The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1881-05-25
Children's Column.
Out of the Dust-Barrel.
LUCY RANDALL COMFORT.

perceive that she was amply supplied
with most things that made the world
pleasant to eight-year-old little girls.
There was two-story playhouse there,
dolls of at least six different sizes and
styles, a white-and-gold tea-set for grand
occasions and smaller blue striped one
for everyday use. There were puzzles,
dlssected maps a workbox, paper dolls,
TIN mechanical toys, paint boxes, wooden
animals, battledores and shuttlecocks-
in short, the only difficulty would be to
tell what wasn't there.
But it is very hard to satisfy some
little people. Agnes had been to visit
schoomate who lived in grand house
IN Fifth Avenue, and who had Just
received present of an artificial canary
bird In cage, which sang little tink-
ling sort of song, on being wound up with
a key, like clock.
Agnes came home, eager that her
mother should at once go and purchase
her an automaton canary, or, as she
called it," a Tommy canary bird"
Mrs. Avenel, however, resolutely de-
clined to do anything of the sort.
No, Agnes, she said, we are not
rich enough to buy fifty dollar automa-
tic canaries for you. One little Dickey
In his cage sings sweeter than any arti-
fetal bird could do"
Il don't care for Dickey," pouted
Agnes. 81 want Tommy canary"
that [ can wind up with key"
And so she was making herself very
unhappy this bright morning, for no other
reason than this.
Pretty soon Jane, the maid, came in
with dustpan full of broken wooden
toys.
See what.I swept up in the, play
room" said she. "All Miss Aggies
Noah's Ark animals -
They're brokenl' said Agnes, never
even turning her head to look. az don't
want EN- any more. l hate Noah's Ark.
l want Tommy canary"
So Jane threw the damaged wooden
relics into the dust-barrel.
And when little Katy Kearns came
along with her basket and hook, look
ing for rags, stray bits of paper, and
odds and ends of every description, she
thought she had discovered a mine of
treasures.
Elephumps," said Katy under her
breath; and camels and doves and
gooseys and spotted leppets and tigers,
all striped beautiful Oh, my amt 1 in
luck?"
. Katy picked them out carefully. l
do not believe there was a grain of ash
es or cinder in all that barrel that she
did not search through to find some last
remainder of the precious wooden wild
animals; and when at last she was quite
convinced that there was neither frac-
tured elephants trunks nor splintered
wooden leg to be found more, She sped
home like an arrow out Of a bow.
See what I've found !" said she, rush
ing, breathless, into the room where the
other little Kearnses were playing on the
floor.
There was Denny, two years old /;
Luly, four, and Hannah, six. Hannah
was old enough to go to school, but she
couldn't be spared from her post as
nurse-in-general to the two younger
ones
Their mother was dead, their father
had gone to the shipyards of Portland in
search of work, and they had been left
IN charge of their grandmother-ol
Goody Kearns-who went out washing
and house cleaning by the day.
Katy had been considered old enough
to earn her own living, so she had been
promoted to bag and hook, and sent
out to search dust-heaps and ash-barrels
while Hannah took care of the two little
ones and sewed squares of dirty patch
work between whites.
There was general cutlery of ad-
miration and delight as Katy poured
down her treasures on the hoor-Noah,
without head, Mrs. Noah, without any
feet the elephants, the tiger, the doves
the ostrich, Just of size-was ever any
thing so splendid?
And here's the broken legs and
tails of EN- an the gintleman'e head !"
said breathless Katy; and Iii borry
Larry 0 Toole's little bottle of prepared
glue and we'll stick EN- together in the
twinkling of pigs whisker."
do not think, if you had emptied
bag of golden eagles among the Kearns
children, they could have been a whit
happier than they were at that moment.
Some Of the wooden quadrupeds were
really in very good condition All were
gay with paint in few minutes, Han
nah and Katy were hard at work repair
ing the damages, healing the wounds,
and arranging the newly-glued beasts
and birds in sunny corner of the win
L., Ill - - Al 1 III. f.r