The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-04-06
A LITTLE QUEEN.
BY MRS. NJ. l. RAYNE.

L INIT btt9- stnlt.ti IN nsf eyes
| Could You have kissed that golden hair
| And drunk her bah signs,
You would have been her firing maid
| As ioyfGlly rs [:
| Content to deck your little queen
| And let the world go bg,,
They used to gopast our house evry fine
/ day, summer and wInter-them man, shah
by, emaciated As with "a long sickness,
and with a feeble hesitating step, and an
| old-young face that was far from pre-
| possessing; the child, beautiful, regally
| dressed. seated in summer in a pretty
| carriage tastefully decorated; in winter,
wrapped in soft fur robes in her little
| sleigh that was hung with musical bells,
and drawn always by the faithful servi-
| tor, who from much practice seemed to
have managed the difficulty of going two
| ways at once; at least, he walked for
| ward and looked backward, and never
fell over anything or endangered the life
/ of his precious charge.
l do not remember who it was told us
| that the man was servant, or whether
we gathered it ourselves from him, as
| we stopped to notice the beautiful child.
| We were two old maids, sisters, and
with enough of an income to enable us
| to live in a genteel neighborhood but
| not rich enough to be able to associate
with the owners of the more splendid
dwellings, around rs. We were, however,
quite too rich to be patronized, so the
good people left US severely alone. This
explanation is necessary to account for
our interest in all that passed our door
We had little else to do but to speculate
on people, not in a general gossipy way,
but in that seni-romantic strain of ex-
preston which people are apt to acquire
who live much alone.
So we made history of our own for
the little queen, as we called her, and it
certainly seemed to tit her. She was,
we decided, the only child of very rich
parents, and this faithful man, who was
not exactly soryant-not being in
sliyery. or as we'll dressed as servants in
such families usually are-was a sort OF
fsttachc to the little queen, and kept TO
attend her because he was so very fond
of her maids not being trustworthy OUT
of sight. We felt sure that she came OF
a long line of heroic ancestry
was no ditch water in those blue veins
that traced her pearly sk.n, and the fear
less blue of her lovely eyes was that OF
a conoueror. Then the small shapely
ears. the dainty hands and feet-oh
yes. blood will tell The very fact that
no ladies' ever appeared on the street
with her. told the story of select human
.tv by RIGHT of birth We were just
enough tainted with inherited aristocracy
ourselves to approve of the baby's lin
cage.
But. strange to say, we never became
we'll acquainted. The man had quiet
way of going right on with his little
mistress, and whenever we saw our
bright bird she was on the wing. She
would smile and throw us kisses and
/ - /, Il l,.o-.oA lnll in hpF
arms for us to see, and then her patient
steed would start into gentle trot, and
the little eaupage would be gone, and
it would seem to us two lonely women
as if a cloud had shut off the sun.
1t went on this way for years, and the
baby could walk and was quite large
| child, with long, curling, golden hair,
and the fairest complexion | ever saw,
with the color of q dog-rose on her
| cheeks and just trimming with health
land happiness The man was always
with her, seedy, detected looking, but
absorbed in the child, often looking at
her with sort of rapture in his face as
1 if he imagined she might vanish into
| Heaven while he watched her, and when
/ he touched her to arrange her wrap
pings, doing it in Il deprecating way as
! if he were not half good enough. never
/
| but this is not of myself.
Three summers and winters we saw
these two 90 past our door, in their lit
| tie happy JOURNEYS, where one was blest
| in giving and the other in receiving, when
they both disappeared. Days went by
| and they did not come; the trees which
| were bare and leafless blossomed out IN
| living green; birds sang-where was our
| little queen? Sister and | took turns IN
| watching for her; but we were disappoint-
| ed until one morning early, when looked
| up the street | saw, not the little car
| rage with its pretty burden, but the man
| attendant running distractedly toward
/ me- As he came near l saw that his
/ fact, was white and haggard, his eye-lids
red. lips compressed; he would have
passed directly along, but called to him.
s.How is the little oneP"
every sick" Ire called back and sped
on his way.
He had reluctantly told me once that
her home was on the corner of certain
streets above us, but was not familiar
even with our own locality, and had
only an idea that il was distant perhaps
two or three blocks. Now caught up q
wrap. threw something on my head and
| hurried away, determined to know if
| the beautiful child was in danger, and
feeling no fear of intrusion, for to those
people would not be Of the slightest
| Importance; but | hoped some of the
idomestics would kindly relieve my anx-
iety, for / too, loved the child, and
was deyonred with a secret fear that
| should never see her again.
| 1t was long way there! walked and
walked and at last | stood at the num-
| ber And then I felt sure of what had
begun to suspect rs soon as L saw to
what part of the city my footsteps tended
the man had given me his own aa-
| dress, not that of his little charge; this
humble cottage was, no doubt his own
home
| Yes, even while stood at the gate de-
batting as to the necessity of my going
| in ut all, be brushed hastily by me and
entered. He had bottle in his hand,
and did not notice me. and as he left the
| door open followed him in my great
anxiety to know of the sick child's well
fare.