The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1896-05-30

welcomed by everybody.
The next year after Dorothy went
away with the minister, Sally
married fine young lawyer in Bos-
ton. Lucy loved the home life
and the boys best; and she stayed
on at the old place, always bright
and happy, even after Major and
Madam Porter were dead. Then
Robert became a professor in col
lege, William married, and the other
two brothers settled down into quiet,
unsociable old men. Through the
long days of winter Lucy wrote her
journal and letters, and lived in her
books, - the little leather covered
volumes of Shakspere and the poets
and old-fashioned novels, like eve
lima" and "The Children of the
Abbey" l stayed in the sideboard
during almost sixty of these unevent
full years, only brought out now and
then for children who came to visit
us. There were Dorothy's and Sally's
children first, and then their grand
children. The house was stiller than
ever after they went away, but Miss
Lucy never seemed lonely. Finally,
when she was eighty years old, she
went out of the great front door, one
autumn for the last time, and was
laid to rest beside her father and
mother in a little graveyard bright
with golden rod and scarlet naples.
Then they shut up the old house;
and l was taken to the attic, cradle
and all, and packed in great hair
cloth trunk. How long lay there
I'm sure l don't know. Atlast, after
many years and months, most ex-
citing thing happened. There began
to be sounds of new life in the house,
as if people had come to live in it
again, -scrapings and knockings,
opening of windows and footsteps on
the stairways. One warm summer
night two ladies came right up to the
trunk l was in.
"Where did Cousin Mary say it
was?" asked one.
II think she told me they left it in
a black trunk in the west garrett" the
other replied.
You see," said the first, "Lucy al
ways has doll to go to bed with;
and her Rosy is so soaked through
after being out on the grass in that
shower that l had to think of some
thing to take its place. If can only
find that dear old doll we used to
play with-Oh, yes, here we are
cradle, doll and all"
She had thrown the trunk lid back,
and her motherly face was looking
down on me.
"Oh, what funny old DOLL" ex-
claimed the other lady. Did you
ever see anything so frugal or SO
PRINT Won't Lucy be Mortified at
the idea of having her after that
beautiful Rosy9"
"You don't know Lucy" was the
answer. sShe's a born mother. You
wait and see"
So downstairs we went, | in great
excitement; for l half believed | had
been in a long dream, and had walked
up to find my precious little first
Lucy again. 1t seemed so when we
went into her own old room, where
the furniture looked just as it had
the day she left it. But l knew in a
moment some one else belonged there
now; for over the back OF her sewing
chair lay pile of the daintiest,
prettiest child's clothes, with fine en-
broidery and ruffies en- them such as
good Madam Porter would have con-
sidered terribly frivolous. Sitting on
the edge of Miss Lucy's own big,
canopied bed, in white night-gown,
with her bare feet hanging down and
rosy sunset light all about her, was
the sweetest little girl, with blue
eyes and long brown curls and a
smile that was SO exactly like my
own old Lucy's that | couldn't take
my eyes off her.
She no sooner saw me than out
went two arms so eagerly that | felt
myself thrill with pride, and l was
carried right back to the day when 1
took fhe wild kittens place in my
first Lucy's heart. The blue eyes
looked down on me while she said,
"You dear dolly, l won't let them
shut you all up again"
After that we said our prayers to-
gether with her mother, and climbed
up among the white pillows; and
there was good deal of good night
kissing. That astonished me very
much, as remembered how few ca
resses there used to be in the Porter
family; At last we were left alone,