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[Illustration: THE CHILDREN GIVING GAWOW A DANCE.]
THE SOCK STORIES,
BY "AUNT FANNY'S" DAUGHTER.
FUNNY LITTLE SOCKS:
BEING
THE FOURTH BOOK OF THE SERIES.
BY
"AUNT FANNY'S" DAUGHTER,
THE AUTHOR OF "THE LITTLE WHITE ANGEL."
NEW YORK:
LEAVITT & ALLEN, 21 & 23 MERCER ST.
1863.
ENTERED, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1862, by
S. L. BARROW,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States
for the
Southern District of New York.
JOHN T. TROW,
PRINTER, STEREOTYPER AND ELECTROTYPER,
60 Greene Street, New York.
TO
DARLING LITTLE
ALLIE BABY,
These Funny Little Socks
ARE AFFECTIONATELY
DEDICATED.
CONTENTS OF VOL. IV.
PAGE
LITTLE MOTHER, 7
DOLLS AT HOUSEKEEPING, 40
THE FAIRY WISH, 102
LITTLE MOTHER.
ONE day Kitty's mother called her little daughter to her, and taking
both her dimpled dots of hands in her own soft white ones, said, "Kitty,
my darling, I am going to New York this morning, to see your dear
grandma', and I shall have to leave the house in your charge until I
come back. Do you think you can be my little housekeeper for to-day?"
"Oh yes, mamma! I should like that so much! I will keep house as well as
you--that is, 'most, not quite!" and Kitty jumped up and down for joy
at being trusted with such important affairs.
"You must take care of dear little Luly and Walter, you know; see that
they have their dinners fixed right, and go out walking with them and
nurse; and if any company comes, you must go down and see them, and say
that mamma has gone to New York, will you?"
"Yes, mamma; I will be just as good as pie!" said Kitty, earnestly;
"Luly and Wawa will like to have me for a mother, I guess."
"Yes; you are their Little Mother for to-day," said her mamma. "I know
you love me, Kitty, and want to save me all the trouble you can; it
will be a great comfort to me, while I am away, to feel that I can trust
you perfectly;" and she kissed the little, rosy cheek, I'm sure I can't
tell how many times, and Kitty felt so proud and happy that she only
wished she had been trusted with a much larger family of little brothers
and sisters, instead of two; that she might show the more what an
excellent Little Mother she intended to be. You would wish so too,
wouldn't you! yes, of course!
Kitty May lived with her papa and mamma, Luly and Walter, Mary the
nurse, and Betty the cook, three brown horses, two red cows, a black
dog, and a white kitten, at a beautiful country seat up the Hudson
River. She was only eight years old, but her obedience to her parents,
and tender, loving care of her little brother and sister, were beautiful
to see, and a shining example to some little girls I know. On the day
that I am telling you about, her papa had gone to town, as usual, early
in the morning, and now here was mamma going too, and Kitty would be
left to play lady of the house as grand as anything.
Well, the carriage was brought to the door, and mamma got in, after
kissing her little family all round about twenty times. Everybody rushed
to the front piazza to bid her good-by in their own fashion. Trip, the
black dog, jumped and barked around the horses, until they nearly kicked
him, when he sprang away, snapping out, "No, you don't! no, you don't!"
Dody, the white kitten, so called by Walter for "Daisy," mewed as hard
as she could from Luly's arms. Walter crowed and chuckled, and said,
"Boo-bi!" meaning good-by; Luly lisped, "Dood-by, dear mamma, _div_ my
_yove_ to gan'ma;" and Kitty said, "Good-by, mamma; I'll be a famous
Little Mother--see if I'm not!" And so the carriage drove away.
When it was quite out of sight, the little girls skipped and climbed,
and wee Walter was carried by nurse up stairs into the nursery; and
Kitty said, "Now, Mary, you can just go on with your sewing; you needn't
mind us a bit. I'm going to take care of _the children_; mamma said
so."
"Very well, Miss Kitty," said Mary; "I'll sit in the window here, and if
you want me, you can call."
So Mary fixed little Walter in his chair, and Luly got hers, and Kitty
sat down in her mamma's rocking chair, to be grander.
Walter's chair had a little tray fastened before it, on which his toys
were put. His dearest plaything was a ridiculous old doll, with no eyes,
half a wig, such a dilapidated pair of kid arms that the stuffing came
bursting through in every direction, making her look as if she had a
cotton plantation inside her, and the bolls were sprouting out; and such
an extremely short pair of legs in proportion to her body, that it
seemed as if they must shut into her like a pair of telescopes. Besides
this, there was a stale sugar peacock without a tail, a monkey that ran
up and down a stick, and a woolly dog that could open his mouth and bark
when you pressed him underneath; but the doll was the prime favorite,
after all. Walter called her Gawow, and as nobody in the house could
imagine what he meant by it, it was supposed to be a pure piece of
invention, and a very fine sort of thing.
The children played on peaceably together for some time, when all at
once there came a ring at the bell.
"Dear me!" cried Kitty, springing up and smoothing down her little
black silk apron in a great flurry. "There comes company, and I'm to go
and see them."
"Ou!" said Luly; "me want to see tompany too!"
"And so you shall, you little darling!" said Kitty, kissing her; and,
sure enough, up came Ellen, the waiter, to say that the good minister,
Mr. Lacy, was down stairs; for Mrs. May had smilingly told her, before
she went, that "Miss Kitty would see any one who called."
In high glee, yet somewhat awed by her grown-up dignity, Kitty let Mary
brush her soft brown braided wig and Luly's golden curly one; then she
rushed into her mother's room in a hurry, called Luly out into the
entry, and the little sisters took hold of hands and went down stairs to
see the company.
Mr. Lacy was sitting by the window, looking out on the beautiful garden,
and did not know the children had entered until he felt a mite of a hand
put softly on his, and heard two little pipy voices saying, "How do you
do, Mr. Lacy?" The minister turned round and burst right out laughing!
for Kitty, when she ran into her mother's room, had put on--what do you
think?--why, one of mamma's caps, which was lying on the dressing table!
and the queer little thing looked so funny with the lace cap perched on
top of her head, that Mr. Lacy laughed heartily, and said, "Why, Kitty!
are you the old woman that lived in a shoe? or have you got bald all of
a sudden, that you have taken to caps?"
"Oh, I'm Little Mother!" said Kitty; "mamma has gone to the city, and
left me to take care of _the children_, and the house, and Dody, and
Trip, until she comes back; and I'm Little Mother to all of them."
"Well, Little Mother," said Mr. Lacy, who was none of your cross,
crabbed old ministers, with faces as sour as vinegar, and voices as
sharp as a needle, who frighten children half out of their wits,
forgetful that "of such is the kingdom of heaven;" "I hope your children
will be well brought up, and learn all they should. What does this one
know?" lifting Luly to his knee.
"I know 'ittle hymn," said Luly, smiling up confidently in his face.
"Can't you say it for me?" asked the minister. "What is it all about?"
"'Bout 'at a 'ittle child can do," lisped Luly.
"Say it, Luly," said Kitty.
Luly folded her cunning fat hands over each other, and crossed her feet.
Then she looked up sideways in Mr. Lacy's face, and sucked her tongue a
little bit, and at last, all at once, in a little singing voice, she
began:
"I'm a very 'ittle maid;
Hardly can I talk, 'tis true;
Yet mamma I'd love to aid--
What can 'ittle Luly do?
"I can go, on busy feet,
Errands for her all day through;
Work for her, I feel, is sweet--
This can 'ittle Luly do!
"I can hold the gate long skein
When 'tis tangled and askew;
Never wanting to _compain_[A]--
This can 'ittle Luly do!
"I can search, her book to find,
And be _glad_ to do it, too!
I can always _quickly mind_--
This can 'ittle Luly do!
"I can ever go up stairs
Cheerfully, when falls the dew;
And with _yev'yence_[B] say my prayers--
This can 'ittle Luly do!
"GOD will help me, if I try;
He good children loves to view;
Dear Lord Jesus, from on high,
_Pease_ tell Luly what to do!"
"Ah! that is a beautiful hymn," said the good minister. "Don't you know
any, Little Mother?"
"I am learning a beautiful hymn," said Kitty, "but I don't know it
yet--not quite."
"No?" said Mr. Lacy. "Then I shall have to tell you something myself, I
declare. Here, sit down beside me, and listen very attentively."
Now, what do you think the minister told them? "Some dreadful, dismal
story, full of dreadful, wicked children, who were sent to prison, I
suppose; or an account of how, if _they_ ever dared to run down stairs,
or look out of the window, or sneeze in church, on Sundays, they never
would get to Heaven!" perhaps you will say. Not a bit of it. He just
trotted Luly up and down on his knee, and told them these funny verses:
"Three little kittens from home ran away,
Oh dear! oh dear!
And did you not hear
All that befell them on that day?
Dilly, and Dolly, and Poppledy-polly--
Did you ever hear, in your life, of such folly!
"Out they ran from their mother's door,
And skipped, and tripped,
And danced, and dipped,
Way down the road, where they'd ne'er been before!
Dilly, and Dolly, and Poppledy-polly,
Oh deary! what _will_ be the end of their folly?
"'Come let us go into this barn for mice!'
'Oh don't!' 'Oh stuff!
I'm hungry enough
To eat anything that is sav'ry and nice!'
So quoth little Dolly and Poppledy-polly,
While Dilly looked on, quite aghast at their folly!
"So in it they went, quite full of their fun,
And stared, and glared,
And meauoed, and scared
The poor little mice till they made them all run!
Dilly, and Dolly, and Poppledy-polly;
For Dilly, I'm sorry to say, shared their folly.
"But, alas! while the kittens were hunting up mice,
And munching, and crunching
Their smoking-hot _lunching_,
A boy came and caught them all up in a trice!
Dilly, and Dolly, and Poppledy-polly;
_Oh!_ OH! OH! what a shocking cli_max_ to their folly!
"Oh, how they struggled and mewed in their fright!
And scratched, and snatched
At the dismal old patched
Bag they were thrust into, twisted up tight!
Dilly, and Dolly, and Poppledy-polly;
I warrant, they felt bad enough for their folly.
"Soon to a stranger house they came;
'Oh, ma'! oh, ma'!
Now, only see _thar_!'
Their captor cried out to an elderly dame;
While Dilly, and Dolly, and Poppledy-polly
Pricked up their ears, and lamented their folly.
"'What, have you brought in a parcel of cats?
Go straight to the pond
And get 'em all drowned!!
I won't have them here, I can tell you; now s'cats!'
Poor Dilly, and Dolly, and Poppledy-polly
Set up a loud howl of distress at their folly!
"Off scampered the boy till he came to the bank
Of a very deep pool;
Oh, wasn't it _cruel_!
And tossed in the bag!! To the bottom it sank!!!
With Dilly (oh!), and Dolly (oh!), and Poppledy-polly (oh! oh!),
And that was the end of their fun and their folly!"
MORAL.
"So, children, I solemnly beg and implore,
Whatever you do,
(And you're torments a _few_,)
You'll never slip out of your dear mother's door;
Or, like Dilly, and Dolly, and Poppledy-polly,
You'll surely be made to repent of your folly!"
The children were very much amused with this woful history, bursting out
laughing without any kind of fail when Poppledy-polly, of comical memory
and name, was mentioned. Luly said, "Oh, me _yike_ that name! me want to
call Dody Popply-polly." This made Kitty laugh more than ever, and they
had a great time chasing Dody round the hall, and catching her, to bawl
in her ears "Poppledy-polly!" by way of kindly informing her that was to
be her new name.
Dody didn't seem to like it much, for she jumped out of Luly's arms with
a squeal and a flourish of her long tail, and scampered off faster than
ever each time. After watching them, and laughing for a while, Mr. Lacy
rose to go, saying:
"Good-by, Little Mother; I must go and see some of the big mothers now.
Don't forget me on any account, and tell your mamma, when she comes
home, that I approve your style of housekeeping very much indeed."
"Good-by, Mr. Lacy," said Kitty. "Thank you for your funny story."
"Tank 'ou--funny 'tory!" repeated Luly after her sister.
Mr. Lacy lifted the little thing up to his shoulder, and held her there
a minute, saying, "Good-by, Poppledy-polly! I hope, when I come again,
you will know another hymn to say."
Luly didn't like much to be called Poppledy-polly, and she said, with
an air of considerable displeasure, "My name Luly May;" but when the
minister kissed her, and called her "his little lamb," she relented, and
cooed, "Me _yove_ 'ou, miniter!'
Then something quite sorrowful happened; for two great tears gathered in
the minister's eyes, and came slowly rolling down his kind face. Ah! he
thought of his own little pet lamb, who once lisped, too, "Me yove 'ou;"
who said so now to the dear Jesus; and with that last thought came
comfort. Floy was only "sleeping"--and setting little Luly gently down,
Mr. Lacy laid a hand on each childish head, saying, "God bless you, my
little lambs," and went quietly away. The children watched him drive
off, and then capturing Dody once more--by the end of her tail this
time--Kitty popped her in her apron; and lugged her up stairs in
triumph.
There they found Wawa, sitting on the floor, with an immense pair of
scissors held in both hands, and an expression of extreme horror on his
face. Mary had left the room, and Kitty, running up to her baby brother,
pulled away the scissors in a great fright, exclaiming, "Why, Wawa!
where did you get those?"
Wawa stared astonished for a moment, his great blue eyes opened very
wide indeed; then he bubbled out, "On yer fore (floor); yook! Gawow all
poil!" (spoiled); and poor Wawa puckered up his little rosy mouth,
and began to cry most piteously.
[Illustration: KITTY POPPED HER INTO HER APRON]
Luly popped on the floor beside him in a minute, and pulling his curly
head down on her breast, she murmured, "There--don't _c'y_, never
_matter_, dear _bedder_--s'eel get well!" while Kitty lifted up poor
Gawow, who was indeed in a pitiable condition. Walter had ornamented her
face with several deep digs of the scissors, which made her look as if
she had been to the wars and come home with a number of bullet holes in
her. Then, not satisfied with this--what does that monkey Wawa do but
rip up her whole body from the neck to the waist, and shake out every
bit of the bran all over the carpet! leaving the wretched Gawow with
not the least particle of insides.
Did you ever hear of such a piece of mischief? But then Walter was such
a little fellow--not quite two years old; of course he didn't mean to do
anything wrong, and nobody thought of blaming him; so Kitty called Mary
to come and sweep up the bran, and Luly and Walter were soon happily
engaged in stuffing Gawow with rags, making her look as good as new--or
as good as old, I might say; for she was such a direful object in the
first place, that it seemed as though she must have been bought in that
condition, and never could have been otherwise; after which they
dressed her in her very best bonnet and frock, and treated her to a nice
dance in the garden, all taking hold of hands; until Mary looked out of
the window and called them to come up to dinner.
Kitty was old enough, now, to dine with the grown folks, and behaved
like a perfect little lady, too; but on this occasion she was going to
take early dinner in the nursery.
She and Luly helped Mary pull out the nursery table, and set the three
little plates upon it. Walter's dinner was some mashed potato, with just
a tiny mite of chicken among it, minced very fine, and made into an
elegant hill on his plate, and a "wishing bone" to suck. Luly had the
same, only with more chicken; and Kitty cut up her own wing and slice of
breast, with her particular knife and fork, as nice as you please.
There was a great deal of merriment over the dinner, when Walter would
look away just as Mary gave him a spoonful of potato, watching her out
of the corner of his eye, though, and then bob round again and say
"Feed!" just as she had put it down, thinking he didn't want any more.
Then he insisted on making Gawow taste the wishing bone, and poked it
into both her eyes in succession, as if that was the usual way for
people to eat things. After they had finished the chicken and potato,
they had some nice custard pudding; and when dinner was over, Kitty
went right to the wash stand and _cleaned her teeth_, while Luly held up
her mouth to have Mary brush her little pearly teeth. Do you always do
this, little reader? If not, let me beg you to begin right away. Are
they done now? Very well, then let us go on with the story.
Pretty soon after, the children were dressed to go out walking; for it
was in the early spring time when all this happened, and still pleasant,
in the cold country, to take the middle of the day for going out. So
Kitty and Luly had their little blue poplin "coat-dresses" buttoned on,
and the soft white woollen hoods tied under their rosy faces, and Walter
was decked out in _his_ new blue coat; which pleased him so much that
he distinguished himself immediately afterward by walking all alone away
from the door to the window, quite across the room, and there sitting
down suddenly on the floor, much to his astonishment. At last they were
all ready and started off, Kitty and Luly hand in hand, and Walter in
his little carriage.
The road they liked best led along the top of a high bank, and was
called "Buena Vista" terrace. There were very pretty houses built along
here, shaded by tall trees; and if the children peeped cautiously over
the iron fence that guarded the edge of the bank, they could sometimes
see the steam cars rushing along the shore below. They were very fond
of watching the hurrying train go by, though it frightened them a
little, particularly when the engine gave a shrill scream before
stopping at the station about a quarter of a mile further on. Kitty and
Luly couldn't help squealing too when that happened, and then laughing
very much, and scampering on, playing they were steam engines.
Just as they were passing by the prettiest house on the terrace, out
came a young lady that Kitty and Luly knew and loved dearly, with a
"tremendous dog" stalking slowly after her.
"Why, Kitty!" she cried, "is that you? Nurse, do bring the children in.
I want to see them so much!"
So Mary went to open the gate; but before she could do so, up marched
Buffo, the "tremendous dog," and lifted the latch with his nose! Oh, how
Kitty and Luly did laugh and clap their hands! but their enjoyment and
surprise were at full height when the kind young lady, whom they called
Miss Ella, lifted Luly, and Mary held Wawa, on Buffo's shaggy back, and
the good fellow carried them both safely to the house. Wawa crowed and
laughed, and drummed with his heels against the side of his charger; but
the brave dog never tried to shake him off, and just walked gravely
along, looking as trustworthy as possible. Then, when the little
children got off, Kitty mounted somewhat fearfully on Buffo's broad
back, and rode all around the grass plot, laughing with delight.
After that, Miss Ella made them sit down in a great rocking chair on the
porch, wide enough for all three to get in at once, and asked them what
they had been doing that morning; and then Kitty told about her being
Little Mother, and Luly said, so funny, "Miniter tome see Luly and
Kitty, and tell funny 'tory 'bout Dilly, and Dolly, and Popply-polly;
and 'en--and 'en I talled Dody Popply-polly, and s'e wan away!"
That amused Miss Ella very much, and pretty soon she opened her
work-box, took out a paper of lemon drops, and gave Luly, and Kitty,
and Wawa each a handful. Luly was a generous little puss, and wanted
every one to share her "goodies;" so she even offered a lemon drop to
Buffo, when, what do you think the great black fellow did? He just put
his great fore paws on Luly's lap, opened his wide red mouth, and eat up
every one of the drops at a mouthful!
Poor Luly opened _her_ mouth in rueful astonishment, and looked very
much as if she was going to burst out crying; but Miss Ella consoled her
by giving her some more drops, and Wawa thrust one of his into her
mouth, saying, "Dog eat Luly's d'ops; Wawa torry."
So they talked away till it was time to go; and then Miss Ella kissed
her little visitors; and Buffo wanted to kiss them too, with his warm
red tongue; but Luly took good care to be out of the way this time. I
expect the little thing thought he would eat her up like a lemon drop;
so Kitty let him lick her hand instead; and then Buffo let Miss Ella put
Luly and Wawa on his back again, and rode them down to the gate, where
they bid good-by to their kind friend.
Tea was ready for them when they came back, and "when fell the dew" Luly
and Kitty went "cheerfully up stairs" to bed. And now a sweet, serious
expression came over Little Mother's face, and her great brown eyes were
filled with loving reverence, as Luly, in her little white night gown,
bent her golden curls on the lap of her sister, and lisped out "Now I
_yay_ me down to s'eep"--that dear, precious little verse that I think
all the children in the world must say; and prayed "Dear Jesus" to
"b'ess papa and mamma, and dear sister, and 'ittle bedder, and mate Luly
dood 'ittle child;" and as Little Mother's lips were murmuring those
words after her, the door opened, and there stood her own dear mamma and
papa, just home from the city; and oh! I can't tell you half how much
they loved their darling ones when they saw that sweet little scene.
And then there was a merry frolic with papa, who rode Luly and Wawa on
both shoulders as well as Buffo did; and a happy time with dear mamma,
who brought them three great oranges from grandma', and ever so many
kisses for her share; and a holy, blessed time when that dear mamma
knelt by her precious Kitty's bedside, and prayed God to bless and keep
LITTLE MOTHER.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote A: Complain]
[Footnote B: Reverence.]
DOLLS AT HOUSEKEEPING.
OF all the sweet little ten-year old maidens that ever laughed and
danced through their happy lives, I don't suppose one had such a
wonderful doll's house, or such a fine family of dolls, as Lina. Let me
describe the family and their residence.
In one of the upper rooms of Lina's house you would see, if you happened
to walk in, another whole house built. It is two stories high: its front
is red brick; and a flight of brown stone steps, made of sand-paper
glued over wood, leads up to the entrance. It has real sashes in the
windows, which open French fashion; a silver door-plate, with the name
of "Montague" upon it; and a little mat, about as large as a half
dollar, on the upper step! If we could make ourselves as small as dolls,
we might walk in, and find out that the hall has a dark wood floor, some
cunning little pictures hanging on the wall, a noble black walnut
staircase, and is lighted with a real little hall lamp.
The parlor, on one side of this hall, has a velvet carpet on the floor,
satin chairs and sofas, a centre table covered with tiny books, an
etagere full of ornaments, and a wicker-work flower stand filled with
flowers. Real little mantel and pier glasses are over the fire place,
and between the front windows, which are hung with elegant lace
curtains; and there is, besides, a piano-forte, a gold chandelier stuck
full of china wax-candles, and a little clock that can wind up--though
as to its going, that has to be imagined, for it obstinately represents
the time as a quarter to twelve, morning, noon, and night!
On the opposite side of the hall is the dining-room. It is furnished
with a fine side-board, holding a silver tea-set and some tiny glass
goblets and decanters; a round table, which is abominably disorderly, it
must be confessed, being spread with a table cloth all awry, and covered
with a grand dinner of wooden chickens and vegetables of various sorts;
a mould of yellow-glass jelly, and a pair of fancy fruit dishes, made of
cream candy. The dining-room chairs, with real leather seats, are
scattered about, and there is even the daily newspaper thrown down on
the floor, where the master of the house may have left it! Up stairs
there are three bedrooms, furnished in the same fashionable style; and,
in short, such an elegant doll's house is not to be found anywhere but
in a French toy shop. This one was brought from Paris by Lina's elder
brother, and set up in this very room last Christmas as a surprise for
his dear little sister. But it is time I should describe the family who
lived in this elegant mansion. So, little reader, if you will only take
fast hold of the end of the author's pen, shut up your eyes tight, and
then open them very quick on this page, heigh! presto! you and she will
be turned into little personages just the size of dolls, able to walk up
the brown stone steps, enter the house, and take a peep at the Montague
family.
On a lounge by the parlor fire sits an elegant lady, who is rather
skimpy about the wig, and therefore holds the honorable post of mamma to
the family; as this circumstance, combined with her looking excessively
inky about the nose, gives her a somewhat aged and anxious appearance.
She wears a blue silk dress with five flounces, a lace cap, and a watch
and chain; and her name is Mrs. Charles Augustus Montague. Her husband,
_Mr._ Charles Augustus, is a china doll with a crop of rather scrubby
flaxen hair, which can be combed and brushed as much as Lina chooses.
Although he is so rich, he has only one suit of clothes, and must even
go to parties in a pair of checked gingham trowsers, a red vest, and a
blue coat with brass buttons! He is supposed to be down town at present,
which circumstance is represented by his being unceremoniously thrust
into a corner upside down.
Several smaller wax and china boys and girls represent the family of the
ill-used Mr. Montague; but the belle of the whole doll-community is his
eldest daughter, Miss Isabella Belmont Montague. She is a waxen young
lady of the most splendid description; her hair is arranged like the
empress', whom, indeed, she greatly resembles; her feet and hands are of
wax, and she has more dresses than I can possibly count. I am afraid you
will scarcely believe me, but she actually has a real little ermine muff
and tippet, a pair of india-rubbers, an umbrella, a camels' hair shawl,
and _real corsets_! and was won, with all her wardrobe, at one of the
raffles in the great Union Bazaar. You went there, didn't you--you
cunning little kitten? and saw all the dolls? I hope you got one too, so
I do, certainly!
[Illustration: LINA MAKING DOLLS' CLOTHES.]
Besides the Montague family, there is a numerous colony of other dolls;
but they, poor things, live in any corner where Lina chooses to put
them; and all day Sunday are shut up in a dark closet, with nothing to
do but count their fingers and toes, if they can contrive to see them;
though they have nearly as fine a wardrobe--for Lina's great amusement,
next to playing with the whole colony, is to make new dresses for them.
One Saturday afternoon, Lina was playing with her dolls in the baby
house, with two of her little neighbors, Minnie and Maggie Elliott, to
keep her company. It was a dark, rainy sort of day; but what difference
did that make to the children? _They_ never wanted to make a parcel of
stupid morning calls, or go out shopping and spend all their money on
silly finery; no--they were full of their play in the house, and didn't
care a doll's shoe-string how hard it rained.
"Oh, dear!" said Lina at last; "seems to me this play is getting very
stupid! I wish we knew something else to play at but everlasting
'house!'"
"I'll tell you what would be great fun!" said little Minnie, looking
wise. "You know, Lina, we spent a week once in the country with 'Alice
Nightcaps;' and her sister, 'Aunt Fanny's' daughter, showed us such a
nice, funny play! Instead of our being mothers, and aunts, and fathers,
and the dolls our children, the dolls were all the people themselves,
and we moved them about and spoke for them."
"Yes, it was such a nice plan!" said Maggie; "you can't think, Lina.
Suppose we divide these dolls into families, and play that Miss Isabella
Belmont Montague was going to be married, and all about it."
"Oh, yes! yes! that will be splendid!" cried Lina. "Whom will you
manage, Maggie?"
"I'd rather have Miss Isabella," said Maggie.
"And I want Mr. Morris," said Minnie. "He shall be the lover."
"Very well, then I'll make the father and mother talk," said Lina,
generously taking the less splendid dolls, without a word of mean
complaint, such as "There, you hateful thing, you always want the best;"
or, "I _do_ wish I could do as I like with _my own_ dolls!" forgetting
that company must be allowed to take the best always. The other dolls
were equally divided between the children, and then Lina exclaimed, with
a delighted little skip in the air, "Now, we are all ready to begin!
Come, girls, what time shall it be?"
"Oh, have them at breakfast!" chimed both the little visitors; and so,
in defiance of the parlor clock, the time of day was supposed to be
eight in the morning. The children, with many little chuckling pauses,
while they considered what to do next, twitched the unlucky table cloth
straight, put the tea-set on the table, and gave the family a wooden
beefsteak for breakfast, and a large plateful of wooden buttered toast,
which came from a box full of such indigestible dainties. Then they
fished Mr. Charles Augustus Montague out of the corner, and set him
upright in a chair at the head of the table, with his newspaper fastened
in his hands, by having a couple of large pins stuck through it and
them. The points of the pins showed on the other side, and looked as if
he had a few extra finger nails growing on the backs of his hands. Quite
a curiosity he'd have been for Barnum's Museum, wouldn't he? you
precious little old toad.
Mrs. Montague was seated behind the tea-tray, and Miss Isabella was
reclining on a sofa up stairs, as if she was too lazy to come down when
the rest of the family did. As the front door was only large enough for
the dolls, the whole back of the house came away. Lina and her visitors
delightedly sat down cross-legged on the floor behind it, and the play
began, the children talking for the dolls.
* * * * *
MRS. MONTAGUE. (Lina speaks for her in a fine voice.) I wish you would
lay down your paper a moment, Charles; I want to speak to you.
MR. M. Well, my dear, I am listening.
MRS. M. No, you are not; put down the paper! [As this couldn't very well
be done by the gentleman himself, Maggie twitched it away for him, and
threw it under the table.]
MRS. M. Now, Charles, I must say I think it is high time Isabella was
married. She is most six months old, I declare! and it strikes me we had
better see if we can find her a husband.
MR. M. What you say is very sensible, my dear; so I will call to-day on
my friend Mr. Morris, and invite him to dinner. Perhaps they will fall
in love with each other.
MRS. M. Oh! but is he handsome, Mr. Montague?
MR. M. Handsome! I should rather think so! Why, he is nearly two feet
high, with curly black hair; a nose that can be seen at the side--which
is more than yours can be, Mrs. Montague--and eyes which open and shut
of themselves when he lies down or sits up. Then he is a Seventh
Regimenter, too, and always wears his uniform; which makes him look very
genteel.
MRS. M. Oh, I am sure he must be lovely! Do bring him to dinner this
very day.
Here Maggie made the dining-room door open, and in walked Miss Isabella.
She wore a pink merino morning dress, open in front, to show her
embroidered petticoat, a pair of bronze slippers with pink bows, and a
net with steel beads in it. Maggie set her down hard in one of the
chairs, and pushed her up to the table; while Minnie, who moved the
nigger boy doll, who waited on table, picked him up by his woolly
top-knot, from the floor, where he had tumbled, and made him hand the
young lady a cup of tea. Then Maggie began:
MISS ISABELLA. Dear me, mamma! this tea's as cold as a stone! I wish you
would have breakfast a little later; as I'm so tired when I come home
from a party, that I can't think of getting up at seven o'clock.
MRS. M. But you must get up, my love. Besides, we want plenty of time
to-day, so's we can be ready; for we are going to have company to
dinner.
ISABELLA. Who is coming, mamma?
MRS. M. Mr. Morris, my dear.
ISABELLA. Oh, I am so glad!
MRS. M. Yes, you're going to be married to-morrow, my dear; we will
invite all our relations and friends, and you must have a white satin
wedding dress; you certainly must.
ISABELLA. How nice! S'pose we go out and buy it now.
MRS. M. We can't go to-day; it's our _eceptin_ (reception) day, you
know.
MR. M. Well, I 'spect I must go down town. Good-by, my dears. I shall
certainly ask Mr. Morris to dinner. He's a very nice young man for a
small dinner party.
So the children made Mr. Montague kiss his wife and daughter; which they
did by bumping his china nose against their cheeks, until it nearly made
a dent in the wax; and then pranced him down the front steps, and put
him in his corner again.
Then Minnie's doll came in. She took up Mr. Morris, a composition doll,
in a Seventh Regiment uniform, who had been bought at a fair, and began
moving him across the floor until he was opposite the door. Then she
commenced talking.
MR. MORRIS. Why, I declare! here is Mr. Montague's house. I think I
will go in and make a call.
And he ran up the steps, and pretended to ring the bell; but as it was
only a handle, Lina rang the dinner bell instead.
MR. MORRIS. It's very funny they don't answer the bell!
(Ting-a-ling-ling.) Come! make haste, I want to get in.
Here Minnie took up Toby, the black boy, carried him to the front door,
and kindly opened it for him.
TOBY. Laws, massa! is dat you? I was jus' tastin' de jolly, to be sure
it was good for dinner! so I couldn't come no sooner.
MR. MORRIS. Is Miss Isabella Belmont Montague at home?
TOBY. Yes, massa, de ladies is to hum; walk in de parlor.
So Mr. Morris came in (with Minnie's hand behind him), and sat down on
the sofa. It was rather small for him, and he covered it up so much that
there wasn't a bit of room for Miss Isabella, when she came down. Maggie
had dressed her meanwhile in her green silk skirt, which had real little
three-cornered pockets, with an embroidered pocket handkerchief sticking
out of one, and her white tucked waist.
Up jumped Mr. Morris, and made her such an elegant bow, that his cap,
which he was obliged to keep on all the time, in consequence of the
strap being glued fast under his chin, fell all to one side; and looked
as if the top of his head had accidentally come off and been stuck on
crooked.
MR. MORRIS. Good morning, Miss Isabella; how do you do?
_Isabella_. Very well, thank you. How do you do, Mr. Morris?
MR. MORRIS. Oh, Miss Isabella, I should be quite well if I hadn't
_sitch_ a pain in my heart!
ISABELLA. A pain in your heart! What makes you have that, Mr. Morris?
MR. MORRIS. YOU!
ISABELLA. I!
MR. MORRIS. Oh, Miss Isabella, you can't think how I adore you! I love
you so much that it makes my eyes shut up when I don't want them to;
and my heart beats so that it shakes my cap all to one side!
ISABELLA. Dear me, Mr. Morris, you are quite _afflitted_! but never
mind--papa is going to have you to dinner to-day; you'd better go right
down town, so he can ask you.
MR. MORRIS. But I can't eat any dinner, Miss Isabella, without you will
marry me!
Here Minnie tried to make Mr. Morris pop down on his knees; but as he
wasn't a jointed doll, he lost his balance, and tumbled flat on his face
instead.
MISS ISABELLA. Here, what are you doing? get up, do, and stop your
noise! [For Minnie couldn't help a long-sounding o--h! when her doll
flopped down. So Maggie made the young lady catch hold of Mr. Morris's
shoulder straps and help twitch him on the sofa again, to go on with his
proposal.]
MR. MORRIS. Will you marry me, Miss Isabella? I'm such a nice young
man--you don't know--and we'll live in a real pretty house.
MISS ISABELLA. No, I can't marry you till after you have come to dinner;
mamma said so.
MR. MORRIS. Well, then, I must wait; but only say that you will have me.
ISABELLA. Oh, yes!
At this point the children laid down the dolls and broke into such a
merry trill of laughter, that it would have done anybody's heart good to
hear them. It seemed so funny to have the dolls making love in this
fashion, they couldn't help it. As soon as they were sober again, the
play went on thus:
MR. MORRIS. Well, Miss Isabella, I b'lieve I must go now; I've got an
old sister at home, who will scold me if I don't come back. Can't you
'vite her too? She has a pretty bad time, poor thing! 'cause she is so
oldy that she is kept on a shelf till she's all dusty. Her wig is
dreadful fuzzy, and some of it comes out and stands up at the top. But
I'll dust her well and stick a pin in her wig to keep it on, and make
her look real nice, if you'll only ask her.
ISABELLA. Well, I guess she can come; but she must have a new dress for
the wedding.
MR. MORRIS. Yes, she shall, certainly. Good-by, Miss Isabella. I'm going
down town pretty soon, so your father can ask me to come.
MISS ISABELLA. Oh yes, do! I want you to come _velly_ much.
* * * * *
"Now, Maggie, we must stop the play a little while," said Lina, "and fix
the dinner for them."
"Yes, do," cried Maggie; "let's see, what shall be for dinner?"
"Oh, chicken, that's the nicest!" said Minnie.
"No, they had chicken yesterday," said Lina; "let them have roast
beef."
"Very well," went on Maggie, who was looking over the dishes in the box
of "eatables," as Lina called them. "Roast beef, mashed potatoes, and
macaroni."
"Oh, not macaroni," cried Minnie; "the cheese will bite their tongues."
"Oh, yes! Mr. Morris likes macaroni," said her sister.
"Well, macaroni, then; and plum-pudding for dessert--and apples."
"Ah, make them have jelly," said Lina; "that's the prettiest thing in
the box."
So the dinner was hunted out, and the three children set the table in
fine style; while Toby, the black boy, whose business it certainly was
to have done it, sat coolly in Mr. Montague's armchair, with his
master's newspaper in his lap, and goggled at the table without moving
an inch. Then Lina dressed Mrs. Montague, and Maggie and Minnie together
dressed Miss Isabella; and nobody dressed poor Mr. Morris, or Mr.
Charles Augustus Montague; because they unluckily had but one suit a
piece, sewed fast on to them at that.
This time Miss Isabella wore a pink silk frock, with a deep puffing
round the bottom, finished at each edge with black velvet. Then she had
a long pink sash, edged with two rows of narrow black velvet; a pointed
belt encircled her waist, and the body of her dress was a mass of puffs,
with narrow black velvet between. On her head was a pink wreath, with
long ribbon ends hanging down her back; and tied fast to her wrist was a
pink feather fan with gold sticks. In fact, Miss Isabella looked rather
as if she were going to a party than coming down to dinner; but the
children thought the pink silk so charming, that she must wear it,
whether or no.
Mrs. Montague wore a purple silk, a black lace shawl, and a head-dress
of pink rosebuds and black lace.
When the ladies were fairly seated in the parlor, Lina rang the bell,
and Minnie and Maggie made Mr. Morris come in, leading his sister by the
hand. She was a dismal object to behold, sure enough! and if she could
have blushed for herself, I think she certainly would. She wore a green
barege dress, trimmed with flaming red ribbons; some of the gathers were
out at the waist, and her petticoat showed at the bottom.
Mr. Morris, or Minnie--I don't know which--had stuck the ends of her wig
down for her once, but they had come up again, and looked as if her hair
had taken to growing with the roots uppermost. The end of her nose was
blacker than Mrs. Montague's, and her eyes, which moved with a wire like
other wax dolls, had got out of order somehow, and remained stationary,
with nothing but the whites showing; and, altogether, poor Miss Morris
looked like a two-legged rag-bag come home from the wars, with both
eyes out, half a nose, and no hair worth mentioning.
Lina made Mr. Montague come home as soon as she was rid of the dinner
bell; and after they had all shaken hands until their wax and kid and
china wrists must have ached, the company rather unceremoniously marched
right into the dining-room. I suppose Mr. Montague was tremendously
hungry, and gave his wife's hand a good pinch when he shook it, to make
her hurry things up; but, however that may be, they were walked in to
dinner in straight order. Mr. Morris sat by Miss Isabella, with his
forlorn old sister on the other hand, and as the opposite side of the
table looked rather bare, Minnie proposed that some of the children
should come down to fill up.
"Oh, yes--and let them be dreadfully naughty and do all sorts of
mischief," said Maggie. So Miss Angelina Seraphina Montague, and Master
Algernon Pop-eyes Montague (so called because he had glass eyes, which
stuck out in a lobster-ish fashion), were sent for in a hurry and
brought down by their nurse, a beautiful doll dressed as a French bonne,
and Maggie. Algernon wore the costume of a sailor boy, and Angelina was
no other than a nun in a black robe! But never mind, they did very well
to fill up, and sat smirking at the company very genteelly.
So, then, Lina made Mr. Montague begin.
MR. MONT. Will you take some roast beef, Miss Morris?
ALGERNON. No, papa, help me first!
MR. M. Algy Pop-eyes Montague! be still! Here, Toby, hand Miss Morris
her plate.
ALGY. Don't you do it, Toby!
MRS. M. Hush up, you naughty boy!
MR. M. Mr. Morris, here's some meat for you.
MRS. M. Take some macaroni, Mr. Morris; it's real good.
MR. MORRIS. Thank you, ma'am; I think I will.
So the company were helped; though, as the meat and vegetables were
glued fast to the dishes they were on, I'm afraid they must have had
rather a slim dinner.
Then Maggie went on.
MISS ISABELLA. Mr. Morris, I think I am rather tired of that uniform of
yours; it makes you look too high in the neck. When we are married, you
ought to have a dress coat.
ANGELINA. H-a! h-a-a-a! he hasn't got any other coat! _I_ wouldn't marry
an old goose with only one suit!
MRS. M. For shame, Miss! your father hadn't but one when we were
married; but, bless me! what _is_ Algernon doing?
Sure enough, Master Algy _was_ doing something extraordinary, for Maggie
had made him overset the dish of potatoes in the middle of the table,
and then jump up and sit on the back of his chair, with both legs in the
air!
MRS. M. My pasence! _what_ a naughty boy! Toby, take this bad boy right
up stairs; I am socked! (shocked.)
ALGY. Oh, boo-hoo! boo-hoo! please let me stay!
MRS. M. Well, then, behave yourself.
MISS MORRIS. Mrs. Montague, I think you had _better_ send your children
away; they are too bad for anything.
ANGELINA. Oh! oh! I wouldn't be your child for a dollar! ("That's just
what I say to my big sister!" put in Maggie in her proper person.)
MRS. M. Oh, they are dear little things; they only do it in fun, Miss
Morris.
MR. MORRIS. Well, I don't see it. If they were my children, I should
lock them up in a dark closet.
MISS MORRIS. So should I.
ANGELINA. H-a! h-a-a-a! that's just where you are kept yourself!
MISS MORRIS. Oh, I _shall_ faint!
MRS. M. Angelina! you sha'n't have any pudding for being so bad. There,
I guess it's time for dessert,"--and without condescending to ask if the
company were through dinner, Mrs. Montague, with a wave of her
lily-white kid hand, ordered Toby to clear away the dishes; and, the
pudding and jelly being put on the table, Lina went on:
MR. M. Miss Morris, have some plum-pudding?
TOBY. No, take some ob de jolly, missis; he so _jolly_ good! _I_ taste
um!
Mr. M. Toby, I am _astonissed_! I shall have to discharge you to-morrow.
"And have an Irishman come!" cried Minnie; "and talk funny, like our
Patrick!"
"Yes, that will be real fun!" said Lina. "There, they have had dinner
enough; let them go in the parlor now."
Accordingly, the company had their chairs pushed back for them and were
taken into the parlor, all but the naughty children, who had to be sent
straight to bed, they were so bad. Mr. and Mrs. Montague took
possession of the arm chairs, as they were the oldest; Miss Morris was
accommodated with an uncommonly hard ottoman without any back, in the
corner; Mr. Morris plumped down on the sofa, as that was the only seat
large enough for him, and the play went on (Minnie speaking).
MR. MORRIS. Miss Isabella, I wish you would sing us a song.
ISABELLA. Oh, really, I have _sitch_ a bad cold. I don't think I can.
MR. MORRIS. Oh, please do, Miss Isabella! Sing that pretty song about
the little milkmaid.
ISABELLA. Well, I'll see if I can.
So Maggie made the young lady take a funny little scrap of music out of
the stand (called a Canterbury), and put it on the piano. The title of
the piece on the outside was, "Souvenirs de l'Opera," which means in
English "Recollections of the Opera," but it did just as well for a
song. Miss Isabella was seated at the piano, and Maggie moved her hands
up and down the keys, to look as if she were playing; while in her own
sweet bird-like voice she sang for her this song:
"'Where are you going, my pretty maid?
Where are you going, my pretty maid?'
'I'm going a milking, sir,' she said,
'I'm going a milking, sir,' she said.
"'May I go with you, my pretty maid?
May I go with you, my pretty maid?'
'Yes, if you please, kind sir,' she said,
'Yes, if you please, kind sir,' she said.
"'What is your father, my pretty maid?
What is your father, my pretty maid?'
'My father's a farmer, sir,' she said,
'My father's a farmer, sir,' she said.
"'Oh, then may I marry you, my pretty maid?
Then may I marry you, my pretty maid?'
'Yes, if you please, kind sir,' she said,
'Yes, if you please, kind sir,' she said.
"'What is your _fortune_, my pretty maid?
What is your _fortune_, my pretty maid?'
'My _face_ is my fortune, sir,' she said,
'My _face_ is my fortune, sir,' she said.
"'Oh, then I _can't_ marry you, my pretty maid!
But then I _won't_ marry you, my pretty maid!'
'Nobody asked you, sir!' she said,
'NOBODY ASKED YOU, SIR!!' she said!"
The dolls all clapped their hands very hard when Miss Isabella finished
singing, as if they liked it "first rate." Mr. Morris leaned back so far
in his seat, either from admiration or because he was slipping off,
that his eyes suddenly shut up, and opened with a queer little pop
inside of him when Minnie righted him. As to Miss Morris, she glared at
the company with her old white eyeballs as if she was looking down
inside of herself to see how the pudding had agreed with her.
Then Maggie went on.
MISS ISABELLA. There! how do you like _that_?
MR. MORRIS. Oh, thank you, Miss Isabella; it's the sweetest song I ever
heard.
MRS. MONTAGUE. Won't you sing us a song, Mr. Morris?
MR. M. No, I believe I must go now. I have all my things to pack up, so
we can start off travelling right away. Come, sister, stick the roots of
your hair in, and open your distressed looking eyes, and let us be off
home.
"I wonder if her eyes _will_ open?" said Maggie.
"Let's try!" said Lina. "Give the wire a good, hard pull."
As she spoke, she caught hold of the wire and gave a tremendous jerk,
when, dreadful to relate, POP! out came poor Miss Morris's eyes
completely! and tumbled down somewhere inside of her! leaving two great
holes in her head of the most fearful description!
The children stared at her in round-eyed astonishment. Now she was
certainly too hideous to come to the wedding; and the little girls
tried to look as sorry as they could for her, but it was no use; Miss
Morris was such a ridiculous object, that they all three burst into fits
of laughing. Lina, who had hold of the poor thing, shook so with glee,
that the eyes rattled up and down inside her head like a pack of
crackers going off, which made the children laugh still more.
At last Minnie contrived to check herself, and made the brother say,
rather unfeelingly:
Mr. Morris. There you go with your eyes out! A pretty figure you've made
of yourself.
Miss Isabella. Oh! _oh!!_ OH!!! OH!!!!
MRS. M. Goody, Isabella's got the hysterics! Get some water, quick! what
shall I do?
MISS MORRIS. Oh, my eye! my eye! it's _sich_ a pain!
MR. MONTAGUE. Toby, bring some water this minute.
TOBY. (_Minnie brings him in with a pitcher._) Here, massa, here de
water. My! see de ole woman wid her eye out! ha! ha!
MRS. M. Toby, put down that water, and go 'way.