JENNIE.
"I do b'lieve," said Marty one day, after she had been a member of the
mission-band for several months, "I do b'lieve that hearing so much
about the poor little children in India and China and those places, and
trying to do something to help them, makes me feel far more like helping
poor children here at home. Now, there's Jennie--I know I shouldn't have
thought much about her if I hadn't been thinking of those far-away
children."
This was after she had made some sacrifices for the benefit of poor
little Jennie, and this is the way she first came to know of her.
When the spring house-cleaning was going on, Mrs. Ashford's regular
helper one day could not come and sent another woman. In the evening
when Mrs. Ashford went into the kitchen to pay this Mrs. Scott for her
day's work, Marty, who had a great habit of following her mother around
the house, went also. Mrs. Scott had just finished her supper, and after
receiving her money and replying to Mrs. Ashford's pleasant remarks, she
said hesitatingly, pointing to a saucer of very fine canned peaches
which was part of her supper, but which she had apparently only tasted,
"Please, mem, may I take them splendid peaches home to my sick little
girl? She can't eat nothin' at all hardly, and she would relish them, I
know. If you'd jist give me the loan of an old bowl or somethin--"
"Oh! have you a sick child?" said Mrs. Ashford sympathizingly. "She
shall certainly have some peaches, but you must eat those yourself.
Katie, get--"
"Oh! no, mem," protested Mrs. Scott, "that's too much like beggin'. I
jist wanted to take mine to her."
"No, it isn't begging at all," said Mrs. Ashford. "I'm very glad you
told me about your little girl. Katie, fill one of those small jars with
peaches."
Then Mrs. Ashford went into the pantry, and returning with two large
oranges and some Albert biscuit, asked,
"Can you carry these also?"
Mrs. Scott was full of thanks, and said she knew such nice things would
do Jennie a world of good.
"I can make enough to keep her warm in winter and get her plain vittles,
but it isn't at all what she ought to have now, I know," she said
sorrowfully.
Mrs. Ashford asked what was the matter with Jennie and how long she had
been ill. Mrs. Scott replied that she had hurt her back more than a year
ago; and though she had been "doctored" then and appeared to get a
little better, since they moved to their present abode--for they came
from a distant town--she had become worse and was now not able to walk
at all, but was obliged to lie in bed, sometimes suffering much pain.
"How was she hurt?" Mrs. Ashford inquired.
"She fell down the stair," was all the reply given, but Katie said
afterward that she had heard that Jennie was thrown or pushed down
stairs by her drunken father. She said poor Mrs. Scott had had a very
hard life with this shiftless, drunken husband, who abused her and the
children. All the children were dead now except Jennie, who was about a
year older than Marty, and early in the winter "old Scott," as Katie
called him, died himself from the effects of a hurt received in a fight
while "on a spree." As Mrs. Scott had been ill part of the winter and
unable to work much, she had got behind with her rent, and altogether
had been having a very hard time.
Marty was very much interested in what Mrs. Scott said, and asked a
question or two on her own account.
"Who stays with your little girl when you are away?"
"Bless your sweet eyes! nobody stays with her. She just lies there her
lone self, unless some of the other children in the house run in and
out, but mostly she doesn't want their noise."
"How long has she been in bed?"
"Most of the time for eight months, miss," replied the poor mother with
a sigh.
"Doesn't she ever sit up in the rocking-chair?"
"We have no rocking-chair, but sometimes when I go home from work, or
the days I have no work, I hold her in my arms a bit to rest her."
"Has she got anything to amuse her?"
"Yes, she has a picture-book I got her last Christmas."
"Mamma!" exclaimed Marty, as soon as the door closed behind Mrs. Scott,
"just think of lying in bed since Christmas, and now it's the first of
May, with nothing but _one_ picture-book!"
"Ah! Marty," said her mother, "there are many people in the world who
have very hard times."
"Well, I don't know them all, and I couldn't help them all if I did; but
I feel that I know Jennie real well, and mayn't I give her some of my
books and playthings? a whole lot, so that she wont be so lonesome when
her mother's away."
"I was thinking of going to see her soon, and if you wish you may go too
and carry her a picture-book or something of the sort."
Marty in her usual wholesale way would have carried half her possessions
to Jennie, but Mrs. Ashford prevailed upon her to limit her gift to a
small book and a few bright cards.
"You would better see Jennie first," she said. "She may not care for
books and may be too miserable to care much for playthings."
It happened the day they fixed upon to go Mrs. Ashford brought home from
market a small measure of strawberries, though they were yet somewhat
expensive. Marty, seeing them on the lunch-table, nearly went wild over
them, being very fond of the fruit, but her mother noticed that after
she was served she barely tasted them, and then sat with the spoon in
her hand gravely thinking.
"Don't you like them after all, Marty?"
"O mamma, they're perfectly delicious! I was just thinking how good they
would taste to Jennie. Can't we take her some of them?"
"I am afraid there are none to spare. You know Katie must have some, and
I want to save a few for your papa."
"I might take her mine," said Marty slowly. "I've only eaten one." But
she looked at the berries longingly.
"That would be too much of a sacrifice, I fear," said Mrs. Ashford, "but
I'll tell you what we will do if you are willing. You set yours aside
for Jennie and I will give you half of mine, and then we will all have
some."
Marty was afraid it would not be fair to have her mother make a
sacrifice also, but Mrs. Ashford declared she should like it of all
things, and was very glad Marty had thought of taking some berries to
Jennie.
So the strawberries were put in a basket with two glasses of jelly, some
nice rusks that Katie was famous for making, and a closely-covered dish
of chicken broth. Marty had her parcel ready, and they set out on their
expedition.
When they reached the house and knocked at the door of the room Mrs.
Scott had directed them to, a weak but shrill voice cried out, "Come!"
They entered a neat but poorly furnished room, of which the only
occupant was a pale, thin girl, lying in what appeared to be a very
uncomfortable position in bed.
"I suppose you are Jennie," said Mrs. Ashford, with her pleasant smile.
"Yes, ma'am," answered the girl, staring.
"I am Mrs. Ashford. My little girl and I have come to see you."
Jennie probably had few visitors, and she certainly did not know how to
treat them. She did not ask her present ones to be seated, and merely
continued to stare at them as well as she could stare in the doubled-up
way she was lying.
"Your mother is out to-day, is she?" said Mrs. Ashford.
"Yes, but she's only gone for half a day. She ought to be home now," and
then the poor child broke into a whining cry, saying,
"I wish she'd come and fix me, for I'm all slid down, and give me some
dinner."
It is very hard to be polite and pleasant when you are faint, sick, and
generally miserable.
"Wont you let me fix you?" asked Mrs. Ashford. She put the basket on the
table, and taking off her gloves, approached the bed.
"Now, Marty," she said, "as I raise Jennie, you beat up the pillows."
Marty beat them with a will, and the sick girl was soon comfortably
placed. She appeared greatly relieved and sighed from satisfaction. Mrs.
Ashford, seeing a tin plate on the shelf, covered it with one of the
napkins from her basket, and placing on it the small glass saucer of
strawberries and a rusk, gave it to Marty to carry to Jennie. The wan
face of the invalid flushed with pleasure when she saw the dainty food.
"For me!" she exclaimed.
"Of course it's for you," replied Marty, settling the plate on the bed.
Just then Mrs. Scott entered, almost breathless from her hurried walk,
having been detained, and knowing Jennie would need her. She was
exceedingly grateful when she found Mrs. Ashford and Marty ministering
to her sick child.
"O mother!" cried the latter. "The lady lifted me up in bed; and see the
strawberries! Some are for you."
"No, no," protested her mother, but Jennie persisted in forcing at least
one upon her. When Marty saw how the berries were enjoyed she felt very
well repaid for having been satisfied with a smaller portion herself.
Mrs. Ashford inquired what had been done for Jennie, and found she had
had no doctor since coming to the city.
"I have no money to pay a doctor," said poor Mrs. Scott, wiping her
eyes, "and I can't go to a stranger and ask him to attend her for
nothing. I give her the medicine the doctor told me to get when she was
first hurt, but it don't seem to do any good now."
Mrs. Ashford said she would speak to a doctor not far from there, with
whom she was well acquainted, and she was sure he would be willing to
come and see what could be done for the child.
"It is very hard that you have to be away from her so much, when she is
sick, and almost helpless."
"It is hard, mem, but what can I do? I must work to pay the rent and get
us bread, and glad enough I am to have the work. And she's not always so
forlorn as you found her, for mostly she can move herself. She's a bit
weak to-day. Then when I go for all day, I leave things handy on a chair
by the bed, and the people in the house are real kind, coming in to see
if she wants anything and to mend the fire."
In the meantime the children were not saying much, for Jennie, besides
being somewhat shy, appeared tired and weak. She was greatly pleased
with the book and cards, holding them tenderly in her hands. Marty sat
in silence a while, and then asked,
"Have you a doll?"
"No," replied Jennie. "I never had one."
"Never in your whole life!" exclaimed Marty, extremely astonished.
"No," said Jennie quietly. "But wunst we lived next door to a girl who
had one, and sometimes she let me hold it. It was the very beautifulest
kind of a doll, _I_ think," she added with great animation: "had light
curly hair and big blue eyes."
Marty was so overcome that she could do nothing but stand and gaze at
the little girl who never had a doll, and nothing more was said until
her mother was ready to go home.