Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-05-11
LITTLE SAM.

Ii any people ever deserved us much
money as they knew how to take care of,
popular verdict declared it to be the Deans ;
and nobody grudged them either their
money or their lovliest of homes. In one
of the city suburbs where pavcments and
lamps had not yet stretched, where the
country ways were overhung with clms
and beeches, and every house was set in
lawns and gardens, stood this home of
theirs-an old stone mansion, with bays
and balconies overgrown with Virginia
creeper and wistaria whose stems had in
tertwisted themselves with the masonry
at every crevice, and were as stout and
strong as ropes-ropes here and there
stretched so tightly that they sang in the
wind like Eolian harps. Within the
house the hall was laid in old tiles, and
covered with rugs, the noiseless and beau
tiful drawing and library were
filled with inherited treasures, and, TO say
nothing of slecping-rooms and nursery,
the play-room was a fairy-placc, and moth
ing less. 1t was the only room in the
house that Mrs. Dean had changed when
she came in to reign but she had arranged
this great sunny place to please her own
fancy, and not that of her husbands an
cestors. On the wall she had paper
hung, contrary to the canons of art, she
was told, but delightful to the eyes of
her boys and girls, where on a skyey
background blush roses climbed all over
gilded trellis, birds built their nests and
tilted on the sprays, and childrcn's faces
peered in and out the garlands. The
floor wore thick felt which allowed no
tumbles to hurt the tumbler, and
that deadened every noise; and for the
remainder, there was no continuance to
amuse children that the mother had not
amassed in that room. There was the big
white rocking horse nearly as large as her
own ponies, sail saddled, all bridled, all
fit for a fight;;" there was the mimic nine
pin alley, the bagatelle tables, the phil
osophical apparatus and the telescope,
with which Mr.. Dean used to perform for
the children, and give them glimpses of
the "fairy tales of science" when the other
fairy tales palled, and of worlds beyond
when the pleasures of their own were not
enough. And then there were the walk
ing and talking dolls, with multitude of
other mechanical toys, and there were
parallel bars, and, yes, a low flying trapeze.
A happy little set of savages they were that
had the freedom of this delightful room
when the days spelling and multiplying
were over. There were Robin and Matte,
the twins, and Ned; there were the two
orphan cousins that had been added to the
number; there were usually more or less
of tho neighbors' babies; and there was
Cyrus, the pet and darling of them all, a
fair-faced, blue-eyed little fellow, with
his long yellow curls floating over his
shoulders-almost too lovely, it seemed
to that household, for common flesh and
blood. A precocious little creature too,
for his four years, full of mischief, his old
nurse said, as nut is Of meat, and full of
sweetness too. Singing about the house
from dawn till dark, kissing the dog,
which felt him a peculiar charge, worrying
the cat, feeding the birds, vanishing the
chairs with the mucilage, decorating the
wall with his fingers dipped in the ink bot
tie, breaking the precious flower from the
stem tor some unwelcome guest, knowing
no difference between servants and mas
tiers, and having kisses for all, always
serious and always loving in the midst of
his preoccupation and mischief, the little
fellow was the idol of home and of the
region round about. One night as they