Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1888-09-06
a BIRTHDAY PARTY.


- Valentine March, in WoMan's Journal.
A BIRTHDAY PARTY.
Miles Plan, and the Happiness 1t Brought
to Two Little Girls.
eff you please, Auntie Nell'-
At sound Of the beseeching voice,
Auntie Nell glanced out of the open
window, and up to the swinging ham
mock between the elms, where Millie
was knitting ten times round on her
own little scarlet stocking to the music
of robins song.
~ wish-you see-O Auntie Nell,
Mrs. Green said her Polly is going to be
nine years old Tomorrow and most
know she never had birthday party,
or present. or any thing, and she's lame
and every thing, and has to stay all
alone while her mother goes off wash
ing for folks. And just wish-oh,
please, Auntie Nell, can't / make her a
beautiful little s'prise supper, and carry
it to her for her birthday, please?"
The pleading voice was very earnest
and eager now, and the little round
face, peeping through swaying elm
bough, was earnest and eager, too.
Auntie Nell smiled II would like
to say yes, Mile, but 1 am afraid
Norah will be too busy preparing our
lunch-baskets for the excursion to help
you"
But 10 Auntie, can't have some
of Norah's dough, and make things all
myself? won't want a lot; only. may
be, some tarts and pies bout as big as
your grownup tarts, Auntie Nell, and
dear little seed-eakes, and frosty-cakes,
with lots of pfums, and sandwiches and
marmalade, and some of my bank
money to buy candy and nuts; and. o,
Auntie Nell, how nice every thing will
bei''
The hammock trembled and shook
until it spilled Mile out.
'And / needn't bother Norah only to
tell me little,''' she said, coming UNI
der the window.
"You may ask her." said Auntie Nell,
laughing.
Norah stopped to give Mile foury
hug. ''It's av coorse I'll show We, an
give We bits o. me pastry!" she cried,
with a twinkle of Irish fun in her eye.
''Bless its lovin' heart!"
So Mile, with big kitchen apron
reaching from chin to toes, patted and
| rolled and crimped and cut and twisted,
at one end of the long table, just as
Norah rolled and patted and crimped
and cut and twisted at the other.
What fun it was!
''It's just like
Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker-man.'"
! laughed Millie, peeping over .Norah's
| shouldef. into the oven.
Well, and there were tarts, puffy and
delicious, and into each one, when
baked and cooled, Norah put dot of
| jelly; sweet, crisp cookies; seedcakes,
brown and spicy, cut out with one of
| grandmamma's wee, old-fashioned wine
glasses; dainty, scalloped cakes, ..all
plummy and iced and spiced," and or
namented with sugared caraway, red
and white; trim little saucer-pies, done
just to a turn.
1t may be that Norah had a finger in
them What do you think?
At nightfall, Mile, tired and happy.
put little scarlet face in at the sitting
room door, and with small sigh OF re-
lief said:
ats all done, Auntie Nell. and /
don't b'lieve to-morrow'1 ever comer'
But it did; it always does, You know;
and when she bad eaten her breakfast,
| Mile shook out handful Of pennies
from her little red bank, and scam
pered off down the street to Ma'am
Whitney's candy shop.
II want the very best and sweetest OF
all you've got!" she laughed. humping
her two fists full of the jinglfng coppers
down on the trim counter. ats for
Polly Green's birthday"
'.Ah!' said Ma'am Whitney. pleas
antly, as she went on weighing out pep
PERMITS and kisses and gooseberries;
and do think Mile got little better
measure than ever before, with two bar
ley-sugar elephants thrown in.
Then, as Millie and her basket OF
goodies were going through the hall,
Auntie Nell came out of the sitting
room with book and box Of lovely
scrap-pictures in her hands
'.For Poily's birthday-gift, !" she said,
and Mile danced alb the way to the
gate, she was SO pleased
And what do you suppose Polly die
when Mile tripped into the small, dull
room, bringing her store OF dainties
Auntie Nelrs gift, and a bit of outdoor
brightness and breeziness? This littl,
lame Polly, With her crooked body ant
useless feet, who scarcely ever saw tn,
outside of the wee house in which sh,
lived, and who had only to sit by tn
one tiny window, that long afternoon
and knit, and watch the passer.by
Without saying word, she just put he
small, thin hands over her small, thil
face and cried.
.'Oh, don't! Please donfs' pleade
Millie, In dismay. why, though
! you'd be glad!'