Mary Edward Feehan

“ 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?" ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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." ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Selwyn thought; for Mary's life had been spent for the most part among grown people, and the thoughtful care shown by her parents and uncle for one another had taught her many lessons of unselfishness and regard for the feelings of others. At the same time, she loved her dolls and toys, and played wonderful games of make believe, when she peopled her playroom with the little girls and boys who sometimes visited her. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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." ”

“ 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. ”

“ It is weakness that makes you so tired; but unless you try to take food even though you are not hungry, you cannot expect to grow stronger. Surely, since the good God did not take you from those who love you so much, He must wish you to do everything you can to grow well and strong. As for your father and mother and the babies, you would be a strange little girl if you did not think of them very, very often; but in the way you have been doing it, dear child, you have, without knowing it, been harming yourself and others. Let me tell you just how it has all seemed to me. ”

“ Thinking of others who had never known the blessings with which her own life was overflowing, and planning with her father and uncle to bring a little sunshine into their cheerless homes, Mary did not find the days of her illness so very, very long. ”

“ Of course, if one devotes too much time to study and not enough to proper exercise and rest, there is reason to fear that the health will suffer. But there is not much danger that many young people nowadays will die of overstudy. There, I can't begin to tell you how much I have enjoyed this dinner."
"O Uncle, will you let Liza bring your dinner up here every evening until I am well enough to go down stairs?" ”

“ Is she very black, Uncle?"
"Who? Debby or the kitten?"
"Why, the kitten, of course. Debby is s'posed to be black, but Snowball is s'posed to be white."
"I see. Well, set your mind at rest, pet, for your kitten looks her name to perfection, curled up as she now is. Indeed, for a moment I was on the point of bringing her up here to wash your face and coax a little color into it. Oh, another thing! I noticed that she has quite a jaunty bow of ribbon on her neck. You would have the nightmare if I should tell you what color it is."
"Every color looks pretty on Snowball. ”

“ I don't remember whether I looked right at his face——"
"I am quite sure that you did not, Mary, or you would never have let him go away without trying to make him feel better. You are not a selfish little girl; and I am very sure that when you understand the harm you are doing to your good, kind uncle, you will try to put an end to it."
"The harm—I—am—doing—to—Uncle! You surely don't know me very well, Sister, if you think I would harm Uncle for anything in the whole world!" ”

“ Liza thinks I ought to wear my straw one to keep the sun off, because my parasol is not very big, you know; but I like my new linen one best, because Mother made it. Anything she makes is so much nicer than what she buys in the stores. Seven-year-old things are too large, and sixes are too small; but she always makes things just exactly right; and she doesn't say, 'You don't mean to tell me that child is seven years old!' Mother put a big blue bow on my white parasol to match the one on the hat, and I would so like to show both of them to Aunt Mary. ”

“ The s'prise I mean is a million times grander."
"A—a pony!" ventured one little girl, thinking wistfully of her own pet in distant Texas.
"A big box of candy!" cried five-year-old Effie.
"Give us a little hint, Mary. Every time you come out here you have just had some grand surprise, so I should think there could not be much left to surprise you with," declared Dora, one of the older children, who sat beside our little girl.
"Yes, Dora, I think we are a very s'prising family. Father and Uncle are always doing something to s'prise Mother and me, and then we think up something for them. ”

“ When Evelyn's big sister was confirmed, she took another name. So when I am confirmed, I shall take Frances; and then I shall be your little girl more than ever."
"All my names could not make you any more my little girl than you are now, pet. But come; it is time you had some breakfast. These little folks intend to take a long sleep this morning."
"Father! Let us call up Aunt Mary after breakfast and tell her the s'prise. Do you think we could take the babies out to see her this afternoon?"
"They are very young for so long a trip, dear. ”

“ Such a good-natured-looking child could not possibly give way to tantrums," and the Doctor began to eat his pie.
Mary pressed the button; and dropping his fork, he stared at the screaming, kicking Amelia Anabelle.
"You see, Doctor, she can be a very naughty child. I think she is crying for some of your pie."
"No, no, madam, pumpkin pie is very bad for so young a child. Some of the cream on your gelatine will be just the thing for her." Then, when peace was restored, he once more forgot that he was a guest and asked, "How did you manage that? is the face made of rubber?" ”

“ I shall save those until they are older. Snowball and Teddy and these other things are nice and soft, you see."
"God bless her!" murmured the Doctor, a mist gathering in his eyes. "No jealousy here; that is certain."
"You have made a very wise choice, pet; but see these tiny fingers. Don't you think that they will have to grow stronger before they can hold even such lovely, soft things? These little folks will be so busy taking naps, you know, that they will not have time to play with toys for some months."
"Why, I forgot all about that," laughed Mary. ”

“ They are just about the liveliest little crowd I have ever met, and Wilhelmina is equal to any one of them."
"Is she seven years old, too, Uncle?"
"Not quite seven. Her birthday is in January, so you are nearly eight months older than she is; but she is large and strong for her age. No one but her mother ever thinks of calling her by her full name. Even her father calls her Willie, and I have heard the boys say 'Billy' or 'Bill' when their mother is not around." ”

“ Hazel has a beautiful red dress trimmed with tiny, black velvet ribbon; and when I told her how pretty it is, she said that it is an old white tennis skirt of her mother's dyed. There is another thing that I would like to do; but I don't know—would you—do you mind what I do with that five dollar gold piece you gave me for my birthday, Uncle?"
"Do I mind, pet? Of course I do not mind! You are to do exactly what you please with that money. I gave it to you just to see what you would do with it. You have never handled any money of your own, except a few pennies." ”

“ On the way down stairs he said, "As far as the measles are concerned, she could be with the family now; but she is weaker than I like to see her, and the little excitement of being with the babies again would be more than is good for her at present. So I have put her off another two days. She will not try to exert herself as much with Sister Julia as she would down stairs. She is getting along better, however, than I expected, for she has had a pretty severe attack; but I have every reason now to hope that it will leave no bad effects."
"How about her eyes? is the sight in any danger?" ”