Mary Edward Feehan

“ Are you often lonely, pet?" asked her father, stroking the bright hair which fell in a mass of ringlets on her shoulders.
"Not very often, Father,—just sometimes, when you and Mother and Uncle Frank all go out to dinner or to a concert or something like that. Then—then I can't help wishing that God hadn't taken my little brothers to heaven. Of course, it's lovely for them to be there; but it would be so nice to have someone to play with all the time—not just sometimes, the way it is when Evelyn and Hazel and Rosemary come to see me. ”

“ Under the seats, around the feet of the passengers, she scampered, until first one, then another of the children came back to Aunt Mandy, bumped and bruised. The poor old soul gave a great sigh of relief when, with the help of three of the large girls from the convent, she had them safely seated in the wagonette.
As they neared Bird-a-Lea, the children strained their eyes for the first glimpse of the new home; and when Patrick, the driver, turned in at the east gate and drove slowly up the broad, curving driveway, they clapped their hands in great glee. ”

“ And now, in answer to her question about Berta and Beth, her Mother said, "We shall dedicate Beth to our Blessed Mother, and Berta to the Sacred Heart."
"O Mother, that will be lovely! Then Beth will wear blue and white as I do; and Berta, red and white. But I s'pose they will have everything all white while they are such teeny, weeny babies. We won't have to tie red and blue ribbons on them to know them apart, will we, because they don't look one bit alike. Do you know which is which, Aunt Mandy?" ”

“ Wilhelmina caught Jack at the head of the stairs and bundled him into the playroom, closing the door on him; and then she hurried after Mary, who, picking her way over the books and games scattered on the stairs, was hurrying down to the three in a heap at the foot.
"We's deaded! Oh, we's all deaded; so we is!" wailed Berta as her father lifted her to her feet.
"No, no, pet, it is not so bad as that, I am sure."
Dick managed to pull himself together and sat on the lowest step, winking very hard; but Beth lay so still that Mr. Selwyn was frightened. ”

“ In one sense, the babies are just as dear to us as Mary is; but they have not yet entered into our very life as she has done by her own winning ways. So, if she is taken from us, we shall miss her far more than we should either, or even both, of the twins. I doubt whether Berta or Beth could ever quite fill the void which her loss would cause in our lives. But we shall not think of that now. Let us hope for the best and pray that, if it be God's will, our darling may be spared to us. We can trust Frank to see that everything possible is done for her. ”

“ A billy cart same as Dick has."
"But a goat cart is for boys, Berta. Besides only one can ride in it at a time. Father is going to get us something ever so much nicer, but I can't tell what it is just now. They have one at Sunnymead, too."
"Oh, oh! what is it, Mary? Please tell us. Please!"
"But that wouldn't be fair, twinnies. Father is going to have it a surprise for you."
"We doesn't like big folkses to make s'prises so very well," murmured Berta.
"And perhaps the 'big folkses' don't like some of those you make, either," laughed Wilhelmina. ”

“ You will have to know Mary better than you do, Father, to understand just what her loss would mean to this home. The servants fairly worship her. No little queen could have more faithful subjects. It is a marvel that she is not badly spoiled."
"Her mother is too wise a woman to permit that, Sister. I admit that I do not know the child as you do, but I have seen enough of her to feel sure that she is all that you say of her, and that her loss would be a great blow. I find her so well instructed that, if the Doctor thinks she will not recover, I shall allow her to make her First Communion. ”

“ After dreaming for the greater part of the night of a very large, strong young girl with fair hair drawn back so tightly that she could scarcely wink, Mary slept quite late in the morning. She had just finished her breakfast when Liza, the house-maid, came in with a card for Sister Julia. Mary felt that the dreaded hour had come, and remembering her promise to her uncle, braced herself to meet the Miss Donnelly of her dreams. Yes, they were coming up the stairs. ”

“ The Doctor, whose room was nearest the stairs, was the first to reach the sick room. He found the little girl in the nurse's arms, imploring her to chase away the man with the terrible knife.
"He stuck it——into me——Uncle! 'Way, 'way into—my side! Oo! It's there yet!—Take it out, Uncle! please take it out! Oh! oh! oh!"
"There, there, darling! No, no! there is no knife. It is only a bad dream," soothed the nurse.
"But it hurts, Sister!—--Oo, oo! Ouch!—--every time——I breathe. Take it out! Oh, Uncle——please take it out!"
"There is absolutely nothing there, pet,—nothing! Sister is right. ”

“ With a squeal of delight, the four scampered from the room and up the stairs.
"Lock that door, Mary! Quick! It will never do to let Beth see what we are up to. There, now, if she can tell that this is not her Lucy doll, she has better eyes than most people."
"We can't let her see it, though, until after Uncle has taken a look at it; so I shall lock the door after us, Wilhelmina, when we go out——Mercy on us! What are they up to!" For from the staircase came screams and wails and sounds of falling things which brought every one in the house to the banisters. ”

“ The next afternoon when Mary awoke from her nap, the Doctor called her to see some Indians. Instead of looking out the window, she caught up Amelia Anabelle's white coat and wound it around her head, insisting, "Tie your muffler or something white around your head, Uncle! Oh, be quick! Do you think they will come on the train?"
The Doctor looked at the child in surprise.
"O Uncle! Please, please hurry! If they do come, they may try to scalp everyone; and if they see our heads tied up, they will think we have already been scalped." ”

“ Sister Florian said that Mother must be a fine teacher when I could skip Kindergarten and Primer and First Reader; but she has no time to help me now. The thing that popped into my head is that I would ask you and Uncle Frank to teach me in the evenings if you wouldn't mind doing it."
"Rather young to attend night school, eh, Rob? I, for one, should enjoy teaching you, Goldilocks; but for little girls of your age, I object strongly to night study. The morning and early afternoon are the proper times for you to study and recite, and the evening is the time to pet your old uncle." ”

“ Wilhelmina and she had become fast friends; for the little Southern girl had come as a boarder to Maryvale the year before. Mary had found her the same lively, fun-loving, little romp whom the Doctor had described to her, with just one difference—she had grown more lively, more fun-loving, more full of mischief; and poor Sister Austin's nerves were sorely tried, for Wilhelmina was never happier than when swinging from the highest limbs of the very tallest trees she could find. Sister Madeline had been made Mother Superior at Maryvale ”

“ At all events, men, as a rule, are not great letter-writers, you know."
Then the Doctor told the little girl about her father's old home in Virginia, which was built when George Washington was a little boy. By degrees, her eyes grew heavy, and his voice died away into silence; and when, at the very late hour of half-past seven, Sister Julia came as far as the door to see whether her patient was ready to go to bed, she found the Doctor, a very tender light in his eyes, gazing into the glowing coals, and Mary fast asleep in his arms. ”

“ And then we could help Santa Claus in regard to the tree and some gifts for those little girls who do not go home for Christmas. If we do go, Gene will be able to spend Christmas at her own home. Don't you think you had better sleep over it, Goldilocks, before sending your regrets to Mother Johanna? You might change your mind when it is too late."
But the thought of making the holidays happier for the little girls who could not go home and, more than all, for Gene, was quite enough to win Mary over to her uncle's view of the matter. ”

“ You think the babies very sweet and cunning now, and so they are; but in another year, you will find them far more so. They will be learning to talk and will keep you very busy running after them to see that they do not get into mischief or fall down the stairs. You will be a great help to Aunt Mandy then, for she is scarcely spry enough to run after one baby,—to say nothing of two. So just think of the happy times ahead, dear, and you will be surprised to find how quickly this year will slip by. Come, dry your eyes. It will never do to have your uncle find you crying. ”

“ Her mother is in heaven, and her father was so worried about her that Father wrote to Mother Madeline to ask whether she would take Dorothy here, even though she is too young. And what do you think, Dorothy? Dick and Jack are here!"
"Your Dick and Jack?"
"My Dick and Jack—the very ones you played with two weeks ago. And Mary has the two dearest little sisters in the world. You will have so many little girls to play with now that you won't remember you were ever lonely. Here are the boys and the twins. They know that something is going on, and they are afraid of missing it." ”

“ She saw that the little girl was much weaker after her illness than she had thought. By degrees, she quieted her, and then resolved to appeal to her generous nature.
"Of course, dear, Father will go alone to Italy rather than have you make yourself ill again. He loves you so much that he would suffer loneliness and many other things all his life if by so doing he could keep you well and happy. If Mother goes with him, she must take the babies. They are too young to be left with even so good a nurse as dear old Aunt Mandy. ”

“ I told Berta everybody in the country has walks like that; but she thinks the kind you had in the city are nicer, and that if we sweep the little white stones off, we'll find that kind under them."
"No, no, you wouldn't, Berta; and Father won't be one bit pleased if you spoil the walks that way. And Jerry—well, I don't know what Jerry would think of little girls who would do such a thing after all the trouble he has taken to roll them so nice and smooth."
"But—but, Mary, when we fall ourselfs down, we scratch our poor little hands and knees on those old stones, so we do." ”

“ The only things that worry me are Snowball and Snowdrop and Snowflake."
"Dear, dear! What lovely cool names for warm weather! But why should you worry about your kitten and rabbits? Are you afraid that they may be jealous of the babies?"
"No, Aunt Mary; but they will grow bigger and bigger and be too large for the babies to hold; or maybe they might die just as my little black kitten did. Liza said I killed it with kindness; but I can't see how that could be."
"If anything happens to your pets, Uncle will find some new ones for you, never fear. ”

“ And now, Monday morning, the four little ones were missing from the breakfast table.
"'Making a s'prise,' I'll be bound," laughed the Doctor. "I hope it will turn out more happily than most of those that the twins plan."
As Mary neared the door leading to the side porch, she heard the little ones giggling; but at her call that breakfast was ready, there was a chorus of, "Oh! oh! don't come, Mary!" "Jes' a minute!" "No fair peeking!" "We's making a most beauty, grand s'prise for ev'ybody, and it's 'most ready!" ”

“ Though the twins were the delight of the household, they had not been members of the family long enough to twine themselves about the hearts of all as had the dear little girl who was never happier than when making others happy. The servants vied with one another to do her some little service. Old Susie surpassed herself with her delicious broths and gelatines over which she spent more time than she did on the meals for the family; Liza hurried with her other duties so as to be able to devote more time to the babies and leave Aunt Mandy free to help Sister Julia ”

“ And then Mary laughed gaily at the look on Sister Madeline's face. "There now, she will be good until the next time."
But her aunt caught up the doll and soon found the cause of her antics. "You must take her with you when you go to see Mother Johanna after dinner, Mary. The dear old soul won't know what to make of her. Then I shall borrow her to amuse the Sisters at recreation. It is just dinner time, so we shall go down stairs. We close the large refectory when so few of the children are here, and they have their meals in the lunch room." ”

“ After she had served the dessert, Mary said, "Doctor Carlton, one of my guests is in the playroom waiting to be brought in to dinner. I could not have her here while Liza was in the room."
"I shall be delighted to act as her escort, Miss Selwyn."
The Doctor soon returned with Amelia Anabelle, whom he placed in the high chair, saying, "A fine, little girl, Miss Selwyn, a fine, healthy child, indeed! Is she a relative of yours?"
"Yes, Doctor, she is my niece. On the whole, she is a very good child; but, of course, she has her tantrums sometimes just as other children have." ”

“ This was a large baby doll which Mr. Selwyn had given his little girl just before he went away. There was a button at the back of its neck, and when it was pressed, the head turned around in the baby cap, showing a crying face instead of hair. At the same time, the doll cried and kicked and waved its arms about just as a very cross baby would do. Then, Mary said, Amelia Anabelle was in a tantrum. "My other children are old enough to stay with their aunt in the country. (That's my toy box, Gene.) I shall carry Amelia Anabelle; but goodness, me! the poor child has no cloak. ”

“ Liza says that Amelia Anabelle is a haunt."
"Nonsense! That doll's antics can be explained as easily as most of the ghosts that we hear about. A string and a spring will work wonders; but I don't quite see how they can make so great a change in a bisque face. Never mind. I shall find out for myself before I go to bed to-night. No wonder that poor Liza is afraid of that doll."
"Uncle, has Liza much book learning?"
"'Education' is a better word, dear. No, Liza has not had much education. If she had had a little more, she would not be so ready to believe in haunts, as she calls them. ”