The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-05-05

have been wanderin' round for thousands of
years before they brought up at this port at
ALL and thar don't seem to be so much sur
prism about it."
Miss Kent looked at him curiously with
her dark bright eyes. Here is an unworked
vein of poetry" she thought. But it may
be just as well; the working might have
| ruined the worker" she added to herself a
little bitterly.
wall FLYNN Dutchmen amt nythin' to
do with little Mary Whitlow," the old man
went on, land she didn't have anythin' to do
with the sea, only my bein' near it made 1t
easier for me to blieve some queer things
that happened about her: Little Mary was
the only child Cap'n Knel Whitlow and bis
wife ever had, and she was the prettiest little
girl you ever saw.
''She was only six years old when the
| Cap'n quit the sea, and small at that for her
age. Her hair was yellow and curly, and
| hung down to her waist Her eyes were big
and dark blue, and thar was kind of an
askin' look in them always, as if she was
| lookin' at the sea Otis very apt to give that
kind of look to folks eyes, if you notice itG
and l never saw anythin' like her skin! I'd
a most have thought she'd been Twin in one
of the big pink shells I've seen layin' along
the shores where I've been; thar was just
that kind of pearly look about her face, as
| if the color of the shell had been kind o re-
Elected on it, and stayed on.
"Wall the Cap'n and Mis'..Whitlow set
| their eyes by the child of course; she was
the only one they had, and wasn't born till
they'd been married a good many years let
alone her bein so taken. She was just as
good as kitten-never seemed to be naughty
like other children; she never used to be
round with other children much; she'd al
ways been kinder delicate, and her mother
had kept her at home with her, and never
sent her to school,
'Ive seen her settin' down side of her
mother sewin' patchwork like little woman,
when Eve been thar. Sometimes | used to
think she'd been better out, runnin'; but her
| mother couldn't bear her out of her sight, or
her father either, when he came home. l
never see anybody seem to think so much of
child as he did of her; I've seen her settin'
on his knee many time, and he a-lookin'
! at her as l never seen q man look
Z at anythin on this earth 'cept gold;
and she was gold and honey and
pearls, if ever a child was. Ny children
was all grown up, and married, and off, and
| used to go in thar good deal to see the
Cap'n, and got to thinkin' a good deal of
her myself Fact was all the folks around
here did; thar wasn't one of them but petted
her every chance they could get. Mrs. Pen
niman thought as much OF her as did.
WELL the child, on account of bein' alone
with older folks so much and not playin'
any more with other children, 1 s'pose, had
SOb SOlu6 hlllu VI QutHI nOLlODS lHIO
head. We used TO laugh at them, and think
it was cunnin', but sometimes l used to feel
kinder cur US about it, for it didn't seem as
if it was material in child to have such
ideas; and, as a general plan, things an folks
that are out of the material don't last long, if
you ever noticed it.
Zone queer notion she had land thar was a
good many just as queer that / can't remem-
ber) was about the stars comm out of an
evenin' over the sea- she named the brightest
and biggest ones after the prophets. You see
she'd had the Bible read to her a good deal,
and she could rattle off every one of them
like little parrot.
Il can see her now, Just as she used to
look, standin' thar at the front window of
that room where you see the light, lookin'
out over the sea, when the sun had gone
down, watchin' for the stars. Her yellow
curls would be flyin', and her eyes shinln
just like stars themselves; and thar we would
sit a-watchin' her and a-smilin' to each 9TH
err Then how she would shout when she
saw onel And laughl-it sounded like lot
of silver bellsl The first one was Elijah, if
remember right. "rhar's 'Lijahn She
boiler and turn round and laugh at us.
''Fhen thar was Nehemiah land Zachariah
and ali the rest she didn't say them more
than half right. with her little sweet bit of
, voice (she hadn't any schoolin' on ac-
count of her bein' delicate, and l suppose she
was little behind most girls of her age(, and
how we would taught
but thar was one GURUS thing about it,;
thar was one star she never would tell us the
name Of it was the biggest and brightest of
the whole lot
81 really believe thar it is now!" cried the
Captain, putting his hand to his eyes, aud
gazing intently. Eyes, that's the very one
l s'pose you know what the right name is?'
Venus" said Miss Kent
81 s'pose so. Wall don't know what ever
l, Oh hoA hui 1,,fE
make her tell us anyhow. I'd try to hire
her with pepp'min and she'd look at them
so wistful that it was enough to make any,
body cry, but she wouldn't bulge an inch;
and her father would talk to her and tell her
she didn't love him, because she wouldn't
tell, till she wouldcry as if her little heart
would break, but she never would tell the
name she'd given to that star. But some
times I'd see her stand and look, and look at
it with her great blue solemn eyes till was
all of shiver, without KNOWN why. 1t al
most seemed as if she saw somethin' about il
that we didn't
wall, there was a good many queer ideas
that she got, as | said, but / believe the
Queerest of them all was the one about Port
land. You know all the folks round here
when thar's any extra tradin' to do, always
go thar. OF course her father and mother
had been good many times, and / suppose
she d heard a good deal about it, off and on;
and the little thing ever since she had been
big enough to talk, or know anything had
been crazy to go to Portland. don't know.
and never did, exactly, how it happened that
they never took her when she leased so hard
to go; they generally was most ready to cut
their fingers off to please her. l s'pose it
must have been along of her bein so delicate,
always, an it's bein' pretty long hard ride
to Portland; dare say they was so tender of
her that they was afraid to risk it. Anyhow,
the pretty little bird was always talkin' about
goin' to Portland, an always wantin' to be
told somethin' about it.
When did you go to Portland, Uncle
Bijah?' (she always called me Uncle 'Bijah'),
she would ask. She would climb up on my
knee and put her little bit of slim arm
round my neck. Oh, Lord remember just
how she nsed to do it."
Nice Koot r;o;dlu ou;afIx, lsto,;nc,