Evening journal., 1890-01-23

sure upon the sprng grew weaker as tht
| little hands grew thinner.
Hour by hour she would tell her own suf
ferings, but always attributing them to th,
doll. At times she would yield to an indie
finite despair. She did not know what deatl
meant, but she would cry out with indescrib
able anguish: "No, / do not want you to die
even to SO to heaven.n
She never spoke of her mother to tn,
nurse; but sometimes, when she thought her
self alone, they would hear her murmur tx
her doll; "Ifmamma would come back Min
would be well.n
In the village the arrival of the talking dol
had produced a great sensation. All th,
children wished to see it, and Sunday most o.
the little girls came to admire the marvellous
toy.
To 20 to see the little girl from Paris anC
hear her doll talk had become a sort of fete
and then, Mini was so sweet, so caressing K
all who showed friendship for her, or who
loved her doll, that she had become the lido
of the whole village.
The vicar came TO relate to her beautiful
stories of heaven, where there lived mann
ma marvelonsly beautiful and adorably good
The good sister who had charge Of the VII
lnge school brought her little images Of saints
and angels.
One OF Minis greatest pleasures was TO SEE
all little friends come with their doIls-dolls
Of wood, of cardboard, Of rags; but she
thought them all charming, and talked to
them in the most delightful manner and as il
they could understand her, and replied to her
The 10th Of August was the dolls birthday
and all the little girls came with their dolls
and brought the doh Mini bouquet, and one
for the real Mini. What a merry day it was
for Them all
The bed was covered with flowers, and the
doll was 50 happy that she said again and
again, "Mammaln
Alasl the care Of Mother Gerard, the love
and caresses Of all, the healthful air Of the
country had been able only to prolong the
days of the little suffered, but altogether were
not able to cure her.
They began to count the weeks, then the
days that she could be with them.
'She is very in, mammals Mini she said,
caressing the doll. sShe suffers greatly
there, she said, touching the dolls chest.
One evening she sat up suddenly, seized her
doll in both arms, looked at it with yearning,
shining eyes, and tried to press the spring.
The sound came feebly and weakly articu-
ulated, "Mammaln
The child repeated Mammal with voice
still more feeble, and fell back on her pillow,
but still clasping her doll.
She was dead
And singular as it may seem, the spring in
the doll was broken; the doll, too, was dead
During all the next day the two Minis the
two little dead bodies, were left with UNI
covered faces, surrounded with the last
flowers Of autumn, white and yellow, mingled
with branches of red leaves.
When they dressed little Mini for the last
time they found that they would have to use
much force to take the doll from her grasp.
Mother Gerard would not permit it, She
kissed the child once more, and, without try
ing to account for the strange impulse. she
kissed the doll also Both were pus into the
coffin, with all that belonged to them dresses
and bonnets, little shoes and stockings, and
playthings of all sorts.
Then upon the bier, carried by the strongest
little girls of the village-alasl it was not
very heavy-they put all the flowers they
could find; and it was the strangest funeral
that one could imagine. All the little girls
of the school marched behind, two by two
holding their dolls; and on the way they
we're Joined by others, and each new arrival
had her doll. Those who had two dolls gave
one to those who had none. All the dolls
were dressed in their finest clothes.
When they arrived at the cemetery the
children formed circle around the grave,
with their dolls in their arms, and listened to
the last prayer for poor Mini. Among the
children who had come to bid last farewell
TO their little friend and the talking DELI
for they regretted the wonderful doll quite
as much as they did Nini-there was enc who
had been particular favorite Of the little in
valid.
Il was a sickly little cripple, nearly her own
age, with sorrowful, pale face. She almost
adored the doll, and when Mini permitted her
to rock it she was perfectly happy. She, like
the others, had doll which she loved devot-
eddy.
No one can know what thought passed
through that little brain, but at the moment
that the sexton threw the first spadeful Of
earth upon the coffin she kissed her doll con
vulsively and threw it into the grave, saying,
"Go with Ninim
This impulsive act so impressed the other
children that one after another followed her
example
1t was touching spectacle
''Go with Ninir' each little one repeated in
letting her doll fall into the grave.
One only drew back unable to make the
sacrifice. She was 5 years old, perhaps, the
child Of poor woman. Her doll was Of card
board, old, dirty and worn, and had lost one
arm She clasped it in her arms and sob
bingly said; moi not in the holel not in the
hole, my Mini She would be eoldi"
The return to the village was, perhaps, sad
der than the walk to the grave
The next day the vicar went to Neville and
brought back with him fifteen now dolls and
gave them to the children in the name OF the
two Minis.
In this village for-many years after doll
was called Mini in remembrance Of the one
which was buried Translated from the
French for Chicago Inter-Ocean.