The Plymouth Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1869-1941, 1869-12-30
MISCELLANEOUS.
POLLY SfLyESTER'S DREAM.
BY ROSE TERRY.

LITTLE Polly Sylvester Law fast aslecr
on her cot-bed in Mrs. Tarbox's garret
II was q cold, dreary place, where the rats
scampcred about, and the mice scufies
anl squeaked in every corner: there
were broken panes in the window, that let
IN the bitter November wind. and all
about hung streaming cobwebs. bundles
OF dry herbs, hanks OF yarn, and wisps of
flax, till you could hardly see that there
was window; but through its dingy
glass what little light there was on that
gray morning, fell across the bed and rest
ed on Folly. She lay very STILL the tan.
gied mass OF deep chestnut curls was
brushed away from her pale, delicate face
me great eyes were shut tight, and their
hedVy fringe OF dark lashes never culver.
cfed hut there was a smile on her parted
Fps sweet as summers own sunshine. and
81 wIstful it would have made ANYBODY
with heart ache to see it.
But Mrs. TarbOx hadn't any heart. or II
she had, and ever felt it thrOb i'm hcI
breast, 1t had its ears boxed long ago. and
vas now hard and silent.
She came numbering up the stairs this
morning with Fish in her arms, in great
passion.
Get up, you little carrot head get up,
l say. You're lazier than a snail Eff |
glt AZ ye guess you'll move pretty con-
sider bic spryr'
Dit up, tallOt he'd; else I'll ban 90 ~
es1oec FISH, who Was almost three years
gd but baby still, and horrid one.
The smile on Sally's tender little mouth
changed To piteOus quiyer as she flung
aside the bedclothes, and with shiver
jumped out of bed. " was dreamin'," she
sid IN such a sad voice
Dremin', I'll be bound you're aIlus
dreamin, day in and day OUT but you We got
t9dream out o bed earlierA this. mornin's.
noFv / tell We Hurry up nd come down /,
There, he's most ready for his breakfast.
nj I've had TO lug this great feller ali
round, and Vi-oh-ly she wants her shoes
tied nd her things hooked up"
Tum along tick, fore me kick 90 ~
Shouted'Fish; and Polly having huddled
or her thin and ragged clothes, slipped
into her shOes,-an old pair of Mrs Tar
box's,-and scuttled down stairs as fast as
she could She didn't stop TO comb her
hair or wash her face, but took Fish in
her arms and went into the bedroom to
dress NlOhly, (whOSe name was Viola y a
scrawny girl some eight years old with
thin light hair, weak blue eyes, and a sal
low complexion fretful and sickly, but,
after all, kinder to Polly than anybody
else in the house, and loved accordingly.
Master Fish was set down on the floor
while his sisters boots were laced her
hair brushed, her clothes fastened, and the
rent in her pink calico frOck baSted up
and he amused himself by oyerturning his
mothers mending basket, which Polly
must set to rights then she spread up the
bed, and shOuldering Fish went into the
rfak h l. L. 6. II
the rest of the family,-Jehiel TarbOx,
the father. rough, stingy, coarse farmer,
whose loose lips, red eyes and stupid ex-
preston told the road he had taken at
once; Niohly, her mother, and two big
boys. Jackson and Everett the terror and
torment Of POliy's Iife,-two young brutes
Nn0 thought poor trembling child fair
game, and took pleasure in her shrieks
and applications Now Mrs Tarbox
took Fish on her lap and fed him with
fried pork, cold cabbage, and hot biscuit,
yellow with soda, while Polly fried cakes
over the Kissing stove, not fast enough by
any means to suit the boys or their father.
Hurry up your cakes, Silly Poll -
shouted one cor I'll let the old bull out
into the barn-yard nd set you to catchin'
chickens there"
Come on, Polly Syl" chimed the
other fetch along your sapjacks, or I'll
come nd stir We up, "a process Polly had
experienced before, and stood in mortal
fear of.
But when breakfast was scrambled
through, and Polly allowed to eat her
scraps Of food standing at one end of the
table, and, because she had slept too late,
denied the one thing that could have made
her scanty meal tOlerable To hcr,-a cup
Of -. l.. L., -. i.1 NrS
IaTbOx began to map out her days work.
Gomez don't be a-standin' there all
day swaller your vittlcs quick nj fly
round There's heaps nd heaps to do
After you've fed the chickens, nd emptied
the swill-pail, nd drove the caows, and
got Fish 10 sleep, nd righted things
ginerally, there two barrels o red apples
thet's got to be fxe6 for dryin'; Viohly
she can string EN-, ruess'
say, Mar, can't i 60 down to the
Pastur' lot, long of Polly, whined
Yes, if you're mind ter, only don't
hang round there all day; get home
quick
80 when Polly had done her first
chores, and established Fish safely in a
dry goods box with heap of sand, an ear
Of corn, and string of thread -spools to play
with, in which primitive nursery he was
used to content himself, an hour at time
perhaps, the two girls put on their moods
and shawls, such as they were and set off
Polly opened the COW shed door and let
the mild-eyed, friendly creatures out into
the lane, saying word or two to each OF
The three as they passed, quite as II they
had been friends.
1t is time now to introduce our little
Her bpr hah heen n fOurIchlQp
young carpenter in Vermont village
that hid itself among vast and verdan'
hills like nest in the crotches OF fir
tree. Sam Sylvester loved his sweet little
wife so much, that, when one day she died
and left him, he wanted To die too; and
nobody could comfort him,-not even the
tiny baby that lay and walled in an old
cradle as If it felt, what it could not YET
know the sOrrOws of a motherless child
There was no one in Hillyale in any way
related To sam; he was an orphan, like
his wife, and any relatives he nigh have
in the seaboard New England town where
his father had lived he had never seen o.
heard from so that when he MADE up nj
mind To try his fortune in California, be
cause Hillvale was so desOlate TO him now
he put little Pauline, who was named To
her mother. under the care of his next
door neighbOr, Mrs. Moore, LEAVING
money enough To pay her for a year, an'
prom.sing To send on more. he wen
away with a sad heart but when he go
To California. the voyage and the chang
had taken his thoughts of his isowntrouble
and hard work AZ the mines did so still
more. Tie WAS quite successful. In tn
mean time Polly grew up under kind an
motherly Mrs. Moore's care into a fat an
happy baby.
one day, about year after he ief
home, a couple of his mining mates
who had been down To San Francisco fo
stores. stepped into his tent, and afte