Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1870-02-10
From Cassell's Mags!z;ne.I
The Little Match-GirI.


with bare head and feet, was passing
down the street. She had slippers on
when she left home-but what was the
good of them? They were very big, big
enough for her mother, who used to wear
them. She lost them as she ran across
the street in front of two carriages, which
came tearing along at fearful pace. One
of them she could not find again, and the
other a boy snatched up and ran off with
he thought it might do for cradle when
he had children of his own some day.
And there went the little girl, with her
little bare feet all blue and red with the
cold. She had a lot of lucifer matches in
an old apron, and bundle of them in
her hand. That whole long day she had
sold none, and no one had given her q
penny. She crept along, shivering with
cold and hunger, the picture of misery
poor little soul.
The snowfakes lay thick on her long,
fair hair, which fell on her shoulders in
beautiful curls, but she never thought oil
them. All the windows were bright
with lights, and there was a glorious
smell of roast goose, for it was New Years
Eve. She did think of that. In a niche
formed by two houses, one of which stood
a little more forward than the other, she
crouched down with her feet under her
but it only made her colder. And yet she
sold no matches, and had not penny
her father would be sure to beat her, and
at home it was cold too, for there she had
nothing over her head but the roof, and
the wind came whistling in through it
though the biggest rents were stopped ur
with straw and rags,
Her little hands were almost numbed
Oh, what comfort it would be to pull
one match out of the bundle, strike it on
the wall and warm her fingers at it She
did so, S-s-h-t! how it splutters and fash
es as she holds her hands over it Such
a warm, clear fame, like Candida
wonderful flame 1t really seemed to the
little girl as if she were sitting before a
big iron stove with polished brass edges
and feet. The fire burned gloriously, and
sent out such heat. The child stretched
out her feet to warm them too but sud-
denly the flame was gone, the stove had
vanished, and she had nothing but the
little burned stick of the lucifer in her
hand
Then a second was struck on the wall
it lit, and just where its light fell the
wall seemed to become transparent like a
veil, and she could see into the room
quite plain. A snow white cloth was
spread on the table; ell the bright china
dinner-seryice stood shining upon it, and a
roast goose, stuffed with apples and dried
plums, was sending forth the most helv-
emily odors. And. what was still more de-
lightful, the goose jumped down from the
dish with knife and fork in its breast,
and came waddling across the room to.
wards the poor child but at that mo-
ment the match went out, and there was
nothing left but the hard, damp, cold wall
She lit another. And now she was sit
ting under the most splendid Christmas
tree, much bigger and finer than the one
she had seen through glass door in the
great shop of the place. Thousande of
little tapers burned on the green branches,
and bright pictures, like those in the shop
windows, hooked down at her. She
stretched out her hands towards them,
but just then the match went out; the
lights rose higher and higher, till she saw
them like stars iu the sky, and then one
fell, leaving lopg trail of glory behind
it. Somebody is dying" said the little
girl; TO- her old grandmother, the only
being who had ever loved her, and who
was dead now, used to tell her that when
a star falls, a soul goes up to Cd. She
struck another match on the wall and
again it grew bright, and in the bright
ness stuud her old grandmother, so clear
and dazzling, 81 gentle and loving.
"Oh, grandmother !" cried the
child; take me with yau. ]
know that you will go away when
the pHts'h gpes outi you will disappear
like the W I'm stove, like tho delicious
roast goose, like the great. splendid Chris
tmas-tree !" And she quickly struok the
whole bundle of matches, for she wanted
to hold her grandmother fast. Aud the
matches burned so bright that it was
lighter than mid day, and the graadsosh.
er had never before eeemea 50 great and
SO beautiful She took ths little girl in
her arms, and away they few in light and
Joy, higher aud higher and there was
neither cold, nor hunger, nor sorrow mn
there they were with God.
But in tie cold dawn, leaning against
the wall, with frozen cheeks and smiling
lips, sat the little girl-froye4 On she last
night of the year. The New Years sun
rose ever her little corpse. There sat tho
child motionless, with her lacifers. and a
whole bundle OF then.. burned up. "She
must nave vented to warm herself" they
aee:.a. No one guessed what splendors she
had seen, and in what glory she had passed
away with her grandmother into the bliss
of new Yearl