The Irish standard., 1886-07-03
LITTLE SWEETHEART.
BY HELEN HUNT JACKSON.


Her parenls were poor and could not buy
any wedding trousseau for her. But that
did not make any difference. A carriage
was sent from the Court for her, and she
was carried away 'sjust as she. was" in
her stuff gown--tie gown the Prince first
saw her in. He liked her best in that, he
said, and, moreover, what odds did it
make about clothes? Were there not
rooms upon rooms in the palace full of
most superb clothes for Princes Sweet
hearts?
1t was into one of these rooms that she
was taken first. On all sides of it were
nigh glass cases reaching up to the ceiling
and filled with gowns ant, mantles and
laces and jewels. everything a woman
could wear was there, and all of the very
finest. What satins, what velvets what
feathers and flowers! Even down to shoes
and stockings OF the daintiest silk. The
Little Sweetheart gazed, breathless, at
them all. But she did not have time to
wonder, for in moment more she was
met by attendants, some yeung, some old,
all dressed gayly. She did not dream at
first that they were servants, till they
began, altogether, asking her what she
lace gown or 9. satin? Would she like
feathers or flowers? And one ran this
! way and one that; and among them all
the Little Sweetheart was SO Mustered shs
did not know if she were really alive and
on the earth, or had been transported 10
some fairy land; and before the fairy
realized what was being done, they had
her clad in the most beautiful gown that
was ever seen. White satin with gold
butterflies on it, and Il white lace mantle
embroidered in gold butterflies: all white
and gold she was, from top to toe, all but
one foot, and there was something very
odd about that. She heard one Of the
women whispering to the other, behind
her back: "It's too aai! there isn't any
mate to this slipper. Well. she will have
to wear this pink one 1t is too big, but
il we pin it up at the heel she can keep it
on. The Prince really must get some
more Slippers
And then they put on her left foot a
pink satin slipper, which was so much
too b;g that it had to be pinned up in
p}aits at each side. and the pearl buckle
on top hid her foot quite out OF sight. But
the Little Sweetheart did not care. In
iact she had no time to think, for tae
Queen came sailing in aud spoke to har,
and crowds Of ladies in dresses 80 bright
and beautiful chat they dazzled her eyes !;
and the Prince was there kissing her, and
in minute they were married and went
floating OIL III dance which was SO swift
it did not feel so much like dancing as 1t
did like being carried through the air by a
gentle wind.
Through room after room, there seemed
no end to the rooms, and each one more
beautiful than the last, from garden to
garden, some full OF trees, some with beau
f,,11 ooJS6 hod dS
of flowers, they went, sometimes dancing.
sometimes walking, sometimes, it seemed
to the Little Sweetheart, floating. Every
hour there was some new beautiful thing
to see, some new beautiful thing to do.
And the the Prince never left her for
more than s. few minutes; and when he
came back he brought her gifts and kissed
her. Gifts upon gifts be kept bringing.
till the LitSe Sweetheart's hands were
so full she had to lay ssN the
things down on tables or window
sills, whenever size could find places for
them, which was not easy, for all the
rooms were SO full Of beautiful things that
it was difficult to move about without
knocking something down.
The hours flew by like minutes. The
sim came up high III the heavens but no.
body seemed tired; nobody stopped
dance, dance, whirI. song and laughter,
and ceaseless motion. This was all that
WAS to be seen or heard in this wonderful
Court to which the Little Sweetheart had
been brought.
Noon came, but nothing stopped. No
body left Off dancing, and the musicians
played faster than ever.
And so it was all the long afternoon and
through the twilight; and as soon as 1t
WAS really dark, all the rooms and the
gardens and the lakes blazed out with
millions of lamps, till it was lighter far
than day, and the ladies' dresses, as they
danced back and FORTH shone and sparkled
like butterflies wings.
AT last the lamps began, one by one, tc
20 out, and by degrees soft sort OF light,
like moonlight, settled down on the whole
place and the fine dressed servants that
had robed the Little Sweetheart in hel
white satin gown took it Off, and put he1
to bed in 9 gold bedstead with COLDER
silk sheets.
nOhp' thought the Little Sweetheart
"1shall never go to sleep in the world, ane
I don't want to? shall just keep my
eyes open all night and see what happens
next"
All the beautiful clothes she had taker
Oft were Laid Oh sofa near the bed-the
white satin dress at the top, and the big
pink satin slipper, with its hugh pearl
buckle On the floor, in plain sight
"Where is the other?" thought the Little
Sweetheart 81 do believe / lost it off
That's the way they come to have SO man,
ode ones But, how queer lost off tht
tight one But the big one was pinned tx
my foot" she said, speaking t lout
before she thought. '.That was VIVA
kept 1t on"
.You are talking in your sleep my love,
said the Prince, who was close by her side
kissing her.
"Indeed, am not asleep at all.
haven't shut my eyes" said the Little
Sweetheart.
And the next thing she knew it was
broad daylight, the sun streaming into
her room, and the air resounding in al
directors with music and laughter, ant
flying steps of dancers, just as it had beel
yesterday.
The Little Sweetheart sat up in bed an(
looked around her. She thought it YER,
strange that she was all alone, the Princ'
; gone and no one there to attend her: in {
few minutes more she noticed that al
her clothes were gone, too.
s:Oh," she thought, "Isuppose one neve
wears the same clothes twice in this court
and they will bring NE others I hope