ft THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES SOPHIE MAY'S LITTLE FOLKS' BOOKS. Any volume sold separately, DOTTY DIMPLE SERIES. -Six volumes, lllustnaod. For voaiu!,-, 75 cents. Do^ty Dimple at hsr Grandmother's. Dotty Dimple at Home. Dotty Dimple out West. Dotty Dimple at Play. Dotty Dimple at School. Dotty Dimple's Flyaway. FLAXIE FRIZZLE STORIES. -Six volumes, lllns- trated. Per volume, 75 cents. Flaxie Frizzle. Little Pitchers. Flaxie's Kittyleen. Doctor Papa. The Twin Cousins. Flaxie Growing Up. LITTLE PRUDY STORIES. -Six volumes. Hand- soraely Illustrated. Per volume, 75 cents. Little Prudy. Little Prudy's Sister Susy. Little Prudy's Captain Horace. Little Prudy's Story Book. Little Prudy's Cousin Grace. Little Prudy's Dotty Dimple. LITTLE PRUDY'S FLYAWAY SERIES. -Six volumes. Illustrated. Per volume, 75 cents. Little Folks Astray. Little Grandmother. Prudy Keeping House. Little Grandfather. Aunt Madge's Story. Miss Thistledown. LEE AND SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS, BOSTON. FLAXIE FRIZZLE STORIES FLAXIE GROWING UP SOPHIE MAY AUTHOR OF LITTLE PRUDY STORIES DOTTY DIMPLE STORIES LITTLE PRUDY'S FLYAWAY STORIES ETC Xllustratttt BOSTON 1895 LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS Copyright, 1884, Y LEE AND SHEPABI All Rights Reserved. VLAXIb CBOW1N6 UF. TZ7 C5S-F 622708 CONTENTS. CHAPTER FAGE I. PUNISHING ETHEL 7 II. ASKING FOR "Wmz" 26 III. THE SPELLING SCHOOL 43 IV. THE MINISTERS JOKE 59 V. CHINESE bAuiEb 76 VI. OLD BLUFF 91 VII. CAMP COMFORT 109 VIII. PUDDING AND PIES 128 IX. THE HAILSTORM 145 X. Miss PIKE'S STORY 160 XI. DINING OUT 17? XII. CHRISTMAS AT OLD BLUFF 191 FLAXIE GROWING UP. CHAPTER I. PUNISHING ETHEL. " STOP, Ethel," said Mary Gray authorita- tively, " stop this moment, you are skipping notes." The child obeyed gladly, for music was by no means a passion with her, and she espe- cially disliked practising when Mary's sharp eye was upon her. " I 'm obliged to be severe with you, Ethel, for it never will do to allow you to play care- lessly. You are worse than usual this morn- ing, because Kittyleen is waiting in the dining-room. It's very unfortunate that 7 - 8 FLAXIE GROWING UP. Kittyleen has to come here in your prac- ii.sing hour, anJ it makes it pretty hard for me ; but what do you think or care about that ? If you ever learn to play decently, Ethel Gray, 't will be entirely owing to me, and your teacher says so. There ! run off now and play with Kittyleen ; but, remem- ber, you '11 have to finish your practising this afternoon." Ethel made her escape, and Mary seated herself in the bay-window at her sewing with a deep sigh of responsibility. Her mother was ill ; Julia, the eldest of the family, was confined to her room with headache, and the children had been left in Mary's care this morning with strict charges to obey her. "The children" were Philip, a boy of eight and a half, and Ethel, a little girl nearly six ; but as Phil was now skating on the pond, and Ethel playing dolls in the PUNISHING ETHEL. 9 dining-room with her young friend, Kittyleen Garland, Mary was free to pursue her own thoughts, and her work was soon lying idly in her lap, while she looked out of the win- dow upon the white front yard facing the river. Tnere was no one in the room with her but her grandmother, who sat knitting in an easy-chair before the glowing coal fire. Grandma Gray did not seem to grow old. Father Time had not stolen away a single one of her precious graces. He had not dimmed her bright eyes or jarred her gentle voice ; the wrinkles he had brought were only " ripples," and the g^ray hair he had given her was like a beautiful silver crown. Grandma looked up from her knitting ; Mary looked up from her sewing. Their eyes met, and they both smiled. "A penny for your thoughts, my child." IO FLAXIE GROWING UP. " Oh, I was only thinking, grandma, it does seem as if something might be done to pre- vent people from calling me Flaxie Frizzle I 'm just worn out with it. It did very well when I was a little child ; but now that I 'm twelve years old, I ought to be treated with more respect. It 's very silly to call people by anything but their real, true names ; don't you think "so? Oh, here comes the Countess Leonora ! " cried Mary in a dif- ferent tone, dropping her work, breaking her needle, and pricking her finger, all in a sec- ond of time. "Who? I didn't understand you, dear." " Oh, it 's only Fanny Townsend, grandma. We have fancy names for each other, we girls, and Fanny's name is Countess Leo- nora," cried Mary, quite unaware that there was anything " silly " in this, or that grand- ma was amused by her inconsistent remarks. PUNISHING ETHEL. 1 1 The dear old lady smiled benevolently as a small figure in a brown cloak rushed in, breathless from running. It was not Fanny Townsend and Mary Gray, it seemed, who began to chat together in the bay-window, but the Countess Leonora, and her friend, Lady Dandelina Tangle. Lady Dandelina was telling the Countess that her mother and sister were ill, and that she was left in charge of the castle. " Don't you miss your brother Preston so mncli, Lady Dandelina ? " " Indeed I do, Countess ; but young men are obliged to go to college, you know. And I can bear it better because my cousin, Fred Allen, of Hilltop, is with us. He will stay, I don't know how long, and go to school. I only wish it was my sister Milly ! " " So do I, Lady Dandelina. Oh, I saw that old teacher of ours, Mr. Fling, as I was 12 FLAXIE GROWING UP. coming here. He stood on the hotel-piazza talking with Miss Pike." " Mr. Fling ? " said Mary, laughing. She had dropped her work, for how could she sew without a needle ? " Yes ; and said he, ' How 's your health, Miss Fr-an-ce-s ? ' as if I 'd been sick. I like him out of school, Dandelina ; but in school he used to be sort of hateful, don't you know ? " " Not exactly hateful," replied Mary, steal- ing a glance at grandma. " / call it trouble- some." " Yes ; how he would scold when we got under the seat to eat apples ? " " Oh, I never ate but one apple, Fan, I 'm sure I never did. I was pretty small then, too. How queer it is to think of such old times !" " Why, Flaxie, 't was only last winter ! " PUNISHING ETHEL. ' 13 " Arc you sure, Fan ? I thought 't was ever so long ago." " Your reminiscences are very interesting, my dears," said grandma, rising. " I wish I could hear more, but I shall be obliged to go up stairs now, and leave your pleasant com- pany." As the serene old lady passed out at one door, little Ethel, very much excited, rushed in at another ; but the girls, engrossed in conversation, did not look up, and she stood for some time unheeded behind Mary's chair. " I want to ask you, Flaxie " she said. " Mr. Fling and Miss Pike were talking about a spelling-school," said Fanny, emerg- ing from "old times" at a bound. "She's going to have an old-fashioned one out in her school at Rosewood to-morrow night." " I want to ask you, Flaxie " repeated Ethel. 14 FLAXIE GROWING UP. " They ' choose sides.' Do you know what that is?" " No, I 'm sure I don't. I wish Preston was here, and he 'd take me out in the sleigh. Miss Pike would let onr family go, of course." "I want to ask you " said little Ethel again. "Why, Ethel, child, I thought you were in the other room," said Mary impatiently. " Don't you see, I want to hear about the spelling-school ; and it 's so thoughtful and kind of little girls to give big girls a chance to speak ! " But next moment, ashamed of her ill- nature, and remembering her maternal re- sponsibility, she drew Ethel to her side and kissed her. "Wait a minute, Leonora, till we find out what this means," said she, surprised to see PUNISHING ETHEL. 15 hf c usually quiet little sister in this wild st.xte. "Tell me all about it, dear." Thus encouraged, Ethel broke forth indig- nantly, " Kittyleen is very disagreeable ! And besides, she knocked me down ! " Fanny began to laugh. " Oh, what a Kit- tyleen ! " " Hush, Fan," said Mary, warningly, draw- ing up her mouth like grandma's silk " work- pocket." " It does n't seem possible, Ethel. I never heard of Kittyleen's behaving so before. What had you done to vex her ? " "I I knocked her down first," con- fessed Ethel, in low, faltering tones. And Fanny laughed again. "Fanny Townsend, do be quiet. I have the care of this child to-day. Ethel, where is Kittyleen?" " Gone home." 1 6 FLAXIE GROWING UP. " Ah. Ethel, Ethel, it will be my duty to punish you. Fanny, can you be quiet ? " " You punish her? Oh dear, that's too funny ! " " Yes, I have full authority to punish her if I choose," said Mary, elevating her chin. She was subject to little attacks of dig- nity ; but instead of being duly impressed, Fanny only laughed the more, while shame- faced little Ethel hid her head and felt that she was trifled with. " May I ask what amuses you, Miss Town- send ? " said Mary, with increased dignity. " Oh don't, oh dear, what shall I do ? You 're so queer, Flaxie Frizzle ! " " Well, if you go on in this way, I shall be obliged to take Ethel out of the room. Have you no judgment at all, Fanny Town- send ? " " Oh dear, oh dear, I shall die laughing ! PUNISHING ETHEL. I/ shall have to go home ! If you could see just how you look, Flaxie Frizzle! Good-by. I can't help it," said Fanny, reeling out of the door. Mary drew a long sigh. " Now come to me, Ethel. This is a dreadful thing, and you 're a perfectly awful child ; but it will not do to speak to mother about it, when she has pneumonia, and a blister on the chest. She said / must take care of you." Ethel did not stir. Mary paused and gazed reproachfully across the room at her, not knowing in the least what to say next. She had never before undertaken a case of discipline, and rather wondered why it should be required of her now. But she had been given "full authority over the chil- dren," and what did that mean if she was not to punish them when they did wrong ? To be sure Julia's headache might be over 1 8 FLAXIE GROWING UP. to-morrow, and Julia could then attend to Ethel ; but Mary was quite sure it would not do to wait an hour or a minute ; the case must be attended to now. " It is my duty, and I will not shrink from it. I '11 try to act exactly as mamma always does, not harsh, but sad and gentle, Ethel, my child, come here." " Don't want to," said Ethel, approaching slowly and sullenly, drawing her little chair behind her. " Not that way, dear ; mamma never allows you to go all doubled up, dragging your chaii like a snail" with his house on his back. There, sit down and tell me about it. What made you so naughty? " " My head aches. Don't want to talk." " Were you playing dolls ? " " Yes. Pep'mint Drop is jiggly and won't sit up." PUNISHING ETHEL. 19 " Peppermint Drop . is very old and has rheumatism, Ethel ; she was my dolly before ever you were born." " Well, my head aches. Don't want to talk." "But you must talk. I'm your mother to-day." "You?" Ethel looked up saucily, and Mary felt half inclined to laugh ; but when one has the care of a young child one must be firm. " Ethel, I am your mother to-day. What were you doing with those dolls?" " Nothing ! Kittyleen pulled off Pep'- mint's arm." " Yes, and then ? " "Then she was cross." "No, no. What did you do to her?" "Tipped her over." "Ethel! Ethel!" 2O . FLAXIE GROWING UP. "Well, she tipped me over too." "This is perfectly dreadful!" exclaimed Mary, as solemnly as if she had never heard it before. And then she sat in deep thought. What would mamma have done in this case ? Did Ethel's head ache? Possibly. Her cheeks looked hot. Mamma was tender of the children when they were ill, and perhaps would not approve of shutting Ethel in the closet if she had taken cold. " Ethel," said Mary in natural tones, " I 'm going to be very sweet and gentle. You 've been extremely to blame, but perhaps Kitty- leen may forgive you if you ask her." " H'm ! Don't want her to ! " " What ! Don't want her to forgive you ? " " No, I don't ; Kittyleen was bad herself ! " " But you were bad first, Ethel." " H'm ! If I ask her to forgive me she'll think she was good ! " PUNISHING ETHEL. 21 Mary looked at stubborn Ethel sorrowfully. Oh, how hard it was to make children repent ! " Perhaps I 'd better leave her by herself to think. Mamma does that sometimes." Then aloud : " Ethel, I 'm now going into the kitchen, and I wish you to sit here and think till I come back." " No, you must n't ; my mamma won't allow you to shut me up, Flaxie ! " " But I 'm not shutting you up ; I only leave you to think." " Don't know how to think." " Yes, you do, Ethel, you think every time you wink." "Well, may I wink at the clock then?" asked the child, relenting, for it was one of her delights to sit and watch the minute-hand steal slowlv over the clock's white face. " Y. < r ~" "".ay, if y^u '11 Veep saying over and over, while it ticks, 'I 've been a naughty 22 FLAXIF. GROWING UP. girl a naughty girl ; mamma '11 be sorry, mamma '11 be sorry.'" " Well, I will, but hurry, Flaxie ; don't be gone long." In fifteen minutes Mary returned to find the child in the same spot ; her eyes pinker than ever with weeping. " Just the way I used to look when mamma left me alone," thought Mary, encouraged. "Well, Ethel," with a grown-up folding of the hands which would have convulsed Fanny Townsend. " Well, have you been thinking, dear ?" "Yes, and I'll tell mamma about it; I shan't tell you." " Mamma is very sick, my child." " Then I '11 tell Ninny." Ninny was the children's pet name for Julia. " No, Ninny has a headache. I 'm your mamma this afternoon. And I won't be PUNISHING ETHEL. PAGE 17. PUNISHING ETHEL. 23 cross to you, darling," added Mary, with humility, recalling some of her past lectures to this little sister. " Well," said Ethel faintly, with her apron between her teeth. " I was n't very bad to Kittyleen, but if she wants to forgive me I '11 let her." " O sweetest, you make me so happy I " "Don't want to make j0// happy," returned Ethel disdainfully ; " don't care anything about you! But mamma's sick. And you won't you write her a letter?" " Write mamma a letter ? " " No, Kittyleen, write it with vi'let ink, won't you, Flaxie ? " The note was very short and written just as Ethel dictated it : MY AFFECTIONATE FRIEND, I am very sorry I knocked you clown first. I will forgive you if you will forgive me. ETHEL GRAY. 24 - FLAXIE GROWING UP. Ethel meant just this,' no .more, no less. She was sorry ; still, if she had done wrong so had Kittyleen ; if she needed forgiveness Kittyleen needed it also. "Now, put something in the corner," said she, looking on anxiously, as Mary directed the envelope. " You always put something in the corner of your notes, Flaxie ; I 've seen you, and seen you." "Do I? Oh yes, sometimes I put 'kind- ness of Ethel ' in the corner, but that is whenjw< carry the note." " Put it there now." " But are you going to carry the note ? " " No, Dodo will carry it if I give her five kisses." "Then, I '11 write 'Kindness of Dora.' " " No, no, I 'm the one that 's kind, not Dodo," insisted the child. And "Kindness of Ethel " it had to be in the corner in large, plain letters. PUNISHING ETHEL. 25 Dora laughed when she read it, and Mary smiled indulgently. Kittyleen did not smile, however, for she did not know there was any mistake. She accepted Ethel's doubtful apology with joy, and made her nurse Martha write in reply, "I forgive you." And in the left-hand corner of Jicr envelope were the words " Kindness of Kittyleen," for she supposed that was the correct thing, and she never allowed Ethel to be more fashionable than herself if she could possibly help it. Mary felt that on the whole her first case of discipline had resulted successfully, and was impatient for to-morrow to come, that her mother might hear of it and give her approval. CHAPTER II. ASKING FOR " WHIZ." NEXT day Mrs. Gray was somewhat bet- ter, and when Mary knocked softly at the chamber door, Julia replied, "Come in.' The little girl had not expected to see her mother looking so pale and ill ; and the tears sprang to her eyes as she leaned over the bed to give the loving kiss which she meant should fall as gently as a dewdrop on the petal of a rose. It did not seem a fitting time for the question she had come to ask about the spelling-school. Julia was brush- ing Mrs. Gray's hair, and Mary kissed the dark, silken locks which strayed over the 26 ASKING FOR WHIZ. 2/ pillow, murmuring, " Oh, how soft, how beau- tiful ! " " Well, my dear," said Mrs. Gray, with an affectionate smile, which lacked a little of its usual brightness, " how did you get on yesterday with Ethel ? She is such a quiet little thing that I 'm sure you had no trouble." ".No trouble!" Mary's look spoke vol- umes. " I suspect there 's some frightful revelation coming now," said Julia. " Did you irritate her, Flaxie ? " For Ethel's qui- etness was not always to be relied upon. She was like the still Lake Camerino of Italy, which so easily becomes muddy that the Italians have a proverb, " Do not disturb Camerino." Dr. Gray often said to Mary, when he saw her domineering over her little sister, " Be careful ! Do not disturb Cam- erino." 28 FLAXIE GROWING UP. " No, indeed, Ninny, I was very patient," replied Mary with pride. " But for all that I had to punish her!" Mrs. Gray turned her head on her pillow, and looked at Mary in astonishment. " Did you think I gave you authority to punish your little sister ? That would have been strange indeed ! I merely said she and Philip were to obey you during the after- noon." Mary felt a sudden sense of humiliation, all the more as Julia had suspended the hair- brush, and was looking down on her deri- sively or so she fancied. "Why, mamma, I must have misunder- stood you. I thought it was the same as if I was Julia, you know." "Julia is eighteen years old, my child. You are twelve. But what had Ethel done that was wrong ? " ASKING FOR WHIZ. 29 Then Mary told of the quarrel with Kitty- leen, and the notes which had passed be- tween the two little girls. Though naturally given to exaggeration, she had been so care- fully trained in this regard that her word could usually be taken now without " a grain of salt." Mrs. Gray looked relieved and amused. " So that was the way you punished youi little sister ? I was half afraid you had been shutting her up in the closet, or possibly snipping her fingers, either of which things, my child, I should not allow." "No, ma'am." Mary felt like a queen de- throned. "You were 'clothed with a little brief au- thority ' yesterday, to be sure, but you should have waited till to-day and reported any mis- behavior to me, or if I was too ill to hear it to Julia.". 3and slight, and even Mrs. Prim admitted that she was "graceful." One Sunday morning early in May she sat CHINESE BABIES. 83 in church, apparently paying strict attention to the sermon, but really thinking. " I dare say, now, Mrs. Townsend is look- ing at me, and wishing Fanny were more like me. Nobody else of my age sits as still as I do, except Sadie Stockwell, and she has a stiff spine. There 's Major Patten, I re- member he said once to father, 'Dr. Gray, your second girl is a child to be proud of.' I know he did, for I was coming into the room and heard him." Directly after morning services came Sun- day school, and Mary was in Mrs. Lee's class. Mrs. Lee was an enthusiastic young woman, fond of all her scholars, but it was easy to see that Mary was her prime favorite. Mrs. Gray's class of boys Phil being the youngest sat in the next seat. The lesson to-day was short, and after recitation Mrs. Lee showed her own class and Mrs. Gray's 84 FLAXIE GROWING UP. some pictures which her uncle had brought her from China. "What is that queer thing?" said Fanny, as she and Mary touched bonnets over one of the pictures. " That is called a baby -tower. My uncle says it is a good representation of the dread- ful place they drop girl-babies into sometimes. You know girls are lightly esteemed in hea- then countries." " Drop girl -babies into it ? " asked Blanche Jones. " Does n't it hurt them ? " " Not much, I believe ; but it kills them." " Oh, Mrs. Lee ! " It was Mary who spoke, in tones of horror. "The tower is half full of lime, and the lime stops their breath. So I presume they hardly suffer at all." Mary's eyes were full of tears, and she sprang up eagerly, exclaiming, CHINESE BABIES. 85 " Oh, Mrs. Lee ! Oh, mamma, did you hear that ? I declare, it 's too bad ! Can't the missionaries stop their killing babies so ?" " You sweet child," said Mrs. Lee. But Mrs. Gray only said, "Yes, my daughter, the missionaries are doing their best ; but everything can't be done in a day." " But it ought to be done this very minute, mamma." Mary's whole face glowed ; and Mrs. Lee, who sat directly in front of her, could not refrain from leaning over the pew and kiss- ing her. "We ought to bring more money, seems to me," suggested good, moon-faced Blanche Jones, pressing her fat hands together. "Yes, a cent every Sunday is too little," said one of Mrs. Gray's little boys. " Yes, a cent is too little," agreed Fanny Townsend earnestly. 86 FLAXIE GROWING UP. " How thoughtless we 've been," said Mary, in high excitement. " For my part, I mean to give those Chinese every cent of my pin-money this month. Do you care if I do, mamma ? " " No ; you have my full consent. Only do not make up your mind in a hurry," replied Mrs. Gray ; but her manner was cold in com- parison with Mrs. Lee's cordial hand-shake and " God bless you, my precious girl." " I 'm a real pet with Mrs. Lee," thought Mary, her heart throbbing high. Blanche, Fanny, and the two older girls in the class, Sadie Patten and Lucy Abbott, were silent. They knew that Mary's pin- money amounted to four dollars a month, and though they had thought of doing something themselves, this brilliant offer discouraged them at once : they could not make up their minds to anything so munificent. CHINESE BABIES. 87 Going home that noon, Mary " walked on thorns," though she tried to be humble. By the next day, her feelings toward the Chi- nese had undergone a slight chill ; and when her mother alluded to Captain Emerson Mrs. Lee's uncle and his pictures, Mary did not care to converse on the subject. She even felt a pang of regret at the re collection of her hasty promise. Those girl-babies were far off now ; she could not see them in imagination, as at first. Days passed, and the poor things were fading out of mind, buried deep in the lime of the tower. " My daughter," said Mrs. Gray, on Sat- urday, " let me see your portmonnaie." It contained three dollars and a half now. Mrs. Gray counted the bills. " Have you any especial use for this money, Mary ? " "I don't know. Would you buy those stereoscopic views of Rome and the Alps 88 FLAXIE GROWING UP. that Mr. Snow said I could choose from dif- ferent sets ? " Mrs. Gray smiled quietly. " What good will the views do the babies in China ? " There was a sudden droop of Mary's head. "Why, mamma, as true as you live I for- got all about those babies ; I really did ! You see, mamma, I did n't stop to think last Sunday. Must I give all my money to Mrs. Lee three dollars and a half?" " To Mrs. Lee ? I was under the impres- sion that you were to give it to the missiona- ries to convert the Chinese." " Oh, yes, but I said it to Mrs. Lee ; the missionaries don't know anything about it." " So it seems," returned Mrs. Gray dryly ; "you said it to Mrs. Lee merely to please her" Mary's head sank still lower. " Well, CHINESE BABIES. 89 you n ^V ixs,k l\?rs. Lee to let you off, my daugL.er." " But, mamma, how it would look to go to her and ask that ! I could n't ! " " Then you '1! be obliged to give the money," responded Mrs. Gray unfeelingly. How easily shf. might have said, " Never mind, Mary, I w:ll see Mrs. Lee and arrange it for you." Ar,5 she was usually a thought- ful, obliging mother. Mary pressed the bills together in hei hand, spread them out ten- derly, gazed at them as if she loved them. It was a laro-e sum, and looked larger through her teirs. " I can't ask Mrs. Lee to let me off ; you know I can't, mamma. I 'd rather lose the money ! " " Lose the money !" So that was the way she regarded it ! A strange sort of benevo- lence surely! 9O FLAXIE GROWING UP. " Take heed, therefore, that ye do not your alms before men to be seen of them ; otherwise ye have no reward of your Father wJiich is in heaven" This was Mr. Lee's text next day. " Oh, that means me," groaned Mary in- wardly. " I 've been seen of Mrs. Lee, and I 've been seen of Blanche and Fanny and the other girls ; and that 's just what I did it for, and not for the people in China ! Oh, dear ! oh, dear ! to think what a humbug I am ! " CHAPTER VI. OLD BLUFF. AND now we come to an episode of the highest importance to five young misses of Laurel Grove. General Townsend owned an unoccupied house about two miles from town, at the foot of a steep hill called Old Bluff ; and it had occurred to the active mind of Mary Gray that this would be a fine place for "camping out." It was April when she hinted this to Fanny Townsend, but it was May before Fanny spoke of it to her father. " I 'm waiting till some time when you come to my house to tea, Dandelina ; and 91 92 FLAXIE GROWING UP. we must n't get to laughing, now you re- member." Mary seated herself at the Townsend tea- table one evening with nervous dread ; for, next to Mrs. Prim, Mrs. Townsend inspired her with more awe than any other lady in town. When she thought it time for Fanny to speak, she touched her foot under the table, and Fanny began. " Papa, I have something to say." Fanny had the feeling that she was not highly reverenced by her family, on account of her unfortunate habit of giggling ; but her face was serious enough now. " Papa, may we girls go down to the farm next summer, to that house with the roses 'round it, and camp out ? The girls all want to, and we we 're going to call it Camp Comfort." (The reader will perceive that this explains the letters " C. C") She was sorry next mo- OLD BLUFF. 93 ment that she had spoken, for her mother said, just as she had feared she might, "What will you think of next, Fanny ? " But her father seemed only amused. " Camp out ? We girls ? How many may ye be ? And who ? Going to take your ser- vants ? " " You '11 each need a watch-dog," suggested Fanny's elder brother, Jack. "You'll come home nights, I presume, servants, watch-dogs and all," said her father. " O no, indeed ! It would n't be camping out if we came home nights ! And nobody has a dog but Fanny, and we should n't want any servants," cried Mary Gray, whose views of labor seemed to have changed materially. " We intend to do our own work," remarked Fanny. Whereupon everybody laughed ; and General Townsend asked again who the girls were ? " Oh, Flaxie Frizzle and Blanche 94 FLAXIE GROWING UP. Jones and I, papa ; that makes three, rather young ; and then Sadie Patten and Lucy Abbott, they 're rather old ; that makes five. Sadie and Lucy will be the mothers, I mean if you let us go." "That 'if is well put in," said brother Jack. " But what will you do for a stove ? " asked General Townsend, wishing to hear their plans, "there's none in the house." " My mamma has a rusty stove, and our Henry Mann could take it to Old Bluff," re- plied Mary. " But there 's no furniture, not a chair or a table." "They have too many chairs at Major Patten's and Mr. Jones's ; their houses are running over with chairs." " Well, what about dishes ? " "Why, papa," said Fanny eagerly, "only OLD BLUFF. 95 think what lots of dishes we have, just oceans, all broken to pieces ! " " Ah, shall you eat from broken dishes ? " asked Mrs. Townsend coolly. " And perhaps you '11 sleep on the floor ?" " O no, Mrs. Townsend, our house is full of beds ! Mamma has some of them put in ihe stable, and Blanche Jones's house is full of beds, and they have to keep some of them in the attic. Everybody has everything ; we 've talked it all over. And there 's our big express wagon, and our Henry Mann to drive." Mary paused for breath. " Yes, papa, Dr. Gray's express wagon is very large ; and we have a push-cart, you know. So can't we go ? " coaxed Fanny, true to first principles. " What have / to do about it, little Miss Townsend ? It seems you have already made g6 FLAXIE GROWING UP. your plans and invited your guests. How happened you to think to ask my permission for the rent of the house." " Finish your supper, Frances, and do not sit there with your bread in the air," said Mrs. Townsend in a decided tone. " You forget that I am to be consulted as well as your father. And that 's not all. I 've no idea that Dr. Gray, or Major Patten, or Mr. Jones, or Mrs. Abbott will consent to . this camping out, as you call it ; so you must not set your hearts on it, you and Flaxie." But it chanced that every one of the pa- rents did consent at last ; and one morning in the latter part of June you might have seen some very busy girls loading a push-cart and an express wagon, with the help of their brothers and Henry Mann, while Fanny laughed almost continually, and Mary Gray exclaimed at intervals, OLD BLUFF. 97 " O won't it be a state of bliss ? " There were four bedsteads, eight chairs, one old sofa, one table, one rusty stove, a variety of old dishes, not broken ones, beside a vast amount of rubbish, which the mothers thought quite useless, but which the daughters assured them would be "just the thing for our charades." " I 'm not going to Old Bluff to assist in such performances as charades, so you may just count me out," said Preston, who was to take turns with Bert Abbott in being a nightly guest at Camp Comfort ; since the parents would not consent that the girls should spend one night there alone. "As if boys were the least /-protection," said Lucy Abbott, Preston's cousin. "Still they may be useful in getting up games," returned Sadie Patten hopefully. "And Jack Townsend's cornet is charming." g8 FLAXIE GROWING UP. " So it is ; it goes so well with your har- monica. And we '11 make the boys stir the ice cream," said Lucy, the head housekeeper. There was an ice-house connected with their cottage, and ice cream was to be per- mitted on Sundays, and lemonade at plea- sure. " But where are the lemons ? " said Mary, flying about in everybody's way. " Oh, we shall buy fresh lemons every morning of our grocer who comes to our door," said Lucy grandly. " What I want to know is, if my hammock was packed? Children, did you see three hammocks in that push-cart ? Boys, I hope you '11 hang- up those hammocks before we get there! Don't go racing now and spilling out things ! There, I don't believe anybody thought to put in that spider," added she anxiously, as the five girls had bidden good-by to theit OLD BLUFF. 99 families in the cool of the morning, and were walking in a gay procession toward their house in the country. " Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, But to be young was very Heaven.'' Old Bluff was a steep, though not very high mountain on the Canada side, and if it is not gone, it stands there yet, hanging defiantly over the blue brook called the river Dee, and throwing its huge shadow from shore to shore. Old Bluff is a stern, bareheaded peak, and few are the flowers that dare show their faces near it. It is chiefly the hardy wintergreen and disconsolate little sprigs of pine and spruce which huddle together along its sides. At the foot of this famous bluff, on the New York side, stood General Townsend's old-fashioned farm-house, a story and a half 1OO FLAXIE GROWING UP. high, with a white picket fence around it, and a red barn at one side. The house many years ago had been white ; and the panes 01 glass in the windows were not only very small, but weather-stained and streaked with rainbow hues. London Pride or " Bouncing Bet " grew near the broad front door-stone, together with a few bunches of southern- wood, which Dr. Gray thought had a finer odor than any geranium. The front yard was grassy, and the fence lined with roses of various sorts. It was the first summer for years that this pleasant old place- had been vacant, and now it might be applied for any day; but mean- while the five girls, called "the quintette," ^nd the three attendant cavaliers, called " the trio," were welcome to rusticate in it, and call it a " camp " if they chose. After the furniture was set up, and there OLD BLUFF. IOI had been a reasonable amount of play at hide and seek in the barn, and the first supper had been .eaten the tablecloth proving to be too small for the table Mary went to one of the front " rainbow-windows " to watch for Preston. " I mean to be a true woman." This was what she usually said to herself when resolved not to cry. But there was something lonesome in the thought of going to bed without kissing her mother.' " Nobody else feels as I do, and I would n't mention it for anything ; but I 'd give one quarter of my pin money one whole dollar to see mamma and Ethel." She had supposed that in camping out all care would be left behind. Her mother had excused her from lessons and sewing, and she had looked for "a state of bliss;" but it is forever true and Mary was beginning to IO2 FLAXIE GROWING UP. find it so that wherever we are, there is "something still to do and bear." Homesickness was a constitutional weak- ness with Mary, but she disdained the cowar- dice of running home ; she would be a "true woman," and crack walnuts to please Lucy. "Well, this is a hard-working family," said Preston, arriving presently in state on his bicycle, as Lucy and Sadie were engaged in putting the supper dishes in the kitchen cup- board. " Yes, Mr. Gray ; and we allow no idlers here. Please may I ask what ails our window shades, sir ? " The poor old green-cloth curtains were tearing away from the gentle clasp of Sadie Patten's tack-nails, and leaning over from the tops of the windows as if already tired of the sun and wanting a little rest. "Well, let's see your hammer." OLD BLUFF. IO3 " No, I 'm using it, I 'm a young lady now and do as I please," cried Mary, springing up from the kitchen hearth, and scattering her walnuts broadcast, "catch me if you can." " Is that so ? Well, then, now for a race from here to the,sweet-apple tree. One, two, three, begin!" And Preston started off. at the top of his speed, Mary just before him',?', her face aglow, her hair streaming in the \ wind. As she skimmed over the ground, shouting and laughing, she seemed for all the world like a little girl, and not in the least like a young lady. She was soon caught and obliged to surrender the hammer, whereupon Preston nailed the curtains neatly, and went whistling about the house, giving finishing touches here and there to the rickety furni- ture. " O thank you. You Ve been a great help. Now, in return, you shall have a spring-bed 104 FLAXIE GROWING UP. to sleep on, the only one we have in the house," said Lucy, with a mischievous glance at Sadie. The spring bed did not fit the bedstead, and the chances were that it might fall through in the night. " You 're too tremendously kind, too self- sacrificing," said Preston, suspecting at once that something was wrong. But he had his revenge. The bedstead was extremely noisy, and the roguish youth, unable to sleep himself on account of mos- quitoes, rejoiced to think that he was proba- bly keeping his cousin Lucy awake. "Good morning, Preston, I hope you rested well," said she, as they all met next morning in the front yard. " O very. it 's so quiet in the country," returned he demurely. " Did you ever hear anything so quiet ? " OLD BLUFF. IO5 " Never ; except possibly a saw-mill," said Sadie Patten. " Lucy and I wondered if you could be alive, you were so still ! " " It was sort of frightful. No sound broke the awful silence, save the warning voice of the mosquito. By the way, girls, why dor*'t you call this spot Mosquito Ranch ? " " I '11 tell you what we used to call it at our house, we always called it 'Down to the Farm,' " remarked little Fanny. "It ought to be Rose Villa," said Lucy. "Just see our rose-tree that reaches almost to the eaves. We measured it yesterday, and it's seven feet high." "That will do for a tree," said Preston, plucking one of the pure, white roses and thrusting it into his button-hole ; " but you can't eat roses, you know." He had built a' fire in the kitchen stove, but the young ladies seemed to have forgotten IO6 FLAXIE GROWING UP. entirely that there was such a thing in the world as breakfast. "O, yes, we must prepare our simple morn- ing meal," said cousin Lucy. " Girls, where 's my blue-checked apron ? Preston, we 've heard there are lovely trout in that brook across the field. Not the river-brook." " Have you, really ? Then I go a-fishing ; 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 trusted to keep silence in the presence of the wise and wary trout. It was beautiful there by the brook-side, in the still June morning, sitting and watching the " shadowy water, with a sweet south wind blowing over it." There was no house within half a mile, and perhaps the Peck family and the Brown family the nearest neighbors were still OLD BLUFF. ID? asleep, for there was no sound, except the "song-talk" of the birds, and the whisper of the wind through the trees. It was a very light whisper, reminding Preston of the words, "And then there crept A little noiseless noise among the leaves,. Born of the very sigh that silence heaves." Mary's breath was a " noiseless noise," too ; it hardly stirred the folds of her buff print dress; it was the very "sigh" of "silence," and Preston thought he should tell her so, and praise her when they got home ; but it happened that he forgot it. The trout came, as they usually did when he called for them ; but it must be confessed that they were never eaten. Lucy put them in the spider, Sadie salted, Fanny turned, and finally Blanche Jones burned them. The "morning meal" was as "simple" as need IO8 FLAXiE GROWING UP. be, with cold bread and butter, cold tongue, and muddy, creamless coffee, the milk having turned sour. In the midst of their repast, the young campers were surprised by a loud peal of the door-bell. CHAPTER VII. CAMP COMFORT. " BUTTONS," said Lucy to her cousin Pres- ton, " you '11 have to go to the door." "Yes," said Sadie, "as Buttons is the only servant we keep, he must answer the bell." Preston obeyed, laughing. A droll little image of dirt and rags stood at the door, holding a ten-quart tin pail. " Good morning," said Preston, surprised at the shrewd, unchildlike expression of her face, for she was perhaps twelve years old and looked forty. The little girl seemed equally surprised. "What's them things?" 109 IIO FLAXIE GROWING UP. said she, pointing to Preston's spectacles. " What do you wear 'em for ? " " Do you want anything, little girl ? " asked he, frowning, or trying to frown. " I say, what do you wear glasses for ? You ain't an old man." "No matter what I wear them for " very sternly*. "Do you want anything, child ? " "Yes, I came to ax you for some swifts." " What do you mean by swifts ? " " Lor now, don't you know what swifts is ? Swifts is something folks reels yarn on." "Well, we haven't any in this house, little giri, and if that 's all you came for, you 'd better run home." " Hain't got no swifts ? " shuffling forward with her small, bare feet, and peeping into the house through her straggling locks of hair. " Well, you 've got a spin-wheel, hain't ye?" CAMP COMFORT. Ill "No, we've nothing you want. You'd better go." By that time Mary and Fanny were at the sitting-room door, curious to see the stranger. " How d' ye do ? Do you children live here all alone ? Guess I '11 come in," said the waif, brushing past Preston, who did not choose to keep her out by main force, and entering the sitting-room where the break- fast-table was spread. "I live over t'other side of Bluff. My name's Pancake." " Oh, I know who you are then," said Fanny, not very cordially ; for she had heard her father speak of a poor, half-starved, va- grant family of that name ; harmless, he believed, but not very desirable neighbors. "My name's Pecy Pancake," added the waif obligingly, and bent her snub nose to sniff the burnt trout. "Peace, probably," said Preston, aside. 112 FLAXIE GROWING UP. " No, Pecielena. Hain't you got no lasses cake ? Oh, what cunning little sassers ; '' handling the salt glasses. " Where 's the cups to 'em ? How came you children to come here alone ? " "We came because we cliose" said Mary, with crushing emphasis. "We wished to come," said Fanny, trying to be as dignified as Mary, though she felt her inferiority in this respect always. In no wise disconcerted, Miss Pecielena Pancake started on a tour of observation about the room. " You look like you 'd been burnt out or somethin'. Who does your work ? Got any cow? Oh, you hain't? Well, I've got a cow. This here is my milk bucket. I '11 fetch ye some milk." " No, no, no," exclaimed Lucy, in alarm. " Our milk is to be brought from town." CAMP COMFORT. 113 " Is, hey ? Well, I '11 fetch you some sour milk; five cents a quart." " Don't take the trouble," said Sadie mildly; "we are not fond of sour milk." After a long inspection of the room, Pecy gazed observantly out of the window. " Look here ! What 's them things hang- ing up in the trees ? Look like fish-nets. I 've seen folks in Rosewood swing in just such; be they swings? Well, I reckon I must be a-goin'. But we paster our cow this side the river, and I '11 call agin when I come to milk." " Is it possible that creature is really gone ? " " Hope she stayed just as long as she wished to," said Lucy, shutting the door forcibly. " Oh, she 's only half civilized, and does n't. know any better," returned the more chari- table Sadie. 114 FLAXIE GROWING UK "Young ladies," said Preston, flourishing his arms preparatory to a speech, " it seems you have settled in a refined and cultivated neighborhood very ! I never knew before why you could n't stay at home ; but I now see that Laurel Grove is unworthy of you. You pined for the advantages of elevated, intellectual society, such as can be found only at Old Bluff." " Buttons," said Lucy, shaking the broom at him, "we permit no impertinence from servants. Go, pump a pail of water directly, and then you may wipe the dishes." Preston " struck an attitude " again. " Honored ladies, there 's a limit to all things. Buttons will cook, he will answer door-bells, he will scrub, if need be; but wipe dishes he will not, no, not if you flay him alive ! Farewell ! Once again, fare- well ! " CAMP COMFORT. 1 15 " Don't go, Preston," entreated Mary, as her brother mounted bis " steed," the bicycle ; "do stay to dinner." " Could n't ; might starve." " Fie, Buttons," cried the older girls, " you 're no gentleman ! "A servant is not expected to be a gen- tleman." "But do dine with us, Mr. Gray" " Thank you, not to-day. Good-by, I '11 send Abbott to watch to-night." Preston and his cousin Bert Abbott, being in college together, called each other by their sur- names, to the no small amusement of Bert's sister Lucy. " He calls sleeping here ' watching,' " laughed Sadie, as Preston glided away, bow- ing and waving his hand "But here comes our grocer. Why, who is that with him ? " For as the wagon stopped at the gate, Mr. Fowler lifted a little girl over the wheels. Il6 FLAXIE GROWING UP. " Kittyleen ! Kittyleen Garland ! Dear me, where did you pick her up, Mr. Fowler ? " For it was not to be supposed that Kitty- leen came from home. She was an innocent little truant, whose mother never objected to her straying about the streets. " Glad to see you, Kittyleen ; you can go and play in the barn with Flaxie and Fanny," said Lucy hospitably ; and then, turning to Sadie, ''Now, what shall we order for din- ner ? " Sadie looked helpless. "What would yon advise, Mr. Fowler? Our fathers said we might have anything, and they 'd settle the bills ; but I " " Lemons," struck in Lucy, ashamed of Sadie's weakness. " A dozen, and some fresh butter. Lard, perhaps ten pounds, for pies." "Anything else," asked the grocer, deferen- CAMP COMFORT. 1 1? tially, as he jotted these -orders into a note- book. " I '11 bring them to-morrow a real pretty situation here. What do you call it ? Old Maid's Hall ? " "No, a convent," said Sadie quickly, "for we shall have to fast if you 're not coming back with our groceries till to-morrow." " Why. Miss Sadie, it 's all of two miles, and it won't pay to come twice a day," said the grocer, wiping his heated brows. " Well, we shall have to fast, then. This is a convent, as I told you, and we are nuns Capuchin nuns for you know Capuchin nuns are famous for fasting." " So they be," laughed Mr. Fowler, though it was the first time in his life he had ever heard of a Capuchin nun ; " so they be," and rode away laughing, to tell Dr. Gray and Major Patten, whom he met in the village, that those children were having a high old Il8 FLAX1E GROWING UP. time down there at the cottage, and were bright as pins, every one of 'em." "They forgot to order meat, but hadn't I better take down some Cape Cod turkey to keep off starvation ? " He meant salt codfish. " How do you suppose they '11 make way with ten pounds of lard, though ?" " Never mind," replied Dr. Gray, throwing his head back to laugh ; " they beg not to be interfered with, and we '11 let them have their own way for a while." Starvation was not likely to ensue for some days, as the young campers had been bounti- fully supplied by their mothers with bread, pies, cake, and cold meats. " Oh, housekeeping is just play and takes no time at all," said Sadie Patten ; " now let 's get up some charades and rehearse for to- morrow night, and invite the three boys Kittyleen must be amused, you know." CAMP COMFORT. IIQ The charade which follows was their first attempt of the sort at Camp Comfort, the music between the acts being supplied by Jack Townsend's cornet and Sadie Patten's harmonica. A PANTOMIME. The stage was out of doors. Two posts were driven into the ground, and between them hung the red table-cloth suspended from a fish-line. This was the drop-cur- tain. The audience, in chairs, or on the ground, were directly in front of the stage. At a whistle from the invisible depths the drop- curtain was raised by Blanche Jones, re- vealing the manager, Preston Gray, who made a low bow, and said, " Ladies and gentlemen, it is with profound pleasure that I present to you the two stars of tragedy, Madame Graylocks, of the Tuscarora Opera I2O FLAXIE GROWING UP. Company, and Don Albertus of the Cannibal Islands." The two "stars" -then step forward, to be greeted by the audience with deafening cheers. Miss Graylocks (alias Mary Gray), her face and hands well stained with walnut- juice, is clad in blue jacket, gray skirt and red-topped boots (Sadie Patten called them "galligaskins"), with a stove-pipe hat on her head. An ounce of black worsted floats down her shoulders for hair. She makes a deep courtesy, Don Albertus (Bert Abbott) a low bow. He is an Indian chief, clad in a red and green dressing-gown, with a feather duster on his head for a war-plume. His face, like Madame Graylocks', is a fine mahogany color. Their " unrivalled performance," announces the manager, "is to be a charade in two syllables." CAMP COMFORT. 121 FIRST SYLLABLE. The stage is now observed to be strewn with sticks and twigs, to resemble the out- skirts of a forest. No word is spoken ; but as a tin pail hangs on a pole over something that looks like a fireplace, it would seem that the worthy couple are keeping house, and that the squaw is preparing dinner. But as yet there is no fire. The squaw collects branches and twigs, lays them crosswise under the tin pail. Her lord and master seats himself on the ground, watching her in scowling silence. The soup must boil ; but how can she make a fire ? She rubs two stones together Indian-fashion, but cannot strike a spark. She tries with all her might, dancing up and down and shaking her head dolefully. The chief laughs at her, offering no help, till she points in despair to the tin pail, reminding him that at this rate they 122 FLAXIE GROWING UP. must starve. He rises then, pushes her aside, and flashing his white teeth at her, seizes the two stones, rubs them just once together, and they instantly ignite (of course this is done by means of a match hidden in his sleeve.) The twigs are soon crackling under the pail He points his finger disdainfully at the poor squaw, who cannot make a fire. She looks so brow-beaten and discouraged at this, so unlike the spirited Flaxie Frizzle of real life, that the audience laugh. Then the drop-curtain falls. SECOND SYLLABLE. The soup has boiled, the chief has dined, and now sits with hands folded, looking good- natured. The pail is empty and lying bottom upward on the grass. Enter his meek wife ; takes the empty pail ; returns with it full of water, slopping it as she walks. The thirsty CAMP COMFORT. 123 chief points to his mouth. She produces a large iron spoon, fills it and gives him to drink, afterwards helping herself. They sit and sip from the spoon alternately, when a "pale face" (Preston) enters, with a jug. The chief starts up with eager delight. Pale Face swings the jug slowly, to show that it is full. The chief, smiling and obsequious, advances to shake hands. The squaw looks alarmed ; shakes her head at the jug, and insists on giving Pale Face some water. Pale Face declines it ; takes stopper out of jug and presents it to chief's nose with an elo- quent gesture, which means, "Now isn't that good ? " It is evidently whiskey, for the chief sniffs the stopper, laughs and dances, pointing to his mouth. Squaw weeps ; is evidently a good temper- ance woman ; holds the pail to her husband's 124 FLAXIE GROWING UP. lips. 1 said Dr. Gray, blinking and rubbing his eyes. . "Why, Doctor, she is thirteen," laughed Miss Pike. " But, there, they are beginning to sing, and we must go over and join them." IQ8 FLAXIE GROWING UP. After the Christmas songs, Dr. Gray and General Townsencl took off the presents. There was a joyous scream from Pecy Pancake when she received her new cloak of gray beaver cloth, with buttons to match, and a collar that would turn down or up. The name of the giver was not mentioned, and the studied look of innocence on Mary's face was edifying to behold. Preston's expression was equally innocent when Charlie Peck bounded forward and seized his brave sled, " Clipper," and when little Bobby Brown shouted over his first pair of skates. And every time a present was taken off the Tree, the little candles on the branches seemed to twinkle more gayly, and the Christ-child to smile more benevolently than ever. "Susy Peck," called Dr. Gray from the right, and a wee girl stepped forward with CHRISTMAS AT OLD BLUFF. 199 fingers in her mouth, and snatched snatched is the word the pretty doll which Julia Gray had dressed in a scarlet frock, with fashionable hood, fur tippet, and muff. Like most of the others, Susy forgot to say "Thank you;" but I suppose it was the proudest moment of her life. " Baby Peck," called out General Townsend from the left ; and another wee girl toddled up, holding on by her mother's finger, and got a handsome box so full of sugarplums that the cover would hardly stay on. And then the overjoyed baby had to be taken in her mother's arm, lest, in running about to show the box, she should get under every- body's feet. "Johnny Brown," called Dr. Gray. And Johnny's cnin dropped on his little ragged necktie with delight at receiving a pretty jacket with linen collar and cuffs, while the 200 FLAX1E GROWING UP. " Electric Light " was suddenly extinguished behind the parlor door. But why enumerate the presents which fell like ripe fruit from that bountiful Tree ? The pretty dresses, the modest needle-books, the painted drums, beautiful books and pictures, and all manner of gay toys ? And why describe the long table which the ladies had spread with every dainty that these children had ever sighed for; real turkey with genuine "stuffing;" cakes of all sorts and sizes, with fruit and without ; some as yellow as gold, and some buried under snow- drifts of frosting ; and best of all, perhaps, to them, large mounds of candy, oranges, nuts, and raisins ! "Worth while, is n't it ? " said the " Electric Light," nodcling his head, which was nearly as bright as a Christmas candle. " Our coming out to Camp 'Comfort was a CHRISTMAS AT OLD BLUFF. 2OI great thing for the neighbors," remarked Bert Abbott to James Hunnicut, who wished he had been one of the immortal three ! And Preston took off his spectacles and wiped them, remarking that the glass was apt to grow dim in a warm room. " Now strike up your cornet, Jack ; take your harmonica, Sadie, and let 's have an- other Christmas song." " Merry, merry Christmas everywhere! Cheerily it ringeth through the air; Christmas bells, Christmas trees, Christmas odors on the breeze ; Merry, merry Christmas everywhere ! Cheerily it ringeth through the air. .Deeds of Faith and Chanty; These our offerings be, Leading every soul to sing, Christ was born for me ! " The poor, little, happy, wondering children listened in delight, as the music seemed to hover and float on wings over the heads of the people, losing itself at last in the upper air. 2O2 FLAXIE GROWING UP. And, all the while, the beautiful Christmas Tree stood glittering with its little candles, its green branches stripped of everything but their straight pine needles. Miss Pike looked up from the children's happy faces to the Christmas Tree, and her soul was stirred with awe. For the Christ- child on the topmost bough seemed alive ; and behold how large he grew, how grand and beautiful ! It was as if the heaven of heavens could not contain him : yet he was there in that very room, and she beheld him ! His arms were extended in blessing, his lips moved, and in a still, small voice, as if it fell from the sky, she heard him say once more : " Suffer little children to conic unto me, and forbid tJicin not ; for of such is the kingdom of heaven." SOPHIE MAY'S "LITTLE-FOLK'S" 'Ok. "tot a fascinating creature.- uid the Man u> lh M hnmb and fore-Bneur. and ginnj at thi lady boarder. tpBCooa cut to "unu PBODT-S PtTiWAr SEMB.'. SOPHIE MAY'S "LITTLE-FOLKS" BOOKS'. LITTLE GRANDMOTHER. "Grandmother Parlen when a lillle girl Is the subject. Of course thai was ever so long ago, when there were no lucifer matches, anil stt-el ami tinder were used to light. CUM; when soda and saleratus ho)' never been heard of, but people made their pearl .ash by soaking liiii-nt crackers in water ; when the dressmaker and the tailor and the shoemaker went from house to house twice a year to make the dresses and coats of the family ." Transcript. LITTLE GRANDFATHER. "The story of Grandfather Psirlo.n's little boy life, of the days of knee breeches and 'cocked hats, full of odd incidents, queer and quaint sayings, and the customs of ' ye olden time. 1 These stories of SOPHIE MAY'S arc so charmingly written that older folks may well anuiso themselves by reading then). The same warm sympathy with child- hoed, the earnest naturalness, the novel charm of the preceding volumes will be found in this." Christian Messenger. MISS THISTLEDOWN. "One of tho queerest of the Prudy family. Read the chapter heads arid you will see just how much fun there must be in it . Ply's Heart,' 'Taking n Nap, 1 . 'Going to the Fair,' 'The Dimple Dot,' 'The Hole in the Home,' 'The Little Richclor,' 'Fly's Blue- beard,' 'Playing Mamma,' 'ButterSpots,' ' Polly's Secret,' 'The Snow Man,' -The Owl and the Humming-Bird.' 'TaT.re of Hunting Deer,' nd 'TUc Parlen Patch work.'". (SOPHIE MAY'S LITTLE-FOLKS" BOOKS> "MTUE GRANDMOTHER. "St.. ptoH it. thejljgtfftt ^^^SL umi ratmrs rtTAWAT SEMES' '< FLASH FEIZZLE. TWIH CODSIHS. 'DOCTOB PAPA. rLAXiirs KITTTLEEH. UTTLE PrrCHERS. JLAilE CSOWO9 OP, This book is DUE on the last date stamped below JUL I 8 19 , -..I'll 1 '< 980 DUEIWO 10m-ll,'50(2555)47 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES PZ7 Flaxie growing up PZ7