The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1874-12-17
WHAT HAPPENED ON A CHRISTMAS
DAY.
BY EMILY HUNTINGTON MILLER.

ONCE upon u tlIuc-l nave HOllCeu tuut
nearly everything.worth hearing of happened
once upon a tinae-there stood in the city of
Chicago, between the Rolling Mills and the
Kinzie Street Bridge, a very old, unpainted
frame house, two stories and a basement,
with rickety outside stairs leading up one
end of the building to landing on the upper
story. In fact the very house is standing
there yet as you may see any day If you look
out at the car windows on the left-hand side,
with miserable back yard and a patched-up
shed, upon the roof of which have seen two
goats lying contentedly, and some little girls
playing at making calls, with sunfowers for
parasols, and old shawls tied around their
waists to trail magnifcently over their tat
ters, quite in the style of their betters.
But once upon time, as began to tell you,
on the very day before Christmas, in the year
eighteen hundred and something, two chill
small back ro1 room Siirl, were locked up in the
outside stairs, IN tne Tii1, d'm Gf the fight of
old house 1t was very small room, with
two windows.
One looked down into the dirty back yard,
and the other out upon the landing, but they
were so patched up with rags and paper and
shingles that you could not see much from
any of them. There was stove in the room,
very rusty, with a long crack that showed
the red, empty CRATE, but there was no hre III
1t, and the poor thing seemed to chatter with
the cold as it stood there on three legs and
bit of brick. There was an empty cupboard
in the room, so empty that old Mother HUB
bard could not have found so much as bone
for her poor dog, and lean little mouse,
grubbing about on the shelves, nearly skinned
his nose in trying to pick up grain OF rice
out of the corner. No chairs, no table, but on
the floor a thin straw bed, with piece OF old
carpet and one ragged quilt. Out OF the
Quilt peeped two heads, covered all over with
such thick, red curls you would have thought
they really ought to warm the room very
little, but they didn't seem to. Under the
curls two pairs Of bright eyes, and as clear,
sweet, dmpled faces as any mother ever cud-
died up in her arms at bedtime, though the
cheeks might have been roundcr and the
dimples deeper if it had not been for the
empty cupboard, / think. However, they
were not so very hungry; they had their din
ner two good slices Of bread and two very
little scraps of meat, in the bed between them,
to keep it from freezing, you know. Ihey
could not afford to be dainty, and one meal
day will keep one from starving. Besides,
when their mother came home from her days
work there would be a fire made, and some
thing for supper, if the people did not forget
to nav her. They did forget sometimes, or
had no change handy, and then it was pretty
hard for them all to go to bed cold and hun
gry. Molly used to cry, at such times, but
now it was Christmas Eve, and people surely
would remember to be just They might
even be generous If they thought OF it, and
then there would be something extra; per-
haps enough for Christmas dinner, and
| fire, real jolly fire, all day. 1t made every
| hair on the curly heads dance, just to think
of it, and the children got out OF bed and
rushed about the room for exercise, scraped
a spot Of frost from the window panes, and
Redeemed their poor little noses in trying tc
look out, then crept back to their nest and
I slept like two kittens in the hay. Slept sc
long that rat with one ear and the tip OF hit
tail bitten off came out through the broker
plastering and snuffed hungrily around them
When they walked it was growing dark, ant
they began to feel uncommonly lonesome ane
hungry.
Molly cried little, but Molly was only six
the poor baby, and Ted, who was two year.
older. tried like man to comfort her. B..
and by Ted's courage failed too; he grew
cross and indignant.
"wish't my mother didn't lock the door,
he said. "we'd just 60 and see Christmas ou
own selves. Bob says it's bully to look at tn
stores chock full Of presents, and he know
of church where they're goin' to have tw'
Christmas trees, and ice-cream and cakes, ant
CANDY. and no end of good things. Mebb.
they'd happen to have something left over 70
US. Molly, if We could only get there"
Ted tried the door, and gave two angr.
kicks at the panels.
"Wish't was Jackaneast, I'd go up tn
chimbly, and come down the rain-spout."
All at once he thought Of the window Of
the landing. It went up with very littl
coaxing.
"Git yer things, Molly" he cried, in tr
umph, and thrust his curly head into yer
big old wool hat with kind OF trap-door
the top.
Molly's things consisted of small cOrne
of what had once been table-spread, and
faded blue calico sunbonnet, SO she was 500
ready, and the little midgets climbed throug
the window, went cautiously down the sill
perry stairs and away, hand in hand, towar
i the long row Of street-lamps that marked tl
region of stores and churches.
Z No one took the smallest notice OF then
Mrs. Biddy Maloney, who took boarders
. the second floor, was cleaning up her rool
. for Christmas, and Tows, the dog, finding
very slippery and uncomfortable inside, stoe
; shivering on the steps and waited for pla'
to dry. His tail was too stiff to wag, but
! gave distressed wriggle Of his lanky bod
3 and followed the children blockor two.
o "Go back, Tows," said Ted, and the d.
crept back to the step.