The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1877-04-05
MARIAN AMONG THE WAX WORKS.

THERE was long hall at the head OF
| the stairs, and in it such company.
There were Kings and Queens and their
courts, and there were Generals and their
staffs, and there were good men and bad
men all mixed up together, and all in
their best clothes and their company
| faces.
Marian was amazed and delighted at
all this concourse of great and small ana
good and wicked people. Her converse
tion for the next half hour was mainly
comprised in 20 mysr and other ex-
clamations of wonder and delight. The
group that pleased her most was, think,
| that representing Queen Victoria and her
court. There was the Queen, with very
royal expression on her wax face, staring
| bridge, and the Prince and Princess of
Wales, and all the rest of the Princes and
| Princesses-down to the very youngest of
the lot-who had been smuggled to the
court reception in cradle.
| "She looks much better in wax than
she does real," said Marian to me, con-
( fidentially, land like those clothes ever
so much better than those she wore in the
carriage-I suppose these are like what
she wears when she's at home. Do you
suppose she ever lets that baby in the era
die play with her crownr'
| And she would probably have gone on
to much greater length with her COM
ments and questions, had not suddenly
discovered that she was standing before a
very old lady, who was seated before the
| group-and obviously couldn't see much
of it through Miss Marian Vane, who,
though she was very little girl, was not
| TRANSPARENT,
| 80! didn't see that old lady," said
Marian. "Don't she look old, Uncle
Will? See how she leans on her UNI
brella, and how her hand trembles, and
her head shakes. She looks as old as
Jerusalemp'
Methusaleh she meant-but stopped
her short lest the old lady should hear her
and didn't even take the occasion to
correct her, but took her round to the
other sideof the group. But the old lady
so very feeble that her head shook with
the fatigue of keeping it erect, had reused
her interest and sympathy, and while
Aunt Elinor and l were discussing the
various orders with which the Queens
family were decorated, Marian stole back
to the old lady's side, and said. in her most
winning tones:
4 "I'm very sorry got in your way :" and
by way of reparation offered that lady her
choice out of paper of candies.
The old lady didn't 80 much as look
up, and Marian said to herself" She
must be deaf!" and, holding the paper of
candy right under her nose said, little
louder:
"Won't you have some candy? There's
some chocolate creams there, If you
haven't teeth.'
Still the old woman went on shaking
her trembly head, and clutching her um-
brella with her black -gloved trembly
hand-and took no notice of Marian.
MAYBE she's blind too," said Marian,
half aloud, and she put her head down
close under the old woman's bonnet, and
then, taking pin from her dress, run it
in up to the head In the gloved hand,
and then walked blushingly away, trying
| to look as if she had known the old
woman to be wax all the time and had
been talking to her only for the fun OF the
thing.
Aunt Elinor and of course laughed at
Marian little-but, bless me! we didn't
mean to make her feel SO badly, and
wouldn't have done it on any account II
we had known how sensitive and mortified
the little lady was. There were two great
round tears rolling down Marian's cheeks
before we knew it, and by way of divert
ing her Aunt Elinor said:
"See, Marian, how nicely they dress
their figures. Here, now, is an elegant
camel 's-hair shawl on this one, and bon
net that is quite the latest thing!" and
Aunt Elinor put up her eye glass, and
took up corner Of the shawl to admire
its fineness, when suddenly the figure
| <,,rv,oI oho.,t and q 1adv h1uahinU very