The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1881-05-25

working grandmother could hardly pro-
vide bread, and she had come to see what
she could do to help them.
Sure, and that's me, grandmother, +"
said Katy "She's out scrubbing at
Miss Hale's in Crab Street, md if yell be
plased to sit down." hurriedly busting
off a wooden chair with Luly's apron,
"I'll run round after her in Just min
ute T.
AS Mrs. Avenel sat there waiting
she asked shy little Luly about the
wooden animals on the window-sill
Katy found'em, said Luly, with her
finger in her mouth.
Where?" said the lady, smiling
pleasantly. cat the toy-shop."
"In dust bar'l," said Luly, bashful-
ly.
And as Mr.. Avenel looked little
more closely, she recognized the very
striped and spotted animals which. had
populated Agnes Noah Ark the Christ
mas before. For Agnes had undertaken
to paint some of them over again with
the box of water-colors, and the smears
of orange red and were easy to be identi-
fed
Granny Kearns came in presently,
wiping her soapy hands on her aporn,
and was very thankful for the promise
of little help. And Mrs Avenel went
home to where little Agnes was still sulk-
ing about the " Tommy Canary"
e Agnes" said she, "come here, my
child. want to speak to you"
Agnes came, unwillingly enough, and
Mrs. Avenel told her of the uncarpeted,
curtainless room, where the little moth
erless children were playing in the sun
shine to save the cost of fire, and the
only food was bread, with little molass-
es smeared over the slices. She described
good-natured old granny, in her tapping
cap and stiff kerchief; round-eyed Katy,
with hair tightly braided in to pig tails
Hannah, who had no shoes. and ran
about in her stocking-feet and little shy
Luly, who looked out at you from behind
her eyebrows, and Baby Denny, who
could not speak plain yet, until Agnes
became interested in spite of herself.
And what were they doing, do you
suppose, Agnes?" her mother asked
They were playing with some poor
little wooden toys, battered and broken,
the remains of a Noah's Ark, which a
little, discontinued girl of my acquaint-
ance had told the mid to throw away.
Katy, the eldest girl, had found them
in dust-barrel, and carried them home,
and you never saw such gleeful children I"
Mamma, cried Agnes, was it my
Noah's Ark?"
1t was all that was left of it, said
Mrs Avenel. "And not all the toys
in the toy-store could have made these
little ones happier think it would
have taught my discontinued little daugh-
ter good lesson to see what became of
her discarded toys"
Agnes hung down her head and looked
very much ashamed.
Mamma" said she, ".I won't say an
other word about the Tommy-canary
bird. [ don't think 1 want it any long
err"
You surely would not, if you could
see the happiness that a few broken
wooden animals afford to children like
yourself, said Mrs. Avenel.
Mamma" said Agnes, "will you
take me there some time to see the poor
children that have no mother? And
Ill carry them some more of my toys.
I've great many more than 1 can posi-
bly, use"
"Some day, said her mother, "when
your lessons are correct and you have
been good girl"
And that was the last that Mrs
Avenel heard about the Tommy-cana-
ry."-E Exchange.