American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1873-05-17
VOL. NXIII.

when the children of the parish came,
: small detachments, to spend the at1ernot
, at the parsonage, the first question askt
was, please, Miss Guernsey, can we S,
Mirandy?" In after years, many a lit
: maiden would remember with smile or
sigh the happy days when the beautifi
Mirandy" had been her first and happ
: love.
+ While the Parish Doll was thus gathe
ing recollections to herself, her mother
; We're pursuing the even tenor of their wa,
The winter had passed, the spring ha
come as usual and there were no signs i
the heavens. Yet events OF the first mas
nitude-
But let us begin at the beginning.
/ One morning Miss Arabella was sittin
on the kitchen-porch, preparing rhubar
Iure walking hastily across the green CON
mon in front of the church. The figur
came nearer and nearer, and finally STOP
tped at the porch.
| Miss Arabeila looked up, and met pal
/ Of great, round black ewes staring at Ire
from under much battered hat and ,
pTei.sion dying red laI. .
r'1fease, ma am, be you deaf?" asked til,
No, Fam not WHY do YOU ask ?" -
| "'Cause, if you was, l would have tt
holler. Miss Brown she is as deaf as,
Edoor- nail -
What do you want?" asked Miss Ara
bella.
Then the Girl drorned little courtesy
| and answered demureiy-
| Please, ,ma'am, L am tho new girl, il
you will take me. l amt much to look at
| but am real smart inside
\ Ave do not wish for girl''
grs.No ma'am; but l want to come and
work for you, cause you have got the big
doll, and you amt mean folks"
'.How old are you? and what. is your
name?''
II am going on fourteen mostly And
my name is Polly, L guess
And what else can you dog" f.
Mostly everything, when want to. l
have had 'sperience."
" Indeed! ! And how did YOU get it,"
SECT it! Cause l couldn't get nothing
else. You see''-very confidentially-"my
father he got killed, or suthin; and my
mother she took sick and died And there
1 was. So ruined away, and got some
where; and | worked, and got sent off
So kept a-going from pill and to post,
and here l be. l hate Miss Brown, do !!
And so, if you like, can't 1 come heres'
=" 1t is very wrong for you to speak so of
Mrs. Brown"
:" No, it amt, cause it's true She saws
L L L
don't never-sten nothing. l only took it
for my little Maggie as was sick.' g.
"Who is your little Maggie?'
Z" She is one of my dolls, she is. I have
six Of them; and make them myself, I
do. You see, folks as hasn't got nobody
wants somebody: it's kind of encouragin'.
But they keep real quiet, and won't 'sturb
you a bit. Then l am so bad, perhaps you
can make me good. Miss Brown says l
am a case"
Miss Arabella reflected a little while
Then she talked with the family; and the
result was, that Polly came to the parson-d
are, bringing her dolls with her.
The dolls were made of newspapers,
clothed in rags, and by no means beauti-
full. But Polly loved them quite seriously.
"How can you tell them apart?" asked
Miss Arabella.
"Oh, easy enough Some of them
are taller than each other, you see;
and them two are both twins. Then, when
| feel like it, | take them out and read
them; them papers is full of tragedies, and
accidents and things"
How she had learned to read was mys-
terry; but she had Il decided taste for liter
allure and the fine arts. Among her few
treasures was engraving representing
the Garden of Eden before the creation of
man. She called it the picture of Adam
tHtl anu tooh iitlSuiii pans " GA
plain, that you can't see Adam and Eve
just now, cause they have gone some
where else"
To such an enthusiastic, artistic spirit, |
to behold Miranda was to love her, and to |
love was to worship. Indeed, it was the |
only thing she did well, besides eating. |
She broke as many dishes as she conven-
ently could; she told as many stories as
she could invent; and at church she set all |
H.,
aces, and looking like a martyred saint |
he moment she was detected.
Miss Arabella, and the whole Guernsey
amily, groaned under the intlictiOn; but |
what was to be done?
Polly decided that question. One fine |
morning in August Polly was nowhere to
,e found. She had gone away during the
light, and left her dolls motherless.
She will return soon, said Miss Ara
,ella. But she did notreturn !; and search
vas made for her. No one had seen her
10 one could find her.
When we have done our best, and gone
IS far as we can, we must leave the rest
o Providence. At the end of two weeks
Polly was left to Providence. Events
we're gathering fast; and the Misses
Guernsey may be pardoned if their own
.ffairs engrossed their thoughts.
Miss Cornelia received her yearly letter
put Sucl leltcT- one ulu not Tcdu any |
If it TO her sister; she only stated that
Philip Dean had been invited by one of
lis old friends to spend a few days at the
parish, and that he hoped to see them. L
low it could have taken eight pages to
make such short announcement may APP
'ear little singular; but some people
lave way of putting things SO as to
make the most of them.
Cornelia did not criticise Philips style;
he simply added: "You will be glad to
ee him again, won't you, Arabella?"
And Arabella said: ''Yes, very glad, in
way that made the least of it.
Then the sisters said nothing more about
t; and for two days slight shadow
eeined to have crept between them.
On the third day the shadow deepened-
The pastor had visited some friends in
he South Parish. He had heard all the
ews, land was repeating them to his as
embed family, when he suddenly said:
OH by the way, / must not forget, Mr.
ohm Brinsley was there with his two
hildren. believe they intend to give
i'm call at South Parish but he seems
and 1 asked him to come here
ill he had made up his mind. l did not
now he had lost his wife. She died two
ears ago, he told me. | believe he used
o be friend ofyours, girls. He will be
Icrc tomorrow
al shall be very glad to see him. said
then she stole glance at Ara
ella but nothing could be seen of that
ldy except the outside shell. She was
lendng stockings, and did not neglect
er duty bya single word or look.
Usually, when visitors were expected
the girls talked about them, and dis
used some little arrangement for their
i. i. 4 |