I.

_LITTLE FRIENDS AT HOME._

"MAMMA," said Maggie Bradford, as she sat upon the floor in her

mother's room, lacing her walking boots,--"mamma, I wish I had another

terrible fault."

"Why, Maggie!" said Mrs. Bradford.

"I do, indeed, mamma,--a dreadful fault, something a great deal worse

than carelessness."

Mrs. Bradford was busy unpacking trunks and arranging drawers and

closets; for the family had just come home from the sea-shore, where

they had been spending the summer; but she was so surprised to hear

Maggie say this that she turned around with her hands full, to look at

her little daughter. She saw that Maggie was very much in earnest, and

had some reason for this strange wish.

"And why do you wish that, daughter?" she asked.

"Because, mamma, if I had such a fault, people would be so very anxious

I should cure it. Oh, dear! there's another knot in my shoe-string!"

and Maggie gave a jerk and a hard pull at her boot-lace. "I do not at

all wish to keep it, only to break myself of it."

"But why should you wish for a fault which would grieve your friends

and trouble yourself only that you may be at the pains of curing it,

Maggie? You have faults enough, dear; and if they are not what may be

called very terrible, they are quite serious enough to need all your

attention, and you should be thankful that it does not require a harder

struggle to overcome them."

"I know that, mamma," answered Maggie, with a very grave face; "but

then you see if my friends wished me very much to cure my fault,

perhaps they would offer me money to do it. You know when I used to

be so very, very careless, Grandpapa Duncan paid me for trying to do

better, so that I might help earn the easy-chair for lame Jemmy Bent.

And I want money very much,--a great deal of it, mamma."

"But that would be a very poor reason for wishing to rid yourself of a

bad fault, my child. And why do you want so much money? It seems to me

that you have everything given to you which a reasonable little girl

can want; and besides you have your weekly allowance of six cents."

"Yes, ma'am," said Maggie, with another jerk at her boot-lace; "but

Bessie and I want to save all our allowance for Christmas. We want to

have two whole dollars, so that we can give presents to every one of

the family and all the servants and Colonel and Mrs. Rush. And we have

told every one that we are going to do it, so it would not be quite

fair to take the money for anything else; would it, mamma?"

"Not if you have promised to spend it in that way," said Mrs. Bradford,

with a smile at the thought of how much the two dollars were expected

to furnish; "but it is wiser not to make such large promises. You

should have been very sure that you wished to spend your money for

presents before you said you would do so."

"But I do wish to use it for that, Mamma, and so does Bessie, but we

have another plan in our minds. Bessie and I like to have plans,

and this is a charity plan, mamma, and will take a great deal of

money. There, now, there's that boot-lace broken! I just believe that

shoemaker sells bad laces on purpose to provoke little girls. Something

ought to be done to him. It's such a bother to lace my boots, and 'most

always just when I have one done, the lace breaks. It's too bad!"

"Yes, it is too bad, Maggie, quite too bad that you should destroy

so many laces; but I scarcely think Mr. White does his work poorly

on purpose to vex his little customers. It is your own impatience

and heedlessness, my daughter, which are to blame. You pull and drag

at your shoe-strings, not taking time to fasten them properly, and

of course they knot and break. That is the second one this week, and

last week, also, you destroyed two. You say you wish to learn to dress

yourself, that you may be a useful and helpful little girl; but you

make more trouble than you save when you tear the buttons and strings

from your clothes, or knot and fray your shoe-laces. It would have been

much more convenient for me to put on your boots for you than it is to

leave what I am doing to find a lace among all these trunks and boxes.

Do you see, Maggie?"

"Yes, mamma," said Maggie, looking very much mortified, "but do you not

think my carelessness is any better?"

"Indeed, I do, pussy. I do not wish to take from my little girl any of

the credit she deserves, and you need not look so distressed. You are

much more careful than you were six months ago; you have tried hard,

and improved very much; but you have still something to do in that way,

dear. I think you will find the old faults quite troublesome enough

without wishing for new ones to cure."

"Yes, ma'am," said Maggie, "but then--"

"Well, dear, but then--what?"

"Why, mamma, I wouldn't feel as if it was quite right to wish to be

paid twice over for curing myself of the same fault, and Grandpapa

Duncan might think it was not fair."

"You are right, Maggie," said Mrs. Bradford, "and I am glad to hear you

say that; but I should like to understand why you and Bessie wish for a

great deal of money. If it is for a good purpose, I think I can put you

in the way of earning some."

"Oh, would you, mamma? That would be so nice! Bessie,"--as her little

sister came into the room, dressed for her walk, and followed by Jane

with Maggie's hat and sack in her hand,--"Bessie, mamma thinks she can

let us earn some money."

"Thank you, mamma," said Bessie; "that is _delighterful_. I am so

glad."

"I will tell you what it is for, mamma," said Maggie.

"Not now, dear," said Mrs. Bradford; "it is time for your walk, and you

must let Jane put on your things. When you come home, you shall tell

me, and meanwhile, I will be thinking in what way I can help you. But

remember, I only promise to do so if I think well of your plan. You may

think it a very wise one, while I may think it very foolish."

"Oh, mamma," said Maggie, "I am quite sure you will think this is wise.

Mrs. Rush made it, and she is so very good that it must be quite right."

"Yes, I think any plan Mrs. Rush proposes for you will be a safe one,"

said Mrs. Bradford, with a smile.

"You mean you have trust in her, mamma?" said Bessie.

"Yes, dear. I can trust her. She is a true and faithful friend to me

and to my little ones," answered Mrs. Bradford, as she stooped and

kissed first one and then the other of her little girls. "And now

good-by, my darlings. I will hear all when you come back. I hope you

will have a pleasant walk."

"I shall not, mamma," said Maggie, with a solemn shake of her curly

head. "I am so very anxious to tell you, and to hear what we can do,

that I shall not enjoy my walk at all. I wish I could stay at home."

But Maggie found herself mistaken; for the day was so bright and

pleasant, the park so cool, green, and shady, and so full, of other

little children, that she not only enjoyed her walk very much, but for

the time quite forgot her plan and her wish to earn money. And in the

park, our little girls met a friend whom they were very glad to see.

They were running down one of the broad paths, when Bessie saw an old

gentleman coming towards them with a pleasant smile on his face. She

stood still to take a second look, and then called to her sister.

"Oh, Maggie, here's our dear friend, Mr. Hall!"

"Why, so it is!" said Maggie, in glad surprise, for this was a very

unexpected pleasure.

Mr. Hall lived but two or three doors from Mr. Bradford, and as he

generally came for a walk in the park after his breakfast, Maggie and

Bessie were almost sure to meet him when they were out in the morning.

But he was not apt to be there in the afternoon, and so they had not

looked for him at this time.

It so happened that Mr. Hall had stepped out upon his front stoop just

as Mrs. Bradford's little flock started for their walk; and there

he saw them all going down the street. He put on his hat, took his

gold-headed cane, and walked out after them.

"Mr. Hall, I am very pleased to see you," said Bessie.

"And so am I, Mr. Hall," said Maggie.

"And I am very much pleased to see you," said Mr. Hall; "but I should

like to know what has become of two little granddaughters of mine, who

went away to the sea-shore two months since. I thought I should find

them in the park; but in their place I find two little strangers, who

have no name for me but Mr. Hall."

"Oh, I forgot,--Grandpapa Hall," said Maggie.

"Dear Grandpapa Hall," said Bessie, "please don't let your feelings be

hurt, 'cause we only forgot for one moment. You know it's so long since

we saw you."

"And did you forget me while you were away?" asked Mr. Hall.

"Oh, no," said Bessie, "we thinked about you very often, and talked

about you too."

"Well, let us sit down and talk a little," said Mr. Hall, as he seated

himself on a bench, and made Maggie and Bessie take their places, one

on each side of him. "And so you came back from Quam Beach yesterday?"

he said.

"Yes, sir," said Bessie,--"yesterday, in the afternoon. How did you

know it?"

"Oh, I saw the carriages drive up, and papa and mamma and a whole

regiment of little folks pouring out of them. I came out this morning,

expecting to find you in the park, but you were nowhere to be seen."

"No," said Bessie, "mamma was so busy nurse and Jane had to help her,

so we could not take our walk."

"Ah, to be sure, I might have thought of that, and called for you

myself."

"But we helped mamma too, and she said we were of great use to her, so

we could not have gone out," said Maggie.

"That was right," said Mr. Hall. "Always be of use to dear mamma when

you can."

"We can't do much," said Bessie; "we are too little."

"I do not know about that," answered Mr. Hall. "These little hands and

feet can help mamma a good deal, if they are only willing. If you can

do nothing else, you can be quiet and patient when she is busy. If you

do not make trouble, you save trouble."

"And we can 'muse baby," said Bessie.

"So you can. Halloa, little man! How do you do?" This was said to

Franky, who had just come up with Jane.

Franky remembered Mr. Hall quite well, and he also remembered how the

old gentleman used to give him sugar-plums out of his pocket.

"Welly well," he answered. "Me want sudar-plum."

"Oh, you naughty boy!" said Maggie.

"Dear, dear," said Mr. Hall. "I quite forgot the sugar-plums this

afternoon. When I saw my little friends going up the street, I thought

of nothing but the pleasure of joining them, and hurried out as quickly

as I could."

"Dive Franky sudar-plums," said the child again.

"Oh, Franky!" said Bessie, "don't be so yude. You make us very

mortified. Please to 'scuse him, Mr. Hall; he don't know any better,

'cause he's only three years old."

Mr. Hall laughed and offered Franky his stick to ride on, but the

little boy would not take it; and when he found he could not have the

sugar-plums, walked away with an offended air, which amused the old

gentleman very much, though it distressed his sisters, who thought him

very impolite.

"And now tell me about Quam Beach," said Mr. Hall. "You liked it very

much, did you?"

"Yes, sir," said Bessie, "the sea is there."

"And you were fond of the sea?"

"Oh, yes, sir! it is beautiful, and it has waves, and they come up on

the beach and bring the sea-weed and shells, and make such a pleasant

sound. And we could see so far, far away out over the water, and we

saw the ships and steamers too. And there are yocks that we could sit

on and play on, and we liked it so much. I wish there was a sea here,

Grandpapa Hall. Did you ever go to the sea-shore?"

"Yes, often, and I have been to Quam Beach, and thought it quite as

pleasant as you seem to have found it."

"We used to have clam-bakes," said Maggie.

"And go out in the boat," said Bessie.

"And in the wagon for straw rides, and to swing in the barn," said

Maggie.

"And over to the hotel to see grandmamma, and Colonel and Mrs. Yush,"

said Bessie.

"Who are Colonel and Mrs. Rush?" asked Mr. Hall.

"Old friends of papa and mamma, and new friends of me and Maggie,"

answered Bessie; "and we love them--oh, so much!"

"Colonel Rush is an English soldier," said Maggie, "and he was shot in

a battle, so his foot had to be cut off, and he has been very sick,

but he's better now."

"And they came to the city with us yesterday," said Bessie, "and went

to the hotel; and Mrs. Yush is going to have a class on Sunday, and we

are to go to it."

"Are you going to leave your Sunday-school?" asked Mr. Hall.

"I never went to Sunday-school," said Bessie. "Maggie did, but mamma

thought I was too little; but she said I might go to Mrs. Yush, 'cause

it was not too far. Mrs. Yush can't go to Sunday-school, 'cause she

must yide to church with the colonel, and she cannot come back for him

in time. Maggie's teacher is going away, and she is to go to Mrs. Yush

too, and Lily Norris and Gracie Howard."

"We are all to go to her on Sunday mornings," said Maggie; "and when

she and the colonel go to church, they are to take Bessie, if it is

too cold for her to walk; so now she can go to church 'most every

Sunday. Last winter she went very seldom because mamma thought the walk

too long for her, and was afraid she would take cold. Don't you think

it is a very nice 'rangement, Grandpapa Hall?"

"Very," said Mr. Hall, smiling at Maggie's long word,--"a very nice

arrangement; and I think Mrs. Rush must be a very kind, good lady."

"She is," answered Maggie, "she's lovely."

"Grandpapa Duncan says she is as good as she is pretty, and as pretty

as she is good," said Bessie.

"And the colonel is very good too," said Maggie, "and they are both

very fond of us."

"That shows them to be sensible people," said Mr. Hall. "I think I must

make the acquaintance of this famous Colonel and Mrs. Rush. Will you

introduce me to them?"

"Oh, yes, we will," answered Bessie, "and perhaps you'll see the

colonel in the park some day. He says he shall come and walk here when

he feels well enough. He's going to live over there in the hotel;" and

Bessie pointed to the great white building that fronted the park.

"And how is Grandpapa Duncan?" asked Mr. Hall.

"Very well, and Uncle John and Aunt Helen are well too, and Nellie is

better, and has ever so many new teeth. Quam Beach did her a great deal

of good. Papa and mamma are going to Riverside the day after to-morrow,

and Maggie and I are going with them."

"I think I know some one beside Nellie to whom Quam Beach has done

good," said Mr. Hall. "There is some color in these little cheeks

which were so pale when you went away, and you are stronger and

more able to run about; while as for Maggie, she has become quite a

roly-poly."

"Mr. Hall," said Bessie, "do you know what we are going to bring from

Riverside?"

"No, how should I, when no one has told me?"

"Our little dog that Donald, the gardener, gave us," said Bessie. "His

name is Flossy, and he's old enough to leave his mother now; so we are

to have him at home."

"Oh, I remember you told me about him in the spring. So his name is

Flossy; is it?"

"Yes, sir, and he's Maggie's and mine. Do you think he will be lonely

without his puppy brothers?"

"Not with two such nice little playmates as you and Maggie," said Mr.

Hall. "You must bring him out every day and let him have a run in the

park."

"Yes, sir, and papa is going to buy him a collar with his name on it

and where he lives, so people will know he is ours if he yuns away."

"Very good," said Mr. Hall, "and now suppose we walk around a little,

or nurse will think I am keeping you quiet too long."

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