"A LETTER for Miss Bella Curtis," said the postman; "two cents."
Oh, what delightful words those were. Bella began quite to love the
postman; and she asked him if he wouldn't please to take _three_
cents--which astonished him so much, that I do believe nobody had ever
thought of saying so to him before.
The little girl pulled off the envelope with trembling eagerness, and
Edith read this:
"DEAR, DARLING BELLA:
"I was so delighted with your letter that I kissed every word once, and
the dear little scratch, that meant your name, about a dozen times.
Yesterday was Sunday, and I went to church. Just in front of me sat a
dear little girl so like you, that I wanted to lift her over the back of
the pew and kiss her. She was such a little thing, that she did not know
how to sit still. She had on a pair of worsted sleeves, and the very
first thing she did, was to poke all the fingers of one little hand
through the ruffle round the other, just as you do with your sleeves.
Then she smiled at me, and I smiled at her; then she spread out her
little pocket handkerchief, and found a small hole in the corner, about
as big as a three-cent piece. She stuck her finger through that, and
held it up, and danced it up and down; then she dusted the pew with it,
which made it rather dirty. She was such a little bit of a thing that
you could hardly expect her to sit quite still; but this that I am going
to tell you now, was really naughty.
"There was a boy in the pew just in front. She gave him three pretty
hard taps on the back of his head, and when he looked round, she
pretended to be asleep. What a girl!
"When we came out I shook hands with her, and said: 'I have a little
girl at home in the North, her name is Bella; what is your name?'
"'My name is Bella, too,' she said. Wasn't that wonderful?
"As I walked home, I saw such a sweet little white girl, carried in the
arms of a great black woman, whose head looked like an immense
butterfly, fastened on her shoulders; for she had a handkerchief on it,
of all the colors of the rainbow, and it was spread out on either side
like wings.
"The sweet little child seemed to love her black nurse dearly, for as I
walked behind, I saw her press her tender, lovely, pink and white cheek,
close against the dusky face of her nurse, and I heard her say in a
sweet lisping tone: 'Oh, Binah, I love you. When I go to Heaven, I will
take you with me. Oh, B-i-n-a-h!' she said this last word just like the
cooing of a little dove.
"'Bress de darlin' chile,' said Binah. 'I am gwine back _now_, little
missis. Ole Binah hab to go to Heben fust, and wait dere for little
darlin' missis.'
"You see Binah meant by 'gwine back now,' that she was old. When people
are old, they say, they are going 'down hill,' but Binah said, 'going
back.' You are climbing _up_ the hill of life, my dear little Bella;
and I pray that God will lead you in the right path, and then the hill
both up and down will end in a happy home in Heaven.
"Dear me! what a long letter. Give my best love to papa and sister; and
kiss yourself on your dear little cheek if you can, for your loving
"MOTHER."
Here is Bella's answer:
"DARLING MAMMA,
"I was so glad to get your letter! What a naughty little girl that was
in the church! She behaved twice as bad as me. I speak out loud
sometimes, not very often; only sometimes. I had a party
yesterday--Minnie, and Lilly, and Jeannie; and we had tea out of my cups
and saucers that Cousin Caroline gave me--real tea--and one orange that
papa brought home--it was all pulled to pieces, and we eat it all up.
"We played with my paper dolls; and one of them, Miss Hattie Smith,
knocked down a little table and _broke_ one of my glass candle
_stickers_, that Cousin Caroline gave me.
"Really, and truly, I FOUND it broke; but we made believe that she broke
it because she is so ugly.
"Dolly has been very naughty. She fighted with sister's Kitty, and Kitty
tore all the lace off her cap. Kitty slapped her first. Then sister
Edith told dolly and Kitty about 'dogs delight to bark and bite,' and
dolly was so sorry, and Kitty too; and they never mean to do so any
more--never--sister Edith mended the cap, and she is good now--next time
papa brings me candy, I will give her a big piece--only pretend, you
know--for her mouth can't open like mine, it is all shut up tight--what
a pity! Oh mamma! I want to see you so much, I don't know what to do.
Why can't the postman bring you home? Oh mamma, I can't wait any
longer."
Here poor little Bella began to cry; and her papa thought her letter was
long enough, and that the little thing was tired, as well as grieved.
So he folded up the letter, and took Bella upon his knee, and kissed
her, and wiped away her tears, and said: "My darling little pet, would
you like to hear a story that I know?"
"Oh yes, papa," said Bella, lifting her head from his breast, and
smiling: though a great tear still trembled on her long lashes, "I love
a story."
"And I love you," said her papa; "so here it is."