

Mary , ut terly humbl ed , sprang with grat i

t ude in to Mr. Garland ’s s l e igh,without

t ru st ing hersel f t o l ook back .

And Fred d id “ wait , with a heart swel l

ing as big as a foot -bal l , and saw h i s cous in

be stowed between th e two gentl emen , who

sm iled on h im pat ron iz ingly, as upon a boy

Of four i n p inafores .

This was h ard . And when Mr . Fl ing

appeared at l as t , laugh ing heart l es sly , and

d rove the hal f-frozen boy part Of th e way

home , l eavi ng him at t he h otel , the most

conven ien t poi n t for h imse lf, and advis ing

h im to take gi nger-t ea and gO t o bed , th i s

Oh, th is, was harder yet !

But i t was Mrs . G ray who suffered most

from th i s l i t t l e fi asco. Before the ch i ld ren

THE SPELL I NG - SCHOOL . 57

retu rned she was flu shed and nervous , and

Dr. G ray blamed h imsel f fo r hav ing al lowed

them t o go .

“ I ’m thankful , my daugh ter, that you’ve

got here al ive ,” sa id She , send ing for Mary to

come t o her chamber ;“Whiz i s a fiery

fel low, and Fred i s n’t a good dr iver .

“Was i t as del igh t fu l as you expec ted ,

Mary ? And d id you spel l them al l down ? ”

asked her fathe r .

“Yes , s i r, i t was del igh t ful ; and I Spel led

eve r so many hard word s,and only mi s sed

on e ; but Fred Spel l s sh ockingly , repl i ed

Mary, taki ng up a vial from the stand and

put t ing i t down again .

SO , on the whole , I se e you d id n’

t qu i te

enj oy i t ,”said Mrs . G ray, rather puzzled by

Flaxie’

s d iscon sol at e look .

Not qu i te , mamma don’t you think Mr.

F l ing was very impol i t e ? And Oh, I must


warm my feet , they are n early frozen , said

Mary , quest ion ing w i th in hersel f why i t was

that , whenever She had a signal t riumph ,

someth ing was almost sure to happen that

spo i led i t al l. ”

CHAPTER IV .

THE M IN I STER’S JOKE.

THE spel l ing-school , with i t s t riumphs and

chagrin s , had part ial ly faded from Mary’s

memory, t o become one Of h er Old t imes ;

for w int e r had gone , and i t was now the

very las t even ing of March .

You may not care t o hear how t he w ind

blew, and real ly i t has noth ing to do w ith

ou r s tory, only i t happened to be blowing

violen t ly. Tea was over , and eve rybody had

left t he d in ing—room but Mary and cous i n

Fred . Mary had j u s t part ed th e cu rtain s

t o look ou t , as peopl e always do on a windy

n ight , when Fred start l ed her by say ing, i n a

wh i sper, Flaxie, come here .”


She dropped the cu rtai n hast i ly , and

c rossed the room . What could Fred be

want ing Of her, and why should he wh isper

when they “two were alone , and the wind

outs ide was making such a no ise ?

“ Put your car down cl ose to my mouth ,

Flaxie . You must n’t t el l anybody, now

remember. ”

Why not , Fred ? I t i s n’

t best t o make

prom i ses beforehand . Perhaps I ought t o

t el l .”

Ought to tel l ? I l ike that ! Then I ’

ll

keep i t to myself, that’

s all .

“ Now,Fred , I didn

’

t say I would t el l .

And, if i t

’s someth i ng perfect ly righ t and

proper, I won’t t el l , of cours e.

“ Oh,i t ’s r igh t and proper enough . Do

you promi se ? Yes or n o? ”

Yes, then , sa id Flaxie , t oo anx i ou s for

F red’s confidence, and too m uch honored

THE MIN I STER’S JOKE. 61

by i t t o refuse , th ough she knew from‘

past

experien ce that he frequent ly hel d pecul iar

views as to “ propri ety .

”

“Here , see th i s ,” said h e , t ak ing a smooth

bl ock of wood from h i s pocket and -wh i sper

i ng a word of explanat i on .

’ “Won ’t i t be

larks

She drew back with a nervous laugh .

Why, Fred !

“And I d id n’t know but you ’d l ike t o

go wit h m e , Flaxie , j u s t fo r company .

Bu t do you th in k i t ’s exact ly proper ?

He ’

s a m in i ste r,you know .

”

“Why that ’s th e very fun of it , — j ust

because h e is a m in i st e r i I t ’s the bigges t

th ing that ’11 be don e to morrow, see if i t

i s n’

t ?

Mary looked doubtful .

I was a goose to t el l you, though , Flaxie

I migh t have known gi rl s always make a

fuss.

”


Oh , i t i s n’t becau se I ’m a gi rl , Fred !

G i rl s l ike fun as wel l as anybody, only girl s

She d id not know wheth erh ave more

t o say “ del i cacy or“ d i scret ion ,

” but d e

c ided that e i th er word woul d g ive Offence ;“ gi rl s are d ifferen t . ”

“Then you won’t go with me ? NO mat

t er. I bel ieve , afte r all , I’d rather have one

Of th e boys .

Yes , Oh yes , I wil l go with you ; I’d

l ike t o go,

” excl aim ed Mary, de sperately,

th rowing d i scret ion t o th e winds.

“Agreed,them— to morrow morn ing on

the way to sch ool . And now m ind , Flaxie ,“

don ’t put th i s down in you r j ournal to n igh t ,

for that would l et i t al l ou t . ”

“Why,nobody ever l ook s at my j ou rnal !

It would be d i shonest . Why, Fred ,” i n

sudden alarm,

“ d id you ever look at my

j ou rnal ?


th ink of the horribl e t ime last summer, when

he and h is brother John went for pond- l i l i es,

and were upset and nearly d rowned . Mary

looked as if she were th i nk ing Of an acc ident

st i l l worse , her face d rawn t o remarkabl e

length , and her mouth dol eful ly puckered .

“ You don’

t suppose Mr. Lee wil l come

h imself, do you ?” wh ispered Fred, r inging

the door-bel l very gent ly.

“ Oh Fred , l e t’s go away. Just th i nk if

h e should put you i i i a sermon ? He pu t

s omebody i n once for st eal ing watermelon s .MHe d id n ’

t say th e name righ t out , but

Two early dandel i ons by th e fron t window

seemed bubbl ing over with merriment and

curios i ty ; but before they or Fred had

l earned who st ol e th e watermelons , Fred

s topped h i s cous i n by sayi ng con temp

tuously,“When a man get s n icely fooled

he won’t put t/za t i n a sermon , you

’

d bet ter

THE M I N I STER’S JOKE. 65

bel i eve . And“

then , gatheri ng courage, he

rang louder.

Mary was del iberat ing whethe r to run or

not,when th e houSemaid appeared .

“Wil l you give th i s t o Mr . Lee ? Very

important,

” said Fred , hand ing her th e da in ty

l i t t l e parcel .

She looked at i t , She seemed t o l ook

th rough i t ; a merry gl i n t came in t o he r

eyes .

“ I was afraid somebody was dead , s ai d

sh e . “You rung SO l oud , and you looked so

t erribl e sol emn , both of you.

”

“ Solemn ? ” echoed Fred ; an d then i t

was h e, not Mary , who brok e down and

sm i led .

“Mr. Lee ’

s gone t o a fuuerz'

l, con t i nued

Hannah , l ook ing th rough and th rough th e

parcel again ;“ but I ’l l g ive i t to h im when

he comes home,and tel l h im who brough t i t. ”


Did Fred wi sh her t o tel l h im ? H e began

t o doubt i t .

Come , Flaxie, we must go .

Fred ,” said th e l i t t l e gi rl

,as th ey hurried

out Of t he gate, “ I can ’t h elp th i nking ;

Shan’t we feel sorry next Sunday“ Non sense ! ” re turned her cous in . He

had al ready thought abou t Sunday,and fan

cied h imsel f look ing up to th e pulp i t t o meet

Mr. Lee’s eye . Had he been qu it e respectful

t o that l earned and excel l en t man

Non sen se ! m in isters are no bet ter than

othe r folks ! ”

I t was t oo lat e t o repent ; but h e wish ed

now he had wait ed t il l afte rnoon and thought

of al l the poss ibl e con sequences . Per/zaps

th e fun would n ’t pay. These doubts , how

ever, he d id not ment ion to th e boys at

school , but t old th em he had made“a

splendid fool of the m in ister.

THE M I N I STER’S JOKE. 67

That even ing, as h e and Mary stood by the

carr iage-way gate , and he was open ing i t for

Dr. G ray t o d r ive i nto th e yard , who should

be pass ing on the other Side of the st reet ,

but Mr . Lee .

How do you do, Dr. Gray , said he ;

and came over to do a tr ivial e rrand,wh ich

Fred fanc ied must have been made up for

the occas ion ; i t was someth ing about a book

wh ich he wish ed to borrow some t ime , not

n ow . Then , t u rn ing t o gui l ty Fred , who had

not dared sl ip away,

Good even ing, Mast er F red , with ex

t reme pol i teness ;“ I was very sorry not to

be at home th i s morn ing when you l eft you r

card .

Your card ! Those were h i s words .

“My card ! Does he th ink I s igned my

self Apri l Fool ? My goodness , so I d id !

People always put t he i r own names on the ir


vis it ing -card s , sure enough ! I t ’s I that am

the Apri l Fool , and nobody el se , thought

the outwit ted boy, not ven turi ng to look up .

A blush mounted t o Mary’s forehead , and

she too l ooked at the ground .

“ Pray cal l again , Mast er Fred , said Mr.

Lee ; and h i s manner was as respectful as if

Fred had been at l east a supreme j udge .

“What ’s al l th i s ? asked the doctor

s tern ly as the cl ergyman walked away .

“ ’

T was a l i t t l e k i nd Of a — a j oke , you

know, s i r, for fun . I d id n ’

t mean anyth ing .

I l ike Mr Lee fi rst rat e ,” s tammered Fred ,

scann ing h i s boot s , as i f to dec ide whethe r

th ey were big enough for h im to crawl i n to

and h ide.

Dr . G ray never needed to be told more

than hal f a story .

Oh , I see ! You’ve made an Apri l Fool

of yoursel f. Ha, ha ! Mr . Lee i s too sharp

THE M IN ISTER’S JOKE. 69

for you , i s h e ? And so, Mary, you wen t

with Fred ?

The doctor looked grave . I t was not easy

to le t th i s pas s . “Wait here,both Of you

,

t i l l I come back , said he, dr iving into th e

stable .

“ Th is i s a great go, though t Fred .

Hope the boys won’t hear of i t . ”

Fred , said Dr. G ray, re t urn ing , — and

he spoke with d i spleasure , —“ I am disap

pointed in’

you. And i n you t oo , Mary .

”

“ Oh , papa , wailed a l i t t l e vo ice from

under . Mary’

s hat . H e r head‘

was bowed ,

and her t ears were fal l ing .

I was the on e that thought of i t ; I was

the one that asked her to go ,” spoke up

Fred,al l th e manl iness m h im st i rred by h i s

cous in’s t ears .“NO doubt you were ; and I ’m glad to

hear you acknowledge i t ,” said Dr . Gray,


rest i ng h i s hand on h is nephew’s shoulder.

But Mary knew bet ter than t o be led away

by you . My daugh ter, j e st s Of th i s sort may

be tol erated in you r own fam ily or among

your schoolmates ; bu t do you th ink they

are su i tabl e to be played upon min is ters ? ”

“ No , s i r, sobbed Mary .

Well , th en , l e t th i s be a l esson t o you .

Th i s was a favori te Speech with th e doctor.

K i s s me , my chi ld ; and now run into th e

house . I shal l n ever refer t o th i s matter

again,and i t i s not nece ssary t o ment ion i t

t o you r mother. But Fred , he added , as

Mary swi ft ly es zaped,“ do you th ink your

conduct has been gent lemanly and courteous ?

Ought you to have taken th i s l iberty with a

comparat i ve s t ranger, —a person , t oo, of

Mr . Lee ’s h igh character ? ”

NO , Sir.

”

DO you th ink your mother would be

p l eased to hear of i t ?”


My uncle sent me to apolog ize,he fal

t e red forth .

“ I d id n '

t mean to be disrea

Spect ful t o a — to a m in i s te r . For I th ink

of course I th ink that m in i st e rs

Here a certa i n twinkl e i n Mr. Lee’s eye

di s t racted Fred , and h is speech flew righ t

out of th e window .

“ For I a’

ou’

t th ink ,”

added he , i n w i ld haste , “ th at m in i s t ers are

any bet te r than oth er folks .

I t was j ust l ike Fred . He had meant t o

say someth ing ent i rely Oppos i t e t o th i s ; but

th e “ imp Of the perverse was apt to se ize

h is t ongue . Oh , cl ear, he had fi n i shed the

bus iness n ow !i

“ I agree wi th you , my boy ; min i st ers

are n ’

t any bet t e r than other folks , certainly ,

sa id Mr. Lee , l augh ing outright i n the most

gen ial way .

“ Oh,t hat was n ’t what I meant , Sir.

Please don’

t thi nk I meant t o say that ,”

THE M IN I STER’S JOKE . 73

pleaded Fred,feel i ng h imsel f more than ever

the most fool i sh Of Apr i l fool s .

Bu t the good -natu red c l e rgyman d rew h im

into the room .

“ Come, now,

” sa id he , st i l l

l augh ing , though not sarcast i cal ly at al l , j ust

merri ly, “ le t me have th e cal l I m issed yes

t erday. Your cous i n Preston is one Of my

best fri ends , but I th ink you’ve never en

t ered my study before .

”

I t was a cosy, sunny room , and , bes ide

books , he ld a large cabi net , and a green

plan t -s tand , bloom ing with flowers . Fred

seat ed h imsel f on the edge Of a chai r, ready

for i ns tant depart u re ; but Mr. Lee chat t ed

most agreeably, t el l ing in terest i ng stori es ,

and i nqu ir ing about H il l t op peopl e, t i l l he

forgot h i s embarrassment , and was soon

asking quest i on s i n regard to the d iffe rent

Obj ect s i n th e cabinet .

What was that wh i t i sh , buff-co lored stuff ?


Coouz'

ua ? Oh ! And peopl e bui l t hou ses

Of i t ? Poss ibl e ? Was i t real ly made of

Shel l s ? HOW s t range ! —Wel l , that t aran

t ula’

s n es t was a queer concern ! Why,i t

s hut down l ike a t rap -door exactly . Looked

as i f i t had a h inge , and a carpente r made i t .

Was that an eagl e’s c l aw Oh , and t/za t

A rat tlesnake’s rat t l e ? —Was th i s a seor

p ion ? - And SO on .

I t was a varied col l e ct i on , and Mr . Lee

seemed to have noth ing to do that morn ing

but to exh ibi t i t . Not another word about

the Apri l Fool ; but Fred fel t that h e was

forgiven,or, rather, that no forgiveness was

needed , as no Offence had been taken .

“ I t el l you , Flaxie , confided he t o h i s

cou s in afterward , “ I never l iked M r. Lee half

so wel l n ever dreamed he was so brigh t and

Sharp . He l ikes fun as wel l as we boys.

Only somehow Wel l , I would n’t do i t

THE M I N ISTER’S JOKE. 75

again ; i t was fool i sh . See here, Flax i e , have

you put th i s in you r j ournal ? Well, don’t

you now ! I f the boys shou ld find out“What do you mean about my j ournal ?

returned Mary, d rawing up her mouth l ike

the s i lk “work-pocket ,”to mark he r d i s

pleasure .

“Anybody ’d th ink my j ournal

was a newspaper .

Fred sm iled W i sely.

CHAPTER V

CH I N E S E B A B I E S .

THE j ournal was a pretty l i t t l e red book,

wh ich lay some t imes on th e p iano, some

t imes on the cen t re- tabl e, and was Often

opened i nnocently enough by cal l ers . I f i t

had been t he s imple, matter-Of-fact l i t tl e

book that i t ought t o have been , th e read ing

Of i t Would have done no harm . But Mary

had a hab it Of record ing h er emot ions , al so

h er op i n ions Of h er friend s, a bad habit ,

wh ich she d id not break off t i l l i t had nearly

brough t her i nto t roubl e .

“What does Fred Allen mean by cal l ing

me Miss Fanny dear, with mouth s tre tched

76

CHINESE BAB IES . 77

from ear to ear ’ asked Fanny Town send,

i nd ignant ly.

How do you know he d id ?

Saw it i n your j ou rnal . And you put a

per iod after ‘Miss ’ ! Need n ’

t accu se me Of

laugh ing, Flaxie Frizzl e , when I happen t o

know that my moth er cons iders you a great

giggler,and dreads t o have you come t o our

housef’

“Does sh e ? Then I ’l l s t ay away ! And

if I d id put a period aft e r ‘Mis s ’ i t was a

mistake . But I ’ve no respec t fo r peopl e

that read other peopl e’s pr ivat e j ournal s !“Hope you don’t cal l th at pr ivate . Why,

I thought ’

t was a Sabbath -school book,or I

would n’

t have t ou ch ed i t . ” And whether

she woul d or not , Fanny was obl iged t o

laugh ; so th e breach was heal ed for the

t ime . Bu t aft er th i s Mary began a new

journal , wh ich sh e conducted on d i fferen t


pri nc iples, t ry ing moreover t o keep i t i n i t s

proper pl ace in h er writ ing-desk .

There were s ecret s igns and mysterious

al l u s ion s i n th i s new j ournal, however, th e

let te rs “ C . C . recurr ing again and again in

al l sort s of places, without any apparent

mean ing or connect ion ; She evidently en

j oyed scribbl ing them , and n o harm was

done,s i nce nobody but “we girl s ” knew

what they meant . “ C C .

”was a precious

s ecret , wh ich we may pry into for ou rselves

by-and-by.

Mary was now In her th i rt een th year,and

though she st i l l e n j oyed hanging May-bas

ket s,driving h oops, sk ipp ing th e rope, and

even playing dol l s , h er growing m ind was

n ever idl e . She enj oyed h er l e ssons at

school,for sh e memorized w ith case ; she

l iked t o draw ; but si t t ing at the pian o was a

weariness and She con s idered i t a t riai that,


over-st rict in requ i ring her to mend her

cl othes and do a st i n t Of some sort of sewing

on Saturdays . Was n’

t sh e Old enough yet

to have outgrown s t in t s ?

Why can’

t p i l l ow-cases be hemmed by

mach ine ? complained sh e t o Ethel . “And

there you are ,— almost s ix years Old, with not

a th ing t o do ! I can tel l you I used t o sew

pat chwork at your age by th e yard ! C . C .

I keep sayi ng that over to comfort myself,

Eth el , but you don’t know what i t s tands for.

Oh no, not chocolat e candy ; bett e r than

t hat ! — Wish I l ived at th e south , where

colo red servant s do everyth ing . There ’s

G randma Hyde now ; i f we had her black

Venu s , and her black Mary, and her yel low

Thomas, I should n’

t have t o dust parl ors and

run Of errand s ! Mamma i s always talk ing

t o me about be ing useful . Li t tle girl s are

n ever talked to i n that way ; i t’s we Older

CHINESE BAB IES . 8 I

g i rl s who have to bear al l the brun t . I t

t i res me t o death t o sew, sew, sew ! Now

i t ’s such fun to run i n th e wood s . Mr. Lee

says we ought t o adm i re natu re , and I’m

going afte r flag- root th i s afternoon in s tead of

mend ing my stockings — I th i nk i t ’S myduty

As Mary ratt led on i n th i s way, l i t t l e

Ethe l l i st ened most at ten t ive ly. Her s i ste r

Flaxie stood as a pat tern t o he r Of al l th e

virtue s,ah , i f Flaxie had but known i t

and sh e looked forward t o t he t ime when She

Should be exact ly l ike her, with j u st such

curl s, and ju st that superio r way Of l ect uring

l i t t l e peopl e . I t was not worth wh il e t o be

any bet t er than Flaxie . If Flaxie obj ect ed

t o sew ing and mend ing, Ethel would obj ect

to i t al so .

“ I f my mamma ever makes me s it on a

chair to s ew pat chwork , I’l l go South ! I f


sh e makes m e mend st ock ings, I’l l go i n the

woods ! I won’t be u seful i f Flaxie i s n’t ;

no i ndeedy ! ”

Thus wh i le Flaxie’s sermonet t es were for

got t en , her ch ance words and her exampl e

t ook deep h old Of th e l it t l e one’s m ind .

Everybody sa id Mary was growing up a

sweet gi rl , more “ l ovesome ” and womanly

than had once been expected . I n t ruth

Mary t hought so h e rsel f. Plenty of wel l

m ean ing but in j ud ic iou s peopl e had t ol d her

she was pret ty ; and sh e knew that Mrs . Lee

l iked to l o ok at her face becau se i t was so

express ive,and Mrs . Patten because i t was

so“ thoughtful ,

” and somebody el se because

i t was so in t el l igent . ” Eth el h ad a figure

l ike a roly-poly pudd ing ; but Mary was tal l

a nd sl igh t , and even Mrs . Pr im adm it ted that

she was “graceful . ”

One Sunday morn ing early in May she sat


in church , apparent ly paying s tr i c t at t en t ion

t o the sermon , but real ly th inking .

I dare say, now, Mrs . Townsend i s look

ing at me, and wish ing Fanny were more

l ike me . Nobody else of my age s i t s as st i l l

as I do , except Sad ie S tockwel l , and she has

a st iff sp ine . There ’s Maj or Pat ten , I re

member he said onc e to father, ‘Dr . Gray,

your second girl i s a ch ild to be proud Of. ’ I

know he did , for I was com ing into the room

and heard h im .

”

Direct ly afte r morn ing serv ices came Sun

day school , and Mary was i n Mrs . Lee’s

c lass . Mrs . Lee was an en th us ias t ic young

woman , fond Of al l her scholars , but i t was

easy to see that Mary was her prime favori te .

Mrs . Gray’s clas s of boys — Ph i l be ing the

younges t sat i n th e next seat . The lesson

to day was short , and afte r rec itat i on Mrs .

Lee Showed he r own clas s and Mrs . Gray’s


some pictures wh ich her unc l e had brought

her from Ch ina .

“What is that queer th ing ? ” said Fanny,

as she and Mary touched bonnet s over one of

th e pic tures .

That i s cal led a baby -t ower. My uncl e

says i t i s a good representat ion Of th e dread

ful place they drop gi rl -babie s i n to somet imes .

You know girl s are l igh t ly esteemed in hea

then countrie s .

DIOp girl -babie s i n to i t asked Blanche

J ones . Does n ’

t i t hurt them ?

Not much , I bel i eve ; but i t k i l l s them .

Oh,Mrs . Lee ! I t was Mary who

spoke, i n tones of horror.

“The tower i s half fu l l of l ime, and th e

l ime stops the ir breath . SO I presume they

hardly suffer at al l . ”

Mary’s eyes were ful l of t ears , and She

sprang up eagerly, exclaim ing,

CHINESE BABIES . 85

Oh , Mrs . Lee ! Oh , mamma, d id you

hear that ? I declare , i t’s too bad ! Can

’

t

the m iss ionaries s top the i r k i l l i ng babie s SO ?

You sweet ch i ld , sa id Mrs . Lee .

But Mrs . Gray on ly said,

Yes , my daughte r, the m iss ionarie s are

doing the i r bes t ; but everyth ing can’t be

done in a day

But i t ough t to be done th i s ve ry m in ute ,

mamma .

”

Mary’

s whol e face glowed ; and Mrs . Lee,

who sat d irect ly i n fron t of her, could not

refrain from lean ing over th e pew and k iss

ing her .

We ought t o bring more money, seems

t o me ,” suggested good , moon ~ faced Blan che

J ones , press ing her fat hands toge ther .

“Yes , a cent every Sunday i s t oo l i t t l e ,

said one Of Mrs . Gray’s l i t t l e boys .“Yes , a cent is too l i t t l e ,

” agreed Fanny

Townsend earnest ly.


How though tl es s we ’ve been , said

Mary,i n h igh exc it ement . “For my part,

I mean t o g ive those Chi nese every cent of

my pin -money th i s month . DO you care i f I

do , mamma ?

No ; you have my ful l consen t . Only do

not make Up your m ind i n a hurry ,” repl ied

Mrs . Gray ; but her manner was cold i n com

parison wi th Mrs . Lee’s cord ial hand-Shake

and God bless you , my prec iou s gi rl .“ I ’m a real pet w ith Mrs . Lee, though t

Mary,her h eart th robb ing h igh .

B lan che,Fanny, and th e two Older girl s i n

the class,Sad ie Pat t en and Lucy Abbott ,

- were s i l ent . They knew that Mary’s pin

money amounted t o four dol lars a mon th , and

though they had thought of do ing someth ing

them selves , th i s bri ll ian t Offer d i scouraged

them at on ce : they could not make up the i r

m inds to anyth ing SO mun ificen t .


that Mr . Snow said I coul d choose from dif

feren t set s ? ”

Mrs . Gray sm iled qu1et ly.

“What good wil l the views do the babies

in Ch ina ? ”

There was a sudden droop of Mary’s head .

“Why, mamma, as t rue as you l ive I for

got all about those babies ; I real ly d id !

You see , mamma, I d id n’t s top to th ink las t

S unday . Must I g ive al l my money to Mrs .

Lee — th ree dol lars and a half ? ”

“To Mrs . Lee ? I was under th e impres

s ion th at you were to give i t t o the m iss iona

ri es to convert the Ch inese .

“ Oh,yes , but I sa id i t t o Mrs . Lee ;

the m iss ionaries don’t know anyth ing about

i t . ”

“ SO i t Seems, ret urned Mrs . G ray dryly ;“you sa id i t t o Mrs . Lee merely to please

lzer.

” Mary’s head sank s t i l l l ower. Well,


you n gin a sk Mrs. Lee to l e t you Off, my

“ But , mamma,how i t would l ook to go t o

her and ask th at I could n ’

t

“Then you’

ll be obl iged t o give the

money,responded Mrs . Gray unfeel ingly.

How easi ly she m igh t have sa id ,“ Never

mind , Mary , I wil l see Mrs . Lee and arrange

i t for you . And she was u sual ly a though t

ful , Obl iging mothe r. Mary pressed th e bi l l s

togethe r i n her hand , spread them ou t t en

derly, gazed at t hem as if she loved th em .

I t was a large sum , and looked larger

through he r t ears.

“ I can ’t ask Mrs. Lee t o l e t m e Off ; you

know I can ’t , iaamma. I ’d rather lose the

money

Lose th e money ! SO that was the way

she regarded i t ! A st range sort Of benevo

lence surely !


Ta lee lzeed, therefore, t/ta t ye do not your

alms before men to be seen of them ot/zerwise

ye fiaue uo reward of your Fa t/f er w/z ie/z is in

dea r/ea .

” Thi s was Mr. Lee’s t ex t next day.

“ Oh , that means me, groaned Mary ln

wardly.

“ I ’ve been seen of Mrs . Lee, and

I ’ve been seen Of Blanche and Fanny and

the oth er gi rl s ; and th at’

s j u s t what I d id i t

for,and not for t he people i n Ch ina ! Oh ,

dear ! Oh , dear ! t o th i nk what a humbug

I am ! ”

CHAPTER VI.

OLD BLUFF .

AND now we come to an epi sod e of the

h ighest importance t o five young m i sse s Of

Laurel Grove . General Townsend own ed an

unoccup ied house about two mile s from t own ,

at the foot Of a st eep h i l l cal led O l d Bluff ;

and i t had occurred t o the ac t ive m ind of

Mary Gray that th i s would be a fine place for

camping out . ”

I t was Apri l when She h int ed th is t o Fanny

Townsend , but i t was May before Fanny

spoke Of i t t o her fathe r.

“ I ’m wait i ng t i l l s ome t im e when you

come to my house t o tea, Dandelina ; and

9 x

92 FLAXIE GRO‘VING UP.

we must n ’

t get to l augh ing, now you t e

member .

Mary seated hersel f at th e Townsend tea

tabl e one even ing with nervous d read ; for,

next to Mrs . Prim , Mrs . Townsend in spi red

h er with more awe than any other lady i n

t own . When She though t i t t ime for Fanny

to speak , she t ouched he r foot under the table ,

and Fanny began .

Papa, I have someth ing to say.

Fanny had th e feel i ng that sh e was not

h igh ly reverenced by her fam i ly , on account

Of her unfortunate hab i t Of giggl ing ; but her

face was s e ri ou s enough now. Papa, may

we gi rl s go down to th e farm next summer,

t o that house with th e roses ’round i t, and

camp out ? Th e gi rl s al l want to , and we

we’

re going to cal l i t Camp Comfort (The

reade r wi l l perce ive th at t h i s explai ns the

let t ers “ C . She was sorry next mo

OLD BLUFF . 93

ment that she had Spoken , fo r her moth er

said,j u st as She had feared she m igh t , What

w il l you th ink of next , Fanny ?”

But he r fathe r seemed only amused .

Camp out ? We girl s ? How many may

ye be ? And who ? Go ing t o take your ser

vants ?

You ’l l each need a watch -dog, suggested

Fanny’s e lder broth er, Jack .

“You ’l l come home n igh t s , I presume ,

servan t s ,Watch-dogs and al l ,” sa id her father.

“0 no, i ndeed ! I t woul d n ’t be camping

out i f we came home n ight s ! And nobody

has a dog but Fanny, and we Should n’

t wan t

any servant s,’ cr ied Mary Gray

,whose views

of labor seemed t o have changed material ly.

We intend t o do our own work ,” remarked

Fanny. Whereupon everybody laughed

and Gen eral Town send asked aga in who th e

gi r l s were ? Oh, Flaxie Fr izzl e and B lanche

94 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP .

Jones and I , papa ; that makes th ree , rather

young ; and then Sad i e Pat t en and Lucy

Abbot t , they’

re rather Old ; that makes five .

Sad ie and Lucy wil l be the mothers — I

mean if you let u s go .

“ That ‘i f ’ “ i s wel l put i n ,” said broth er

Jack .

But what w il l you do for a stove asked

General Townsend , wish ing to hear the i r

plan s, “ there’s none i n th e house .

“My mamma has a rusty stove , and our

Hen ry Mann could take i t t o O l d Blu ff, re

pl ied Mary

“ But there ’s no furn i tu re , - not a chai r or

a tabl e .

“They have too many chai rs at Maj or

Patt en ’s and Mr. Jones’s ; the i r hou ses are

runn ing ove r with chairs . ”

“Well , what about d ishes ?

Why, papa,” said Fanny eagerly, “only


your plan s and invi ted your guest s . How

happened you t o th ink t o ask my perm iss ion

for th e ren t of the house . ”

“ Fin ish your supper, Frances , and do not

s i t there with your bread in th e ai r,” said

Mrs . Townsend in a dec ided tone .

“You

forget that I am to be con sul ted as wel l as

your father . And that ’s not al l . I ’ve

no idea that Dr. Gray, o r Maj or Patt en , or

Mr . J ones, or Mrs . Abbot t w il l con sen t t o

th is camping out , as you cal l i t ; so you must

n ot se t you r heart s on i t , you and Flaxie .

”

But i t chanced that every one Of th e pa

ren ts d id con sen t at l ast ; and one mo rn ing i n

th e l at t er part of Ju ne you m igh t have seen

some very busy gi rl s l oad ing a push—cart and

an expres s wagon , with th e help of the i r

brothers and Henry Mann,while Fanny

laughed almost cont i nual ly, and Mary Gray

exclaimed at i n terval s,

OLD BLUFF. 97

O won’t i t be a s tat e of bl i s s ? ”

There were fou r bedstead s , e igh t chai rs,

one Old sofa , one tabl e , on e rusty s tove , a

variety of Old d i shes , not broken ones ,

bes ide a vast amoun t Of rubbish , which the

mothers though t qu i t e u seles s , but wh ich

the daughte rs assured them would be “ j u st

the th ing fo r ou r charades .

“ I ’m not going to O l d Bluff t o as si st i n

such performances as charades , so you may

j ust coun t me out , sa id Preston , who was

to take t urn s wit h Bert Abbot t i n be ing a

n ight ly gue st at Camp Comfort ; s in ce the

parent s wou ld not con sen t that the gi rl s

should spend one n igh t th ere alone .

“As if boys were the least / prot ect ion ,

said Lucy Abbot t , Preston’s cou s in .

“ St il l th ey may be useful i n gett ing up

games , return ed Sad ie Pat ten hopeful ly.

“And Jack Townsend ’s cornet Is charm ing .


“SO i t is ; i t goe s so wel l wi th your har

mon ica . And we ’l l m ake the boys st i r th e

i ce cream , said Lucy, th e h ead housekeeper.

There was an i ce-hou se connected with

the ir cot tage , and i ce c ream was t o be per

mit t ed on Sundays,and l emonade at pl ea

sure .

“ But where are the l emon s ? sa id Mary,

flyi ng about i n eve rybody’s way.

“ Oh , we shal l buy fresh l emon s every

morn ing Of our grocer who comes t o our

door,

” sa id Lucy grandly .

“What I want

to know i s , i f my hammock was packed ?

Ch ildren , d id you see t h ree hammocks i n

that push -cart P— Boys , I hOpe you’l l hang

up those hammocks before we get there !

Don’t go rac ing now and spi l l ing out th ings !

- There , I don’t bel ieve anybody though t

to put i n that Spider, added She anxiou sly,

as th e five gi rl s had bidden good -by to the ir

IOO FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.

h igh , with a wh i te picket fence around i t , and

a red barn at one S i de . The house many

years ago had been wh it e ; and th e panes Oi

glass in the w indows were not only very

smal l , but weathe r-stained and streaked with

rainbow hues . London Pride or “ Boun c ing

Bet grew near th e broad front door- stone ,

t ogether with a few bunch es Of south ern

wood , wh ich Dr. Gray thought had a finer

Odor than any geran ium . The fron t yard was

grassy , and the fence l ined wi th roses Of

various sort s .

I t was the fi rst summer for years th at th i s

pl easant Old place ~had been vacant , and now

i t migh t be appl ied for any day ; bu t mean

wh ile the five gi rl s , cal l ed “ the qu intet te ,

and the th ree at tendant caval ie rs , cal l ed th e

trio, were wel come to rust i cat e i n i t , andI ,cal l i t a camp if they ch ose .

After the furn i ture was set up , and t here

OLD BLUFF . 1 0 1

had been a reasonable amoun t Of play at h ide

and seek i n th e barn , and the fi rs t supper had

been e aten the tabl ecloth proving to be

too smal l for the tabl e — Mary wen t to one

Of the front ra inbow-windows to watch for

Pres ton .

I mean to be a t rue woman .

Th is was what she u sual ly said t o hersel f

when resolved not t o cry . But there was

someth ing l onesome i n the thought of going

to bed w ithout k i ss ing her mother .'

Nobody el se fee l s as I do , and I would n’

t

ment ion i t for anyth ing ; but I’d give one

quarter Of my pin money one whole dol lar

to see mamma and Ethel . ”

She had supposed that i n camp ing out al l

care would be left beh ind . Her mother had

excused he r from lesson s and sewing, and sh e

had looked for “ a state of bl i s s ;” but i t i s

foreve r true — and Mary was begi nn ing to

1 02 FLAXIE GRO \VING UP.

fi nd i t so — that wherever we are , there is

someth ing s t il l t o do and bear .”

Homes ickness was a const i t ut i onal weak

nes s wi th Mary , but she d i sdained the cowar

d i ce O i runn ing home ; She would be a“ t ru e

woman ,” and c rack walnuts to pl ease Lucy.

Wel l,th i s i s a hard -work ing fam ily ,

” said

Preston , arriving presently in s tat e on h i s

b i cycl e , as Lucy and Sad ie were engaged in

putt ing the supper d i sh es i n the k i tch en cup

board .

“Yes Mr . Gray ; and we al low no idlers

h ere . Please may I ask what ai l s ou r window

shades , s i r

The poor old green - cl oth curtain s were

tearing away from the gentle c lasp Of Sadie

Pat ten’s tack -nail s , and l ean ing over from the

tops of th e windows as i f al ready t i red of the

sun and want ing a l i t t le res t .“Well , l et

’s see your hamme r.

IO4 FLAXIE GROW ING UP .

to sl eep on , the only one we have in the

house , said Lucy, with a m isch ievous glance

at Sadi e .

The spri ng -bed d id not fi t the bedst ead ,

and the chances were that i t m ight fal l

th rough i n th e n ight .

“You’

re too t remendously ki nd , t oo sel f

sacrificing, said Preston , su spect i ng at once

that someth ing was wrong .

But he had h i s revenge . The bedstead

was ext remely noi sy , and the rogu i sh youth ,

unable to sl eep h imsel f on accoun t Of mos

quitoes, rej oi ced to th ink that he was proba

bly keeping h is cous in Lucy awake .

“Good morn ing , Preston , I hope you re st ed

well ,” said sh e , as they al l m et next morn ing

in th e front yard .

0 very . i t ’s so qu iet i n th e count ry,

ret urned he demurely .

“ Did you ever lt ear

anyth ing so qu ie t

OLD BLUFF . 1 05

Never ; ex cept poss ibly a saw-mil l , said

Sad ie Pat t en .

“ Lucy and I wondered i f you

could be al ive , you were so st i l l !”

I t was sort Of fr ightful . NO sound broke

the awful S i l e nce,save the warn ing vo ice Of

the mosqu i t o . By the way , gi rl s , why don’

t

you cal l th i s Spot Mosqu i t o Ranch“ I

’ll t e l l you what we used to cal l i t at ou r

house , -we always cal led i t ‘Down to the

Farm ,

’ remarked l i t t l e Fanny .

“ I t ought to be Rose Vi l la , sai d Lucy .

Just see ou r ros e-t ree th at reaches almost

t o the eaves . We measu red i t yes t erday ,

and i t ’s seven fee t h igh .

”

That wil l do fo r a t ree,sa id Preston ,

pluck ing one of th e pure , wh i te roses and

thrus t i ng i t i nt o h i s but ton -hol e ;“ but you

can ’t eat roses , you know .

He had bu i l t a‘fi re in the k i tchen stove ,

bu t the young lad ies seemed to have forgot ten


ent i rely that there was such a th ing i n the

world as breakfast .

“0 ,yes , we mus t prepare our s impl e morn

ing meal , said cous i n Lucy .

“ G i rl s , where’s

my blue -checked apron ? Preston , we’ve

heard there are l ovely t rout in that brook

across the field . Not the r i ver -brook .

“ Have you,really ? Then I go a-fi shing ;

I ’d rather do that than starve . NO , Fan ,

you need n’

t come , I won’

t have anybody with

me but Flaxie .

”

Very proud was Mary that She could be

t rust ed to keep s i l en ce in th e presence of the

wise and wary t rout . I t was beaut i ful there

by th e brook - s id e , i n th e st i l l J un e morn ing ,

s i t t ing and watch ing the “ Shadowy water,

with a sweet - south wind bl owing over i t .”

There was no house with in hal f a m ile , and

perhaps the Peck fam ily and the Brown

fam ily th e nearest neighbors were s t i l l


be,with cold bread and but te r, cold tongue ,

and muddy, creamless coffee, th e mi lk having

turned sou r . In th e m idst Of thei r repast ,

th e young campers were su rpri sed by a loud

peal Of the door-bel l .

CHAPTER VII.

CAMP COMFORT .

“BUTTONS , said Lucy to her cous in Pres

ton , you’

11 have t o gO to th e door .”

“Yes,said Sad ie , “ as But ton s i s the

only servan t we keep, he must answer th e

bel l .

Preston obeyed , l augh ing. A drol l l i t t le

image Of d irt and rags stood at th e door,

hold ing a ten -quart t i n pail .

“ Good morn ing , said Preston , surpr ised

at the sh rewd,unch i ld l ike express ion of h er

face , for sh e was perhaps twelve years Old

and looked forty . The l i t t l e gi rl s eemed

e qual ly surpr ised .

“What ’s th em th ings ?!

tog

I IO FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.

sa id she, point ing to Preston’s spectacles .

“What do you wear ’em for ? ”

DO vou want anyth ing,l i t t l e gi rl ?

asked he, frown ing, or t ry ing to frown .

“ I say, what do you wear glasses for ?

You ai n’t an Old man .

”

“NO mat te r what I wear them for

very sternly'

.

“DO you wan t anyth ing,

ch ild

“Yes , I came to ax you for some swi ft s.

What do you mean by swift s

Lor n ow, don’t you know what swift s i s ?

Swift s i s someth ing folk s reel s yarn on .

”

Well, we have n

’t any i n th i s h ou se, l i t tl e

gi rl, and if that’s al l you came for, you

’d

better run home .

”

Hain ’t got no swift s ? ” shufli ing fo rward

with her smal l , bare feet , and peeping in to

the house th rough her st raggl ing locks of

hai r. “Well , you’

ve got a spi n -wheel ,

hain’t ye

[ 1 2 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.

NO , Pecielena . Hain’

t you got no lasses

cake ? Oh , What cunn ing l i t t l e sas sers ;’

handl ing th e sal t glasse s . “Where ’s th e

cups t o ’em ? How came you ch i ld ren t o

come here alone ?

“We came because we c/zose, said Mary,

with crush i ng emphas i s .

“We wis/zed t o come, sa id Fanny, t rying

to be as d ign ified as Mary,though she fel t

her i nfer ior i ty i n th i s respect always .

In n o wise d isconcerted , Miss Pecielena

Pancake started on a tou r Of Observat ion

about th e room .

“ You look l ike you ’d been burnt Out or

somethin’

. Who does your work ? Got any

cow ? Oh , you hai n’t ? Well , I

’

v e got a

cow. Th i s here i s my milk bucket . I ’l l

fetch ye some m ilk”

“NO, n o, no,” excl aimed Lucy, i n al arm .

Our m ilk i s to be brough t from town.

CAMP COMFORT. I I3

“ I s, hey ? Well , I

’l l fet ch you some sour

milk ; five cent s a quart .”

“Don ’t take the t roubl e , sai d Sadie

m ild ly ;“we are not fond Of sou r m ilk .

”

After a long in spect ion Of th e room , Pecy

gazed observan t ly ou t Of the window .

“ Look here ! What ’s them things hang

ing up i n the t rees ? Look l ike fish-net s .

I ’ve seen folks i n Rosewood swing i n j us t

such ; be th ey swings ? Well , I reckon I

mu st be a-goin ’. But we past er ou r cow th i s

S ide the r iver, and I’l l cal l agin when I come

t o milk .

“ I s i t poss ibl e that creatu re i s reallyI

gone ?

Hope she stayed j u st as long as she wished

to , Said Lucy, shutt ing th e door forc ibly.

Oh , she’s on ly hal f c ivi l i zed , and does n

’

t

know any bet ter, returned the more chari

table Sad ie.

I I4 FLAXIE GROW ING UP.

Young l ad ies , said Preston , flouri sh ing

h i s arms preparat ory t o a speech , “ i t seem s

you have set t l ed in a refined and cul t ivated

n e ighborhood — v ery! I never knew before

why you could n’

t s t ay at home ; but I now

see that Lau rel Grove i s unworthy Of you .

You p i ned for th e advantages of elevated ,

i n tel l ectual soc iety, such as can be found

on ly at O l d Bluff. ”

“ Button s , sa id Lucy, shaking th e broom

at h im ,

“we perm i t n o impert in ence from

servan t s . Go, pump a pai l of water d i rect ly,

and then you may wipe th e d i shes .

Preston “ s t ru ck an at t i tude ” again .

Honored lad ies,th ere ’s a l im i t t o al l

th ings . Buttons wil l cook , h e wil l an swer

door-bel l s , he wi l l sc rub, i f n eed be ; but

wipe d i shes he wil l n ot , ao, not i f you flay

h im al ive ! Farewel l ! Once aga in , fare

wel l

I 16 FLAXIE GROW ING UP.

K it tyleen K it tyleen Garland ! Dear

me , Where d id you pick lzer up, Mr. Fowler ?”

For i t was not to be supposed that K i t ty

l een came from home . She was an innocent

l it t l e t ruant , whose mother n ever obj ected

to her st ray ing about the st reet s.

G lad t o see you , K i t tyleen ; you can go

and play i n th e barn with Flaxie and Fanny,

said Lucy hospi tably ; and then , turn ing to

Sad ie , “Now, what shal l we order for d in

ner ? ”

Sad ie looked helpl ess .

What would you advi se , Mr. Fowler ?

Our fathers said we m igh t have o rg/thug, and

th ey ’d sett le the bi l l s but I

Lemons , st ruck i n Lucy, ashamed of

Sad ie’

s weakness .

A dozen,and some fresh but t er. Lard ,

perhaps ten pounds , for p ies .

“Anything el se,” asked the grocer, deferen

CAMP COMFORT. I I 7

t ially, as he j ot ted thes e o rders in t o a note

book .

“ I ’

ll bring them to-morrow — a real

pret ty s ituat ion here . What do you cal l i t ?

O ld Maid’

s Hal l ?

NO , a convent , said Sad i e qu ickly , “ for

we shal l have t o fast i f you ’re not com ing

back with our groceri es t i l l t o -morrow .

“Why , Miss Sad ie , i t’

S al l of two m ile s ,

and i t won ’t pay to come twice a day , said

the grocer , wiping h i s heated brows .

“Well , we shall have to fast , then . Th i s

i s a convent , as I t old you , and we ar e nuns

Capue/z iu nun s— for you know Capuch in

nuns are famous for fas t ing .

”

So they be,” laughed Mr . Fowle r, th ough

i t was the fi rst t ime i n h i s l i fe he had ever

heard of a Capuch in nun ;“ so they be ,

”

and rode away laugh ing, t o t el l Dr. G ray and

Maj or Pat t en , whom he met in the vi l lage ,

that those ch ild ren were having a h igh Old

I I 8 FLAXIE GROWING UP.

t ime down there at th e cot tage, and were

bright as p in s, every one Of’em .

”

“They forgot to order meat,but had n’t I

bette r take down some Cape Cod turkey to

keep Off starvat ion ? ” He meant sal t codfi sh.

“ How do you suppose they ’l l make way

with te n pounds Of l ard,though ?

Never m ind , repl i ed D r. Gray , th rowing

h i s head back to laugh “ they beg not to be

in te rfered with,and we 11 l e t th em have the i r

own way for a whil e .

”

Starvat ion was not l ikely to en sue for some

days,as th e young campers had been bount i

ful ly suppl i ed by the i r moth ers wi th bread ,

pies,cake , and cold meats .

Oh, housekeeping is j u st play and takes n o

t ime at al l,

” sa id Sad ie Pat ten ;“ now let ’s

get up some charades and rehearse for t o

morrow n ight , and invit e the th ree boys

Kit tyleen must be amused , you know .

[ 20 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.

Company,and Don Albertus of the Cann ibal

I slands . ”

The two “ stars t hen step forward , t o be

gree ted by the aud ience wi th deafen ing

cheers . Miss Graylocks (al ias Mary Gray! ,

her face and hand s wel l s tai ned with walnut

j u ice,i s clad i n blue j ack et , gray ski rt and

red - topped boot s (Sad ie Pat ten call ed them

“ gall igask in s with a stove -pipe hat on her

h ead . An ounce Of black wors t ed float s

down her shou lders fo r hai r. She makes a

deep courte sy, Don Albertu s (Bert Abbott!

a low bow.

He i s an Ind ian ch ief, cl ad in a red and

green d ress ing-gown , with a feath er du ster on

h i s h ead for a war-plume . H is face , l ike

Madame Graylocks’

, i s a fi ne mahogany color.

The ir “ unrival led performance ,” announces

the manage r, “ i s to be a Charade in two

syl lables .

CAMP COMFORT . 1 2 1

F IRST SYLLABLE.

The stage i s now Observed t o be st rewn

with s t i cks and twigs , t o re semble the out

skirt s of a fore st . NO word i s spoken ; but

as a t in pai l hangs on a pole over someth ing

that looks l ike a fi replace , i t would Seem that

the worthy couple are keep ing house, and

that the squaw i s preparing d inner . But as

yet there i s n o fi re . The squaw col lect s

branches and twigs , lays them crosswise

under the t in pai l . Her lord and master seat s

h imsel f on th e ground , watch ing he r in

scowl i ng s i l ence . The soup mus t boil ; but

how can she make a fi re ? She rubs two

s tones together Indian - fash ion,but cannot

strike a spark . S he t ries wi th al l her m ight ,

danc ing up and down and shak ing he r head

doleful ly . The ch ief laugh s at he r, Offer ing

no hel p , t il l sh e point s i n despai r to th e t in

pai l,rem ind ing h im that at th i s rate they

IZZ FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.

must starve . He ri se s th en , push es h er as ide,

and flash ing h i s wh i te t eeth at - her, se izes

the two stones , rubs them j us t once together,

and they i n stan tly ign i te (of cou rs e th i s

i s done by means O f a match h idden in h i s

sl eeve . ! The twigs are soon crackl ing under

the pai l H e po in ts h i s finger d isdainful ly at

the poor squaw,who cannot make a fi re.

She looks SO brow-beaten and d i scouraged at

th i s, so unl ike t he spi r i t ed Flaxie Frizzl e Of

real l i fe,that the aud ience laugh . Then the

drOpc urtain fal l s .

SECOND SYLLABLE.

Th e soup has bo il ed , th e ch ief has d ined ,

and now s i t s w i th hands folded , l ook ing good

natured . The pai l i s empty and ly ing bottom

upward on th e gras s . Enter h i s meek W i fe ;

takes the empty pai l ; retu rns with i t ful l of

water,slopping it as she walks . The th irsty

1 24'

FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.

l ips . H e pushes her away,and begs in

dumb show for th e wh i skey.

Fai thfu l squaw shake s her st ovepipe hat,

wrings her worsted hai r,chases Pal e Face

around and around the stage,t ry ing t o make

h im give up the fatal j ug. I n vain ; ch ief

i s al lowed to get i t ; rai ses i t j oyful ly to h i s

l ips .

Faithful squaw,becom ing frant i c , se ize s

the pail,and , overdoing her part , pours al l

th e water over Pal e Face, drench ing h im

completely .

“00 ! 00 ! h e gurgles . “ I f that i s n ’

t

j u s t l ike you , Flaxie Frizzl e !

Blanche hurries down the d rop curtain .

Scene closes .

I though t th ere was no talk ing in a pan

tomime,” laughed th e aud ience .

CAMP COMFORT. 1 25

THIRD SCENE.

Tfie Wdole Word.

I t now appears that th e wh iskey wh ich

Pal e Face m isch i evou sly brough t has wrough t

i t s dreadfu l work . The proud war-pl ume of

the ch ief dangle s ignom in iou sly over h i s l eft

ear ; h i s'

Coppe r-col ored cheek s and nose are

blaz ing red (painted w ith Ch inese verm il ion ! .

He t rie s t o walk ; reel s l ike a sh ip i n a

storm .

H is devoted wi fe has certainly t r ied her

very best t o save himfrom th i s degradat ion

but , l ike any bad husband , he onl y hate s h er

for i t,and has made up h i s d runken m ind

t o k i l l he r . Seiz ing h er by th e yarn Of th e

head , h e i s act ual ly scal ping her w ith the

lemon - squeezer,when l it t l e K it tyleen , who

can bear no more , cri es out ,

Stop,stop

, you shan’t hu rt my Flaxie !


Th i s t imely i n t erferen ce does n ot save the

squaw’s l i fe , however, —Or not en t i rely. Her

head comes O ff, or at any rat e,th e hat

and the ounce O f worsted . But e re sh e fal l s

t o r i se no more, She t u rn s — with remarkabl e

presence of m ind for a dying woman — and

po int s to th e wh i skey-j ug, scowl ing fu riou sly

at i t,as if to assu re the aud ience that i t i s

the j ug and not the l emon - squeezer that has

cau sed her death .

Curta iufalls.

Before any one had t ime to say, Now

guess the word , Jack Townsend , known by

th e campers as “ th e El ect ri c Light ,” on ac

coun t Of h i s red head , exclaimed , “ I t’s Fi re

Wa ter, i s n’

t i t ? That’s th e Ind ian name for

wh i skey. I guessed i t by the waterfal l i n

the second syl labl e .

“NO wonder you d id ; there was water

CHAPTER V I I I .

PUDDI NG AND P IES .

“THERE ’S that d readful l i t t l e Pancake

r i nging again . She comes every morn ing,

Preston , and you must stop i t ,” sai d cous i n

Lucy, waving away half a dozen fl i es from

the sugar-bowl ,Wi th as much vehemence assh e could th row into her napki n .

Troublesome fl i es ,” sa id Preston

,without

heed ing h i s cou s in’s reques t . “ They say a

barn -swal low wil l eat a thousand a day ;

wish we had a barn-swal low .

”

Lucy went t o th e door a t r ifle crossly,

bread-kn ife hard i n hand , as if she meant

to charge i t at t he foe.

1 28

PUDDING AND P IES . 1 29

And now what do you want

For i t seemed as i f t he l it t l e gipsy must

have exhausted al l t he errands that cou l d

possibly be thought of

“ Could I borry a pi ece 0’ s tovepipe

’bout so long I ’

ll fet ch i t back t o morry .

A piece Of stovep i pe

Lucy would not have sm iled on any ac

count .

“ Yes , mammy’

s s ick , and our st ovepipe’s

rusted off . I’

ll fet ch it home t o morry .

And before Lucy had t Ime t o preven t It , the

l it t le t ry-pat ience had rushed past her, and

effected an ent rance In t o the breakfast room .

And , as i f he r own pre sen ce were not un

Welcome enough, She was fol l owed by a

large , form idable-l ooking bee .

“ Don’t you be scared,

” said Pecielena, as

the ch ild ren al l sc reamed .

“ I ’l l catch h im

and k il l h im .

”


NO , no , cri ed Mary .

“ I belong to the

soc iety for c ruel ty t o an imal s . I can ’t l et

you kil l h im .

”

But Pecy had al ready caugh t th e bee and

crushed h im again s t the tabl e - cloth with th

broom -handl e .

Sad ie l ooked at Lucy,th e “ l ady abbess ,

t o see how long sh e mean t to al low such be

havio r to go on ; but Lucy had become di s

couraged, and was ret reat i ng to th e kit chen .

“ I must go and pick over the rice for

di nner . I suppose you don’

t know, Sad ie,

whether th ree pounds wil l make pudd ing

enough for s i x peopl e ? ” said she , putt ing

the rice in the only ket t l e the house afforded ,

and pou ri ng over i t two quart s Of water .

No , Sad ie d id not know .

The unbidden guest , fo rgett i ng that her

cow had not been m ilked , s tood look ing on ,

as saucy as an Engl i sh cuckoo in a hedge


And I never saw such a queer gi rl , said

Lucy,redden ing .

“Are you th e protector

of . th is fam ily, Preston G ray ? General

Townsend told mother he fel t easy about u s

with you here ; but i f you have n’

t authority

enough to keep t ramps away, perhaps we’l l

h ave t o cal l on Bert or Jack .

Th is sarcasm arou sed Preston .

Miss Pan cake , sa id he sol emnly, do

you see th i s gu n tak ing i t from the corner.

Perhaps you may not kn ow that I am a

sol d i er i n th e regular army ; and when people

do not behave 'well i t i s my bus in es s to shoot

them .

Pecielena was a sh rewd ch ild , and only

laughed .

“ You would n ’t dam shoot me , said sh e

confiden tly.

Ah , you need n’

t be so sure of that . Wai t

and see . Now I ’m going to ask you s ix

PUDDING AND P IES . 1 33

ques t ions ; and do you step toward th e door

every t ime you an swer one . And i f you are

not out of th e doo r by th e t ime th e las t one

i s answered

The sentence was l eft u nfin i shed,but

there was an awfu l gl eam of spectac le s,a

threaten ing wave of th e gun , and Preston’

s

appearance was mos t m il i tary and im

pos ing .

Do you know how to read , l i t t le gi rl ?

No.

Then step .

She slowly obeyed .

Do you ever go to church

No .

Do your fathe r and moth er ever go to

church ?

“No, — moving forward now of her own

accord , with some haste t oward the door .

“0 you’

re gone , are you ? Well , l i t t l e

I 34 FLAXIE GROW ING UP.

gi rl,you need n ’

t cal l agai n . Do you

hear ? ‘

There , that’s splend id

,said Sad ie admir

ingly. To th ink what a l i t t l e h eathen sh e

i s ! Do you suppose i t’s safe to l ive near

such peopl e ?

“We shan ’t h ave any more t rouble from

lzer, I’m th ink ing

,returned th e “ protector

of th e fam ily,

” feel ing that h e had vind i cated

h i s charact er.

But l i t t l e Mary was not qu it e sat i sfi ed .

Th is behavior was hardly i n acco rdance with

the dai ly precept s and examples of her pa

rent s,who had taugh t h er that sh e ough t to

pity and t ry t o help th e poor, ignorant , and

unfortunate .

She pondered on the subj ect at i n terva l s al l

t he morn ing, as she sat i n the hammock ,

amus ing h er devoted l i t t l e fri end , K i t tyleen .

Pecy looked as if she never had a good t ime

PUDD ING AND P IES . 1 35

in he r l ife . Was it fai r to d rive he r away ?

Could she hersel f do anyth ing for the ch i ld

If so,what , and how

Fanny and Blanch e were off i n the meadow

making dai sy-wreath s as a pret ty surpri se

for t o-n ight ’s ice- cream party . In the house

Sad ie arranged pond l i l i e s in a cracked bowl ,

repeat i ng to Preston the stanza ,

F rom the reek o f the po nd , the 1iHas r ise n i n ra imen t wh i te ,

A sp i ri t o f a i r and wa te r ,A fo rm o f i ncarna te l igh t .

Sad ie i s t oo h i falu t i n ’ for anyth ing,

though t Lucy , who had the rice pudd i ng on

he r hands . Ah , that pudd ing !

Lucy had forgot ten , or d id not know ,that

r ice has a habi t of swel l ing . Before long i t

h ad ri sen to th e top of the ket tl e and was

overflowing i t , l ike an erupt ion of lava down

the s ides of a vol cano .


Oh,look

,cr ied Sad ie , “ i t ’s l ike

the gen ius i n the Arabian N ight s , that fl ew

out when the bott le was Opened , and grew

to a great st eam g i ant !

Can t stop to talk fa i ry stor i es . Get the

spider ! cr ied Lucy .

She fi l l ed the spIde r from the bubbl ing,

dripp i ng kettl e .

The pudd i ng d i sh ! Big pl at ter

The wh it e -hot spir i t of the m isch ievous

ri ce was j ust beginn i ng hi s frol i c .

“ The p it cher ‘”

The steam giant was st i l l r i s i ng, growing,

danc ing ever upward .

“ Sugar bowl ! Pour out th e sugar on th e

t able ! All th e plates . O , dear, al l th e cups

and saucers I

Don’t you want th e teaspoon s ? Here ,

l e t ’s stop th is nonsense , said Preston . And

com ing to th e rescue, he swung off th e kettle

I 38 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP

kindly summoned every member Of the fam

i ly to wi tness th e performance . The taking

off of h i s coat , the pinn ing-up of h i s sl eeve s ,

the ty ing -Ou of an apron , the swath ing of the

h ead in a towel , th e clean sing of hands wi th

sand - soap and na i l -brush ; and But ton s was

ready for act ion .

“ Now,

” said he , drawing a long breath

and looking authori tat ively th rough h i s spec

t acles. Now,bring on th e flou r and th ings

,

and butt er some plates . Lard , but te r, kn ife ,

spoon . Where ’

s your m ilk ? NO , water

won ’t do . I prefer m i lk . Bring me half a

cup . Where ’

s your sal t ?

He careful ly measured out a hal f-cup of

equal part s of butt e r and lard , and rubbed i t

i n to a pint of flour .

Now,cream tartar and soda .

The gi rl s brought them with a growing

feel ing of respect . He st i rred two teaspoon

PUDD I NG AND P IES . 1 39

ful s of cream tartar in to the flour, d i ssolved hal f

as much soda i n th e m ilk,m ixed al l together

rapidly,and rol l ed th e mass on the board .

“ I hope ’

t wil l be bett er than the p ie we

had yeste rday, that was baked i n th e sp ider,

said Mary , not heed ing Lucy’s frown .

“How tough that was, said Blanch e .

What d id Lucy put i n to make i t so t ough

She d id n ’t put i n much of anyth ing,

repl ied Fanny .

“ Jack sa id you cou ld have

cut i t w ith a pai r of sc i s sors ,’

t was so th in .

”

Hush , ch ildren , the rest of us coul d n’t

have done as wel l ,” said Sad ie

,l ean ing ove r

the table, watch ing Preston’s effort s . “What

shal l you fi ll i t w ith

The quest ion start l ed h im : he had not

thought Of th e in s ide Of the p ie .

“Oh , almost anyth ing , sa id he , careful ly

t rimming the edges of the lower crust .“Are there any l emon s


NO, Jack used a dozen yesterday for one

pitcher of l emonade , said Lucy .

“ But we have some ve ry green appl e s if

the ch i ld ren have n’

t eaten them al l . ”

Fly round th en and sl ice ’em .

”

How impert inen t c ried th e whol e

fam ily .

“ Take not i ce , this i s the way But

tons makes pies .

But they “ fl ew round , al l five Of them ,

and p icked some ve ry green currant s Off the

bu shes i n the back yard with mer ry good

wi l l .

Now, behold me fi l l my pies,said Pres

t on , sl owly s ift ing a cup of sugar over the

bot tom crust before h e put i n the cu rrant s .

May I behold , too ?” asked th e grocer,

who stood at the S ide door . He had heard

th e laugh ing hal f a m i le away .

“Yes , s i r, t h i s i s my cooking school .

Well , go on with your lecture . You

I42 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.

and the pie would have done Preston great

cred it , i f i t had not been t rifled with in the

oven , l ike al l th e Camp Comfort bak ing . But

i t was far superior to Lucy’s Spider-pie , and a

vote was t aken on the spot for a change of

cook s .

Preston was j ub i lant,for was not th i s h i s

second vic tory for th e day ?

The weather was sult ry, and af t er d inner

everybody woul d gladly h ave recl ined i n th e

hammocks under th e Shade , i f Lucy had not

suddenly remembered that i ce-cream always

suggest s cake . Lemon—cake was made and

burned ; but th e i ce- cream party d id not

come Off on accoun t of a heavy shower wh ich

rose about Six O’cl ock .

In th e m id st Of i t arrived th e incorrig ibl e

Pecielena Pancake with a new errand .

Preston was chagrined . Had be in spi red her

with no real awe after al l ?

PUDD I NG AND P IES . 1 43

Have you got an ambril ?

An umbrel la was usele s s now, for sh e was

thorough ly soaked and d ripp ing with ra in .

“ I want t o take i t t o th e paste r, sa id she ,

so ’

s t o keep th e mi lk d ry !”

“GO a-way ! excla imed th e campers in

concert ; and at a s ignal from Pres ton they

al l clapped hands , and pursued th e ast on i shed

l it t le vagran t to the doo r . Everybody but

Mary . Somehow, as sh e looked at th e poor ,

wild creatu re , with the bright , rest l e ss , un

happy eyes , a fee l ing of p i ty moved her.

Be ye ki nd ly affect ioned one t oward an

other . ” Did that mean t ramps,t oo ? She

had been th inking of i t al l day . She was

not sure . Of cou rse,nobody wanted gipsy

ch ild re n coming around to bother, espec ial ly

aft er they had been forb idden th e h ouse ;

and Prest on was a very,very good boy, every

body sa id so,and not l ike ly t o do anyth ing


cruel . St il l , i t coul d not be den ied that Pecy

Pancake was a human be ing , and that was

ra in ing. On the whole,Mary thought she

had done wel l n ot to help “ cl ap her out . ”


I t is too bad , sa id Lucy, “ j ust look at

those hai l s tones as b ig as robin s’ eggs D id

that ch i l d have anyth ing on her head

“ Yes , repl ied Mary, pac ing the floor ex

cit edly,“ an Old sunbonnet . But the hail

s t ones wil l s t rike righ t th rough i t . Don ’t

hai l s t ones ever ki l l peopl e.

“ Oh,don ’t worry I t d id n ’

t hai l when we

sent h er out,or we would n ’

t have don e i t , of

course . But she ’s as t ough as a p ine-knot ;’

t would t ake more than hai l stones t o kil l

[2673 sa id Preston ; and then he wh i st l ed to

keep h i s courage up .

G i rl s,i f there ’s an ambril,

’ l e t ’s have it .

I ’m going to the ‘paster,’ wherever i t i s, to

fi nd hen!

And go he would and d id,i n spi t e of al l

remonst rances . He was gone a l ong wh il e ,

and when he ret urned, the sky was c l ear

again.

THE HA ILSTORM . 1 47

“Yes,I found her. S/ze

’

s al l r ight . She

had a quant i ty of ice - cream in her ‘milk

bucket ’ to take home .

“ Did she row across the r ive r ?

Yes, and I s tood and watched her safe

ove r. I tel l you she’s smarte r than chain

l ightn ing .

He d id not relat e that h e had found he r

crying b it te rly, and that sh e had eviden tly

suffered not only from frigh t but from

wounded feel ing . She had ut t ered no word

of compla in t,bu t her s i l en t t ears had given

h im a feel ing of remorse h e would n ever for

get . He rose early next morn i ng t o caulk

the old boat wh ich lay usele s s i n the barn .

“Abbot t had prom ised t o do i t but “Ah

bot t and the “ El ect r ic L igh t we re both

incl ined to forget fu lness, and al l t he hard

tasks were su re to fal l , sooner or l at er, on

the old man of the fam ily.

”

FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.

I bel ieve the concern i s seaworthy now,

and suppose we row acros s th e r iver,

” said

be, when breakfast was despatched .

There were s ix l i t t l e cr i es of ecstasy. I t

was Dish es , take care of you rsel ves if you

can ; and , as for food , the fl i e s seemed

d isposed to take care Of that .

I t was a lovely morn ing,the atmosphere

being part icul arly brigh t and cl ear after las t

n igh t’s sto rm . Gorgeou s red and gold butter

fl ie s h overed in the a i r, a robi n in th e front

yard hOpped along five s teps, th en stopped to

look at the campers , and th e easte rn morn ing

sun th rew h i s shadow before h im exact ly h is

own s ize .

“ I t ’s a perfect state of bl i s s t o go rowing

th i s morn ing , exclaimed Mary , as they en

t ered the boat .

“ ’T was al l we needed to make us per

fect ly happy, remarked Sad ie Pat t en , l ong

1 50 FLAXIE GROW ING UP.

O ld tubs, a rake with s tumpy teeth , and a

mop lyi ng acro ss some bat t ered t i n pan s .

The ch i ld ren around the door were as

shaggy-headed as the i r pl aymate , a l ame old

dog ; and i ndeed the only graceful obj ec t

about the prem ises was the soft blue smoke,

wh ich was happy enough to escape from th e

m iserabl e house th rough th e l ow ch imney.

Here dwel t th e fam i ly Of Pancakes . The

fath er had once been a decent , though

“ queer man , l ivi ng i n Kentucky ; but h i s

wife d ied , and h er death seemed to turn h is

bra in and make h im “ queerer ” than ever.

He married again , a m ise rable woman , be

l onging to th e sort of peopl e i n the South

call ed “ Crackers ; and from that t ime he

d id not seem to care what became of h im .

After many wanderings h e had set t l ed at las t

at O ld Bluff, declaring he would n ot move

again . His wife cou ld not read , and .he had

THE HA ILSTORM. 1 5 1

given up books h imsel f, and had no W i sh to

send h i s ch i ld ren to school or chu rch . Pecy,

the e lde st,was h i s fi rst w ife

’

s daughte r, and

by far the brighte s t of th em al l ; bu t the s t ep

mother made her a perfect drudge , and the

browbeaten ch i ld had scarcely a momen t to

hersel f, except i n going to and from the

paste r. Her lo it eri ngs at Camp Comfort

had al ready caused he r s everal beat i ngs .

The fam ily l ived ch iefly by hunt i ng and fi sh

i ng , had noth ing to do with the i r ne ighbors ,

and of course sank lower and lower,and

grew poorer and poore r, though to thei r

cred i t i t must be said that they had neve r

yet been known to s teal .

Half a dozen ch i ld ren s tood staring at

Pres ton as h e knocked at the cot tage door .

I t was Opened afte r some t ime by Mrs . Pan ~

cake , who wore a bl ue and yel l ow cal i co

gown , fal l ing in st raigh t l ines t o her ankl es

1 52 FLAXIE GRO‘VING UP

and though her feet ‘were bare , her head was

covered by a monst rous p i nk sun -bonnet ,

shaped l ike a flour- scoop . She had a cup i n

her hand , and was s t i rri ng the contents with

a yeHow spoon .

Good morn ing, said Preston for h i s

wh ole party, who were grouped about h im

in sflence .

The woman d id not retu rn th e greet ing,

and th ey all fe l t that the i r presen ce was no t

welcome .

“We came to inqu ire for your l i t t l e girl .

We hope She d id not take cold las t n igh t

i n the ra i n ; d id she ?

VVaLyea, she don e took a fever cohL

repl ied th e woman crossly , po int ing t o a

bunch Of s t raw on the floor, whereon lay a

ch i ld smel l ing at a rag rol l ed in tar. I t

was Pecy , and she immed iately covered her

face .


We are al l sorry you are s ick,Pecy

,

cont inued Preston ;“ we d id n ’

t know those

hai l s tones were com ing , or we woul d have

kept you at our house .

” Th i s was as near

a confess ion as h e chose to make ; and ,

clos ing th e subj ect, Now we ’

11 go back and

get th e l emons and sugar. Good-by, Pecy.

Did you ever i n al l you r l i fe ! exclaimed

Sad ie , when they were safely in th e boat

agai n . Word s seemed utt erly powerles s t o

expres s th e aston i shment , p i ty, and d isgust

of th e whol e party .

“ I ’m so glad you

though t of th e lemon s , Preston , said Lucy'

.

For there was an unspoken feel ing with

her and al l th e res t,of respon s ibi l i ty for the

l i t t l e c reature they had though tl essly i l l

t reated .

‘ Was there anyth ing more they

could do for her ? They “ wondered She

d id n ’

t d ie and done wi th i t i n such a home .

Perhaps her moth er would ki l l h er with her


doses . Yes ; but wh o had driven her ou t

w ithout mercy in to the s torm ? I f sh e sla m/d

d ie,would Camp Comfort be free from

blame

They hastened back w i th t en lemons , — al l

they had of yest erday’s pu rchase, — and th ei r

ent i re s tock of sugar and flou r. Not a we ’

1

of thanks d id they rece ive or expec t ; l t ' t

the look of j oy on Pecy’

s dusky face was

reward enough .

“Oh , slze’

s al l r igh t,sa id Preston .

“A l it

t l e sore th roat,that ’s al l . And tar won ’t

hurt her, or mandrake e i ther . There,now ,

spread your parasol s,for t he sun ’s com ing

out . Shal l we row up st ream or down

The next Satu rday even ing Mary G ray was

s i t t ing at her moth er’s feet,l ook ing wi s tful ly

i n her face . She had come home to s tay ove r

Sunday, and had j u s t been repeat ing in a

sweet, clear voice, and wi th unusual feel ing,

1 56 FLAXIE GROW ING UP .

th e “verse She was to speak at Sabbath

School concert

God wan ts the happy-hear ted g i rl s,The lov ing g i r l s , the best o f g i r ls,

Tfi e worst of g z'

r ls

He wan t s to make the g i r ls h i s pear ls ,And so reflec t his ho ly face ,Andb r i ng to m i nd h i s wo nd rous grace ,That beaut i ful the wor ld may be ,

And fi l led wi t h lov e and pur i ty.

God wan ts the g ir ls.

I th i nk that i s j u st l ovely , mamma . Only

i t doesn ’t seem somehow as i f He could ,

you know ' Not Me worst of gi rls ! Then

interrupt ing hersel f,

“Mamma, are there

any heathen i n America ?

Yes , my daugh ter, I fear there are . But

why do you ask ? You can never have seen

any ? ”

Yes , mamma , I have seen them . They

live at O l d Bluff. Thei r name i s Pancake.


Her husband knows more ; but what I was

going to ask you i s , Well , you remember

those Ch i nese bab ie s

Mary found i t d iffi cul t t o proceed .

Yes , dear, I remember.

You said I wan ted to pl ease Mrs . Lee ,

and make her and the gi rl s th ink I was gen

erous. That was t rue ; I know I d id , and it

has made me ashamed ever s ince , sa id Mary,

a p ink blush creeping over her forehead .

Her mother saw it , and wondered if any

th ing in al l th i s naughty world i s more inno

cent than a ch ild’s blush ? Sh e was sure

there i s n oth i ng hal f so fai r.

“Well , dear, go on .

”

So I was th i nking Are these Pan

cake heathen almost as bad as th e Ch inese,

mamma ?

Yes, qu it e as bad , I should say .

Well , then , could n’

t I give them al l my


July pi n-money, and not l et anybody know it ?

That wou ld make up for the Ch i ne se babies ;

and I know I should fee l bett er .”

Are you in sobe r earnest , Mary

Yes , mamma, I’ve though t and thought

about i t . I ’m in rea l earne st th i s t ime,and

I don ’t want to be ‘seezz of mm .

’ Do you

unders tand , mamma

Yes , dear, I understand . But you wanted

new gloves and new mus ic .

“ I know i t , but I don’t care . I can wa i t .

I ’ve thought i t al l over,and I Shan ’t be sorry

th is t ime . Are you wil l ing ?

Perfect ly wi l l ing.

”

Mrs . Gray cons idered a momen t . I wi l l

consul t wi th Mr. Lee or Miss Pike about th i s

fam ily. They are both very wise i n such

matters ; and i f they approve you ska/1 give

someth ing to the l it t l e girl . And I prom is e

you, Mary, nobody shal l know who g ives i t .”

CHAPTER X.

MISS P I KE’S STORY.

“ PAPA , we are s tarving. DO send us a

watermelon l ” wrot e Mary one day, and

sen t home th e note by l i t t l e Ki t tyleen , whose

v i s i t was at l ast over.

Dr. G ray laughed again and again at th i s

pathet i c appeal , and chan c ing to see Mrs .

Townsend pick ing st rawberries i n h er gar

den,he paused as h e went by to tel l her how

th e ch ild ren were suffering.

“They had pl enty day before yest erday,

said sh e, l augh ing i n h er tu rn .

“ O doctor,

have you ever been out to the i r camp ? They

are the most d i sorder ly , wasteful creatures :

1 60


j oy. But to day the “ favorit e friend,Miss

Pike, s i s ter J ul ia, and th e watermelon , com

ing al l together, were almost too much for

Mary .

Miss Pike was the most entertain ing of

guest s , and had brought a story with her,

wri tten expressly for the Quin tet te Club

so sh e informed them as they al l gathered

about her i n a del igh ted group afte r d inner.“ Oh l et ’s have i t now, th i s moment . Oh ,

Miss Pike, you are a darl ing .

”

“Well,you may bring my hand -bag , Mary.

And will J ul ia read aloud wh il e I sew ? For

I ’m rather hurr ied , you see .

She had al ready been over t o O ld Bluff,

measured Pecy Pancake with her eye , and

found she was abou t Fanny’s s ize ; and now

the dear soul began to baste a cal i co frock for

the mach ine,Wh i le J ul ia read .

MI SS PIKE’

s STORY. 163

A FAM ILY MYSTERY,

Ream/ed by a C/zimuey .

Here I am , at my las t gasp . I ’ve stood it

th i rty-five years without fl inching, but n ow

my t ime i s come . Pleasan t sky,you and I

must part . Bright sun , good -by. Remember

I am but a “ humbl e in st rument , and forgive

me for smoking i n your face . Look , i ron

hearted men , see how a hero d ies ! For

I ’m dying i n a good cau se, and i t’

s not I

that wi l l c ry Quarter . ”

Well , what would you do ? Here I am

alone , Shovel,tongs

,cook ing-st ove , al l

gone , that made l i fe des i rabl e ! Yesterday,

s i r,you cl imbed at op of th e house , t ore Off

the t i n roof, and rol led i t up in t o parcel s l ike

so much j el ly- cake . I looked on and saw

you , but the b it ternes s was past . The t ime

I cou ld have wept was the day my fam ily had


not i ce to l eave . Now they are gone , and

what care I what happens ? I saw you pul l

down the wall s , t i l l th e ai r was so th ick with

plast e r you could almost cu t i t w ith' a kn ife .

I saW you rip up the chamber-floor as if i t

had been a rag carpet . I saw you pul l away

th e door-steps , where s/ze used to stand ,

l ooking up and down the st reet .

I saw women and ch ild ren com ing to carry

away sh ingle s and clapboards for k indl ings .

L i t t l e by l i t t le,c rash by crash

,down went

the hou se , t i l l th ere was noth ing l eft stand

ing but th e.other ch imney and me — and

th i s morning he was taken . Now I ’

m sol e

su rvivor . I ’m red as far down as th e cham

ber fi replace ; the res t of th e way I’

m whi te .

Some of you laughed , s ee ing me stand ing

up al one , with a wh i te body and red head ,

and said I looked “ l ike a monument smi l ~

ing at gr ief.”


B le s s h er. I always d id my best t o draw when

5 126 laid the coal on th e grate ! Her father

never could understand why she had so

much bette r l uck than h e had i n making a

fi re !

John , th e Olde st , i s married , and l ivi ng i n

Boston . He has always paid h i s fath er’s ren t ,

and the Dean s have lived h ere ever s in ce

D ick was born . I t/t iué' they had a l ife -l ease .

They could afford t o l augh at th e i r n e ighbors

on moving day . Who ’l l l augh now ? I ’m

gett ing wheezy — thank you , l i t t l e boy

put on more sh ingle s , i t warm s my heart .

Where was I O , speak ing of the t roubl e .

I t i s the fam i ly myste ry, twelve month s old

and th e Odd part of i t i s , that I know more

about i t than anyone el se i n th e fam i ly.

A year ago , when Dick was at tend ing th e

academy, he came home one n ight w i th a

d iamond ring on h i s forefinger.

MISS P I KE’S STORY. 1 67

How Splend id ! Whose i s i t ? ” sa id Nel l ,

who was making but t ered t oas t for suppe r .

“That ’s te l l i ng ,” says Dick . What if

i t’

s my own ? ”

“ Then i t ’s paste .

Paste , ma’am ? I t ’s a soli ta i re, worth

seven hundred dol lars .

Nel l let the toas t burn . She put th e r ing

on her finger and turned i t round and round .

Knowing i t was worth seven hundred dol lars,

and i t s owner would n ’

t take a thou sand , she

saw at once i t was an e legan t affa i r. Afte r

D ick had teased he r a wh i l e , he told he r i t

be longed t o James Van Duste r , the weal th ie st

boy i n school .

And he does n ’

t know I ’ve got i t . I

s l ipped i t off h i s fi nger wh il e I was help i ng

h im out with h i s G reek . Won’

t i t be a good

j oke to see h is l ong face to morrow morn ing ?

0 Dick , how dared you ?” said Nel l .


And then I smel t the toast burn ing again ,

and heard her scraping it with a kn ife .

The ring i s too large for you , Dick . Let

me take i t fo r safe keeping .

”

You , Miss Nel l ! Why, you’

d serve it up

i n the toast -dip ,j u st as you d id the salt spoon

last week .

“ But th ink , Dick , if anyth ing should

happen to su ch a splend id j ewel l ”

There i s n’

t anyth i ng go ing to happen !

Don ’t fret ! I f I was i n the habit of los ing

th ings now

Dick checked h imsel f , and I su spect he

blushed . Nell , with al l h er kindness of heart ,

could n ’

t help laugh ing, for Dick was as

harum -scarum as a hurri cane .

I fel t low-spiri t ed from that moment , and

knew I should n ’

t breathe freely t il l the

prec ious r ing was fa irly out of th e house .

In the even ing Dick came down into the


How I longed to be heard I talked then

as plai nly as I do now, but they though t i t

was th e WInd “ s igh i ng down ch imn ey .

Nel l suggested that the ri ng m igh t be

around the fi replace .

“ You ’re warm , my dear, wh ispe red I , as

they say in games when you come near a

righ t gues s

But , alas , th ey d id n’t l ook deep enough ;

there was a crack i n the mortar under th e

bricks , and there l i es that r ing now,at the

north -east corner , e ight i nches from th e su r

face ; there i t l ie s t o th i s day !

Well , what’s a d iamond ring ? N oth ing

but th e dust of th e earth ; no bet t e r than

Leh igh coal anyway . But James Van Duster

d id n ’t th ink so . And the worst i s t o tel l .

He was n ’t qu i te so absen t -minded as ou r

D ick t ook h im to be ; be knew when th e

ring was drawn off h is finger as wel l as e i ther

MI SS PIxE’

s STORY. 1 7 1

you or I would have known . And be ing a

h igh - spir i ted young fel l ow, with a narrow

m ind , and enviou s of our Dick bes ides , what

shou ld he do that morn ing but send an offi ce r

after Dick . You could have heard Mr. Dean

groan acros s the s t reet . The O ffi ce r was very

pol i t e , and l i s tened respect fu l ly t o al l the

fam ily had t o say ; but I’ve n o mean s of

knowing wheth er he bel i eved i t o r not . Al l

I can state wi th certai n ty i s that Old Mr. Van

Duste r i nterfered,and said i f D ick could pay

James the pri ce of the ri ng , the mat te r shou ld

be hushed up, and he need n’

t go t o j ai l .

Seven hundred dollars ! Why, Old Mr .

Dean j us t earned h i s sal t by t end ing an

oven at a bakery ! There was noth ing i n

the house Of any val ue but Mrs . Dean’

s

piano, and that would n’t bring. more than

three hundred doll ars . O f course i t went ,

t hough — poor Nel ly, how that took the


l i fe out of he r ! and John made up the

rest of the money i n the shape of a l oan .

I d id th ink John was h ard-faced,wife or no

wife . He m ight have g i v en Dick the money

for the i r mothe r’s sake . I t was too bad for

such a young fel l ow as D ick to be saddled

wi th a debt .

After th i s he could n ’t afford h is t ime to

go t o school ; so h e got a cl e rksh ip . He

t ried t o hold up h i s head with th e best of

them t i l l h e began to See h i s mates turn ing

th e cold shou lder. The Van Dusters had n’t

kept the i r word . You see, the s tory had

been wh ispered around that D ick stol e a

sol i tai re and sold i t t o a Jew who had run

off wi th i t , and l/za t was why James Van

Duster was obl iged to stoop to wear a cl us

t e r d iamond . Th i s was more than Dick

could bear . H e ran away,and went to

work on a farm in New Jersey . He kept

I 74 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.

The fam ily went t o Thirty~fi fth St reet yes‘

t erday. I don ’t know how I could have

borne i t , but I’m sustai ned by th i s reflec

t ion ; I ani dyi ng ; dying, t oo, for the good

of the fam ily .

Yes , when [ fal l th e r ing w i l l be reveal ed !

To whom ? Aye , the re’s th e rub ! Not t o

you no i sy, rol l i ck ing boys , I hope and t ru st

I keep l ooking out for Nel l . I heard her

t el l h e r moth er day before ye sterday “She

sh ou ld watch that k it chen ch imney when i t

wen t .

Bravo There sh e stand s That ’s Nel l !

That modest gi rl i n the bl ue d ress , with the

bi rd on her hat . Bravo , Nell I ’

m reel ing,

dear . I ’ve got my death-blow, I’

ve only

been wai t ing for you

Hammer away,ye i ron -h eart ed men !

Make an end of me now . I ’m dying i n a

good cause, s irs, in a good cause , yes

MI SS PIxE’

s STORY. 1 75

Farewell , sweet Nel l , Nortfi -Et t st comer ;

en/t t inc/zes dow/i Farewel l , N-e -l-l

Allow me to add that ou r fri end, th e l ate

Chimney, d id not d i e w ith a l i e i n h i s mouth .

There was a ri ng . Nel l found i t .

Imagine the del igh t of the Dean fam ily !

The newspapers made i t appear that th e

Honorabl e Van Dust er was very magnan ie

mous , fo r he gave Dick th e pr i ce of the

ring seven hundred dol lars . Why not ,

i ndeed ? Had n ’

t Mr. Van Duste r rece ived

payment i n ful l ? But he al so gave back the

boy’s good name, wh ich was worth a thou sand

d iamond rings .

But h e can’t make up to my D ick fo r th e

two dread fu l years h e has borne . That su f~

fering can never be made up,” sa id Old Mr.

Dean , shaking the ash es out of h i s p ipe .

I can’t agree with h im . Has n ’

t the s uffer


i ng been made up to Dick in pat ience

and thoughtfulness and chari ty for others ?

I f you knew h im you woul d th ink so , I know.

I t was a hard experi ence ; but D ick i s won

drously Improved . He is the staff of th e

fam ily now, and h is lov ing moth er says

The sorrows of hi s yout h ful daysHav e made h im Wi se fo r com ing years.

”


brothers and si sters . She t ol d th e Quintet te

she would l ike to become bet te r acquainted

with th e ch ild,and suggested ask ing her

over to th e camp t o d inner. Pecielena had

never even knocked at th e i r door si nce the

n igh t of the hail st orm ; but Mary espied her

at a d i stance with h er m ilk-pail , and ran up

t o her,saying

,with beam ing good wil l

,

Pecy, we’l l l et you come to ou r house to

d inner to -morrow if you want to !

Some people m igh t not have cons idered

th i s a very cord ial i nvi tat ion,but Pecy was

more than sat i sfied with i t , and, as her

mother had bee n won by Miss Pike, there

was no Obj ect ion made to h er going .

“What , eat d inner at t/za t house ! Would

the g irl s l et her s i t down with them at the

t abl e ? ” she wondered,feel ing as if a star

had dropped at h er feet .

Meanwh i l e Dr. and Mrs . Gray had arr ived,

DI N ING OUT. 1 79

the i r carriage fai rly l oaded wi th eatable s , a

huge plum pudding rid i ng between them,to

make room for wh ich l i t t l e Ethe l had to be

perched at the i r feet on a cricket . I t was

Dr . G ray’s fi rs t vacat ion , and he would have

preferred a day at th e seas ide ; but when

he heard that th e Qu inte t te would “break

camp in anothe r week , he dec ided t o vis i t

O ld Bl uff and make Mary happy.

How good you are,papa

,and how I l ove

you ! ” said She , springing i nto h i s arm s ,

wh ile th e girl s rol led the dai nt ie s ou t of th e

carriage l ike peas ou t of a pod .

“ Oh , mamma l sa id she, when she had

he r mother t o herse l f at las t in he r own

hammock , “ we are going to have that h ea

then I to ld yofi of to d in ne r. And I have n ’

t

said one word to M is s Pike about my giving

her my pin -money, not one word . There are

three poor fami l ie s , Jack cal l s them a


‘peck of brown pancakes he means the

Peeks, and Browns, and Pancakes, you know .

And the girl s wan t to do someth ing for al l

Of them , and I suppose they th ink I’m cold

hearted and s t i ngy,

Well , you don’t l ike them to th ink that ,

do you

“ Yes, I do, mamma ; i t’s no more than

fair, said Mary stoutly .

Mrs . Gray had neve r i n h er l ife fel t so wel l

pleased with her young daugh ter as at th is

moment . I t was very clear now that Mary

had been honest ly d i sgust ed wi th her own

conduct,and had chosen th is way to pun ish

herse lf for her fal se charity and love of

d isplay .

“And I ’l l n ot spo il i t all by prais ing

her, th ought the d iscreet mother.

When she went i nto the house with Mary

the gi rl s began to talk about Pecielena.

’

They


Shan’t you do anyth ing, Flaxie ? You

have so much money of your own .

”

Mrs . G ray could scarcely rest rain an

amused sm il e as Mary repl i ed in a low vo ice,

Perhaps I ’l l do someth ing — I’

11 see

and then had to st eal out Of the room for

fear she m ight add ,“Yes , i ndeed It

’

m going to do more than

al l th e rest of you pu t together. And if

mamma ’s wi l l i ng, I shal l teach Pecy her

l et te rs too

The young lady under d iscuss i on was now

seen approach ing th e house .

“Why,th i s can’t be th e l i t t l e savage

you ’ve sa id so much about , exclaimed Mrs .

Gray,l ook ing out of th e rai nbow-window.

But what a th in , Old l ook ing face

Pecy was i n hol iday at t i re . M i ss Pike’s

cal i co d ress fi t t ed her wel l , and i t seems sh e

i id possess a pai r of Whol e shoes, and had

DI N ING ,OUT. 1 83

borrowed her mother’s pi nk sun -bonnet .

To say she was modest and wel l—behaved

would be i ncorrect ; but Mrs . G ray d id not

fi nd her as bol d and impudent as had been at

fi rst represen ted .

Though twelve years old , she had never

d i ned at a real ly c ivi l ized table so now,when

she found he rsel f seated before an array of

brown l in en tabl ecloth , clean d ishes , and

tolerably bright S i lve r, she was obviously

qu it e bewildered . In he r eyes,Dr . Gray was

a wonde rful man,wh il e h i s wife and daugh

te rs were no le ss than queen and princesses .

As for Miss Pike , she would probably have

clas sed her among angel s , i f s he had ever

h eard of such beings , wh ich i s hardly l ikely

She could n ot manage a fork , and i n at

t empt ing it , often dropped her food upon the

tabl ecloth . But i t was worst of al l when

the p ie was served . Lucy, annoyed by her


shocking manners,refrained from looking at

her,as she sa id with cool pol i t eness

,

Pec ielena, wil l you have a piece Of pi e ?

Now Miss Pancake , painful ly aware of he r

awkwardness , was resolved for on ce to Show

her qu i ckness and dexteri ty . Never stopping

to see that Lucy was about to put th e pie i nto

a l i t t l e pl at e,sh e held out her [mad for a

piece ! You can hard ly bel ieve i t , but that

was the fash ion at home . She a lways held

out her hand when She wanted a piece of pie ,

and her mother flung i t i n to h er out st retched

palm . How Should She kn ow that th i s was

not th e custom that prevai led i n pol i t e

soci ety But when Lucy passed her a l i t t l e

pl at e with freez ing d ign ity, She understood

her m istake in a moment . She saw, t oo , that

Mary and Fanny were exchanging glances of

su rpri se and amusement . They would have

l aughed aloud if they had dared .


day, and , as far as po ss ibl e , to comb her

tangled h ai r. She was ashamed of her un

couth language , wh ich she now perce ived was

qu i te un l ike that of th e young people at

Camp Comfort . Oh , if she cou ld talk l ike

them If sh e could read , as they did , out Of

books ! Above al l , if she on ly knew how to

behave ! There was a sk i l l i n carry ing a fork

to one’s mouth wi th food on it , that passed

her comprehen s ion . How could people do

i t ? I t seemed vas tly harder to her than

walking a t igh t -rope, wh ich she had seen

done at a c i rcus

Oh dear, t o th ink they had invited her to a

grand d inner, and sh e could n’

t behave ,” and

they had laughed at her ! There was some

th ing in th i s l i t t l e gi rl , or sh e would not have

been capable of so much Shame . She had

natural ly a sh rewd , br ight m ind , wh ich , of

cou rse , had been runn ing to waste . She had

DI N ING OUT. 1 87

seen c it ie s and vil lages whizz ing by her from

car-windows in t ravel l ing , but her l i t t le l i fe

had al l been spen t in backwoods places , and

Camp Comfort was real ly almost her fi rs t near

v iew of c ivil i zed l i fe . Now she was waking to

a n ew world . If she could only get to i t , if

she could only l ive i n i t She had as many

eyes , ears , and fi ngers as anybody el se Why,

could n ’

t she be a n i ce,prope r

,pol it e l i t tl e

girl , say, for i n stance , l ike that pretty

Flaxie Frizzl e , who had treat ed h er so kindly

and offered t o take he r with her to ch urch

Flaxie’

s mother was so n ice Perhaps she

had cows , and needed a l i t t l e g i rl t o m i lk

them But , oh dear, she would n’

t h i re any

body that cou ld n ’

t behave

After th i s , Pecielena hovered about Camp

Comfort l ongingly,but would have got no

farther than the door-st one,i f Flaxie had not

come out and urged he r to en ter .

1 88 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP .

Oh yes, come in , Pecy, come in , and have

some rais ins . ”

I t had been a bright day for Pecy when the

Qu intet t e came to Camp Comfort , a brighter

day than She knew . Miss Pike had a “plan ”

for her. She meant to wi n the ch il d away

from her “ queer father and al l her m isera

ble surround ings,and have her reared care

ful ly in a good Chri st ian fam ily . But M is s

Pike d id not speak of th is at present . She

never talked much about her plans t i l l they

were wel l matured .

Pecielena nearly c ried her eyes out on the

day th e Qu int et t e “ broke camp . They

Were obl iged to go, for th e Hunn icut s of

Rosewood wanted the house . There was a

farewel l d i rge on the com et and harmon ica,

a touch ing farewel l to O ld Bluff and the

R iver Dee , the big barn , the front door-yard ,

the whi te rOse-bush , the spread ing elms, the


fam il ies about O l d Bluff,— th e Peeks , Browns,

and Pancakes,

- who shal l say ?

And one day i t occu rred to bu sy Miss Pike

that She had n ’

t qu i te enough to do , fo r she

was only t each ing school , s tudy ing French

and German , and get t ing up Ch ri s tmas fes

t ivals fo r Laurel Grove and Rosewood ch il

d ren ; but sh e must t ry to manage a Ch ristmas

Tree for the l i t t l e ou tcast s of O ld Bluff .

There woul d be n o l e i sure for i t on Ch ri stmas

Ev e , th e twenty fou rth ; ne ither on th e twen

ty-fi fth ; but th e twenty-S ixth would answer

every purpose .

And where could th e t ree be put ? Where

el se but i n th e parl or of Camp Comfort i t sel f ?

The Hunn icut s were wil l i ng at once . They

had but one chi ld , James , and he Was ready

to help . SO were th e Quin te t t e and the Trio

of cou rse , and SO were al l th e i r relat ives and

fri ends.

CHAPTER XII.

CHRI STMAS AT OLD BLUFF.

ONE of th e handsomest evergreen s i n th e

Town send woods was chopped Off close by

th e roots , and dragged to Camp Comfort by

Preston Gray and James Hunn icu t The

Ol d Blu ff ch ild ren had though t and d reamed

of n oth ing el s e fo r th ree weeks bu t that

mysteriou s Ch ri stmas Tree . I f i t we re t o

be placed i n a church th ey would have

sh runk from approach ing i t , for they were

afraid of chu rche s,and none of th e Pan ~

cakes , except Pec ielena, and none of the

Peeks, except Charl i e , had as yet been drawn

i n s ide a Sunday school . O r i f the Tree were

to be i n some el egan t h ouse at Lau rel

1 9 1


Grove , i n a cold parlor with high wall s and

solemn marbl e fi replaces, where r ich ch i l

d ren congregate, what would these l i tt le

savages have cared for i t then ?

But th i s Tree, t/zei r Tree , was to be at

Camp Comfort , a place th ey knew al l about ;

and the doorkeeper,Mr. Hunn icut , was to

le t i n every ch i ld b ig enough to walk . As

for the grown peopl e, they would be l et i n

al so , bu t merely that th ey migh t take care

of the child ren ; fo r that i s al l that i s wanted

of grown peopl e at Chri stmas t ime !

Mary G ray, Ethel , Blan che Jones , and

Fanny Townsend watched the c loud s for

the whole th ree weeks . At on e t ime i t

rain ed , and there were fears of “ a green

Chri stmas ; t hen i t grew cold , and the fi rst

s now came ; but before there was much

t im e to be glad of th e snow, the wind has

t ened along and heaped i t i n to drifts.


wh it e splendor of the world . The Peeks,

Browns , and Pancake s arr ived i n wil d haste

at Camp Comfort before Mr . Hunn icut was

ready to l et them in . They would have

though t h im very unfeel i ng i f they had

known that h e was fin i sh ing h i s tu rkey sup

per wh il e they wai ted ln the en t ry.

But they d id not wai t l ong . There was a

loud j ingl ing Of sl e igh -bel l s,the bl owing of

a com et,and th e e ight campers and lame

Sad i e Stockwel l appeared in a boat - sl e igh

d rawn by two horses adorned wi th about

twen ty st rings Of bel l s . Beh i nd th i s impos

i ng equ ipage gl ided th e modest sl e igh s con

tain ing meek paren ts and friends .

Then the warm,ch eerful parl or was th rown

Open at last,with jt s dozen lamps , blazing

and twinkl ing as if they knew i t was

Ch ri stmas ; and the beaut i fu l t ree was

seen Sh in i ng l ike al l the stars i n the Sky.

CHRI STMAS AT OLD BLUFF . 1 95

A l oft , on the topmost part,stood a l i t t le

wax'en image cal l ed the Ch ri st -ch ild ; and if

i t had been al ive i t cou ld hardly have smiled

more ben ign ly .

Dr . G ray, s tepping forward , told the

del ighted l i t t l e guest s to look up at i t and

th i nk of i t as the image of the l i t t le ch i ld

Jesus , th e good Lord , who loved l i t t l e ch i l

dren wh ile on earth,and who loves them st i l l

i n heaven .

Then Mr . Lee made a short praye r, so very

s imple that t he youngest ones coul d unde r

s tand ; but they scarcely l is tened for looking

at the Tree .

Ah , you that have seen Trees ever s i nce

you can remember,they are an old st ory to

you ; but if you were a poor l i t t l e ch ild , and

th i s were your fi rst vi s i on of one , can you

fancy what i t would be to you then ?

Pecielena Pancake , with hai r neatly bra ided

1 96 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP

and fall i ng down the back of he r new frock,

stood gaz ing at i t i n amazement . To h er i t

was a beaut iful marvel . Her mother woul d

not come , but had sent all t he ch ildren,and

they were dragging and tugging at her sk i rt s .

Mrs . Peck and Mrs . Brown were there ,

women who cou ld not behave muchbett er

than Pecy , but they were qu iet and smi l ing ,

and they and al l the poor rough l i t t l e ch i l

d ren stood looki ng at th e sh in ing Tree with

l ips far apart and ve ry wide eyes .

Some Of the ch i ld ren were t rembl ing be

tween sm il es and tears , so eagerly hoping

they had presents com ing, so sadly afraid they

had n ’

t !

The Quin te t t e and the Trio l ooked around

benevol en t ly . Mary G ray fel t l i t t l e thri l l s Of

j oy at see ing the ch i ldren SO happy now, and

knowing they would be happ ier st i l l when the

present s were given out . She was glad


After the Chri stmas songs , Dr . G ray and

General Townsend took off the present s .

There was a j oyous sc ream from Pecy

Pancake when she rece ived her new cloak of

gray beaver cl oth,with butt on s to match , and

a col lar that would turn down or up . The

name of th e giver was not ment ioned, and

the stud ied look Of i n nocence on Mary’s face

was ed ify ing to behold .

Pres ton ’s express ion was equal ly i nn ocen t

when Charl i e Peck bounded forward and

se ized h i s brave sl ed , “ Cl ipper, and when

l i t t l e Bobby Brown shouted over h i s fi rs t pai r

of Skates .

And every t ime a presen t was taken Off the

Tree,the l i t t l e candles on th e branches seemed

to twinkle m ore gayly, and the Chr ist-ch ild

to sm il e more benevol en t ly than ever .

“ Susy Peck ,” cal l ed Dr . G ray from the

right , and a wee girl stepped forward with

CHRISTMAS AT OLD BLUFF . 1 99

fingers In her mouth,and snat ched — snatched

,

i s th e word — the pret ty dol l wh ich Jul ia

Gray had dres sed in a scarl e t frock,with

fash ionabl e hood , fu r t ippet , and mu ff . Like

most of the others , Su sy forgot to say

“ Thank you ; but I suppose i t was the

proudest moment Of he r l i fe .

Baby Peck ,” call ed out General Townsend

from the left ; and another wee gi rl toddled

up, hold ing on by her mothe r’s fi nger, and

got a hand some box so ful l of sugarpl um s

that the cover would hardly stay 0 11 . And

then the overj oyed baby had to be taken in

her mother’

s arm , l e st , i n runn ing abou t to

Show th e box, She should get under every

body ’s feet .

Johnny Brown,call ed Dr . G ray. And

Johnny ’s cnin d ropped on h i s l i t t l e ragged

neckti e with del igh t at rece iving a pret ty

j acke t with l inen col lar and cuffs , wh ile the

ZOO FLAXIE GROW ING UP.

El ect ri c Ligh t was suddenly ext i ngu ished

beh ind the parl or door .

But Why enume rate the present s wh ich fel l

l ike ripe fru i t from that bount iful Tree ? The

pretty d resses , the modest need le -books, thepainted d rums , beaut iful books and pictures ,

and al l mann er of gay toys ?

And why describe the long table wh ich the

l ad ie s had spread wi th eve ry dainty that these

ch i ld ren had ever s ighed for ; real turkey

with genu ine “ stu ffing ; cakes O f al l sorts

and s izes , with fru it and wi thout ; some as

yel l ow as gold,and some buried under snow

d rift s of frost in o“ and be st Of al l , perhaps , too

th em , large mound s of candy , oranges, nuts,

and ra i s in s !

VVOrth wh ile , i s n’

t i t sa id the El ectric

Light,

n oddi ng h i s head , wh ich was nearly as

bright as a Chri s tmas candl e .

Our com ing out to Camp 'Comfort was a

202 FLAXIE GROW ING UP

And , all th e wh i le , th e beaut i fu l Christmas

Tree s tood gl i t tering with i t s l i t t l e candle s,

i t s green branches st ripp ed of everyth ing but

the i r st raigh t pine needl es .

Miss Pike l ooked up from the ch il dren’s

happy faces to the Ch ristmas Tree , and her

soul was st i rred wi th awe . For the Ch ri st

ch i ld on th e topmost bough seemed al ive ;

and behol d how large he grew, how grand

and beaut i ful ! I t was as if the heaven of

heaven s could not con tain h im : yet he was

there i n that very.

room , and She beheld h im

H is arms were extended i n bless i ng , h i s l i ps

m oved,and i n a st i l l

,smal l vo ice , as if i t fel l

f romth e Sky, She h eard h im say once moreS i t/f er li t t le c/t i la

’rei z to come un to me, and

forbid t/zem not ; f or of s i te/t is t/ze kingdom of

lzeav ei z .”

SOPHJB MAv's “LITTLE-Poms ! socks! ,

PROD! KEEPING 3 01188.

“ Ol inhn nmamttng cruwrof sald tho fi u in fi o l oog n iq o !

m lt ss fl mmmm mm mn .mm um u ym . lull

“t e n emen t-m t”

um cris i s m u n onn’

mn u‘

mfi g

SOPHIE MAY'S “LITTLE—FOLKS !Books.

LITTLE GRANDMOTHER.

Grandmother Parlen when a l itt le gi rl is the subject. Of coursethat was ever so long ago, when there were no luc i fer matches, andst ee l and t inder wens used to l ight. rues ; uhon soda and saleratus had‘

newer been heatt l of, but p eople made the ir pearl ash by soak ingluh ui cra ckers in Water ; “hen the dressmailer and the tauior and

( li e shoemaker went from house to house twi ce a year to make thed resses and coats of the fami l y Transcr ip t .

LITTLE GRANDFATHER.

The story of Grand father Parion’s l i t tle boy l i fe, of the days of

knee breeches and'

cockedhats , ful l ti t-Odd incidents. queer and qua intsayings, and the customs of ye O lden t ime .

’ These stor ies of SOPIII:MAv ‘s me so chaIIiun tz iy tu i t i on that o ld e r fo lks may we l l amuset hemselves by read in g them. The same warm sympathy Wi l li chi ldhood , the earnest natui alncss, t he n

i

mcl charm of the preced ingVo lumes wil l be found in this. ” - Cln t

'

stlmi Messenger.

MISS THISTLEDOWN.

One of the queerest of the Prudy (mnily Read the chapterheads and you “Ill see just how much fun there mus t be in it‘Fly’s Heart,‘ ‘Tak ing a Nap,

’ ‘Going to the Fair,‘ !I‘

he DimpleDot ,

' !

I‘

he Hole in the l lomc,’ ‘The Li tt le Bache lor, ’ ‘Fly's Blue

beanl .‘ ‘Play ingMamma, ‘ ButterSpots,’ ‘Pol ly’sSecret, ’ The Snow

Man .

’ !The Owl and the Humming-Bird,’ ‘Taltts ot Hun t ing Deer,’

and ‘Tho’

Pu len Patchwork. ‘

Flaxie Growing Up - Forgotten Books and pricking her ﬁnger, all in a sec ond Of time! W/zo I did n...

Documents

Transcript of Flaxie Growing Up - Forgotten Books and pricking her ﬁnger, all in a sec ond Of time! W/zo I did n...