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 !
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 .
”
28 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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.
32 FLAXIE GROW ING UP.
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
36 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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
42 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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
44 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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
46 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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
48 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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
50 FLAXIE GROW ING UP.
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
52 FLAXIE GROW ING UP.
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 .
”
54 FLAXIE GROW ING UP.
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
56 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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
58 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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 .”
60 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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.
”
62 FLAXIE GROW ING UP.
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 ?
64 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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. ”
66 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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
68 FLAXIE GROW ING UP.
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,
70 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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 ?”
72 FLAXIE GROW ING UP.
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 ?
74 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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
78 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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,
80 FLAXIE GROW ING UP.
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
82 FLAXIE GROW ING UP.
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
CHINESE BAB IES . 83
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
84 FLAXIE GROW ING UP.
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.
86 FLAXIE GROW ING UP.
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 .
88 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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,
CHINESE BAB IES . 89
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 !
90 FLAXIE GROW ING UP.
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
96 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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 .
98 FLAXIE GROW ING UP.
“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
1 06 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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
1 08 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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 !
1 26 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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 .
”
1 30 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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
1 32 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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 .
1 36 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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
1 40 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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
1 44 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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 . ”
1 46 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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 .
1 54 FLAXIE GROW ING UP.
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
THE HA ILSTORM . 1 55
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.
1 58 FLAXIE GROW ING UP.
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
THE HA ILSTORM . 1 59
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
1 62 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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
164 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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.”
166 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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 .
1 68 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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
1 70 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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
1 72 FLAXIE GROW ING UP.
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
1 76 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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.
”
1 78 FLAXIE GROW ING UP.
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
1 80 FLAXIE GROW ING UP.
‘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
1 82 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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
1 84 FLAXIE GROW ING UP.
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 .
1 86 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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
1 90 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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
1 92 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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.
1 94 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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
1 98 FLAXIE GROW I NG UP.
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. ‘