The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1884-02-01

4
less, suiierin' little souls tossin' an tum
blin' round in this wicked world will
no one to so much as lift finger to saw,
'em from the sin an sorrer before 'em
Mahaly thought o gettin' little boy O
girl, or mebbe both, an iaisin' 'em a
her own. She said she'd never MARI,
now.
"Well, mind you, when we got home
there was q bundle on the front porci
in an old red an yellow shawl; an
Cicely was in that bundle She wa!
only, we lodged, bout three weeks old
There wa mt thing in the world t.
give us hint o. who her pain ma was
no more n if she'd never had any Ma
haly said right there that she hoped sh,
never would know more'n she knoweG
then bout the child's kin. She 'doptet
her re hit off, namin' her Cicely Rose
an was mother an father an sister
an brother to the forlorn little thing.
at was so out o. the common run o
things to see that young girl o. twenty.
one bendin' over that child's cradle
an calm herself mamma an the
child her 'own dear baby, an all that
1.-The child was purity as pink.
She'd eyes an cheeks | Ike chany doll.
She stood alone at nine months, an
begun to talk at a year. She had that
yallerish, reddish hair, kind o. curly
like, that not one in a thousand has;
an purity, nice, finicky little ways o
sayin' an doin' things that showed she
want any common stock. Blood II
tell every time; mind if it don't. Good
or bad. it II crop out All the trainia
an infooence an example an teachin'
goes fer nothin when they's bad blood
in child. It'll show itself bye'n bye,
an away goes your child a-snappin' his
fingers at precepts, an all that.
swell, the folks round Elderville,
they all took great interest in little
Cicely. she was such winnin' little
body!
81 mind me now, how I've passed by
Mahaly's a-many an a-manv time, an
seen Cicely a-standin' at the gate with
her nose stuck through the palms, and
her big eyes a-twinklin'. An she'd say
the oldest things in the funniest way.
She was powerful smart child.
can, nv land! the store Mahaly
Doolittle set by that child. She couldn t
a thought more o. one O. her own, not
if she'd had twenty-five. She acted
as if the sun rose and set in that child!
'Tve seen her cry an carry on like a
crazy person when Cicely was sick. 1t
beat all! Once the child got mighty low
with the hoopin' cough, an me an
Temp rance Taft we set up there; an
'Haly walked the floor the blessed night,
'cept when she'd dump herself down
fore chairs an fall to prayer for her
child-her hearts treasure, as she
called Cicely. When the child had a
spell of coughin' Mahaly'd wiring her
hands an sob out pitiful to hear.
They say she Rugged and kissed old
DIR. Wintergreen, when he said Cicely'd
get well, an that Wintergreen he hug
ged an k ssed back; and they was some
talk bout 'em maxim match, him be-
in widderwer, an half cracked to
nary agin. But. law me! l knew
better. Poor Mahaly was that grateful
over Cicely Citing well. she'd o Rugged
an kissed steer; an Wintergreen was
like any other crazy old widderwer,
tickled fit to kill if woman looked at
'im-tho' You could O. heerd i'm heller
half mile when Mis- Wintergreen was
buried. The Doctor he was allus get
ting up new kinds o. bitters an int
ments an tones an plasters, an tryin'
'em on Mis- Wintergreen first. an she
was gump 'nough TO let him do 1t; for
she thought the Doctor knowed more
any other ten doctors in Sangamon
County. An there she'd 90 round
with plaster an intments all over her,
an gag over his drops an .elixirs,'
when they want a thing under the
shinin' sun the matter with her. They
say she died o general debility, an l
re ken she did. So would boss. But
was real good hearted
cd body. He was as good as puddin'
to Mahaly when the poor woman heart
was breakin'.
Little Cicely was nearly ten wears
old fore Mahaly told her that she
want her own mother. Folks knowed
that Mahaly wanted it KEEP as long as
she could from the child. But, of
course, she had to know it some time.
fer children will ask questions, an there
was everybody calling Mahaly Miss
Alahaly,' you know, an a purity goose
of a child it'd be that couldn't ask Ques-
tiopS, Ell?
$50 Cicely growed up to be sixteen,
an a purtieC g ri never danced to an
party. She did have the
sweetest eyes | ever looked into. They
was big an blue, with a kind of appeal
In, trustful look in 'em that made one
love the girl. Her yaller baby-hair
stayed with her always 1t was as silky
and yaller an bright when she was sew
enteen as when she was little more'n a
baby. She KEEP her inherent, baby
face all through her girlhood days. l
never in all my born days see a more
perfectly inherent, beautiful face! She
looked as if the very thought o sin was
furrin to her heart. | used to think to
myself that if ever they was an onde-
filed heart and pure soul, that heart
an soul belonged to Cicelv Doolittle.
allus felt kind of a rev renee, so to
speak, for her girlish purity an inner
cence. 1t did seem to me as if God had
RELY given His angels charge concern
ing her. He seemed to have her close
to Hisself.
''She had a smile an gay word fer
EVERYBODY, no matter where or when
rou meet her. How she did brighten
up Mahaly's old home, an what a joy
IN comfort she was to heri Many's
he time I've seen Mahaly put her arms
round Cicely, an, with the big tears .
'ollin' down her cheeks, kiss an bless
her; an Cicely seemed Just as much
up in Mahaly as Mahaly was
n her. 80
when Mahaly was thirty-nine an
Cicely past seventeen, funny circum-
stance happened / was SEWN at
Mahalys at the time, a-makin' Cicely
| mighty purity buff shally delaine, with
. tiny bit of pink figger in it and a