m m I IK j* i THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES BABY ETHEL GOES TO CHURCH. Page 106. FLAXIE'S KlTTYLEEN FLA XI E FRIZZLE STORIES KITTYLEEN BY SOPHIE MAY AUTHOR OF LITTLE PRUDY STORIES DOTTY DIMPLE STORIES LITTLE FRUDY'S FLYAWAY STORIES ETC. BOSTON LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS NEW YORK CHARLES T. DILLINGHAM COPYRIGHT, 1883, BY LEE AND SHEPARD. Electrolysed and Printcfiy ALFklil) MUUCiB AND SON, 11OVION. C35& PREFACE. To Mothers : This story the fifth of the Flaxie Frizzle Series deals less with the little child whose name it bears than with Flaxie Frizzle her- self, Kittyleen being from first to last an interloper. It aims to show the gradual improvement of Flaxie's character under the various dis- ciplines of child-life and the sweet influence of a good and happy home. 622637 CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE I. KlTTYLEEN 7 II. THE LITTLE WIDOW 23 III. FLAXIE'S WILL 35 IV. CRACKERS AND CHEESE .... 50 V. Si'ONGE-CAKE 62 VI. A NEW FRIEND 75 VII. THAT HOMELY Miss PIKE .... 91 VIII. FI.AXIE IN CHURCH 106 IX. PRIMROSE BOWER 125 X. THE LAST FEATHER 145 XI. THE RUNAWAY RINGS 164 XII. THE HUNT 176 XIII. ETHEL'S KETTLEDRUM 189 KITTYLEEN. CHAPTER I. KITTYLEEN. A PRETTY brown and white dove was walking up the steep roof of Dr. Gray's house just as the door-bell rang. Perhaps she heard the bell, for she stopped and pecked her wings, then flew down to the ground, and looked up to see who was there. It was Kittyleen. Kittyleen was a snip of a girl, three years old, whose long name was Katharine Garland. She looked like the dove, for she was brown and white all over : brown eyes and hair, brown cloak, white fur cap, and white tippet. (7) 8 KITTYLETCN. Her young nurse, Martha, had come with her, but there is not much to say here con- cerning Martha, except that she had the tooth- ache. She did not intend to enter the house; she had only come to escort Kittyleen. " I want to wing the bell myse'f," said Miss Kittyleen, standing on tiptoe, and bursting a button off one of her brown boots. But she could not reach the bell. Just then the doctor's daughter, Mary Gray, opened the door, and seeing Kittyleen, threw both arms around her, exclaiming, " Oh, you darling, I 'm so glad you Ve come ! " " Well, I 'm afraid you '11 be sorry enough by and by," said Martha, with a one-sided smile, that made her look like a squirrel with a nut in his cheek. " She 's full of mischief, Kittyleen is, and her ma 's paint- ing china, and wanted her out of the way. KITTYLEEN. 9 But if she 's too much trouble, her ma wants you to send her right home." " Oh, she won't trouble anybody. She and little Ethel will have a beautiful time to- gether," said Mary, untying the child's white tippet. Mary Gray, or Flaxie Frizzle, as people persisted in calling her sometimes, was nine years old, and had for some time felt a great care of Kittyleen. Everybody felt the care of Mrs. Garland's children. There were six of them, and their mother was always paint ing china. She did it beautifully, with graceful vines trailing over it, and golden butterflies ready to alight on sprays of lovely flowers. Sometimes the neighbors thought it would be a fine thing if she would keep her little ones at home rather more ; but if she had done that she could not have painted china. JO KITTYLEEN. Flaxic took off Kittyleen's fur cap, and patted it softly, as she hung it on the hat- tree. " That 's my white pussy," remarked Kit- tyleen, eying it lovingly. "But it don't hurt ; it has n't any feet." "Well, good by, pet, don't get into mis- chief," said Martha, making another wry face as she tried to smile. And then, with- out one word to Flaxie as to the length of Kittyleen's visit, she hurried home to put a poultice on her face and help about the iron- ing ; for, as she said to herself, " The work was only fun, now the three youngest chil- dren were out of the way." Flaxie led Kittyleen into the back parlor to show her to the family. Little Ethel did not look particularly pleased, for she remem- bered that the baby-guest was very fond of sweetmeats, and sometimes snatched more KITTYLEEN. I I than her share. Mrs. Gray was embroider- ing a table-cover as a birthday present for Aunt Jane Abbott, and was feeling very much hurried ; but she smiled and said to Flaxie, as she kissed the wee visitor, " So your little pet has come again ? Well, we will do all we can to make her happy; but you know Julia and I are both busy over these presents, and you must take the chief care of Kittyleen yourself." " Yes 'm, you know I always do," replied Flaxie; "and she behaves better with me than she does with her mother." Nobody thought of Kittyleen's staying any longer than to dinner and supper ; but there was never any certainty about the Garland children's visits, especially when it began to storm. It began now at eleven o'clock, and snowed all day without ceasing ; and then the wind rose, and blew the flakes 12 KITTYLEEN. east and west and north and south, till the men in the streets could hardly keep their hats on their heads, much less hold an um- brella. Of course Kittyleen could n't go home that night, for she lived on Prospect Street, half a mile away. Preston Gray said with a sarcastic smile that "it was a comfort to know that her mother would be easy about her." But Kittyleen made a grieved lip. The i sun had set, there were no stars in the sky, and the windows looked black and dismal. She parted the curtains and peeped out. "All dark out there," said she, sadly. " Did God forget about the moon ? I are goin' to cry ! yes, Flaxie, I are ; I want to see my mamma, and I are goin' to cry." Two tiny tears gathered in the dove-like brown eyes, ready to fall. Dr. Gray rose KITTYLEEN. 13 from his chair and paced the floor. He never could bear to see a little girl cry. " I wonder," said he, "I do wonder where Mary keeps that beautiful big wax doll ! " " O papa ! " said Flaxie, clasping her hands, " dorit, papa! " " The wax doll is in my cabinet," replied Mrs. Gray, not regarding her daughter's dis- tress ; " and if Kittyleen won't cry she shall see it to-morrow." " O mamma, please don't," repeated Flaxie. But Kittyleen was happy from that mo- ment. She wanted to stay now. She liked Flaxie's chamber, with its fine pictures and soft carpet, and the silk quilt upon the bed. She liked Flaxie's " nightie," with its pretty edging, and laughed because it had a " long end to it," long enough to wrap up her little pink toes. 14 KITTYLEEN. Ethel, who was still younger than Kitty- leen, had gone to bed long ago ; but Kitty- leen was too full of frolic, and when she went at last she would not lie still, but kept spring- ing up and turning somersets all over the bed, lisping, as she caught her breath, " See dolly in the mornin ' ! me velly much obliged ! " " There, there, hush, Kittyleen," 3aid Flaxie, crossly, " I want to go to sleep." " Wish I had dolly here now ; want to luf her this way," continued the little prattler, smoothing Flaxie's cheek with her tiny hand. "No, no, you mustn't love my doll in that way ; it is n't the way to love dolls. You must n't touch her at all ; you must n't go anywhere near her, Kittyleen Garland," ex- claimed Flaxie, growing alarmed. She had more treasures of value, perhaps, than any other little girl in Rosewood, and KITTYLEEN. 1 5 was always afraid of their being injured Indeed, she was too anxiously careful of some of them, and it was partly for this reason that her mother had promised to show Kitty- leen the wax doll. Of all Flaxie's possessions this was the very chief, and she loved the pretty image with as much of a mother's love as a little girl is able to feel, always calling her " my only child " in forgetfulness of all her other dolls, black, white, and gray. The " Princess Aurora Arozarena," as she was called, was as large as a live baby six months old. Flaxie had owned her for two years, keeping her mostly in close confinement in her mother's cabinet, and never allowing little sister Ethel anything more than a tantalizing glimpse of her majesty's lustrous robes. This august being was dressed in fine silk, with gloves and sash to match, and always when she mounted the throne, and 1 6 KITTVLEEN. sometimes when she didn't, she wore a crown upon her regal head. Her throne, I may add, was a round cricket, dotted with brass nails. You will see at once that it would be no light trial to have this adorable doll breathed upon by such a little gypsy as Kittyleen. " O mamma," pleaded Flaxie next morn- ing, "please hold her tight when you show" and then, as Kittyleen skipped into the room she added, " Hold the w-a-x d-o-1-1 tight when you show it ! " "7 heard," said Kittyleen. "Diddle o-k-p-g ! / heard ! " Mrs. Gray and Flaxie both laughed ; but the terrible child added, dancing up and down, " See dolly now ! me velly much obliged ! " "Me velly much obliged" was her way of saying "if you please," and Flaxie often re- marked upon it as "very cunning" ; but she KITTYLEEN. I/ saw nothing cunning in it now, and frowned severely as Mrs. Gray led the way up-stairs to her own chamber, unlocked the cabinet, and took out the much-desired, crowned, and glittering Aurora Arozarena. " Kittyleen may look at it, but she is not to touch it. Ethel never has touched it. And when you hear the breakfast bell, Mary, you may put the doll back in the cabinet, and that will be the last of it ; so try not to look so wretched." " Oh ! oh ! oh ! " cried Kittyleen, too full of delight to do anything but scream. "Open eyes! shut eyes ! Oh! oh! oh!" She did not offer to touch the shining lady ; and this grand exhibition wotild have been the last of it if Flaxie had not some- how, in her anxiety and haste, forgotten to turn the key on the royal prisoner when she put her back in the cabinet. 1 8 KITTYLEEN. The storm was not over. The snow turned to rain and poured continually. Mrs. Garland had nearly time to paint a whole set of china; for of course Kittyleen could not go home that day. In the afternoon the child, having quar- relled with little Ethel, strayed alone into Mrs. Gray's chamber. There on the great \ r bracket against the wall stood that wonderful inlaid cabinet, pretty enough in itself to be gazed at and examined by curious little folks, even if there had been nothing inside. Kitty- leen knew, however, that it contained the doll Flaxie's doll that was too sacred for little girls to touch. She could not have told after- wards why she did it, but she climbed on a chair and pulled at one of the doors of the cabinet. She certainly did not expect it would open, but to 'her intense delight it did open, and there in plain sight on a shelf lay the beautiful princess, fast asleep. KITTYLEEN. IQ " Oh, my ! " exclaimed Kittyleen in a per- fect tremor of joy. The princess lay there and smiled. You could almost see her breathe. "Mustn't touch !" whispered Kittyleen to her meddling fingers. Touch ? Oh, no indeed ! But she swayed to and fro upon the chair and gazed. And evermore as she gazed, the longing grew upon her to know how much of Princess Arozarena was wax and how much was living flesh and blood. Had she teeth? a tongue ? were there two holes in that pretty nose ? " I 've got a nose, dolly, you 've got a nose ; everybody in this house has got a nose, two holes way in." Here she picked a pin out of her collar and flourished it over those waxen nostrils. If they were hollow 2O KITTYLEEN. Oh, she was n't going to hurt dolly ! Not for anyfing in this world ! But would the pin go in ? That was all she wanted to know ; and she never would know till she tried. "Why, it went in just as easy!" Such a tender, soft dolly ! Kittyleen admired her more than ever. " Some dollies are so hard ! " But why did this one lie with her eyes closed ? She had slept long enough. " I fink her eyes are booful. Wake up, dolly." That was what Flaxie had said in the morn- ing, and dolly had opened her bright eyes very wide. But she would n't open them now for Kittyleen. Kittyleen blew upon them ; the lids would not stir. " I fink it 's funny ! I fink it 's velly funny," said baby, her breath coming short and fast. What was the way to get them open? They must be in there just the KITTYLEEN. 21 same. Yes, they must be in there ; but where ? She would n't hurt those dear eyes, oh, not for anyfing ! But the longer they hid away from her the more she wanted to see them. What were they made of ? There was one way to get at the secret of their wondrous beauty. She could ex- plore a little with the pin. Dolly was n't alive ; pins would n't hurt. Gently ! gently ! Oh, yes, Kittyleen meant to be very gentle ! But somehow that was a bad old pin ! What made it bend right up ? What did make it dig so and scratch ? I grieve to tell the rest. Princess Aro- zarena had been beautiful, but when she lost one eye she was horrid. Kittyleen caught her up in remorse, and the other eye flew open. Kittyleen screamed in fright. 22 KITTYLEEN. It seemed as if the doll was alive, as if that eye was looking right at her. It was too much to bear. Trembling, she opened the closet door, and threw the poor, scratched, miserable doll, with her one blazing eye, head-first into the clothes-bag. CHAPTER II. THE LITTLE WIDOW. DID gfre go down-stairs then and tell any- body what she had done ? That would have been the right way, but Kittyleen was only a baby. She felt sadly frightened, and roved all about the chambers crying, till Dora Whalen heard her from the back stairs, and took her down to the kitchen in her arms. " The poor little thing is homesick," thought Dora, and fed her with raisins. When Flaxie went up to her mother's room soon afterward, she saw that the cabi- net door was open and the doll gone, and was much troubled, though not prepared for 24 KITTYLEEN. the worst. After long search, the mangled remains of the once blooming princess were brought to light, and then Flaxie's heart almost broke. She could not be comforted, and she could not forgive Kittyleen. It was of no use suggesting a new head for the poor, wounded doll. What was her mother think- ing of? Didn't she know 'that Arozarena was just like a person? And who ever heard of a person's losing one head, and then going and having another fitted on ? " She would n't be my own child with a new head and face ; and you would n't talk of such a thing, mamma, if you'd ever lost a beautiful doll like this ! You 'd see the dif- ference and know how I feel." Phil and little Ethel looked on with sol- emn interest as their elder sister raved. So sad a day as this had not been known in the house since Preston's dear dog, Tantra Bo- KlTTYLEEN SCREAMED IN FRIGHT. Page 21. THE LITTLE WIDOW. 25 gus, ate poison by mistake and died. Prin- cess Arozarena was almost like living flesh and blood to these little children. They could not remember the time when she did not exist, and it was really heartrending to think now of her dire and unexpected fate. Mrs. Gray dropped her work and told the children of a sorrow she had known in her own early youth as grievous as this. She, too, had lost a bright, particular doll, and it had come to its end by the teeth of a neigh- bor's dog. " Was it a mad dog ? " asked Flaxie, with a sob. And Phil wondered if his mother could have cried. " Indeed I cried." "Why, you great, big, grown-up woman! Oh, but you were n't our mother then, were you ? and you could n't have been if you 'd tried, for we were n't born 1 " 26 KITTYLEEN. Having settled this in his mind, Phil saw less absurdity in her crying over a doll. "Naughty Kittyleen, pick folks' eyes out," exclaimed little Ethel, returning to the subject anew. " Effel would n't pick eyes out ! No, in-deed ! " Never before had the baby felt herself so good and high-minded, so worthy of praise. " / think Kittyleen ought to be shut up in the closet and whipped," declared Phil ; and this opinion was so gratifying to Flaxie that she kissed him, and said she should never call him a naughty brother again. " I suppose mother would n't shut her up because she is a visitor, but I should think she might send her home," muttered Flaxie, angrily. " My daughter, would you have me send little Kittyleen home in the rain ? " " Yes 'm, I think she has stayed long THE LITTLE WIDOW. 2/ enough," sobbed Flaxie, pressing her hands in anguish to her bosom. " But she is such a little thing, hardly more than a baby. I dare say she never dreamed of spoiling your doll. You can't think the child did it on purpose ! " "Of course she did ! She's the queerest girl," cried Phil, " can't stay at home, can't let things alone. I think," pursued he, encouraged by the curling of Flaxie's lip "I think 't would be a good plan for Kitty- leen to go to Heaven ! Folks don't want her down here ! " " Stop, my son, that will do ! we will not talk any longer on this subject ; but Mary, if you please, you may hold some worsted for me to wind." Mrs. Gray hoped that a night's sleep would soothe her daughter's grief ; but the little girl awoke next morning as sorrowful as 28 KITTYLEEN. ever. Dark clouds were still lingering in the wintry sky, and clouds quite as heavy shut all the sunshine out of poor Flaxie's heart. She came down to breakfast weep- ing, a black scarf over her shoulders and a bow of black ribbon pinned at her throat. She had felt a melancholy desire to "go into mourning," and let the world know that death or worse than death had befallen her " only child." " What does this mean ? " asked Dr. Gray, who had quite forgotten yesterday's tragedy. Phil spoke for her. He was geting into high favor with his sister by his zeal in es- pousing her cause. "Flaxie's little girl is killed dead, and Flaxie is a widow now," said he. Dr. Gray raised his coffee-cup to his lips to hide a smile. Kittyleen peeped up at the little " widow " with innocent curiosity, but THE LITTLE WIDOW. 2Q was frowned down severely, and began to cry. Her tears, however, were small and few. She could not possibly grieve much over her own naughtiness, committed so long ago as yesterday ; but even if she had been as sorry as she ever knew how to be, the nice buckwheat cakes and syrup would have con- soled her. Mrs. Gray was pained to see that Flaxie still cherished bitter feeling against a child of that tender age " My daughter," said she, after breakfast, " if Kittyleen were older and had tried wil- fully to destroy your doll and make you un- happy, I should not blame you so much. But just see what a simple, unconscious little thing she is, hardly wiser than your kitten. Don't you feel really ashamed of being angry with her ? " "Yes, mamma, I do," replied Flaxie, 3Q you hear every word, Mary ? " " N o, mamma, not always, but I mean to. And Ethel has such a pretty bonnet." " Please, mamma," echoed the little one eagerly, "such a pretty bonnet. And I won't 'peak a word." " Well," said Mrs. Gray, kissing baby's cherry lips. " Perhaps we '11 let the bonnet go to church ; we will see." CHAPTER VIII. FLAXIE IN CHURCH. THE little one went to church the very next Sunday, and though sister " Ninny " had her in charge, Flaxie felt that she could not drop her off her own mind for a moment. So charming was wee Ethel in her blue silk bonnet, with a lace frill about the face, that Flaxie was obliged to turn half around and gaze at her, completely lost in admiration. " Oh, she 's the sweetest, best little dear ! Ninny need n't say she is n't as pretty as Kitty- leen, for she certainly is ! Anyway, her bon- net is just as pretty, and a great deal newer! Now there 's Fanny Townsend's little sister, FLAXIE IN CHURCH. IO/ I should think Fanny 'd be ashamed to have her wear such a bonnet." Good Mr. Lee was preaching a sermon, which he thought the children in the congre- gation could nearly all understand ; but the words seemed to Flaxie to run together without any meaning ; she was not trying to listen. " How Kittyleen does nestle about ! Her mother doesn't watch her a bit. She lets her do everything and go everywhere. I think she 's a queer woman. My mamma would n't let Ethel stir out of the house if she could n't behave better than Kittyleen. No, she'd tie her in a chair. "Why, there's Sadie Stockwell sitting with Aunty Prim. That 's my dress Sadie has on. Pity Sadie's father can't buy her any dresses! Pity he drinks so, and is so poor! Pity Sadie is so lame, with her shoulders all IO8 KITTYLEpN. hitched up ! How kind of Miss Pike, to give Sadie that beautiful book ! When I grow up I'm going to be just like Miss Pike and make people love me. Perhaps I can be good if I'm not very homely." Here Flaxie stole another glance at Ethel's bonnet. "Darling! She's just as still as a lady. I suppose she 's saying to herself, 'Effel won't 'peak a word.' What if she should speak ! Just think ! I wonder if Mr. Lee knows she 's at church ? He loves Ethel, for he sent her a little box of honey. I shouldn't think he'd like to keep bees. I should think he'd be afraid they'd sting his little boy. There, I must look up at Mr. Lee and hear what he says." She raised her eyes to the pulpit. " How queer his head looks where the hair is so bald ! The top of it is just as smooth and white ! Why, it shines like the ivory ball on FLAXIE IN CHURCH. Ninny's parasol. What did make Mr. Lee's hair all go off ? Doctor Papa said lie did n't know what made it go off, for Mr. Lee is n't old a bit, he's almost young." Gazing at the smooth, ivory-white top of the minister's head naturally reminded the little girl of something Phil had said not long ago when his hair was to be cut. " Please don't cut it very short," said little Phil, "don't cut it as short as Mr. Lee's." Flaxie was in great danger of smiling as she recollected this. " Why don't I listen to the sermon ? " thought she. " It 's very wicked not to listen. Oh, he 's gone way by the text ! What is he saying about the brook of Cherith ? They don't have Bible places in my geog raphy, and I never heard of the brook of Cherith." Next moment, after a fond glance at Ethel, IIO KITTYLEEN. her eye fell upon Preston, and this gave still another turn to her thoughts. "I should think Preston would be ashamed ever to say anything more to me about my 'Domestic Animals.' The composition he wrote the other day is ever so much worse than that." It was " The Story of Evangeline." Miss Pike had read Longfellow's beautiful poem aloud, and then asked the children to write down all they could remember of it. Here, in Preston's own words, is THE STORY OF EVANGELINE. " Evangeline lived in Nova Scotia. She was engaged to Gabriel. He was a blacksmith's son. The English soldiers came and told the French to leave. They left. Evangeline and Gabriel did not go on the same boat. They got mixed up and separated. Evangeline did FLAXIE IN CHURCH. Ill not like it. She and her priest went all round out West to try to find Gabriel. He did not try to find her. Then she heard he had gone up North to trade for mules, and she went to hunt him up. She did not find him. Then she grew very old and went to live with the Quakers. She was a nun. One Sunday morning she picked some flowers and went to the poor-house, and found an old man in bed dying. She said, Gabriel. He looked up. They kissed each other and he died." Dr. Gray said this story ought to be en- titled " The Fatal Effects of a Kiss." Even grandma had laughed heartily on reading it, though Preston himself could see nothing in it to laugh at. But it was by no means of Evangeline or her fatal kiss that Preston was thinking just now. Sitting quietly beside his father, he 112 KITTYLEEN. was looking up at the minister and drinking in every word of the sermon. He had long been noted for his excellent behavior at church, and Mr. Lee had more than once said to the boy's father that none of the grown people listened to their pastor with more respectful attention than young Pres- ton Gray. I am afraid Mr. Lee would not have said anything like that about Flaxie. She sat still enough, often very still indeed, but her eyes were roving all about, and so were her thoughts. Miss Pike observed this, and it occurred to her that it would be a very sad thing if Flaxie should allow her inattention to grow into a confirmed habit. Very likely she said some- thing of the sort to Dr. Gray, for she felt a great interest in the child's improvement. At any rate, that afternoon, when the four o'clock dinner was over and the Gray family FLAXIE IN CHURCH. 113 were seated in the back parlor, Miss Pike, grandma, and all, Doctor Papa said, rather unexpectedly, "Now suppose we ask these little people what the sermon was about this morning?" He chanced to be looking at Flaxie as he spoke, but she said quickly, " Oh, please ask Julia first, papa, for she is the oldest. No, I mean Ethel, for she is the youngest." This was too absurd. "Is n't Phil young enough ? Perhaps we may begin with him. Think hard, my son, and see if you can remember anything Mr. Lee said to-day." Little Phil knitted his brows, but like Flaxie he had been looking around, not lis- tening. " Oh, papa, there was a woman there, had a thing on all bangled with beads." 8 114 KITTYLEEN. " Yes, my son ; but what did the minister say ? " Phil rolled his eyes. " Oh, there was a little girl there, about as big as Ethel, had a white bonnet on and a white cloak." " Yes ; but what did the minister say ? " "Oh, Ethel," said crestfallen little Phil, turning to his baby sister for comfort, "you and I are too small. We can't remember what they preach, can we ? " " We won't be too hard on you, my little son," said Doctor Papa. "You are only five years old ; but I am sure Mr. Lee says some things that even you can understand. Will you really try next Sunday to listen ? " " I don't know how, papa," replied the little fellow, dropping his head. " But I only asked you to try. You can try, can't you, Philip ? Now, next Sunday afternoon there will bo a particularly large, FLAXIE IN CHURCH. I 15 yellow banana in the fruit-dish at dessert, and it will go to the small boy who can tell me something just a little something the minister said." Phil's eyes began to shine. Oh, would n't he look straight at Mr. Lee next Sunday, and bring home lots and lots of the sermon ! " There, it 's Flaxie's turn now," said he, as Flaxie with a very sober face wedged her chair between her mother and Miss Pike. " Mr. Lee said," began she, hurriedly, " he said something about a brook, I forget the name of the brook, and he said something about a man, I can't think what the man's name was, and the ravens came and fed him." " The ravens are right. Go on. Why did the ravens feed him ? " " I don't know, papa." Flaxie looked help- less. " I did n't hear the rest. I had to watch Ethel for fear she 'd talk." Il6 KITTYLEEN. Dr. Gray said nothing more. He merely looked at his little daughter. " Oh, papa, I won't do so again. I won't, truly. I '11 hear every single word. But sometimes, you know, I can't understand." "You could have understood this, my daughter ; it was all very simple. Now, Preston ? " " It was about the prophet Elijah, sir. Elijah was a very solemn kind of man. He lived alone in the mountains and talked with God. There was a wicked king called Ahab, who worshipped idols, and Elijah went to him and told him it was wrong, and Ahab was very angry, and Elijah had to run away. He was told to go to the brook Cherith and drink the waters of it, and the ravens would come and feed him. And the ravens did. They brought him bread and meat night and morning till the brook dried up and Elijah FLAXIE IN CHURCH. had to go somewhere else. I believe," said Preston, reflecting, " I believe that 's all I can remember." " You have done well. Do you know to what nation Elijah belonged ? " "No, sir." " Can Julia tell ? " "Yes, sir, he was an Arab." Julia always looked very modest and pretty in answering questions. She went on now, with her hands folded in her lap. " Elijah had long thick hair hanging down his back, and he wore a cape of sheepskin ; they called it a mantle. And he used to hide his face in it sometimes, and sometimes he rolled it up and used it for a staff." " What is a raven ? " " It is a kind of crow." " Oh, I thought it was a kind of ostrich," said Flaxie. Il8 KITTYLEEN. This extraordinary statement brought a smile to Preston's face, but his father said, " I was just thinking of a little story about an ostrich. God has strange ways of saving people's lives sometimes." The children looked attentive, and Mrs. Gray drew Ethel into her lap to keep her quiet, while papa pared his orange and began : " It was more than fifty years ago that Mr. Broadbent, a missionary, was travelling in Cape Colony. Where is that, Mary ? " "Oh, Africa, Africa; way down there at the bottom of the map." " He had his family with him, and a few friends and some Hottentots. There were fourteen in the party. They were crossing a sandy table-land. What is that, Julia?" " High and flat land, like a table." " Right. They rode in wagons, drawn by oxen. It was a week's journey, but they had FLAXIE IN CHURCH. not enough food to start with, and could buy but little at the last town on the way. So after they had travelled two days there was not much left but a small sack of rice and some tea and coffee. What would become of them ? Five more days across a country where nothing grew, not even a blade of grass ! Now and then they saw a bird fly- ing overhead, but it was very swift, and far away, and they could hardly ever hit it with their guns." " Oh, dear, did they starve ? " asked Flaxie*. " There, now, if those birds had only beerij ravens ! " " The party stopped to rest, and they sent one of the Hottentots to watch the oxen ; but I dare say he fell asleep, for several of the oxen strayed away. " It seemed a great pity, for he had to go to look them up and was gone a long 1 2O KITTYLEEN. time, and the travellers could not afford to wait." " Well, if they were going to starve, papa, it did n't make any difference whether they waited or not." "When the Hottentot came back he had a great piece of news to tell. He had found the nest of an ostrich, with forty eggs in it." " Oh, papa, are ostrich eggs good to eat ? Do tell us about it." " So I will, my daughter, if I am not inter- rupted too often." Flaxie blushed, and hid her face on Miss Pike's shoulder. " The nest of an ostrich is a curiosity, and Mr. Broadbent waded through two or three miles of deep sand to see this one. You would think the mother bird had studied arithmetic all her life, for she seemed to have counted the eggs and set them in their places FLAXIE IN CHURCH. 121 with perfect exactness. In the middle were fourteen close together, and three or four feet away from them were the other twenty- six eggs in an unbroken circle, as even as a row of gold beads. " The ostrich had been sitting on the ones in the middle. She expected to hatch just fourteen birds. She had not sat on the outer eggs at all, and there they were, entirely fresh and good to eat. She was saving them as food for the babies. She meant to break then, one after another, and give them to her chickens as fast as they should come out of the shell. " It would be just as much food as the four- teen little ones would need, before they were old enough to go abroad with her and pick up their living in the desert. How do you suppose the ostrich knew this ? She had hardly any brain, a very stupid bird indeed. 122 KITTYLEEN. It must have been taught her directly from Heaven. " Well, you see now that the travellers did not starve. For a meal they broke one of these eggs into a bowl, beat it well, and mixed with it a little flour, pepper, and salt, and fried it in a pan. It served very well in- stead of bread with their tea and coffee, and when they arrived at their station they had two or three eggs to spare." " Is that all ? " asked Preston, as his father paused and offered a piece of orange to Ethel. " It was almost as good as the ravens, was n't it ? " " I want to ask one question," said Julia. "How large is an ostrich egg?" " It weighs perhaps three pounds, and is almost as large around the middle as Ethel's waist." " Well, I 'm glad those people did n't FLAXIE IN CHURCH. 123 starve," remarked Flaxie, "I was afraid one while they would." I have introduced this true story here, partly for its own sake, and partly to give you a picture of one of the delightful Sunday afternoons at Dr. Gray's. If I had time I would like to tell you of the strong efforts which Flaxie made from this very day to overcome the bad habit of letting her thoughts wander in church. But this book is so small, and there are yet so many events waiting to be described, that I must now hasten on to something else. In April Miss Pike went home, carrying with her the hearts of all the Grays, both young and old. The whole family insisted so strongly upon her coming back the next winter that she said, " Thank you ; perhaps I may come, for I have been very happy at Laurel Grove, and 124 KITTYLEEN. love every one of you dearly. But," she added, smiling, "you forget that you may not be here next winter. If Dr. Gray should be elected to Congress, won't you all go to Washington ? " "Oh, he does not expect to be elected," replied Mrs. Gray. " But if we should go to Washington, we shall want you to go there with us. Now, please remember." " How delightful ! Well, Mrs. Gray, I will say to you as you say to little Ethel, 4 We will see.'" CHAPTER IX. PRIMROSE BOWER. FLAXIE did not hear this conversation, or she would have built various castles in the air in regard to "going to Congress." It is true, people often talked before her of the coming " election," and spoke of Dr. Gray as a " candidate " ; but the words were myste- rious, and soon faded out of her mind. The snow and mud had disappeared. Dandelions were shining everywhere in the tender grass, and Ethel said, gleefully, " Oh, see the dandy-diddles ! " The birds burst forth into song and the trees into leaves. Plaxie pointed to the soft, fresh leaf -buds slowly unfolding, and said to 126 KITTVLEEN. her mother, " Miss Pike calls them the beau- tiful thoughts the trees have kept all winter shut up in their hearts. Miss Pike is so funny ! " Summer came, and by the last of June Grandpa and Grandma Curtis and Grandma Hyde arrived from Kentucky. This made three grandmothers in the house at one time. The Gray family were remarkably rich in grandmothers ; and there was still another, a fourth one, who might have come if she had not been too feeble, and that was dear Grandma Pressy. The two from Kentucky were entirely unlike, yet each in her way was excellent and charming, tall, queenly Grandma Hyde, wearing gray silk and a turban, and always piecing together a silk patch-work quilt ; roly-poly Grandma Curtis, clad entirely in black, and always knitting children's stock- PRIMROSE BOWER. I2/ ings with needles that clicked. But they were alike in one respect ; they both remem- bered everything they had ever seen or heard of, and everything that had ever hap- pened since the world began. Yes, and they were both gifted with wondrous powers of story-telling. Tiny Grandma Gray, with her sweet, low voice, had hardly a chance to speak ; for the Kentucky ladies were talking morning, noon, and night. It was delightful to hear them, and Grandma Gray listened and laughed, her white cap-strings fluttering, and said she was renewing her youth. But by-and-by it began to tire her head, for she was very delicate indeed, and she complained that she could not sleep. Still she would stay in the parlor, she enjoyed the talking so much ; and Mrs. Prim came one day, and declared she should carry her off. 128 KITTYLEEN. 41 You must stay with me a while and be quiet," said. Mrs. Prim, who liked to man- age everything, "and Mary shall come with you to take care of you." Flaxie did not spring up and exclaim, "Oh, Auntie Prim, thank you, thank you, I 'd be so glad to go ! " for the truth was she did not wish to go in the least. At the same time, she felt it a high honor to be invited to Mrs. Prim's to take care of Grandma Gray. She could remember the time, not so very long ago, when she had been sent away from home because Grandma Gray could not bear the noise she made. 41 1 'm growing a great deal stiller and a great deal better as I grow up," thought the little girl, with a throb of pride, " but I did n't suppose Auntie Prim knew it." "We don't like to spare our dear little Mary," said both the Kentucky grand- PRIMROSE BOWER. I 2Q mothers in a breath ; and then Flaxie felt prouder than ever. " Oh, she can come home every day to see you, and you will be surprised at the number of pillow-cases she will make ; she always sews very steadily at my house," replied Mrs. Prim. "Run now, Mary, and get your hat." Mrs. Prim had the finest house and grounds in Laurel Grove, but it was very still there, oh, altogether too still ! The gar- dener never talked, except to himself, the chambermaid was rather deaf, and Kitty, the cook, did not like any one in her nice, orderly kitchen. Flaxie thought it a very dull place, except at the hours when Mr. Prim came home to his meals. One clay she sat in the parlor, sewing "over and over " upon a pillow-case. Out of doors it was a lovely June day. The trees, and 9 I3O KITTYLEEN. grass, and birds, and flowers, were nodding at one another, and having a gay time, and Flaxie longed to be with them. But no, at " Primrose Bower," as Mr. Prim called his home, it was necessary to stay in the house ; for Auntie Prim thought a little girl nine years old ought to "sew her seams," and then she might play, perhaps, if she found any time. Strange there should n't be any dog at Primrose Bower, or even a cat ; but Grandma Gray was there, and that was a comfort. The more Flaxie waited upon the silver- haired, sweet-voiced, fairy grandmother, the better she loved her ; only dear Grandma Gray was always going to sleep on the sofa, and then you had to keep still enough to hear a pin drop for fear of waking her up. "Well," said Auntie Prim, coming into the parlor with her bonnet on, " I gave you PRIMROSE BOWER. 13! work enough to last a good while, did n't I, Mary?" "Yes, 'm, ever so long," replied Flaxie, with a sorrowful glance at the pillow-case. " So you won't mind staying in the house with grandma, will you ? I 'm going to the stores to buy a calico dress and various things ; but when I come back you may run home, and stay as long as you like." " Yes, 'm," said Flaxie, meekly. She thought Auntie Prim spent a good deal of time at the stores, and was afraid if she bought "various things" it would be pretty late by the time she came back ; and Flaxie did want to ask Grandma Curtis a few questions about Venus, the colored girl who lived at her house in Kentucky, and she wanted a ride before dark on Preston's pony. " Let me see," said Auntie Prim, thought- fully, " perhaps it would be better for you 1 32 KITTVLEEN. to promise me not to leave this room while I 'm gone. You mean well, Mary, but you 're so fond of running ! Yes, on ac- count of Grandma Gray, I think I should feel easier if you were to make me a promise." " Yes, 'm, I will promise ! I '11 stay right here. I '11 not go out of this room," replied Flaxie, so sweetly that Mrs. Prim never suspected the child's sensitive pride was wounded. " She thinks I 'm a horrid little girl. She thinks I'm just awful," said Flaxie to her- self, as she looked out of the window and watched her aunt walking away with a gray- fringed parasol in one hand and a shopping- bag in the other. " My mamma would have trusted me without any promise ! She 'd know I would n't run off and leave Grandma Gray ! " Very soon Grandma Gray came in PRIMROSE BOWER. 133 and said she was going to try to get a nap on the sofa, and hoped Flaxie would keep pretty still. " Yes, 'm," sighed Flaxie ; and after this she breathed as softly as possible for fear of making a noise. Grandma was asleep in two minutes, with her handkerchief over her eyes, and that made the room seem more lonesome than ever. Outside a stray cat came and sat on the window-sill, begging to come in ; and as she opened her mouth to mew, she looked, Flaxie thought, like a wee, wee old lady, whose little teeth were more than half gone. Flaxie loved cats ; why not let her in ? But no ! The window had a fly-screen, and besides, Auntie Prim did n't approve of cats. "It's 110, no, 110, all the time. I don't like Primrose Bower," thought poor Flaxie, drop- ping her work and stealing on tiptoe to the mantel, to smell the flowers in the bronze vase. 134 KITTVLEEN. They were lovely roses and lilies, but they looked as if they longed to be out of doors, where they could bend their tired heads. The chairs seemed rather uncomfortable, too, standing up so stiff and straight against the gilded walls. Even the gilded fireboard looked as if it was set in the fireplace very hard, and had no hope of ever coming out. " Oh, it 's so still here, and so shut up ! I wish there was something alive in the room," thought the little sewing-girl, going back to her task. She did not know that close behind her there was something alive dreadfully alive a cross, disappointed, hungry bee! How had he got there, into that shut-up room where even the little flies never dared come ? But there he was, and he would not go away without doing mischief. Perhaps he had had some family trouble, which had PRIMROSE BOVVER. 135 soured his temper ; or perhaps he mistook Flaxie for a new variety of blush rose, of great size and sweetness. At any rate, he flew straight toward her, and without the least ceremony stung her on the wrist. Poor Flaxie ! Was it not rather severe ? Particularly as she dared not scream. " I must scream, I will scream," she thought in agony ; " I will, I will ! " But no. For grandma was fast asleep. She must not wake grandma, though the sky should fall. " I '11 run out-doors. I '11 run home to. mamma. I must go where I can scream." But no ! She could n't even go into the entry. Had n't she promised ? And you must know Flaxie belonged to the sort of little girls who hold a promise to be as sacred as the oath of a queen. So she stayed where she was, and bore the 136 KITTYLEEN anguish in silence. She could not possibly help hopping up and down, but she hopped softly ; she could not help groaning, but she groaned in whispers ; she could not keep the tears back, but she sobbed them noise- lessly into her handkerchief. I don't know what you think of this, little reader, but I think it was truly grand and heroic. Are you nine years old, and have you ever borne the sting of a bee, or the drawing of a tooth, without uttering a sound ? Ah, you have ! Then I would like to see you, and shake hands ! Grandma Gray woke presently, and- saw Flaxie shaking with sobs, her head buried in the cushion of Uncle Prim's chair. You may be sure she was not long in learning what the matter was, and in calling Kitty from the kitchen to bathe the poor puffed wrist with arnica. PRIMROSE BOWER. 137 " Ah, thin, and a bee always knows what is swate," said Irish Kate, bathing the wrist softly. " The blessed little darling ! " murmured grandma, not referring, of course, to the bee. " To think you should n't have made one bit of noise to disturb your grandmother ! I would n't have blamed you if you 'd screamed with all your might." " But, grandma, I promised you I would n't make a noise." "So you did, precious child. I forgot that." " And I promised Auntie Prim I 'd stay in this room. Oh, how I did want to go out and scream ! " " Little Mary," said gentle Grandma Gray, taking Flaxie in her arms, " I 'm proud of you, my dear ! " " Ah, was n't it worth all Flaxie had 138 KITTYLEEN. suffered to hear such words as these ? When had anybody been proud of her before ? The pain was over, but the little wrist was still " a sight to behold " when Auntie Prim came home with her calico dress and " various things " in her bag ; and grandma said, in a ringing voice, " Mrs. Prim, we have a little girl here who is quite a heroine. Yes, a heroine, I say ! " " Do you mean our little Mary ? Why, what has she done ? " asked auntie, coolly, as she put away her bonnet and parasol. But she was n't quite so cool after she had heard the story. " Why, you good, high-minded little girl ! A grown woman could n't have been braver," said she, and actually kissed Flaxie. " It is a great pity I bound you by a prom- ise ; I need n't have done it. Some little girls PRIMROSE BOWER. 139 can be trusted without any promises," she added, looking at grandma with an approving smile. Flaxie blushed for joy. She had always had a vague feeling of being looked down upon by Auntie Prim, as a wild little girl who was " so fond of running"; and now to have this stern, good woman praise her so ! " But," said auntie, unrolling the dotted brown calico and laying it across her lap, " how came that bee in here, with the doors shut and the fly-screens all in ? " As she spoke, two bees buzzed and circled slowly above her head. In her surprise I must confess Mrs. Prim screamed. Flaxie was delighted. Mrs. Prim, however, was a little ashamed, for the minister, Mr. Lee, at that moment entered the door. " Ah, what 's this ? " said he, laughing ; *' are you hiding away my bees ? " I4O KITTYLEEN. " Your bees ? " cried Mrs. Prim ; and she looked up at Mr. Lee, who stood, hat in hand, his bald head shining, as Flaxie had once fancied, like the ivory ball on Julia's parasol. " Yes, ma'am, my bees ! They swarmed this afternoon, and your gardener told me he suspected some of them had come down here, and settled in your chimney. He saw them flying over the roof of the house." Mrs. Prim was a good woman, and had a high respect for her pastor. It seemed very strange and very improper that she should set a trap for his bees ; but she laughed, and they all laughed, and she said Stillwater, the gardener, should go out on the roof through the sky-window, and look down the parlor chimney, and see what was going on in- side. Stillwater did so, and reported that a fine PRIMROSE BOWEK. 14! family of bees had begun housekeeping in the chimney. "Yes," said Mr. Prim, who came in just then, "and they are making themselves too much at home altogether ! Why, they think they have a right not only to the chim- ney, but to the whole parlor, and mean to creep out around the edges of the fireboard, and peep at us whenever they choose. " But they need n't have stung my good little Mary, and they must not sting her again," said Mr. Lee, patting her head. He had been very much pleased of late by Flaxie's attentive behavior at church ; and he thought now, as he looked at her fine young face, that she was improving faster in char- acter than any other little girl he knew in Laurel Grove. And to prevent further mischief from the bees, the fireboard was fastened in very 142 KITTVLEEN. firmly. Uncle Prim did this with little wads of gilt paper ; and even Auntie Prim, who was so particular, declared no one could have made it look better. "I'm glad you like my beehive, ladies," said Uncle Prim, with a low bow. " And now I hope the bees will do their duty, and fill it with the very nicest honey, from the very sweetest flowers that grow in Primrose garden ; and Mr. Lee is heartily welcome to every drop! " "Thank you, sir," returned Mr. Lee, "but if the honey is going to belong to me, I shall take pleasure in presenting it to little Mary. She has well earned it by being such a mar- tyr this afternoon." Flaxie had no clear idea what a martyr meant, but was sure from Mr. Lee's tone it must be something he approved. Therefore, she ran home in the finest spirits, to relate PRIMROSE BOWER. 143 the stirring events of the afternoon to her family, and the two admiring g andmothers. "And mamma," asked she, as. soon as she saw her mother alone, " may I give the honey to Sadie Stockwell next Christmas ? Let me go my own self, please, with Black- drop and the little sleigh, and carry it." " Perhaps so, my dear. But it is quite uncertain where you will be next Christmas," replied Mrs. Gray, who had strong reason to think she might be in Washington. Flaxie, however, had forgotten all about Washington. " Oh, perhaps I 'm going to Hilltop," thought she. " But that would n't be quite so splendid as to have Milly come to my house. If she can come to my house next winter, and go to school to Miss Pike in the pink chamber, I '11 be perfectly happy." The little girl's dreams that night were of 144 KITTYLEEN. going to some wonderful country she had never seen before. It must have been some- where in fairyland, for " Everything was strange and new, And honey-bees had lost their stings, And horses were born with eagles' wings." CHAPTER X. THE LAST FEATHER. THINGS happen to us sometimes that are even better than we have dreamed. To be with Miss Pike in the pink chamber again had seemed happiness to Flaxie ; but to be with Miss Pike in Washington, going every- where and seeing everything, this was bliss indeed ! Dr. Gray was elected to Congress ; Pres- ton was sent to boarding-school ; Julia stayed with Grandma Gray at Mrs. Prim's ; and Mrs. Gray went with her husband and the three youngest children to board in Wash- ington for the winter. 146 KITTYLEEN. Flaxie had never before seen so beautiful a city, though she had travelled much more than ordinary girls of her age. For days she never tired of looking down from the window of her fourth-story room, upon the clean, white avenue, and watching the horses, car- riages, and people passing to and fro. High, high above the heads of the people was a network of telegraph wires glistening in the sun, and Flaxie thought if the wires would only go higher yet, and bind the stars and the earth together, how grand it would be. She called this chamber her " sky-room," and shared it with her "favorite friend," Miss Pike. At the same hotel were Mrs. Garland and Kittyleen, and Kittyleen's cousin Cora, a girl of Flaxie's own age. Truly, as little Ethel had said, Kittyleen did "go every- where " ; but who would have thought of her following the Grays to Washington ? But THE LAST FEATHER. 147 then, this was Mrs. Garland's native city, and she had come here to spend part of the winter, and take lessons in painting. Kittyleen was just as pretty, and dear, and sweet, as ever, and just as troublesome. Her room was next Miss Pike's, and of course Miss Pike or Flaxie could not stir without her following them, for Kittyleen adored Flaxie ; and besides, her mamma was always busy painting. She followed them to the Capitol, when they went to look at the statues and pic- tures ; she followed them to the stores, when they went shopping. Little Ethel never cared to go anywhere without her mother, and Phil had some larger boys for play- mates ; but Kittyleen felt that she belonged to Flaxie, Mrs. Garland laughed, arid said she ought to be tied to Flaxie's side by a blue ribbon, like a little Skye terrier. 148 KITTYLEEN. And here I think I must tell you how Kittyleen went to the White House to the President's reception, where she was as much out of place as a humming-bird in a flock of crows. But it was not the child's fault. Her mother was very thoughtless, or she would not have asked Miss Pike to take her ; and Miss Pike had no idea what she was doing, or she would not have consented. But first I shall be obliged to speak of Flaxie's vanity. You may have observed long ago that she was fond of looking in the glass ; and I regret to say the habit still con- tinued. In most respects she was constantly improving ; but Doctor Papa said he really feared the nice new clothes she wore at Washington had a bad effect upon her mind. The strange ladies at the hotel some- times said in her hearing as she passed by, "Who is that pretty little girl? Isn't she lovely ? " THE LAST FEATHER. 149 This was unfortunate ; for now she never went anywhere, and saw people looking at her, but she fancied they were thinking, " Is n't she lovely ? " And on the Saturday afternoon when she was going to the Presi- dent's reception she wished to look as pretty as possible, so that the people at the White House, and perhaps the President himself, might admire her. " Mamma," said she, " may I wear my crushed-strawberry dress, and my long-button gloves, and my bonnet with the red bird?" " Oh, no, my dear, they are quite unsuitable. I am very sorry now that I promised to take you at all, for I 'm afraid there will be a great crowd." " But I never saw the President, mamma, and I like a great crowd. And I '11 be so careful of my best bonnet ! " pleaded Flaxie in a whining tone, very irritating to her I5O KITTYLEEN. mother, who was dressing in haste. It sounded like the troublesome teasing Flaxie of two or three years ago. " My little daughter," said Mrs. Gray, pausing as she pinned her collar, "you cannot believe that I know better than you do how you should dress ? Very well, I will allow you to wear your best bonnet on this condition : If that scarlet bird gets broken, you are not to have another bird this winter, no, nor even a feather ! " Flaxie hesitated. Much as she wished to look "lovely," she did not like to do any- thing her mamma disapproved. Still, how could she hurt her bonnet, just wearing it to a party ? " Make haste, child, here are Miss Pike and Kittyleen," said Mrs. Gray. And the little girl finally laid aside her every-day hat she had been holding in her THE LAST FEATHER. 151 hand, put on her best bonnet with a blushing, downcast face, and walked slowly behind her mother. Little Ethel threw kisses after them, though quite disturbed in her small , mind because " Kittyleen went everywhere," while she and Phil had to stay with Mrs. Fry. Mrs. Gray and Miss Pike did not consider what a foolish thing they were doing, till they walked up the gravel path to the White House, and saw the long line of carriages. "This is no place for children ; it is a great crowd," said Mrs. Gray, nervously. Mounting the front steps, they saw seated on one side of the large entrance hall a band of musicians, all in uniform, playing bugles, fifes, cornets, and drums. There were no children to be seen, and none of the vast number of people who had entered, or were entering the hall, seemed to take the 152 KITTVLEEN. slightest notice of Flaxie's beautiful clothes. They all stood in a line, three or four abreast, and if they could be said to be looking 'at anything it was at the beautiful windows straight before them, not glass windows, the panes were lovely gems of various shapes and sizes, and nearly all the colors of the rainbow ; and of course you could not look through them into the White House. " Keep fast hold of my hand, Mary," said Mrs. Gray. "The people are crowding in behind us." "Keep fast hold of my hand, Kittyleen," said Miss Pike, "or I shall lose you." " Where are we going ? " asked little Kitty- leen, who might have been going up in a balloon for all she knew to the contrary. " We are trying to go through a door, but you can't see the door there are so many people ahead of us." THE LAST FEATHER. 153 " Well, when we come to the door and get through it, then we shall see the President, sha'n't we ? " said Flaxie. " But oh, dear, I don't care so much about him as I did ! It takes so long, and the people push so." By this time, the little party of four were wedged in very tight. They could not move one step, except as they were pushed. Flaxie's crushed-strawberry dress was crushed quite out of sight, and nothing was to be seen of her but two bewildered blue eyes, a tuft of flaxen hair, and sad to relate a broken-winged bird of Paradise ! And where was little Kittyleen ? By look- ing down, down, among the ladies' cloaks and skirts, Miss Pike could just espy the top of the little girl's bonnet, and the end of her nose. " It is n't very comfortable, is it, Kitty- leen ? " said Miss Pike, pitying, but not know- 154 KITTYLEEN. ing how to help her. " No 'm, it is n't very com-fi-a-ble," replied the darling, catching her breath. The crowd had been moving very, very slowly, but now it stopped altogether. x "The people at the front, who got in first, are halting to shake hands with the Presi- dent," said a man in the crowd ; " and we must wait for them to move on." They waited perhaps fifteen minutes ; and all the while the people behind could not stand still, but kept pushing. " Don't they know we cant move ? Why do they push ? " grumbled Flaxie, indig- nantly. "Do tell them to keep still, mamma; tell the people behind to keep still." Mrs. Gray only laughed. "Mamma, they don't obey the Golden Rule, or they would n't push so and hurt." THE LAST FEATHER. 155 Flaxie was always talking about the Golden Rule. " My daughter, we are here and must bear it. Try to be brave and not cry." "Oh, mamma, I don't mean to cry; but they squeeze so hard that they squeeze the tears right out of my eyes. I just know I shaHdie!" Flaxie's wail was piteous, indeed ; but it was little Kittyleen ever so much shorter and younger and frailer ; dear, patient Kitty- leen who was in far more danger of being hurt. She must have been almost suffocated by this time, for absolutely nothing, not even the crown of her bonnet, was to be seen. In real alarm Miss Pike exclaimed, " How shall I get this child up to give her some air?" "What, a little child here? Can't you lift her up, ma'am, and set her on my shoulder?" said a gentleman just ahead. 156 KITTVLEEN. Mrs. Gray and Miss Pike plunged down for Kittyleen, and succeeded in drawing her up from her dangerous hiding-place among the cloaks and skirts, and setting her aloft upon the kind stranger's shoulders. She gave several little shuddering gasps, and her eyes were full of tears ; but when Miss Pike asked, "Darling, how do you feel now ?" she answered, with a pathetic little smile, " I feel more com-fi-a-ble." But Flaxie was still crying. It was not only for the discomfort. She saw now what a silly girl she had been to wear her best clothes ; and the broken wing of the bird of Paradise dangling before her eyes added the last feather to her weight of misery. The crowd began to move again by half- inch steps. The open door was reached at last. Now they were fairly inside the White House ; yet still there was one room to THE LAST FEATHER. I5/ cross, in order to reach the President. But Flaxie's feelings were greatly changed. She no longer expected the President to admire, or even look at her. Why should he, so forlorn and dilapidated as she was, and so very, very small ? But she had little time for these humble reflections. As they entered the door of the White House a current of warm air met them, and Mrs. Gray grew instantly faint. A strange lady in the crowd caught a fan from another strange lady, and gave it to Miss Pike. Miss Pike fanned Mrs. Gray a moment, and then she and some one else dragged her out from the narrow line of people who were pushing toward the next room, and extended her upon the floor before an open window. Mrs. Gray was perfectly colorless, and her eyes were closed. "She has lost her con- 158 KITTYLEEN. sciousness," said some one, just as Flaxie broke through the crowd and rushed toward her. " Oh, mamma, mamma, are you dead ? Speak to me, speak to me, mamma," wailed the child. And Mrs. Gray opened her eyes, and smiled. She was obliged to smile in order to reassure her little daughter, but she was of course too weak yet to go back to the dreadful crowd. She needed and must have rest and quiet and fresh air. " Children, do you care much about seeing the President ? " asked Miss Pike. " He looks very much like other men ; he does n't wear a crown." " Oh, does nt wear a crown ? " echoed little Kittyleen. Perhaps she had fancied he did, or, at any rate, that he was in some way a very grand and radiant being. THE LAST FEATHER. 159 "Well, /don't want to see him, not with my things all torn off and looking like this," said Flaxie, in deep discouragement. She was nearly as anxious to leave the White House as she had been to enter it. But when and how could they ever get out ? " Ladies," said a gentleman who had left the crowd in disgust, and stood by the wall with his arms folded, " ladies, if you are ill and want to go home, I can put you out of the window. Will you allow me ? " It sounded very funny, and Miss Pike laughed ; but he was quite in earnest. " Would you like to have me put ^