Joanna H. Mathews

“ There was a moment's silence, and then Fred broke forth.
"So it was you, you rascal! you mean, sneaking, cowardly thief! You are the fellow that robs little girls of their hard-earned money! You—you—you—" Fred's passion was choking him.
"Hush, hush, my son!" said Mr. Bradford, sadly; "it is not for you to reproach this unhappy boy. Leave him to me. Go to your play, if you can play after what you have seen."
Fred laid both his own hands on that which rested on George's shoulder. "Take your hand from him then, father; he is not fit to be touched by an honest man, by an honorable gentleman! ”

“ Harry and Fred were really sorry when they heard how distressed the little girls had been, and promised to do nothing more to trouble them.
"I cannot quite promise not to laugh at Bessie, papa," said Harry. "She says such droll things in such a droll way, or twists something about, and comes out with it with such a grand air for such a mite of a thing as she is, that a fellow can't help laughing." ”

“ You know you said the other day that I had three pairs of gloves where Bessie had one."
"Never mind, Maggie," said Bessie, "I think I'll lose a few gloves."
"No, no," said Mrs. Bradford, laughing and shaking her head,—"no, no, that will not do. I cannot have one little sister trying to destroy or lose her things in order that she may be no better off than the other. And I am quite sure my Maggie would not be envious if Bessie saved more than she did."
"But I may say I will not give more money than Maggie does for the library; may I not, mamma? ”

“ Put yourselves in her place, boys, and think how you would like it."
"I'm sure I do not mind being laughed at, papa; at least, not much," said Harry.
"No," said Fred, "that he don't; so he never is laughed at. The other fellows say it's no fun teasing him, he's so cool about it."
"But Bessie does mind it," said his father, "and so does Maggie; and we are not to judge that a thing is right and kind because it is not disagreeable to ourselves. You know your Aunt Annie is exceedingly afraid of a mouse." ”

“ It was Maggie's little hymn which made me think of it. So you may thank her, too, for any pleasure it has given you."
"And who is Experience?" asked Maggie.
"Experience may be older people who are generally wiser in some things than the little ones, and can help them along; but who may yet learn much from a child."
[Pg 146]
"Children cannot teach grown people; can they?" said Lily.
"I think they can," said Colonel Rush, laying his hand lovingly on Bessie's head. "The best lesson I ever learned in my life was taught me by a little child." ”

“ Mr. Hall laughed and offered Franky his stick to ride on, but the little boy would not take it; and when he found he could not have the sugar-plums, walked away with an offended air, which amused the old gentleman very much, though it distressed his sisters, who thought him very impolite.
"And now tell me about Quam Beach," said Mr. Hall. "You liked it very much, did you?"
"Yes, sir," said Bessie, "the sea is there."
"And you were fond of the sea?"
"Oh, yes, sir! it is beautiful, and it has waves, and they come up on the beach and bring the sea-weed and shells, and make such a pleasant sound. ”

“ The birds were not at all afraid of the little girls, and came swimming up to where they stood, arching their graceful necks as if they quite expected to receive something nice to eat. Indeed, they were so tame that when the crackers were broken up, they took pieces from the children's hands as if they had known them all their lives. Maggie and Bessie were delighted, and Maggie thought she would like to stay by the pond all day; but now Mr. Duncan said it was time to go back to the house, so they bade good-by to the swans. ”

“ There Maggie, who had been down in the kitchen, begging the cook for some milk for the puppy, found her. She stood looking at her for a moment, then ran into the library where her father and Uncle John were sitting.
"Oh, papa," she said, seizing his hand, "come and see the prettiest thing you ever saw. Come, Uncle John, do come; but do not make any noise."
Papa and Uncle John followed the eager little girl, who led them to the sofa where Bessie and Flossy lay.
"Isn't she sweet?" whispered Maggie. "Isn't it just like a picture?" ”

“ Nevertheless, Bessie was certainly not in the house; and one servant was sent to grandmamma's, another to the hotel, to see if any trace could be found of the missing treasure; while Mrs. Bradford herself ran to all the neighbors, and poor Maggie stood by the window crying bitterly for her lost sister. In a little time grandmamma and Aunt Annie were on the spot, as anxious as the rest, to see if they could help in the search. As people were running in all directions, it seemed to grandmamma that the best thing she could do was to comfort poor, distressed Maggie. ”

“ Up, up it goes through the trunk and branches, till, as the weather grows warmer and warmer, the little buds which hold the young leaves and blossoms begin to show themselves, and at last unfold. Then the small tender leaves peep out and gather strength and life from the soft air and bright sunshine and gentle rain, till [Pg 81] the trees and bushes are covered with their beautiful green dress and make a pleasant shade for my Maggie and Bessie when they come out to see their old grandpapa at Riverside. ”

“ And from this day it was quite amusing to their papa and mamma to see how carefully Maggie and Bessie guarded every peach-stone they could find; and to hear them constantly talking over plans to gain a few pennies to add to their store.
"Margaret," said Mr. Bradford to his wife that evening, "would it not be better for you to lock up that money-box of the children?"
"I think not," said Mrs. Bradford. "They will want it half a dozen times a day. You know how such little things are, and they will always be counting their money. ”

“ People write books and bring them to Mr. ——, and he publishes them; that is, he has them printed and bound, and then sells them."
"I am glad it took a great many people to do it," said Maggie, "because if they take the trouble to write books for children, I suppose it's because they like us; and it is pleasant to have a great many people to love you."
"I wonder why 'most everybody loves children," said Gracie.
"If you thought about Christmas, you'd know that," said Bessie. "It's 'cause Jesus was once a little child; and besides, when he was a man, he loved children his own self." ”

“ He was gazing wistfully at the pretty things and the comfortably-dressed people who were within, and perhaps wishing that Christmas brought such happiness to him. As one after another passed in and out, he held up his thin hand and asked for help, but few heeded him.
"See that poor boy," said Bessie; "I don't believe he has any money to buy Christmas presents."
"I'm afraid not," said Maggie; "I guess he [Pg 339] has not enough to buy bread and fire; he looks so cold and thin, and what dreadful old clothes he has!" ”

“ When we are trying to do good, other people will sometimes misunderstand us, think that we are doing the wrong thing, or perhaps doing [Pg 60] the right thing in the wrong way; and they may tell us so, or make unkind remarks about us. But if we feel that we are doing right, and know that we are about the dear Saviour's work, we should not mind that. Yes, and we must bear to be laughed at too, my Bessie. I do not think though that your brothers have meant to grieve you so much. Fred, I know, will sometimes tease, but Harry is not apt to be unkind or provoking."
"No, papa," said Maggie. ”

“ And every Christmas-day since the song has been repeated by men and angels. Is it not a pleasant thought that all over the world, in every land where Christ is known, millions of happy voices ring forth the glad tidings, 'For unto us is born this day a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord;' that millions of young children are singing praises to him who became a little child that he might bring to us the one priceless gift without which all others are worthless? ”

“ And now came grandmamma and Aunt Annie, Grandpapa Duncan, Aunt Helen, and Uncle John with Baby Nellie, and afterwards, Colonel and Mrs. Rush. What a long dinner-table that was, and what a circle of bright, happy faces about it! Maggie and Bessie, and perhaps Fred and Harry, too, had thought it rather foolish to think of dinner when there was the Christmas-tree waiting in the library; but, somehow, they all contrived to enjoy the merry meal very much. Fred declared he wished his father kept a hotel, it was so jolly to sit down to dinner with such a lot of people. ”

“ Aunt Annie gave me that shell, and I want to keep it for memory of her. Besides, it's my prettiest shell."
"Aunt Annie isn't dead," said Harry. [Pg 55] "You don't keep a thing in memory of a person unless they're dead."
"She'll die one of these days," said Maggie; "every one has to die sometime, and I'll keep it till then. But I meant I wanted it because she gave it to me, Harry, and I can't let you have it." But presently, having forgotten about the penny, and thinking of the library box, Maggie added, "I'll give it to you for ten cents, Harry." ”

“ Papa is a gemperlum, and he never teases."
"And mamma said Tom Norris was a perfect little gentleman, and he does not tease. I guess gentlemen always 'do to others as they would,'" said Maggie, who was very fond of this line.
"They ought to if they do not," said Harry, "and no one can say that you don't keep that rule, Maggie."
"When people have angry passions, it's very hard not to get in one when they're teased," said Bessie. "Fred, I do have to try so very, very hard."
Fred threw down his kite, and caught his little sister in his arms. ”

“ Why, Maggie, don't you know papa said he could trust you to take a message or do an errand now as soon as any of his children?"
"Yes, and it was very nice to hear him say that, Bessie. I didn't mind for all the trouble I took to be careful, when he said it. When we have our glove-money, it will make more than six dollars in our box, if mamma don't have to spend any of it for us. We only want five for the library, so what shall we do with the rest of it, Bessie. Mamma said we must only spend that money in doing good." ”

“ Is there nothing upon the table which you would like to buy?"
"Yes, sir," said Bessie, while Maggie was hanging her head in a terrible fit of shyness at being talked to by this stranger, "if we could afford it; but we think all these things cost too much. We have not a very great deal of money." ”

“ One was much larger than the other, and I saw that you gave it to Bessie, keeping the smaller one for yourself. That was self-denial."
"But, mamma," said Maggie, "that was not anything much. I could not do such a greedy thing as to give my own Bessie the little plum and eat the big one myself. I would be too ashamed."
"I am glad to say that neither of my little girls is greedy or selfish," said mamma. "Do you remember the day at Quam Beach when your head was hurt, and Tom Norris came up to read a new book to you?" ”

“ At this, Jane, who was dressing Bessie began to giggle, and nurse put her head into the wardrobe, where the children's dresses lay.
"Now," Maggie went on, "you see Miss Winslow thinks it is her duty to go and teach those log-cabin children, and that's her missionary work; and it's Bessie's duty and mine to help her if we can, so it's our missionary work to buy the library; and it's your duty to dress us if we get ourselves wet while we earn the money, so that's your missionary work; and you ought to do it with a cheerful mind, and not scold us." ”

“ Perhaps the custom of giving presents at this time arose from the gifts which the wise men of the East brought to the infant Saviour; perhaps it was only intended to remind us of the greatest and most precious of all gifts which we received on this day. My Bessie can tell what that was; can she not?"
"God's Jesus, who came to save us, so his [Pg 365] Father could take us to heaven," said the little girl.
"Right, my darling; and can Maggie tell what was the song the angels sang on this happy morning?"
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men," said Maggie. ”

“ This morning Fred was mad 'cause he couldn't do his sum, and be asked papa to help him, and papa said he must persewere, and he could do it himself."
"Yes, I know it," said Maggie; "but it is persevere to do it, and perseverance to have it."
[Pg 247]
Bessie did not quite understand, but she thought it must be right, since Maggie said so.
"We'll ask mamma about it when she feels better," said Maggie. "Isn't she good to us, Bessie, to help us so much to get our library?"
"Yes," said Bessie, "she's such a precious mamma. I do think every one is so kind to us, Maggie." ”

“ Suppose you were to say, 'These are very small hands and feet which God has given to me; they are not nearly as large as papa's or mamma's, or even as strong as my brothers; they cannot do much work, so they shall do none at all; I will not run up and down stairs, or go little errands: [Pg 64] I will not rock the baby, or amuse Franky, or do any other thing which might save my mamma some trouble; I will not even play about, or go out to walk, but just sit still and do nothing all day long. ”

“ But no, they must buy all with their own money, or it would not be quite their own presents. As soon as their walking dresses were taken off, Aunt Annie was coaxed to show them at once how the book-marks were to be made. She told them they must first decide what mottoes they would work, and proposed several. Maggie chose, "Remember me;" and Bessie, "I love you, Sir." Annie said it was not the fashion to put "Sir" on a book-mark; but Bessie thought it would not be at all the thing for little girls to give "unpolite presents." ”

“ Can you yead it?"
"S-i-m—sim," spelt Maggie, "p-l-y—ply, simply—to—thy—cross—Oh! it must be 'Simply to thy cross I cling.'"
"Yes," said Bessie, "it's out of 'Yock of Ages,' and mamma loves that hymn so much. Oh! I do want it for her! Do you think twenty cents will buy it, Maggie?"
"I guess not; but we'll ask. I'd like to be grown up for two things, so I'd never have to go to bed till I chose, and so I could have plenty of money to give everybody everything they wanted. Just see that picture of a dog, Bessie. Does it not look like our Flossy? ”

“ After this, Maggie's mind was at rest, and she wore her new gloves with great pleasure.
"Hallo!" said Fred, as he and Harry came into the library that afternoon, and found their little sisters quietly playing in one corner. "What scrumptious paper! Where did you get that, Midget?"
"Mr. Jones, nurse's nephew, gave it to us," said Maggie. "He gave me the gold piece, and Bessie the silver piece, but we cut them in two and each took half."
"I wish I could get hold of such friends as you do," said Fred. "Somebody is always giving you something. How do you manage it?" ”

“ You have faults enough, dear; and if they are not what may be called very terrible, they are quite serious enough to [Pg 11] need all your attention, and you should be thankful that it does not require a harder struggle to overcome them."
"I know that, mamma," answered Maggie, with a very grave face; "but then you see if my friends wished me very much to cure my fault, perhaps they would offer me money to do it. You know when I used to be so very, very careless, Grandpapa Duncan paid me for trying to do better, so that I might help earn the easy-chair for lame Jemmy Bent. ”