Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1880-04-09


rose slowly up, and went away down the
dark alley, where men and women stood
about in discontented groups, up creaking
wooden STAIR to a door, of which Polly had
the key, and the other side of which they
called home"
1t was room that, to unaccustomed eyes,
would have looked very blank and larJ and
desolate, for the bed was only a long low
wooden frame with a checked quilt upon it.
The table was box, and other furniture
there was none, save n couple of rough stools
and cupboard but over the mantel shelf
there was nailed up little gallery of por-
traits, with a setting of china ornaments
faded daguerreotype Of pretty woman with
a baby in her arms, a common photograph
of a lad in hussar uniform, with For Dear
Mother" scrawled beneath it, and an alarm
ing black head that bore the name of IA
! ther"-though the eyes must have been ten
der and loving indeed that could have traced
any resemblance between that startling out
line and the tall, quiet consumptye man,
who had lived out his weary life among the
uncongenial souls in Crowe's alley.
Well it had not affected him so very much
after all, and they were kindly people in their
way. They used to step on tiptoe, when
they remembered, past the door Of the room
in which he lay propped up by pillows, gaz-
ing patiently out at the sunrises and the sun
sets that just glimmered over the roofs Of
the other houses When he died. and the
"missus' frettod for him. and money was
slow to come in, they cheered her up, and
helped her, these rough folks, and forgot
that they used to consider her fine" when
they brought her lust drop of Cruel,
dearie, or "a slice of bread for the childer, ="
and sat up for an hour or two when the fe-
yer came upon her, and saw that she was de
Gently buried when she died
After that time was a miserable blank to
Polly for some weeks. The baby was fret
full, and Polly's arms were unaccustomed, for
mother used to nurse him always and Dickie
used to cry at nights n good deal, until the
folks in the alley dubbed together and
bought him backing. box, and he began to
earn pennies. BY that time Polly had learn
ed her way to the pawn shop, and the room
was beginning to look empty, and the chill
dren were not so neat as they had been but,
through all the misery and loneliness and
want, there was something beautiful growing
into the little home-a kind of glory spring
ing up in Polly's life that made it grander
and nobler than it used to be, when she was
little and selfish, and mother cared for her.
Tired and worried, she sat down this even
ing on one Of the broken stools, and hushed
the fractions baby to sleep, softeniDg her
voice to a kind of mournful hum, while
Dicke leaned against her knee listening.
Then she laid him softly in the bed, and
tucked him in, aud she and Dickie took down
the ragged Bible and read verse, and then
sat up for long time in the darkeniug room,
looking out Of the narrow window and think
ing. Well, Dickie was thinking of the lady's
face he had seen in Grosvenor Square, and
of the nineteen shilliDgs and hxpence: and
Polly, with her tangled head laid down upon
the sill, and her tired hands crossed on her
lap, was wondering where the pennies were
to come from tomorrow, and if She
raised herself suddenly, and went over to the
fire place TO lean her head upon the wall un-
der mothers picture, as she had habit of
doing when she was very tired. But if it
must go too IF she must come in tire d
some evening and have no mother TO go to,
even a picture-if she must wake up in the
night, and creep over the sleeping boys and
have no spot on the wall to which 10 turn and
be comfortedy why, then. | must bear
that too, thought Polly, and shall grow
used to it,"
Polly" said Dick, suddenly where's the
money -
"Oh, I've put it in the box, " said Polly
down at the very bottom and we must
take it out with us every day, Dick, until we
see her again, you know, to give her the
change"
II shall go to bed" said Dick, yawning
"help me, Polly, I'm so tired
SO Polly forgot herself and her own troub-
les. and helped him to undress and then
she drew the curly head on TO her tired shoul-
der, and sang TO HIM as the had TO baby until
he fell asleep. And If her arms achod as she
gently laid him down, and if she fell asleep
over her prayers, and if the restless baby
kept her whkeful till the gray morning dawn,
who was to know it save He who neither
slumbereth nor sleepeth, and, perhaps the
land t,,nthar ubA a. a,
sleep before the sun fell on her face and
awoke her =!
So the hot July days came and went, and
brought pleasure as well as pain to the little
room in Crowe's alley.
The room was emptier than ever and food
was scarce and bread was dear but then ba-
by was beginning to walk, and the sun was
not 30 hot, so that Dick was not so tired and
cross and Polly, in her love Of making be-
lieve, had developed talent for mimicry that
caused many a shrill laugh to echo through
the empty room, and even to find its way
down the crooked stairs into the court.
Set the door open, mother" little Billy
O'Flannigan, the cripple, used to say
there's Polly Marker at it again And if he
could have crept up to the children's garret
he would have seen Polly with the blanket
tied round her as skirt, and peacock feath-
ers in her hair, making believe to the admir-
ing Dick that she was the lady of GrOsyenor
Square going to court.
She laughed more than she used to do at
first, this brave Polly but when the play
was ended and the boys were in bed, hav-
ing laughed themselves to sleep over their
supper Polly would turn resOlutely away put
her share away into the cupboard and creep
cold and hungry between the blankets So
as the days slid into weeks, and the autumn
weather set in, Dick grew stronger and
healthier, and the baby hourished but the
folks in Crowe's alley shook their heads over
Polly's thin face with its hectic flush, and
said aside to one another that she was going
the way her father did, and no wonder poor
lamb
But Polly was very happy her life was
such a busy one, aud the boys so good, that
the void in her heart was being gradually
filled up and even when the day came that
she had to stand on tiptoe and take down the
peacocks feathers and the pictures and the
china ornaments rs a last Offering to the
pawn shops, she found that she had not time
to be so very miserable, after all.
She sat on one of the stools with the pic
lures in her lap, and made the boys kiss
them, and, just for minute, tears came to
her eyes when Dickie, kissing the black
head, obediently, looked up to ask, But who
is it, Polly"
why, It's father" said Polly, ''and dear
mother, and you, Dickie, when you were
wee thing like our baby, and Willie-our sol
der, Dick, that died" And Dick said, 'Oh
yes | member and turned away to- play
horses round the empty room, while Polly
sat on, with all her household gods in her
lap, and tears in her frank blue eyes
Il thought Dick would have remembered"
she said to herself once and then she gath
cred up the pictures and took them away to
the shop, locking the door behind her.
And all the time that the funds were get
ting lower, and the winter weather was set
ting in, and pennies were getting searcer, the
nineteen shillings and sxpence lay in the big
box by night and in Polly's pocket by day
only, Que evening, when the landlord had