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Maple Grove Stories
For
Little Readers.
HAPPY HEARTS
BY JUNE ISLE.
CINCINNATI:
PUBLISHED BY POE & HITCHCOCK.
R. P. THOMPSON, PRINTER.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1864.
BY POE & HITCHCOCK,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States
for the Southern District of Ohio.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER. PAGE.
I. WHOM HAVE WE ALWAYS 9
II. FRITZ DEAD, YET LIVES 29
III. HOW? ANSWERED 41
IV. WHAT THE STARS SAW 47
HAPPY HEARTS.
CHAPTER I.
WHOM HAVE WE ALWAYS.
Mr. and Mrs. Payson had three little children, who were very dear to
them, and whom they amused and instructed in many pleasant ways.
One Spring, just as the leaves were bursting open and the birds were
filling the air with gay songs, Mr. Payson told the children he had
bought a home for them in the country.
This pleased the little ones, and they talked from morning till night
about what they would do in their new home.
In the pretty country they watched the birds building their nests, and
saw them feeding their young and teaching them to fly; and then they saw
them in great cawing, twittering, fluttering swarms moving off to warmer
lands when the yellow Autumn leaves began to fall.
But when the Winter winds sung through the old pine trees, the children
began to talk about Christmas.
"I wonder if Santa Claus will come away out here, with his great pack of
toys," said Rebecca one day. "I am afraid he will forget us, he has so
many children to remember."
"He may perhaps forget us," said Joshua; "for cousin Nelly says that he,
one time, forgot to put any thing in her stocking, although she hung it
where he could find it."
"But," said Rebecca, "Nelly said it was a very stormy night, and they
lived on a hill, and the wind blew so hard they were afraid it would
blow the house down. And I think Santa Claus was afraid the wind would
upset his pack of toys if he went up on aunt Judd's roof."
"I think," said Joshua, "we had better send Santa Claus a letter,
telling him that we have moved from town out into this pretty pine
grove, then he will know where to find us."
"That will be a good way," said Rebecca; "for I remember when Mrs.
White, who lives in our house in town, was here last week, she told
mamma that many persons had called there since we left, and asked for
Mr. Payson. Now, if the people do not know that we have moved away,
Santa Claus may not; so he may go there and slide down the chimney, and,
without asking any thing about it, put all the nice things, which he has
in his pack for us, in Tommy and Jenny White's stockings."
"I will write to Santa Claus," said Joshua, "as soon as I can find
time."
Joshua said this in rather of a large way, for he wished to talk like a
man of business.
"I will run and get your slate now," said Rebecca; and she soon came
with the slate and pencil.
They all sat down and Joshua took the pencil to write; but he found he
could not do much, as his mamma was not there to spell the words for
him.
"Let us ask papa to send word to Santa Claus," said Rebecca.
"And let us ask Mrs. White," said Newton, "to watch, and, when Santa
Claus comes to her house, tell him where we live."
"But Mrs. White might watch all night, and then not see him," said
Rebecca; "for I think Santa Claus never makes any noise till he is just
going out of sight; then his eight tiny reindeers jingle their bells as
they scamper away with the sleigh full of toys."
Mrs. Payson came into the nursery, and the children told her what they
had been saying.
"Santa Claus shall be told where to find you," said Mrs. Payson, "and
you will have a happy Christmas if you are happy in your own hearts. You
shall have a Christmas tree, and we will invite some friends to come and
enjoy its fruits with us. But I wish you to remember, my darlings, if
you have naughty thoughts you can not have a happy Christmas."
"But if some naughty thoughts come, what can we do?" asked Rebecca.
"Try to think about something good and pleasant," said Mrs. Payson, "and
ask God to help you. Yesterday, when I heard Joshua telling Newton, in
an angry way, that he hoped Santa Claus would not bring him any thing, I
thought my dear boy's thinker was wrong."
"I know, mamma," said Joshua, "that I wish to be good. But, if God lets
me be naughty, what good does it do to ask him to help me?"
"God will help you if you ask him in the right way, and if you watch
yourselves," said Mrs. Payson. "If we wished to be happy ourselves we
must do something to make others so; and even little children can do
much good if they try."
"When we are trying to make others happy," said Joshua, "we shall have
good thoughts."
"A little verse which you repeat," said Mrs. Payson, "says truly that
'Satan finds some mischief still
For idle hands to do.'
Now I wish to hear what you, my children, have to do before Christmas."
"We must get our gifts ready for the tree," said Rebecca.
"And we must learn our lessons, every day," said Joshua.
"And I must learn all my letters, so papa will give me a rocking-horse,"
said little Newton.
"That is all right," said Mrs. Payson; "but have you not something more
to do?"
"O, yes!" said Joshua, "we are to ride to town and invite our visitors
to come and have a nice time with us in the holidays."
"But, are there not others whom you can help to be happy and good?"
asked Mrs. Payson; "those whom we always have with us?"
"I don't know," said Joshua, "as there are any persons that are always
with us. Bridget has been here only a few months, and she says she must
go away after New-Year; so you do not mean her. And John will leave next
Spring; so you can not mean him."
"When you were learning your Sunday school lesson a few weeks since,"
said Mrs. Payson, "I heard you repeating these words of Christ, 'Ye
have the poor with you always; and whensoever ye will ye may do them
good.'"
"O, yes, mamma, I did not think of that," said Joshua. "But, there are
so many poor people, how can we do them good?"
"We can do our little," said Mrs. Payson, "and if we only make one sad
heart glad we have done a good deed, and we shall be better and happier
ourselves while we are helping others."
"When Mrs. Blake comes here to see you, mamma," said Rebecca, "she talks
about poor people, and how much she does for them. But Mrs. Blake does
not seem to be happy; and she says there is no use in helping the poor,
for if one begins there is no end."
"Mrs. Blake," said Mrs. Payson, "has not a pleasant way of talking; but
I think she enjoys doing good to others in her own cross way. Yet, if we
would be happy ourselves in making others happy, we must love to do it.
If you should give little Harry Grant a pair of mittens because I told
you to do so, while you were fretting because you wished to keep them
yourself, you would be neither better nor happier for doing it; and you
would not speak gently and kindly to the poor little fellow, and so make
his face and your own bright by pleasant words. Mrs. Blake spends much
time and money in helping poor people; but she forgets that she should
'Speak gently, kindly to the poor.'"
"I have some toys, mamma," said Rebecca, "that I can give to Mrs.
Grant's lame Harry; I am sure they will make his little pale face
smile."
"And I should like to give Willie a pair of shoes," said Joshua; "for
his are very ragged."
"Shall I give him my sled, mamma?" asked Newton.
Now Newton thought more of his sled than he did of any other plaything.
It was painted green and yellow, and had a bright colored strap which he
called the reins. The runners were very smooth, and he expected to have
a gay time with it all Winter. So, when Newton asked about giving his
sled, he knew he was giving what he liked best.
"No, my darling," said Mrs. Payson; "keep your sled. But, we will see
what we all can do for Mrs. Grant and her children, by the time
Christmas comes. She is a good woman, and we can do much to make her
happy while her husband is gone to the war.
"Then there is Mrs. Fisher, who lives near town; can we do something for
her?" asked Mrs. Payson.
"Mr. Fisher gets drunk," said Joshua; "and Mrs. Blake says it does no
good to try to help them, for he sells things that are given to his wife
to buy whisky."
"But shall we leave poor Mrs. Fisher to suffer?" said Mrs. Payson.
"Shall we try to do nothing for her and her dear children? They are
often cold for want of clothes and a fire. They are often hungry,
because Mr. Fisher gets drunk, and is unkind to them.
"With so many good things around us, shall we not try to help the little
hungry children who have an unkind father?"
"O, yes, mamma!" said all the children at once.
"May I give something to Martha Kelly," asked Rebecca, "who says she
never has any presents?"
"Poor little Martha is not much older than you are, my daughter," said
Mrs. Payson; "yet she is obliged to work quite hard; for her mother is
sick and her father is poor. But she has a sweet, smiling face, and she
lives in a happier home than many children of rich parents."
"I know, mamma," said Joshua, "Martha always looks pleasant, even in a
shabby dress."
"Mr. Kelly is a very kind and good man," said Mrs. Payson; "and I hope,
before another Christmas, he will be able to give his family a better
home.
"They look happy because they have good thoughts and try to do their
duty. None can be happy, even in beautiful homes, unless their thoughts
are right.
"I hope you will select a pleasant book for little Martha, my daughter,
and I will send some articles to her mamma."
"It is now your bedtime, my darlings. To-morrow we will begin to prepare
our Christmas gifts for the poor."
The children kneeled down and thanked God for being so good to them, and
asked him to help them to be kind and obedient, and to speak the truth.
After they had said their prayers, Newton ran to his mamma and kneeled
down again by her side, and said, "Will God please to help the hungry
little children to smile, for Christ's sake?"