"TAKING OUR AIRS."
Flyaway awoke singing, and sprang up in bed, saying,--
"Why, I thought I's a car, and that's why I whissiled."
"But you are not a car," yawned Prudy; "please don't sing again, or
dance, either."
"It's the _happerness_ in me, Prudy; and that's what dances; it's the
happerness."
"That's the worst part of Fly Clifford," groaned Dotty; "she won't keep
still in the morning. Might have known there wouldn't be any peace after
she got here."
Dotty always came out of sleep by slow stages, and her affections were
the last part of her to wake up. Just now she did not love Katie
Clifford one bit, nor her own mother either.
"Won't you light the lamp?" piped Flyaway.
"Please don't, Fly," said Prudy; "don't talk!"
"Won't you light the la-amp?"
"No, we will not," said Dotty, firmly.
"Won't you light the la-amp?"
"Is this what we came to New York for?" moaned Dotty; "to be waked up in
the middle of the night by folks singing?"
"Won't you light the la-amp?"
"I'll pack my dresses, and go right home! I'll--I'll have Fly Clifford
sleep out o' this room. Why, I--I--"
"Won't you light the la-amp?"
Prudy sprang out of bed, convulsed with laughter, and lighted the gas;
whereupon Fly began to dance "Little Zephyrs," on the pillow, and Dotty
to declare her eyes were put out.
"Little try-patiences, both of them," thought Prudy; "but then they've
always had their own way, and what can you expect? I'm so glad I wasn't
born the youngest of the family; it does make children _so_
disagreeable!"
As soon as Dotty was fairly awake, her love for her friends came back
again, and her good humor with it. She made Fly bleat like a lamb and
spin like a top, and applauded her loudly.
"It's gl-orious to have you here, Fly Clifford. I wouldn't let you go in
any other room to sleep for anything."
Which shows that the same thing looked very different to Dotty after she
got her eyes open.
When the children went down to breakfast, they found bouquets of
flowers by their plates.
"I am delighted to see such happy faces." said Aunt Madge. "How would
you all like to go out by and by, and take the air?"
"We'd like it, auntie; and I'll tell you what would be prime," remarked
Horace, from his uncle's place at the head of the table; "and that is,
to take Fly to Stewart's, and have her go up in an elevator."
"Why couldn't I go up, too?" asked Dotty, with the slightest possible
shade of discontent in her voice. She did not mean to be jealous, but
she had noticed that Flyaway always came first with Horace, and if there
was anything hard for Dotty's patience, it was playing the part of
Number Two.
"We'll all go up," said Aunt Madge. "I've an idea of taking you over
to Brooklyn; and in that case we shan't come home before night."
"Carry our dinner in a basket?" suggested Dotty.
"O, no; we'll go into a restaurant, somewhere, and order whatever you
like."
"Will you, auntie? Well, there, I never went to such a place in my life,
only once; and then Percy Eastman, he just cried 'Fire!' and I broke the
saucer all to pieces."
"I've been to it a great many times," said Fly, catching part of Dotty's
meaning; "my mamma bakes 'em in a freezer."
At nine o'clock the party of five started out to see New York. Aunt
Madge and Horace walked first, with Flyaway between them. "We are going
out to take our _airs_," said the little one.
"I don't think you need any more," said Horace, looking fondly at his
pretty sister. "You're so airy now, it's as much as we can do to keep
your feet on the ground."
Flyaway wore a blue silk bonnet, with white lace around the face, a blue
dress and cloak, and pretty furs with a squirrel's head on the muff. She
had never been dressed so well before, and she knew it. She remembered
hearing "Phibby" say to "Tinka," "Don't that child look like an angel?"
Fly was sure she did, for big folks like Tinka must know. But here her
thoughts grew misty. All the angels she had ever heard of were brother
Harry and "the Charlie boy." How could she look like them?
"Does God dress 'em in a cloak and bonnet, you s'pose?" asked she of her
own thoughts.
Prudy and Dotty Dimple wore frocks of black and red plaid, white
cloaks, and black hats with scarlet feathers. Horace was satisfied that
a finer group of children could not be found in the city.
"Aunt Madge and I have no reason to be ashamed of them, I am sure,"
thought he, taking out his new watch every few minutes, not because he
wished to show it, but for fear it was losing time.
"How I wish we had Grace and Susey here! and then I should have all my
nieces," said Aunt Madge. "Is it possible these are the same children I
used to see at Willowbrook? Here is my only nephew, that drowned Prudy
on a log, grown tall enough to offer me his arm. (Why, Horace, your head
is higher than mine!) Here is Prudy, who tried yesterday--didn't
she?--to go up to heaven on a ladder, almost a young lady. Why, how old
it makes me feel!"
"But you don't look old," said Dotty, consolingly; "you don't look
married any more than Aunt Louise?"
Here they took an omnibus, and the children interested themselves in
watching the different people who sat near them.
"Aren't you glad to come?" said Dotty. "See that man getting out. What
is that little thing he's switching himself with?"
"That's a cane," replied Horace.
"A cane? Why, if Flyaway should lean on it, she'd break it in
two.--Prudy, look at that man in the corner; _his_ cane is funnier than
the other one."
Horace laughed.
"That is a pipe, Dotty--a meerschaum."
"Well, I don't see much difference," said Miss Dimple; "New York is the
queerest place. Such long pipes, and such short canes!"
Fly was too happy to talk, and sat looking out of the window until an
elegantly-dressed lady entered the stage, who attracted everybody's
attention; and then Flyaway started up, and stood on her tiptoes. The
lady's face was painted so brightly that even a child could not help
noticing it. It was haggard and wrinkled, all but the cheeks, and those
bloomed out like a red, red rose. Flyaway had never seen such a sight
before, and thought if the lady only knew how she looked, she would go
right home and wash her face.
"What a chee-arming little girl!" said the painted woman, crowding in
between Aunt Madge and Flyaway, and patting the child's shoulder with
her ungloved hand, which was fairly ablaze with jewels; "bee-youtiful!"
Flyaway turned quickly around to Aunt Madge, and said, in one of her
very loud whispers, "What's the matter with her? She's got sumpin on her
face."
"Hush," whispered Aunt Madge, pinching the child's hand.
"But there is," spoke up Flyaway, very loud in her earnestness; "O,
there is sumpin on her face--sumpin red."
There was "sumpin" now on all the other faces in the omnibus, and it was
a smile. The lady must have blushed away down under the paint. She
looked at her jewelled fingers, tossed her head proudly, and very soon
left the stage.
"Topknot, how could you be so rude?" said Horace, severely; "little
girls should be seen, and not heard."
"But she speaked to me first," said Flyaway. "I wasn't goin' to say
nuffin, and then she speaked."
A young gentleman and lady opposite seemed very much amused.
"I'm afraid of your bright eyes, little dear. I'll give you some candy
if you won't tell me how I look," said the young lady, showering
sweetmeats into Flyaway's lap.
"Why, I wasn't goin' to tell her how she looked," whispered Fly, very
much surprised, and trying to nestle out of sight behind Horace's
shoulder.
When they left the omnibus, the children had a discussion about the
painted lady, and could not decide whether they were glad or sorry that
Fly had spoken out so plainly.
"Good enough for her," said Dotty.
"But it was such a pity to hurt her feelings!" said Prudy.
"Who hurted 'em?" asked Fly, looking rather sheepish.
"Poh! her feelings can't be worth much," remarked Horace; "a woman
that'll go and rig herself up in that style."
"She must be near-sighted," said Aunt Madge. "She certainly can't have
the faintest idea how thick that paint is. She ought to let somebody
else put it on."
"But, auntie, isn't it wicked to wear paint on your cheeks?"
"No, Dotty, only foolish. That woman was handsome once, but her beauty
is gone. She thinks she can make herself young again, and then people
will admire her."
"O, but they won't; they'll only laugh."
"Very true, Dotty; but I dare say she never thought of that till this
little child told her."
"Fly," said Horace, "You are doing a great deal of good going round
hurting folks' feelings."
"Poor woman!" said Aunt Madge, with a pitying smile; "she might comfort
herself by trying to make her soul beautiful."
"That would be altogether the best plan," said Horace, aside to Prudy;
"she can't do much with her body, that's a fact; it's too dried up."
All this while they were passing elegant shops, and Aunt Madge let the
children pause as long as they liked before the windows, to admire the
beautiful things.
"Whose little grampa is that?" cried Fly, pointing to a Santa Claus
standing on the pavement and holding out his hands with a very pleasant
smile; "he's all covered with a snow-storm."
"He isn't alive," said Dotty; "and the snow is only painted on his coat
in little dots."
"Well, I didn't spect he was alive, Dotty Dimple, only but he made
believe he was. And O, see that hossy! he's dead, too, but he looks as
if you could ride on him."
"This other window is the handsomest, Fly; don't I wish I had some of
those beautiful dripping, red ear-rings?"
"Why, little sister," said Prudy, "I'd as soon think of wanting a gold
nose as those cat-tail ear-rings. What would Grandma Read say?"
"Why, she'd say 'thee' and 'thou,' I s'pose, and ask me if I called 'em
the ornaments of meek and quiet spirits," said Dotty, with a slight curl
of the lip. "Auntie, is it wicked to wear jewels, if your grandma's a
Quaker?"
"I think not; that is, if somebody should give you a pair; but I hope
somebody never will. It is a mere matter of taste, however. O, children,
now I think of it, I'll give you each a little pin-money to spend,
to-day, just as you like. A dollar each to Prudy and Dotty; and, Horace,
here is fifty cents for Flyaway."
"O, you darling auntie!" cried the little Parlins, in a breath. Dotty
shut this, the largest bill she had ever owned, into her red
porte-monnaie, feeling sure she should never want for anything again
that money can buy.
"There, now, Hollis," said Fly, drawing her mouth down and her eyebrows
up, "where's my skipt? _my_ skipt?"
"What? A little snip like you mustn't have money," answered Horace,
carelessly; "auntie gave it to me."
The moment he had spoken the words, he was sorry, for the child was too
young and sensitive to be trifled with. She never doubted that her great
cruel brother had robbed her. It was too much. Her "dove's eyes" shot
fire. Flyaway could be terribly angry, and her anger was "as quick as a
chain o' lightning." Before any one had time to think twice, she had
turned on her little heel, and was running away. With one impulse the
whole party turned and followed.
"Prudy and I haven't breath enough to run," said Aunt Madge. "Here we
are at Stewart's. You'll find us in the rotunda, Horace. Come back here
with Fly, as soon as you have caught her."
As soon as he had caught her!
They were on Broadway, which was lined with people, moving to and fro.
Horace and Dotty had to push their way through the crowd, while little
Fly seemed to float like a creature of air.
"Stop, Fly! Stop, Fly!" cried Horace; but that only added speed to her
wings.
"She's like a piece of thistle-down," laughed Horace; "when you get near
her you blow her away."
"Stop, O, stop," cried Dotty; "Horace was only in fun. Don't run away
from us, Fly."
But by this time the child was so far off that the words were lost in
the din.
"Why, where is she? I don't see her," exclaimed Horace, as the little
blue figure suddenly vanished, like a puff of smoke. "Did she cross the
street?"
"I don't know, Horace. O, dear, I don't know."
It was the first time a fear had entered either of their minds. Knowing
very little of the danger of large cities, they had not dreamed that the
foolish little Fly might get caught in some dreadful spider's web.