The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1877-08-25
LITTLE LADY MARY
BY p. JUSTIN O'BYRNE.

Little Lady Mary Beaumont lived in
Beaumont Castle, a splendid old build
ing, which wlthstood the storms, and
been shone down upon by die golden
sun for five hunded years. Like most
old buildings, Beaumont Castle had its
ghost-storles and its legends of great men
and beautiful young ladies who had lived
IN It. None OF them, however, had been
more beautiful than the little Lady
Mary, with her pale face suffused with
the tints of roses, her laughing blue eyes
always dancing about with merriment
and her long curls, so fair and bright OF
hue that they actually sparkied in the
sunlight The sun was not shining at
all one Winters day, when little Lady
Mary wandered from the great castle,
away through the park, and down to the
riverside. She was in the habit of going
wherever she liked on the demense of
Beaumont Castle, for she was a petted
child, and the darling of her father,
Lord Beaumont, and other children. A
dainty little lady she boxed too, scarcely
more than four feet and a half high, with
her tiny hands in tiny muff of the best
sable fur, and her ringlets falling down
over her crimson winter cloak, and her
coquettish little hat cooked on one side
Of her head, like miniature Duchess of
Devonshire. As she trotted along she
looked up at the fantastic festoons of ice
which hung on the branches of trees,
and the big fields, covered with a sheet
of spotless snow, and then down to the
river, which was one plain of frozen
water. Here and there a little robin
hoped about, roofing in the snow for
food, which the furnished bird could not
find; but little Lady Mary took crumbs
from her satchel and strewed them on the
snow, 50 that the birds might have good
dinner.
Looking wistfully up at the great cas-
tie, lay, by the side of the river, ragged
little boy. He was taller, though, than
Lady Mary-at least six inches taller
But he looked very wretched. He had
no shoes on his feet, and his trousers
were torn, and his jacket had only one
sleeve. He shivered with the cold, as
he "croodled' himself up III the hollow
of fallen tree; his nose was blue, and
his cheeks almost raw with the biting
cold. He was munching piece of hard
bread when little Lady Mary came up,
and, without being in the least frighten-
ed, stood staring at him, but not staring
rudely.
The ragged boy, hungry as he was,
stopped eating to look at the little lady
with the golden hair and the bright
blue eyes, lie thought he had never
seen SO beautiful a creature before. Was
she little angel, he wondered, come
down from the skies for a holiday, who
had put on some little girls Sunday
clothes just for the fun of the thing?
Lady Mary stood wondering too. but
only for minute or so. Where did the
boy come from, and why was he so poor
and misunderstanding, and why did he
stare at her with such light in his eye,
and such devotional expression in his
face? were the questions she asked her
self But, like most ladies, little and
big, Lady Mary had n tongue which
never grew rusty for want of use, and
she made up her mind to use it at once.
:. Who are you, little boy?" said she,
approaching him.
The voice was so musical that the
ragged boy wished it would go on sound
ing tor ever, and he listened intentIy
while he fancied he heard it sigh itself
away with soft music in the distance.
ana then he answered under his breath.
his teeth chattering meanwhile
don't know, miss. They called me
Reggy when | was little, where | used to
live"
Where was that?o continued Lady
Mary.
Oh, ever so far away" said the lad
-" ever SO far away, over the water
and in the middle Of big trees, where the
sun was always shining, except at night
time, and the beautiful birds, Will
feathers of all sorts, were always singing
ever 50 far away, miss. Where do yor
live9n
Up there" answered Lady Mary
: thought So said the boy "Ur
there in the skies, where my mother is. y
Lady Mary laughed out boisterously
at this.
"No, no." cried she, mot up II the
skies. How could anyone live there, I'd
like to know l live up there in that
big castle"
The boys countenance fell, and a
smile broke out on his face as he felt
how glad he was the little girl was not