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MJCROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART

(ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2)

1.0

1.25

5.0 '""=

5.6

3£
3.6

^ 1^

22
2.0

1.8

^ /^PPL_itzLJ iiVu^'iLDt:

Inc

1653 East Main Street

Rochester, New York 14609 USA

(716) 482 - 0300 - Phone

(716) 288- 5989 - Fox

LITTLl 111188 ELLERBY

AND

HER BIG ELEPHANTS,

RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

MRS. BOOMER

*-^ A A AL

ii LA IS UEAN OF KUROW).

r^oo

oQo

LITTLE MISS ELLEEBY

And Her Big Elephants.

I SAY "her big elephants," but I
1 must premise that that is some-
what of a figure of speech. I would
not msult your credulity by asking you
o beheve that little Miss Ellerby had
two big elephants of her very own In-
deed It was rather the other way • the
elephants, so to speak, had Miss Eller-
f>y. At any rate hoW to be rid of them
was a problem which perplexed her bv
day and troubled her in her dreams by

"k^ • T . ^"^ ^"^ ^ ^t"«l3- accurate
when I describe both of these obtrusive
animals by thesingle adjective "big " for
there are degrees even in bigness,' and

than the other, as indeed it ought to
be, being its mother.

jRBY

ts.

but I
some-
would
ng you
3y had
n. In-
'; the
Eller-
them
ler by
US by
:urate
rusive
?,"for
!, and
>igger
rht to

LITTLE MISS ELLERBY. 3

AS I write, anoth-r inaccuracy sug-
gests itself. By my ca^Iing my little
historiette, *' Little Miss Ellerby and
Her Big Elephants/' I find it more
ditticult to make you understand that
It was a kind of a joint-stock affair after
all, for others had to go shares in their
proprietorship, and in the very palpable
duty of getting rid of them both as
quickly as possible, and how to do this
was the puzzle. It all came about in
this way. Little Miss Ellerby, who
had a heart of gold (about the only
goid she had, good little soul), and a
deep and abiding love for her Church
and Parish, and who never tired in her
efforts to benefit both, had come home
after a long round of district visiting
thoroughly tired out, and what was
somewhat unuusal for her, a trifle
depressed and disappointed. One
after another had groaned over the
Church debt. Some had shirked doing
anything at all because the debt was so
-x£„ ciivi ujc iiuic we couia do would not
make much difference anyway," another
had said, '' She preferred sending her

* LITTLE MISS ELLERBY

money to the heathen, and that was
about all she could manage to do "
another was a member of ^'this society"
and another -of that," one excuse
followmg each other so glibly that
although they deceived neither those
who spoke nor her who listened, still
they served to send little Miss Ellerby
home with a confused sense of thincrs
bemg altogether wrong somehow tak-
ing away her appetite, and giving her a
bad attack of what her good old hand
maid Bridget called her ^neurolgy."

A cup of tea somewhat revived her
and a few comforting words from the
Book ot Books calmed her nerves and
raised her hopes

She was sitting quietly in her easy
chair, half dozing and half cogitating
when her bright schoolboy nephew
i-eo, popped in as he often did on his

"^^V. ^? ^^""^ '"^ ^^^ "^^^ street.

Why! Aunt Liz, not even your
knitting in your hand, and you do look
'^^ ~-> -w,.T-_r o TTivyiig vviLii your'"

" Tired, Leo, only, and a fit of the
.>Iues, which will all go away if you

that was
to do,"
; society"
excuse
^ly that
er those
led, still
Ellerby
f things
3w, tak-
ig her a
d hand-
olgy."
'ed her,
•om the
^es and

er eas}'
gitating
nephew
on his
street.
1 your
io look

of the
If you

AND HER BIG ELEPHANTS. 5

stay and chatter to me a bit," which
Leo was nothing loth to do.

What started the boy upon the sub-
ject of elephants is hard to say, but as
most boys are fond of animals, and as
there was a promise of a travelling
circus coming their way shortly, possibly
that was at the bottom of it. One
story after another he related of the
wonderful instinct of these big creatures,
how cunning they were, how clever'
how docile and patient, how obedient
in spite of their tremendous strength
and then " Aunt Liz" added he, '' they
really can enjoy a joke too, like the old
fellow who took the painter's brush,
when the man had left his paint pot be-
hind him when he went to his dinner, and
with it streaked the sleepy old camel in
the next compartment of the menagerie,
till he made him look like a longnecked
humpbacked Zebra.' From this h:;
went on to tell the pathetic story
("which T rpnllv h^r*^ I'c f^,,^\ ^r ^

old Jumbo's death, how the big kindly
brute tried to save the Baby Elephant
and did so too, at the cost of his life.

6 LITTLE MISS ELLERBY

With a "goodbye, Auntie," and the
remark made for the fortieth time, that
he just wished that "the circus 'folks
would hurry up," Leo darted off to get
up his tasks for the High School on
the morrow.

Now whether it was this elephant
talk of Leo's or whether the least bit
m the world of pickled salmon which
Bridget brought in at supper time upon
a damty china plate, wherewith to
tempt her dearly loved Mistress's failing
appetite, was the cause of her very bad
dream, (you see that the tale hinges
upon a di;eam after all), little Miss
^llerby was never quite sure, and in-
deed during the progress of the dream,
she did not know it was a dream but
believed it to be a very terrible reality.
"She heard or thought she heard
(which amounts to the same thing ) a
terrific noise; a kind of groaning and
grumbling mixed with what might have

been thp <:icrhinfr /-»f ♦k^ ...:„j _•.- .1

- — ••fc>"^"6 -i iiiv; wiiiu ill cne
locust trees or the roaring of a big
animal in distress. Was it a whirlwind?
wasit an earthquake? was it a fire}

and the
ime, that
cus folks
off to get
chool on

elephant
least bit
n which
me upon
ewith to
s's failing
very bad
t hinges
tie Miss
and in-

dream,
Jam but

reality.
: heard
ling.) a
ng and
ht have

in the
f a big
rlwind?
a fire ?

AND HER BIG ELEPHANTS. 7

that thought which strikes terror into
the female breaut. With beads of horror
upon her brow Miss Ellerby started up,
(or thought she did which 1 repeat
amounts to the same thing), and seizing
a quilted wrapper which lay upon the
chair beside her, and thrusting her feet
into some slippers lying handily under-
neath it, (you see she was a methodical
body with an eye to propriety ^ven in
her dreams), she rushed out imo the
landing crying " Bridget! Bridget! get
up, fire! fire! thieves! call the engines!
call the police! call the call the
Churchwardens."

Now this happy thought shows the
tenor of little Miss Ellerby's mind.
Whatever the impending trouble waj,
it might be a something which would
involve her beloved church, and the
beautiful school buildings, or, horror
of horrors ! the Rectory, the new
Rectory of which they wereall so proud,

whilst fhp Rprtor hnv»ci:3.ir tirK/M-w-. «n

alike loved and respected, with his
kindly wile, and,— well,— his big tribe of
little ones, might be burned in their
beds!

LITTLE MISS ELLERBY

Bridget was equal to the occasion,
what the hubbub was all about she knew
not but she distinctly heard the com-
mand to *'call the Churchwardens"
and that she obeyed without the
shghest hesitation and with a prompt-
ness worthy of all praise.

Now one of the Churchwardens was
their nearest neighbor with just a tiny
strip of lawn separating the two houses.
With well directed aim Bridget who
had after her usual housewifely
fashion, all her kindling wood in the
coal box ready prepared for the morn-
ing s needs made use of them as
missiles, hurling lump after lump
against the closed Venetians of good
Mr PrattV bedroom window shouting
"Church! Rectory! Schoolroom! fire^
fire!"

Tn spite of his sixty years and his
somewhat ponderous frame, in that
incredibly short space of time which

schoolboys Drpn#arolli7 ^^rv^^.'U^

Jiny Mr. Pratt appeared upon the
scene looking somewhat scared it is
true but ''all there" nevertheless

{■'

xasion,
leknew
e com-
irdens"
It the
>rompt-

is was
a tiny
louses,
it who
^wifely
in the
morn-
tm as
lump
good
Duting
! fire?

d his
that
which
as a
1 the
it is

!•

AND HER BIG ELEPHANTS. 9

By this time the whole place was
alive, one had shouted one thing
and one another until the entire pari^
was represented from the Rector him-
self down to the Sexton's youngest boy.

"What was it all about? Where
was the fire ? Who had shouted first ?
stop the engines! What's the meaning
of it all?'' ^

The gathering crowd were all making
for one point and that was the beauti-
ful block of shaded grounds upon
which stood the Church, Rectory,
Schools, all models of their kind and
without equals far or near, a fact they
had often challenged any one to con-
tradict. Just at the central point
which gave entrance to all. there was a
large arched and pillared doorway, and
to either side of this was firmly chained
an elephant. That on the right hand
being a veritable monster, that on the
left certainly of m.nrh smaller
dimensions, but big enough in all con'
science!

Under the foundations of each
building alike, some mysterious power

LITTLE MISS ELLERBY

eiephanh^ were Z? , ' ^"^ the

to them, which was iithout /'^^""^
convey the whn)^ k ^ , '^""'^t' ^

the is of the toadt,?e thT '"'^
?f which were dancing and frol.-7'''
joyously under th^ k 'ro'icking

lovely LonwhieJ\!'fr • ^^ ''^^

^ unusual brilliancy, jusuL'"'"^ ^"'^

no such undermi^S Slot h h "' '^

been concocted ■ ^ ^ ^^"^ ^^er

disSsrg'^trcrsr'--^. "°- ^'^^' <-«

was writte!, fn letters of' m"°""'"'^^"*
ner of blue silk /nr nl . ^^''^^ "J'°" ^ ''an-
-lesia), whSh iSorS^P-' ^ ""^'^
gamers that the nZT^r . f ^e-struck

'Parochial Debt' whiL th^'l ^''T "^^

the other indicated the Kr f "Pf"

tionship which the lesser hrn? / °^ ''''^■
greater, for unnn,/"'^ "'"'■'^ to the
T«» ; Pon It was mscrilipH "tk„

Interest of the n^K^ « ._ j-t-nocd 1 he

knows ee//5.r^/^';;;,vT ''^7''"^'^ °"^

_ //a«df, and -s indeed often

Hers or
r such
i the
sed to
signed
bt, to
y into
waves
icking

the

with

as if

ever

Q less

nent

ban-

nple

ruck

was

pon

eJa-

the

rhe

Dne

lire

ten

AND HER BIG ELEPHANTS. n

the more offensivelv /,

two. '''^^^'^^\} o rusive of the

you may call him JI V ^^^ ^^"^^r.

«"/ questions and to^/° ^"'^^^
•nformation in his power Tw''''^
this juncture that Httle Miss Fif k^'
began to have a fo.w u Ellerby

whole thing n'ightLe . T ''^^^ '^^
a", the two el?nhant! \ ^''''''^ ^^'^^
foreshadowing oFCI - ""« ""'^ ^
\"d the piebalS i£k oAh'"'''^^°^^'
charge, an outcome of ^ ^^ "^" '"
the zebra-like came! p^ i ''"''^ °^
was speedily denied f . . ''^ '^^^^
crackofhis whip anri ' ^^'.'^'"^ ^
«ke upheaval of 5hat 'eeme'd "I'^^i"
very ground upon whlh ?k '^"^ ^^^
assembled, the twn T u ^^""^ were
their work and ^h '^'^P.^ants bent to
lurch forward"a' 1^^^'}-^ gave a
upon their journey '"' WifTr ''""'"^
anguish and despair Miss F k ''^' "^
what she took to be her nnT ^ T^'"^
^^erchie, but which tutd^g^ t'a

LITTLE MISS ELLERBY.

large bath towel she had seized in her
hurry.

In her hands it became a veritable
nag of truce, for at the mere sight of it
the man made a signal which his mam-
moth steeds instantly obeyed, and all
agam was still.

Seizing the auspicious moment the
whole parish advanced as one man
to expostulate, to plead, to explain, to
promise anything, anything if only
those elephants would go away at orce
Hungry! whytobesure they were" said
the man, -the Httle chap in particular!
he always has to be fed first, and the
worst of It is you never seem to ^et on
any fiirther with him, feed him as you
may! When his next meal time comes
round, there he is, trunk-hunting about
so to speak, to pick up every morsel
that comes in his way. As to his poor
mother! why the patience of that
animal is beyond belief. She never
even looks to be i^di until her youn^
one is satisfied, and goodness kn^ws*"
whenever that may be ! I only hope
that her turn Nvill come some day, for

AND HER BIG ELEPH..NTS. 13

big as she looks, she must be that
holler that if her ribs were not as
strong as iron, and her hide as thick as a
dozen parchments, she'd never be fit
for her work!" With this, he gave an
ommous crack of his whip, as though
time was up, and they must stay no
longer palavering.

In dreams (for of course you
remember this is only a dream after
all,) things and places, and times and
seasons get oddly mixed up, and
son.e two or three years seemed
to have come and gone Tike a flash
and much of what had really occurred
in the interim I must leave to your
imagination.

The imminent though imaginary peril of
losing their really much-prized church
with Its beautiful adjuncts, a peril they
had escaped it is true, had led them to a
more taorough appreciation of them all,
and they had even gone so far as to
say '' we should have deserved it, had
the calamity befallen us." The old
excuses and reasons which had once

LITTLE MISS ELLERBY

seemed so all sufficient, now appeared
to themselves what they had always
been m reality, paltry and insufficient.
The majority acknowledged that they had
let the heavy burden fall upon the few,
who from year to year had been feed-
ing (metaphorically) Jumbo junior, to
prevent the distracting roar of the
starving Mother-elephant from reaching
their ears. They had in old times been
tempted to believe that they might
make a bargain with their Maker, that
if they gave to His poor, or ranged
themselves under one organization or
another, and did something for his
creatures that that absolved them from
doing more.

Noiv, they recognised that both were
equally duties. Of either could it justly
be said 'This should ye do. and not
leave the other undone." They did
not withdraw their hands from any
good work which they had begun.
Those had been begun in obedience
to the Royal Command to " Feed my
lambs," to tend the sick and soothe
the sorrowful, to visit the widows in

AND HER BIG ELEPHANTS. 15

their affliction," and of these com-
mands they must still be mindful, but
over and above these, and because of
the heart softening influences of these
very things, they did more, they went
to the root of the matter, and laying by
weekly as God had blessed them, each
in proportion to his means, they found
that their charity purse was never with-
out a coin to bestow upon a peedy
fellow creature and yet that they could
pay their share towards the due and
fitting maintenance of the Sanctuary
itself "A long pull, and a strong pull,
and a pull altogether/ had achieved
by united action in a very short time
what had been for so long almost a
single-handed fight. They could
endorse the truth of old John Bunyan's
lines ''A man there was, some called
him mad, the more he gave the more
he had " and far better still they could
realize the beautiful words in Proverbs,

T Tfh 9 A

. „,^

yet increaseth."

LITTLE MISS ELLERBY.

(1 he tollowing paragraph to be used if
little Miss Ellerby's storv should be
read at a parochial meeting for kindred
purposes.)

To every story there is, or should be
a moral. Far be it from me to sug-
gest that our case resembles that of the
parish quoted above, but as our
assembling together this evening cer-
tainly has some reference to a
Parochial Debt, let me ask our friends
when they plan to drop a coin into the
plate, to change their minds, and drop in
two, if It be only '- tor the sake of the
bigger of Little Miss Ellerby's two big
Elephants." ^

H. A. B.

V -